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Friday, 29th January 2010

New Online Tool (Free) From Electronic Frontier Foundation Asks How Unique and Trackable is Your Browser?

From the IDG Article:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has created an on-line tool that details the wealth of information a Web browser reveals, which can pose privacy concerns when used to profile users.

The EFF's Panopticlick tool [nothing to download or install on your computer] takes just a few seconds to pluck out information that a Web browser divulges when visiting a Web site, such as a user's operating system, version numbers for plug-ins, system fonts and even screen size, color and depth.

Taken together, that information is a unique fingerprint for a particular PC, which could be used to repeatedly identify a particular visitor a Web site, the EFF said.

[Snip]

Users are mistaken if they think that merely disabling cookies -- small text files stored in browsers that allow Web sites to recognize repeat visitors among other functions -- will protect their privacy.

Access the Complete Article

See Also: Help EFF Research Web Browser Tracking (via Electronic Frontier Foundation)

See Also: A Primer on Information Theory and Privacy (via Electronic Frontier Foundation)

Sources: IDG News Service, EFF


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