Ad-blockers might actually make it easier for advertisers to track you

[Batu69]

Ad-blocker usage is surging. According to a 2016 report from PageFair, over 615 million devices were blocking ads by the end of 2016.

Most simply want to browse the web uninterrupted by intrusive ads. In that case, ad-blockers do the job. Others, however, expect their ad-blocking tool to limit advertisers’ ability to track them online. These users might be surprised to know it has little impact, and might actually make you more visible.

 

A 2010 report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation made us all painfully aware that web browsers did little to protect identifying information. After updating the details for 2017, a group of French researchers found that even the most advanced ad-blocking tools do little to stop that years later.

 

To be fair, it’s not just ad-blockers. Any extension — when paired with other identifying information — helps to create a unique fingerprint for web users. But being identified by extensions like Ghostery, a tool that helps prevent websites from tracking you, is a bit of a kick in the pants.

 

Running the test on my own browser — with an ad-blocker that claims to prevent me from being tracked and hide identifying information from advertisers — showed that my identity had a fingerprint unique to the 4,766 others who had submitted to the experiment.

You can try it here.

 

Within seconds the test told me which plugins I was using (on Chrome), what social networks I was logged into, and a handful of other identifying traits that could actually make it easier for advertisers to track me. My browser fingerprint, after all, is completely unique — and even at scale there will be few others with my exact screen resolution, time zone, installed plugins, logged-in social networks, etc.

 

Ethical issues aside, ad-blockers are mostly up to the task at blocking content you don’t want to see. If you’re relying on them for some semblance of privacy from the pyring eyes of advertisers, stop.

 

There’s no fail-safe solution, but the researchers suggest using Firefox — which isn’t perfect, but leaks fewer identifying details than others. Also, log out of social networks when not in use (or Google), and turn off third-party cookies in your browser preferences. Aside from that, using fewer plugins helps, as does browsing in incognito mode — which limits which extensions are allowed to run.

 

Browser Extension and Login-Leak Experiment on Inria

 

Article source

[stylemessiah]

Using Firefox like a sane person - Chrome users are insane, i get, and im logged into 4 forums, google, hotmail, nsane, ebay...everything:

 

Standard fingerprint details

Your browser's standard fingerprint is unique among the 6292 browsers that were tested so far!

Website login details (login-leak)

We couldn't detect any websites where your browser seemed to be logged into.

 

 

 

[pc71520]

58 minutes ago, stylemessiah said:

Using Firefox like a sane person - Chrome users are insane

I'm a Firefox user, too.

 

However, Chrome users consider Firefox users insane...

Especially, if you take into account the increasingly-high Chrome usage.

 

 

[IronY-Man]

3 hours ago, pc71520 said:

However, Chrome users consider Firefox users insane...

Especially, if you take into account the increasingly-high Chrome usage.

would you believe if I told you that I dropped Chrome after finding out it was literally strangling my memory more so than firefox did , it was even before fox got australis-ed but I liked the overall fox experience even if appeared little slow.....but as time passed I found out that I made the right call for a plethora of other reasons, & yet still mozilla think switching sides and embracing the chromified environment long time and/or chrome-boys will adore and will jump aboard....whata bunch of stupid idiots unless there's something else going on which were unable to see  .... !!

[straycat19]

Test on Firefox and Chrome and the results are the same so I will only post one screen capture.  It doesn't see anything on my system.  At the time of the tests I was logged into 10 websites, two email accounts (one gmail and one exchange), and logged into my work system to download a Windows 7 image.  I figured it might see some of these but it can't even identify my browser.

 

[Sylence]

Use Microsoft Edge or Firefox, Edge is pretty faster than the Firefox and Google Chrome according to the Google's benchmarks. 

[pc71520]

18 hours ago, IronY-Man said:

would you believe if I told you that I dropped Chrome after finding out it was literally strangling my memory more so than firefox did,

it was even before fox got australis-ed but I liked the overall fox experience even if appeared little slow.....

but as time passed I found out that I made the right call for a plethora of other reasons,

& yet still mozilla think switching sides and embracing the chromified environment long time and/or chrome-boys will adore and will jump aboard....

whata bunch of stupid idiots unless there's something else going on which were unable to see  .... !!

I believe you. I'm a Firefox user, too.