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Post by Pete on Nov 6, 2017 12:30:33 GMT
I find this development very interesting 'cause I'm a strong advocate of Internet privacy & use several methods to keep website providers from tracking my behavior; Firefox deletes all cookies upon closing, Better Privacy deletes all flash cookies on Firefox closing & Privacy Badger blocks tracking cookies for me. And I've considered using TOR as my browser. Anyway, here's what I find so interesting: A newer method of tracking does not use cookies at all. With a combination of a machine's unique configuration and a modern browser's HTML5 image rendering capabilities, advertisers can build and track user profiles without leaving identifiers that can be deleted.
This technique is called "canvas fingerprinting" and although it's definitely a clever method of tracking users across devices, it raises serious privacy concerns, as well.
To alleviate some of these concerns, the Mozilla Foundation aims to improve this popular browser's privacy by giving users an option to block canvas fingerprinting altogether.Article Here |
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Post by david on Nov 6, 2017 16:50:28 GMT
Well I hope this forum will let Firefox in. If I am not mistaken, This forum will not let Tor browsers in here.
I could be wrong. I will check with my Tor browser.
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Post by Hank on Nov 6, 2017 17:20:25 GMT
More is better yes?
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Post by Pete on Nov 6, 2017 19:28:00 GMT
David, you're likely right. The last news from Proboards regarding TOR I could find was in 2015 & it was said that due to past abuse that the TOR browser was blocked from these boards.
But note in the article above: the TOR-like feature Firefox is going to offer is an option. Which I take to mean that one can choose where & when to use it. Like any other Firefox add-on, I imagine.
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Post by Pete on Nov 6, 2017 19:54:50 GMT
My hunch was correct. Here's an excerpt from an article about it: Mozilla is testing a new feature in the upcoming version of its Firefox web browser that will grant users the ability to block canvas fingerprinting.
The browser will now explicitly ask user permission if any website or service attempts to use HTML5 Canvas Image Data in Firefox, according to a discussion on the Firefox bug tracking forum.
The permission prompt that Firefox displays reads:
"Will you allow [site] to use your HTML5 canvas image data? This may be used to uniquely identify your computer."
Once you get this message, it's up to you whether you want to allow access to canvas fingerprinting or just block it.Article Here |
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Post by david on Nov 6, 2017 20:28:42 GMT
This is what I get when I come here from my Tor browser
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Post by david on Nov 6, 2017 20:43:15 GMT
On the Front page of the Tor browser it says Mozilla will match any donation you make to the Tor project.
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Post by Pete on Nov 7, 2017 0:34:07 GMT
David, so it appears that this site isn't actually blocking you but rather the country of origin in which the server resides that's rerouting your path to here & disguising your IP number.
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Post by Pete on Nov 7, 2017 0:40:08 GMT
What I find puzzling is why Firefox is going to incorporate a canvas fingerprinting blocker into its browser by default when there are already two such tools available as add-ons that accomplish the same purpose. This add-on allows users to prevent websites from using the Javascript <canvas> API to fingerprint them. Users can choose to block the <canvas> API entirely on some or all websites (which may break some websites) or just block or fake its fingerprinting-friendly readout API.Canvas BlockerInstead of completely blocking canvas fingerprinting, Canvas Defender add-on creates a unique and persistent noise that hides your real canvas fingerprint. This add-on protects you while browsing both in normal and private mode.Canvas Defender |
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Post by Pete on Nov 7, 2017 0:46:53 GMT
Now tomorrow when I've got plenty of free time on my day off I'm going to try out one or both of the Firefox add-ons shown above to see if I can still enter & use this group.
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Post by Pete on Nov 7, 2017 14:31:09 GMT
Well, I've realized that I want to do quite a bit of research on reviews of both methods of Firefox canvas fingerprint blocking before I actually install & test either one of those. I'm leaning toward Canvas Defender but I want to learn more about how it works & how well it works, or doesn't, before I try it.
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