Advanced Security oldschool's surfing laptop configuration

[LennyFox]

Privacy Badger used to apply the three strikes is out approach for triggering the heuristics.

Because privacy badger uses a granular approach, it tries to pinpoint this mechanism to subdomain/page level/link source

Websites can misuse this by generating a series of blocks (three strikes is out) of a unique webpage or link source location (e.g. Domain/trackers/1234567890)

Whenever that user returned to that website, by querring the existing tracker locations a returning visitor could be uniquely indentified (because Privacy Badger blocked the unique source link Domain/trackers/1234567890). Downside of this approach is that it is a rather heavy/ineffective method (for each visitor you have to sequentially query all the trackers stored to generate that unique block).

That is why it is turned off by default. Everyone who has installed JShelter extension will know only a limited number of websites use advanced fingerprinting techniques. Not many main stream websites use advanced tracking, IKEA being the exception (because there are easier ways to track returning visitors). Since it is a rare (and heavy) fingerprint method used for only one specifc webextension which is used by people not open to personalized offerings the business benefit of such a specific fingerprint is minimal IMO.

Bottom line: when you are not paranoid, you can enable this feature again without the fear of surfing the web with a big tracking X-mark on your forehead.

 

[Arequire]

Maybe someone should tell them that, since it is PB's selling point. It definitely does not fill me with confidence.

It is weird that years after changing how the extension works, most of the documentation still references local learning as if it were still the default behaviour.

Bottom line: when you are not paranoid, you can enable this feature again.

Yeah, I should've mentioned in my reply that the ability to fingerprint or exfill data from users was purely PoC, as per EFF's blog post:

To be clear: the disclosures Google’s team shared with us are purely proof-of-concept, and we have seen no evidence that any Privacy Badger users have had these techniques used against them in the wild. But as a precaution, we have decided to turn off Privacy Badger’s local learning feature by default.

 

[oldschool]

It is weird that years after changing how the extension works, most of the documentation still references local learning as if it were still the default behaviour.

@TairikuOkami - Learning is performed by Badger Sett and Badger Swarm crawling the web, though not all documentation has been updated to reflect this.

Privacy Badger Is Changing to Protect You Better

Privacy Badger was created to protect users from pervasive non-consensual tracking, and to do so automatically, without relying on human-edited lists of known trackers. While our goals remain the same, our approach is changing. It is time for Privacy Badger to evolve.Thanks to disclosures from...

www.eff.org

Introducing Badger Swarm: New Project Helps Privacy Badger Block Ever More Trackers

Today we are introducing Badger Swarm, a new tool for Privacy Badger that runs distributed Badger Sett scans in the cloud. Badger Swarm helps us continue updating and growing Privacy Badger’s tracker knowledge, as well as continue adding new ways of catching trackers. Thanks to continually...

www.eff.org

BTW: PB will loose it's Google and Facebook link tracking protection with its MV3 version.

I should've mentioned in my reply that the ability to fingerprint or exfill data from users was purely PoC, as per EFF's blog post:

Indeed.

 

[oldschool]

Configuration Update:

• Turned off Smart App Control
• Added VoodooShield
• Switched to Brave as my primary browser

 

[simmerskool]

Configuration Update:

• Turned off Smart App Control
• Added VoodooShield
• Switched to Brave as my primary browser

why Brave over eg Firefox? fwiw, every time I install Brave I give up on it after a day or 2.

 

[oldschool]

why Brave over eg Firefox? fwiw, every time I install Brave I give up on it after a day or 2.

I use both.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Configuration Update:

• Turned off Smart App Control
• Added VoodooShield
• Switched to Brave as my primary browser

Why did you turn off Smart App Control?

 

[oldschool]

Why did you turn off Smart App Control?

I got bored. What can I say?

 

[oldschool]

@Gandalf_The_Grey BTW, I think I was the only member using SAC and I like to stay "au courant"!

 

[oldschool]

Re-enabled Smart App Control.

 

[LennyFox]

Re-enabled Smart App Control.

Honestly when you add SWH (old version), to SAC, you will never be infected by malware.

 

[Kongo]

Re-enabled Smart App Control.

Can you share the how u managed to do so? The online tutorials don't seem to work for me

 

[oldschool]

Can you share the how u managed to do so? The online tutorials don't seem to work for me

I reset Windows with the "keep your files and some settings" option. A bit of a hassle setting it up to my liking, but not a big deal. Nothing like a full clean install. You must allow optional diagnostic data, make sure all updates are installed, and then switch SAC on. You may turn off optional diagnostic data when you're done. Set up apps afterwards, or prior to enabling SAC.

@Andy Ful does not advise using the registry hack method to enable SAC because its protection will remain disabled anyway.
New Update - Smart App Control - Windows 11 22H2 feature promises significant protection from malware

 

[Kongo]

I reset Windows with the "keep your files and some settings" option. A bit of a hassle setting it up to my liking, but not a big deal. Nothing like a full clean install. You must allow optional diagnostic data, make sure all updates are installed, and then switch SAC on. You may turn off optional diagnostic data when you're done. Set up apps afterwards, or prior to enabling SAC.

@Andy Ful does not advise using the registry hack method to enable SAC because its protection will remain disabled anyway.
New Update - Smart App Control - Windows 11 22H2 feature promises significant protection from malware

Then I won't even think about switching it on again. Too annoying to configure my Windows again the way I need it.

 

[Andy Ful]

Can you share the how u managed to do so? The online tutorials don't seem to work for me

Currently, all known (old) methods do not work for me, except refreshing Windows.

 

[oldschool]

Removed VoodooShield because I experienced the GUI not auto starting in administrator account system tray. When I tried to manually start it I encountered a Windows error message "Unable to access the file, etc. ...". When I went back to my standard user account the VS GUI was opened up. Very strange.

BTW: this happened on a newly-refreshed Windows 11.

 

[simmerskool]

Removed VoodooShield because I experienced the GUI not auto starting in administrator account system tray. When I tried to manually start it I encountered a Windows error message "Unable to access the file, etc. ...". When I went back to my standard user account the VS GUI was opened up. Very strange.

BTW: this happened on a newly-refreshed Windows 11.

FWIW I have not seen that on win10 -- errr well maybe once or twice over the years as an isolated instance. My guess Dan would like your log

 

[oldschool]

My guess Dan would like your log

Already sent to him after an earlier, similar instance, so no point sending them this time.

 

[LennyFox]

I reset Windows with the "keep your files and some settings" option. A bit of a hassle setting it up to my liking, but not a big deal. Nothing like a full clean install. You must allow optional diagnostic data, make sure all updates are installed, and then switch SAC on. You may turn off optional diagnostic data when you're done. Set up apps afterwards, or prior to enabling SAC.

@Andy Ful does not advise using the registry hack method to enable SAC because its protection will remain disabled anyway.
New Update - Smart App Control - Windows 11 22H2 feature promises significant protection from malware

I have not yet (ever) used the reset Windows option, but to me it seemed to much hassle to configure mail and your apps again (and slimming down Windows11's telemetry and bloat again).

I always felt a bit punished by Microsoft, having moved to Windows11 as one of the first and being rewarded by being excluded of SAC. Luckily @Andy Ful made WHHL and changed his mind to enable ISG so all early WIndows11 users can enjoy something similar to SAC (WDAC-ISG) but with the added bonus of being able to manage exclusions and blocking execution of risky file extensions (the Software Restriction Policies part of WHHL). The latter ('harmless' rich content files with embedded code/scripts triggering Lolbins) are the achilles heel of many antivirus solutions (as often showed by @cruelsister).

IMO there are only two whitelisting strategies: blocking non-whitelisted in user space (e.g. WHHL) or containing them in a sandbox (e.g. Comodo Firewall with CS rules). There are of course more implementations possible (e.g. Cyberlock and Sandboxie with forced folders). To me blocking makes more sense than allowing them in a sandbox (with the risk of breaking out of the sandbox). Blocking is easier than containing for PC users with a simple software setup like I have (browser, office, media player)

 

[oldschool]

Taking Kaspersky Free for a test drive.