Friday, August 7, 2015

New web browser privacy add-on

Privacy Badger is an add-on for the Firefox and Chrome browsers that will thwart a lot of online tracking that marketroids do:
EFF is excited to announce that today we are releasing version 1.0 of Privacy Badger for Chrome and Firefox.  Privacy Badger is a browser extension that automatically blocks hidden trackers that would otherwise spy on your browsing habits as you surf the Web.

...

As you browse the Web, Privacy Badger looks at any third party domains that are loaded on a given site and determines whether or not they appear to be tracking you (e.g. by setting cookies that could be used for tracking, or fingerprinting your browser). If the same third party domain appears to be tracking you on three or more different websites, Privacy Badger will conclude that the third party domain is a tracker and block future connections to it.

For certain websites, if Privacy Badger were to block an embedded domain entirely it would break the site's core functionality. For example, if Privacy Badger were to block 'licensebuttons.net,' Creative Commons buttons would no longer load. In these cases Privacy Badger blocks the domain from setting or receiving any cookies or 'referer' headers, but allows the embedded content to load.
Pretty neat.  I like the Electronic Frontier Foundation guys.  Recommended.

7 comments:

  1. drjimAugust 7, 2015 at 3:13 PM

    Boy, all the blogger sites sure like to load you up on stuff!

    Haven't tried other sites yet....

    ReplyDelete
  2. BobAugust 7, 2015 at 7:06 PM

    Thanks, I'll give it a try!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 8, 2015 at 5:31 AM

    I've been running NoScript for a few years and it's been an eye opener. It's amazing just how many scripts some sites try to load. Don't Track Me has been pretty good but I'm always looking for better prtection. Thanks for the tip.

    ReplyDelete
  4. PhilAugust 8, 2015 at 3:43 PM

    I have been using this Badger thingy for a couple of weeks now and it will amaze you just how many tracking cookies you amass during just one browsing session. I HIGHLY recommend it. You will have to adjust some of the settings but it's pretty easy to figure out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. c-90August 8, 2015 at 4:50 PM

    Hurrah! Makes Firefox load faster with multiple tabs ( like in the range of 17 or more).

    ReplyDelete
  6. michigan dougAugust 8, 2015 at 9:32 PM

    6 trackers on your site compared to Irish having 68 to 123. Don't know why it varies.

    ReplyDelete
  7. NotClauswitzAugust 9, 2015 at 12:43 PM

    Thanks for that!! Even works on/with Pale Moon.

    ReplyDelete

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