How Easily Tracked are you on the Internet? Panopticlick Gives us an Answer…
Panopticlick is a new website launched that can look at the information given away by your browser. This browser information helps the website know which operating system and browser you are using so that it can deliver the website correctly.
Unfortunately this information can also be used to track you. Even if you block cookies and javascript your browser gives a lot away. For example you may be surfing with Firefox, your time zone may be gmt, you may have 50 system fonts and be running windows 7. This is just some of the data given away, there is much more. This info is used to make a unique fingerprint and websites can tell if you’ve visited before and build a profile on you.
In a nutshell it’s another way for website’s to track users. Why does this matter?
Michael Kassner sums up the Privacy Issues.
I visited Panopticlick with the following browsers and got the following scores (score indicates no. of bits of info given away by browser):
Chrome 18.91
Internet Explorer 18.91
FireFox with Javascript. 18.91
Without Javascript using NoScript Extension for Firefox. 13.32
The EFF recommend that you disable Javascript on a per site basis as NoScript does.
Techrepublic has a nice breakdown of how Noscript effects your identifiable information as detected by Panopticlick. Panopticlick is by the Electronic Frontier Foundation E.F.F. who are a non profit organization that aims to defend “free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights.”
Another website that I have written about before is mentioned by the EFF and that’s Browserspy.dk. Here you can find more information about exactly what info you are showing to the website’s you visit.
How do you defend your privacy? Is it an issue for you? .
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February 2nd, 2010 → 7:41 pm @ Jonny
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