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Today’s Cybersecurity Lesson: Browser Fingerprinting
On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. Or so the saying went until the cyber-spying-industrial-complex invented browser fingerprinting. You may think you’re all incognito, flying under the radar. But the truth is, you’re broadcasting your identity every time you use your computer.
Here are a few things that can be tracked and used to identify you. Yes you, personally:
Your IP address. Your computer has a unique ID that identifies it every time you connect to the web. It’s just like back when you called an operator and said “Give me Pennsylvania 6-5000.” It’s just a lot faster, and it’s more like 128.242.245.116
Your computer setup. You always log in from that same laptop, with that same screen resolution and other hardware details-CPU, GPU, touchscreen, etc.-your language preferences, those specific plugins you installed.
Your geolocation-latitude and longitude
The font you’re using, and how it renders on your machine
The way audio is processed
Your battery status, including the level of charge and estimated time remaining
Even slight variations in all these details add up to a unique identity. You.
What simple steps can you take to safeguard your privacy?
Choose a browser like Brave or Tor that has some built-in features to limit fingerprinting.
Use a VPN. Virtual Private Networks can help mask your IP address and geolocation.
Toss those cookies. Regularly clearing your browser’s history, cached data, and cookies reduces the amount of data that can be tracked.
Use a protective plugin like uBlock Origin that blocks trackers.
There are even privacy-focused operating systems like Tails and Qubes OS that are designed to enhance privacy and security.
Now most businesses WANT to track you, badly. So a lot of sites will just break if you use a VPN or a blocker to make it harder for websites to gather data. And we have to be honest with you here-these basic anti fingerprinting measures can HELP keep your identity private. But it’s like an arms race, and if someone REALLY wants to identify you, they can and will. But what do we know. We’re just three owls in a trench coat.
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José Juan Francisco Castillo Rivera, KW, M Andrews, Robert Fulbright, Marcos Silveira, Christopher Kemsley, Massimiliano Pala, Eric Eccleston, Jeremy Shimanek, Michael Shebanow, Alvin Khaled, Kevin B, John Krawiec, Umar Khan, MdeG, and Tracy Karin Prell!
Written and Produced by Kimberly Hatch Harrison
Edited by Megi Shuke
#Socratica #Cybersecurity #Browserfingerprinting