Panopticlick

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

In addition to the commonly discussed "identifying" characteristics of web browsers, like IP addresses and tracking cookies, there are more subtle differences between browsers that can be used to tell them apart. One significant example is the User-Agent string, which contains the name, operating system and precise version number of the browser, and which is sent every web server you visit. A typical User Agent string looks something like this:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6

As you can see, there's quite a lot of "stuff" in there. It turns out that that "stuff" is quite useful for telling different people apart on the net. On average, User Agent strings contain about 10.5 bits of identifying information, meaning that if you pick a random person's browser, only one in 1,500 other Internet users will share their User Agent string.

EFF's Panopticlick project is a privacy research effort to measure how much identifying information is being conveyed by other browser characteristics. Visit Panopticlick to see how identifying your browser is, and to help in the research.

Here is my result when I run the test:

[General Lee]

Wow, thanks for this. Based on the results, I'm showing so much information! How were you able to "undefined" under Browser Plugin Details and "no Flash or Java fonts detected" under System Fonts? My results show huge lists under these categories. My results seem to be the exact opposite of yours (almost), lol. Because, there's some more information showing in other categories too. How are you able to hide this information? Are you using some sort of plugins/extensions? Could you please tell me, so that I install these as well! :)

[HX1]

What I couldn't figure out is why IE8 shows up as Mozilla Firefox.. with a ton of other stuff that has nothing to do with my system.. It also showed up like the first one posted above.. and then showed up differently the second time.. Going to check Opera, Safari, and Iron next..

I also got a ton of fonts, and plugins listed... as well for FF... NoScript which they recommend.. did not seem to have an effect either.. ( so I dunno )

Whatever you do do not clear out your user agent data in about:config.. I couldn't get into quite a few places...LOL.. Even Mozilla.org said I should download their browser.. and i was using it..

EDIT: Opera.. same but with proper ID.. and tons of stuff.. Iron reports as being Everything from Mozilla, to Safari Apple WebKit to itself..???..and tons of stuff..same almost for Safari

I still don't see how any of this is damaging .. I mean every server has a log.. mine will even log the ISP and main address..

EDIT: Oh wait unless a hacker wanted to pick between the Apple and Adobe Plugins to find a whole in your system..j/k.. oh no wait.. then again..LOL

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

@General Lee I am using Tor w/ Torbutton plugin for FF. Here are some readings for you: Self-Defense.

@Heath28m

If we ask whether a fact about a person identifies that person, it turns out that the answer isn't simply yes or no. If all I know about a person is their ZIP code, I don't know who they are. If all I know is their date of birth, I don't know who they are. If all I know is their gender, I don't know who they are. But it turns out that if I know these three things about a person, I could probably deduce their identity! Each of the facts is partially identifying

More readings here

[Night Owl]

Wow, for my Firefox 3.6 it says:

Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 617,427 tested so far.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 19.24 bits of identifying information.

[HX1]

@General Lee I am using Tor w/ Torbutton plugin for FF. Here are some readings for you: Self-Defense.

@Heath28m

If we ask whether a fact about a person identifies that person, it turns out that the answer isn't simply yes or no. If all I know about a person is their ZIP code, I don't know who they are. If all I know is their date of birth, I don't know who they are. If all I know is their gender, I don't know who they are. But it turns out that if I know these three things about a person, I could probably deduce their identity! Each of the facts is partially identifying

More readings here

Yeah, I read some of that...LOL.. reminded of 'Numbers' on CBS..

[General Lee]

@nivrid05

I went to their website and saw that there are two different versions. Which one would be better, the Windows version (0.2.1.22 to 0.2.2.7-alpha release) or the Tor Browser Bundle for Windows version (0.2.1.22)? :dunno:

@Night Owl

When I tested before, it said 18.something...I don't remember but, now after adding the BetterPrivacy Add-on for Firefox it says: Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys 17.65 bits of identifying information. :think: I did notice that Firefox would freeze up for like 1-2 seconds while I'm browsing or posting something, after installing this...

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

Go for the stable version 0.2.1.22 Installation bundle for Windows (it contains Vidalia - Polipo - Torbutton). But before you install this, be sure you understand what Tor will do for you, because there are consequences like slow browsing speed, disabled plugins etc. in exchange for security and anonimity online.

BTW Tor works best with Firefox. Goodluck.

[HX1]

Wow, for my Firefox 3.6 it says:

Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 617,427 tested so far.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 19.24 bits of identifying information.

Not so sure that is a good thing.. LOL

Mine:

Within our dataset of several hundred thousand visitors, only one in 308,768 browsers have the same fingerprint as yours.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys 18.24 bits of identifying information.

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

Yeah not at all

Mine says:

Within our dataset of several hundred thousand visitors, only one in 308,771 browsers have the same fingerprint as yours.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys 18.24 bits of identifying information.

Heath28m BTW, I think you need to reinstall your FF :lol: it's acting up!

[oZ.]

In addition to the commonly discussed "identifying" characteristics of web browsers, like IP addresses and tracking cookies, there are more subtle differences between browsers that can be used to tell them apart. One significant example is the User-Agent string, which contains the name, operating system and precise version number of the browser, and which is sent every web server you visit. A typical User Agent string looks something like this:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2) Gecko/20100115 Firefox/3.6 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729)

hey ummm your Firefox is out of date.

use v3.6

=P

[HX1]

When I tried to load it in Tor.. my browser does an auto crash.. Not sure what is gong on exactly but I am beginning to like it.. LMAO

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

@Oz.

hey ummm your Firefox is out of date.

use v3.6

Your seeing v3.0.7 because Tor is hiding my real user agent version :P

@Heath

When I tried to load it in Tor.. my browser does an auto crash.. Not sure what is gong on exactly but I am beginning to like it.. LMAO

WTF go easy on yourself man :lol:

[HX1]

All well it doesn't matter I imaged my drives.. and I am going to update the whole thing.. and take another look at things.. I almost hate it because I am going to have to dig AGAIN.. into the OS.. The other one I did I can't even get it to boot after trying to use a new style.. so ( I can't take it not being dark ) goes with nothing I do.. I have somethings to do first but.. it will happen soon.. I have a feeling I will 7 locked down a lot tighter than I do now.. which means no fun...

Something must be wrong with my browser I have seen attachments disappear into thin air.. and posts I made also disappear on the site so I dunno..

[Night Owl]

@ heath28m and nivrid05:

OK, I don't feel so bad now. Since there have been over 600,000 browsers tested so far, that means that both of you have had one other browser convey the exact same information.

But it would be nice to get my 19.24 bits of identifying information down to 18.24 bits just like you too.

[General Lee]

Go for the stable version 0.2.1.22 Installation bundle for Windows (it contains Vidalia - Polipo - Torbutton). But before you install this, be sure you understand what Tor will do for you, because there are consequences like slow browsing speed, disabled plugins etc. in exchange for security and anonimity online.

BTW Tor works best with Firefox. Goodluck.

I tried it and as you said, it's good for the anonymity. But, the slowness in speed really is a huge issue. So, I probably won't keep this. My speed lowered by more then 75%! :eek: Thanks for telling me about it though. :) I wish there were other applications out there that did the same thing but, don't mess with the speed. :frusty: Hopefully, there will be something like that in the near future.

[majithia23]

Go for the stable version 0.2.1.22 Installation bundle for Windows (it contains Vidalia - Polipo - Torbutton). But before you install this, be sure you understand what Tor will do for you, because there are consequences like slow browsing speed, disabled plugins etc. in exchange for security and anonimity online.

BTW Tor works best with Firefox. Goodluck.

I tried it and as you said, it's good for the anonymity. But, the slowness in speed really is a huge issue. So, I probably won't keep this. My speed lowered by more then 75%! :eek: Thanks for telling me about it though. :) I wish there were other applications out there that did the same thing but, don't mess with the speed. :frusty: Hopefully, there will be something like that in the near future.

@general lee

is your connection a dial up or a mobile internet connection

or a dsl cable .... i mean which type ?:think:

i ask bcoz i started using Tor recently , and yes i agree that speeds do fall ...

but after tweaking some firefox and Tor settings , i was able to get some reasonable speeds .

its just that some 8 to 15 secs extra are taken to load a page . ( and m working around the disable plugins also . shouldnt be a big problem )

i have a dsl cable connection at 2mbps.

better to spend a little extra time to anonymity then letting your privacy loose and landing in some shit :nono:

its safer too , encrypted.

refer torprojects.com and read a bit and she shall learn .

try using some safe vpn .

if not Tor.

but it has its own pros and cons , if it gives speed !!!!

good luck..

[General Lee]

My speed is 10 mbps and it's a fiber optic connection, majithia23. :) I do like Tor. Maybe, like you mentioned, I need to mess around a bit with the settings. As for the website you mentioned; it's related to outdoor photography...? :huh: I have heard about the existence of VPNs but, have no idea what they do and how they work. I know there's one called OpenVPN and a CISCO VPN Client... :dunno:

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

@General Lee

I only have about 3.6MB/s HSDPA connection but like majithia23 the decrease in my browsing speed is somewhat acceptable. If you want to try VPN, you should probably try UltraVPN, it's a free VPN service but it won't give you the security and anonimity that Tor gives but your browsing speed is much faster (we can't always get the best of both worlds :lol:).

What can you do with UltraVPN?

- watch american streaming websites like hulu.com or favorite-tvshows.com

- access blocked websites from within a corporate environmement

- connect or log in into MSN if it's blocked

- use VoIP software like Skype if it's blocked

- protect your email and browsing privacy

[majithia23]

@general lee

my bad.

its http://www.torproject.org/

read around and u shall learn .

@nivrid05

ultravpn gives good speed .

but it doesnt hide my ip . from where i access the internet .

with ultravpn running , if i run an anonymity test , the test reports my location .

i tried itshidden vpn servers .

it succeeded the anonymous test .

for now its Tor.

and did you try using vpn with Tor ?

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

I used UltraVPN before, the problem is that sometimes it won't connect to https, YM etc., and I also have issue with it giving me just French IP, I managed to set it up to show US IP but only one uS IP is available, so it is as good as not using any.

I have not used Ultrvpn with Tor, so I dunno if it would even work :dunno: I'm happy with Tor also, unless something better comes out. :hehe:

[General Lee]

@General Lee

I only have about 3.6MB/s HSDPA connection but like majithia23 the decrease in my browsing speed is somewhat acceptable. If you want to try VPN, you should probably try UltraVPN, it's a free VPN service but it won't give you the security and anonimity that Tor gives but your browsing speed is much faster (we can't always get the best of both worlds :lol:).

What can you do with UltraVPN?

- watch american streaming websites like hulu.com or favorite-tvshows.com

- access blocked websites from within a corporate environmement

- connect or log in into MSN if it's blocked

- use VoIP software like Skype if it's blocked

- protect your email and browsing privacy

I used UltraVPN before, the problem is that sometimes it won't connect to https, YM etc., and I also have issue with it giving me just French IP, I managed to set it up to show US IP but only one uS IP is available, so it is as good as not using any.

I have not used Ultrvpn with Tor, so I dunno if it would even work :dunno: I'm happy with Tor also, unless something better comes out. :hehe:

I tried it this morning. I was already have issues with the McAfee security (mentioned in this thread: Security Suite/Programs Update Time?) and because of thatt my computer keeps getting stuck. So, after installing UltraVPN and having these McAfee issues; my computer was stuck for 4 hours! :pos: Then, later on, I finally got a chance to test it. :s The same thing you mentioned in your last post, was happening to me also. I was given a French IP and most of the time; any website I tried to load/refresh didn't work (including nsanedown/nsaneforums :rant: ). The only exception being the program's own site. <_< I tried both connections - regular client and stealthy. Even after I disconnected, my browser wouldn't load the pages. So, I finally uninstalled it and everything is working now (except for the seperate McAfee issue, lol). I guess I'll try Tor again and mess around with the settings this time. :think:

@majithia23

Noted. :)

[HX1]

You know .. yu should at least go ahead and uninstall/get rid of McAfee.. and install a trial for ESET or Norton.. I would be screaming to get rid of it.. You may also want to do a health check on your drive.. sometimes when they start to go bad they give this kind of problem.. I have never really heard anyone talking about McAfee freezing for four hours.. and ANYTHING would be better that that IF it truly is whats to blame..

[majithia23]

+1 heath28m.

dump mcafee.

ultravpn doesnt affect browsing .

i hv used it .

i would also recommend a hijackthis log .

post its result in the forum .

plenty of experienced members here , who can have a look at the log .

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

Yeah, all your problems might be due to Mcafee .... dump it for good :lol: