Ublo développe un logiciel de gestion locative visant à simplifier et à automatiser l’ensemble de la gestion du patrimoine par le gestionnaire, ainsi que faciliter les interactions entre le bailleur, le locataire et les prestataires de services

Ublo

ublo

Redesigning Twitter with uBlock Origin

You have to sign up and sign in to with a Google account. Granary.pro The problem was that the popup window requesting access to your Google account was blocked by uBlock Origin when you clicked the “Sign up free with Google” button. In Granary.pro, we used the following declaration in homepage source to use GA, and this part was blocked by uBlock Origin. <script src=” ”></script> /assets/js/google-analytics.js Since google-analytics.js is just a wrapping of the declaration needed to use GA to read the source clearly, (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,’script’,’ ','ga'); https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js ga(‘create’, ‘UA-91234420–1’, ‘auto’); If the above declaration is directly declared in homepage source, it will be fixed the problem that Google’s third party authentication pop-up window is blocked by uBlock Origin. is how hackers start their afternoons. We’re a part of the family. We are now and happy to opportunities. Hacker Noon @AMI accepting submissions discuss advertising & sponsorship To learn more, , , or simply, read our about page like/message us on Facebook tweet/DM @HackerNoon. If you enjoyed this story, we recommend reading our and . Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted! latest tech stories trending tech stories

Fixed a problem where uBlock Origin was blocking Google’s third-party authentication pop-up window

Since the official rollout of Google AI Overview, Google search results have prioritized AI-generated content scraped from various websites and forums, which may contain incorrect, off-topic, or misleading information due to the mixed opinions frequently found on these platforms. Google has also expressed concerns about these issues, stating that content generated for certain queries will undergo a manual review and sensitive topics will be disabled. However, we all know they aren't going away, and moderation could pose another challenge. So, if you’ve had enough AI-generated content and want to revert to the previous web results, continue reading the article to discover various ways to remove the AI Overview from Google search results in the Chrome browser. Method 1: Turn Off Google AI Overview Using Extensions The first and easiest way to disable AI Overview is to use the Chrome extension, which basically finds the HTML div element of the AI Overview region and uses a CSS display tag to hide it from the screen. There are plenty of Chrome extensions that can do the job; here are a few recommended ones. Hide Google AI Overviews: This extension is only designed to remove AI-generated Overviews from search results (my opinion: "easy-to-use", "lightweight"). Bye, Bye Google AI: This extension can do more than the previous one; besides hiding AI-generated Overviews, it can remove sponsored links, shopping blocks, video blocks, discussions, forums, and the "People Also Ask" section (my opinion: "recommended", "easy-to-use", "multiple features"). Ublock Origin: It's basically an adblock extension, but advanced users can use it to create filters for AI Overviews to hide them from the search results (my opinion: "only for advanced users"). I've been using the "Bye, Bye Google AI" extension, and after installation, you can simply click on the extension logo from the toolbar and select "Options", which will redirect you to the following screen. Here, you just need to select what you want to hide; for example, to hide AI Overviews, simply select the "Hide AI Overviews" option, and then click the "Save" button to apply the changes. That's it! You can now browse the internet without the AI Overviews in your way. Method 2: Turn Off Google AI Overview Using the UDM-14 Search Engine Trick If you have trust issues with Chrome extensions or don't want to use one, don't worry; with this UDM-14 search engine trick, you can easily ignore the AI Overviews from the search results. To begin, open the "Chrome" browser, click the three dots in the top right corner to open the "menu", select "Settings" (likely located towards the end), then navigate to "Search engine" in the left pane, and click "Manage search engines and site search." You can access the specified section directly by entering "chrome://settings/searchEngines" in the URL box. Find the "Site Search" section, and then click on the "Add" button next to it, which will open the following prompt where you need to enter "No Google AI Overview" in the Name field, "https://www.google.com/" in the Shortcut field, and "{google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s" in the URL box, then click "Add." Click the three dots beside the newly created entry, and choose "Make default." That’s it! You can now enter your query in the Chrome URL box to get web results without an AI Overview, People Also Ask, etc. However, one issue with this method is that if you search your query directly on the Google.com page, it may still show AI Overviews. So, to achieve a permanent solution, follow the next method, which basically disables the AI Overview for your Google account. Method 3: Turn Off Google AI Overview for Your Account Before we continue, let me clarify that this method will only be effective if you are using the Chrome browser and signed in with your own Google account, as we will disable the AI Overview for our Google account in this process. Currently, you have the option to turn off AI Overviews, but it may (or may not) be removed in the future. Despite this, some users still report seeing AI Overviews in search results, but you can still give it a try, as it worked flawlessly for me. To start, open the "Chrome" browser, and ensure you're signed in with your Google account. Then, navigate to this Google Labs page, and disable the "Turn this experiment on or off" option. You're all set! Take a moment, and try searching queries on Google without encountering the AI Overview. If it persists, or the above option disappears, Google may have removed it. The only remaining methods to disable AI Overview in search results are those mentioned earlier. Bonus Tip! Turn Off Google AI Overview on Mobile Turning off the AI Overview in the Chrome browser on mobile devices can be quite tricky, as aside from the third method mentioned in this article (which is also uncertain to work in the future), neither of the other two methods will work. So, you can either manually switch to the Web each time you perform a search or opt for different search engines like DuckDuckGo, Yahoo!, Bing, or Yandex. However, some of these search engines are starting to roll out AI-powered features, and others may soon join the competition. The best way to get rid of AI Overview from search results on mobile is by using the trick from tenbluelinks; it’s straightforward. Just open “Chrome” browser on your mobile, visit tenbluelinks.org, let the page load, and then, without closing it, open another tab and search for anything. Step 1 Step 2 Next, tap the three dots in the top right corner to open the "menu", select "Settings", then choose "Google Web" under the "Recently visited" section in the "Search engine" settings. Step 3 Step 4 That’s it! Now, every time you search for a query in the Chrome URL box, it will display the search results on the Web. However, if someone searches the query on Google.com, an AI Overview will again appear. Wrap Up Turning off the AI Overview in the Chrome browser is a challenging task, and the method may stop working over time, except for the extension if the developer insists on keeping it regularly updated. If you are a regular user who simply wants the AI Overview to disappear, you can try the method mentioned in this article. If it doesn’t work, let us know, or alternatively, you can opt for alternative browsers like Brave, Firefox, DuckDuckGo, etc. Since the official rollout of Google AI Overview , Google search results have prioritized AI-generated content scraped from various websites and forums, which may contain incorrect, off-topic, or misleading information due to the mixed opinions frequently found on these platforms. Google AI Overview Google has also expressed concerns about these issues, stating that content generated for certain queries will undergo a manual review and sensitive topics will be disabled. However, we all know they aren't going away, and moderation could pose another challenge. So, if you’ve had enough AI-generated content and want to revert to the previous web results, continue reading the article to discover various ways to remove the AI Overview from Google search results in the Chrome browser. AI-generated content Method 1: Turn Off Google AI Overview Using Extensions The first and easiest way to disable AI Overview is to use the Chrome extension, which basically finds the HTML div element of the AI Overview region and uses a CSS display tag to hide it from the screen. HTML div element CSS display tag There are plenty of Chrome extensions that can do the job; here are a few recommended ones. Hide Google AI Overviews: This extension is only designed to remove AI-generated Overviews from search results (my opinion: "easy-to-use", "lightweight"). Hide Google AI Overviews : This extension is only designed to remove AI-generated Overviews from search results (my opinion: " easy-to-use ", " lightweight "). Hide Google AI Overviews easy-to-use lightweight Bye, Bye Google AI: This extension can do more than the previous one; besides hiding AI-generated Overviews, it can remove sponsored links, shopping blocks, video blocks, discussions, forums, and the "People Also Ask" section (my opinion: "recommended", "easy-to-use", "multiple features"). Bye, Bye Google AI : This extension can do more than the previous one; besides hiding AI-generated Overviews, it can remove sponsored links, shopping blocks, video blocks, discussions, forums, and the "People Also Ask" section (my opinion: " recommended ", " easy-to-use ", " multiple features "). Bye, Bye Google AI recommended easy-to-use multiple features Ublock Origin: It's basically an adblock extension, but advanced users can use it to create filters for AI Overviews to hide them from the search results (my opinion: "only for advanced users"). Ublock Origin : It's basically an adblock extension, but advanced users can use it to create filters for AI Overviews to hide them from the search results (my opinion: " only for advanced users "). Ublock Origin only for advanced users I've been using the " Bye, Bye Google AI " extension, and after installation, you can simply click on the extension logo from the toolbar and select " Options ", which will redirect you to the following screen. Bye, Bye Google AI Options Here, you just need to select what you want to hide; for example, to hide AI Overviews, simply select the " Hide AI Overviews " option, and then click the " Save " button to apply the changes. Hide AI Overviews Save That's it! You can now browse the internet without the AI Overviews in your way. Method 2: Turn Off Google AI Overview Using the UDM-14 Search Engine Trick If you have trust issues with Chrome extensions or don't want to use one, don't worry; with this UDM-14 search engine trick, you can easily ignore the AI Overviews from the search results. To begin, open the " Chrome " browser, click the three dots in the top right corner to open the " menu ", select " Settings " (likely located towards the end), then navigate to " Search engine " in the left pane, and click " Manage search engines and site search. " Chrome menu Settings Search engine Manage search engines and site search. You can access the specified section directly by entering "chrome://settings/searchEngines" in the URL box. You can access the specified section directly by entering " chrome://settings/searchEngines " in the URL box. chrome://settings/searchEngines Find the " Site Search " section, and then click on the " Add " button next to it, which will open the following prompt where you need to enter " No Google AI Overview " in the Name field, " https://www.google.com/ " in the Shortcut field, and " {google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s " in the URL box, then click " Add. " Site Search Add No Google AI Overview Name https://www.google.com/ Shortcut {google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s URL Add. Click the three dots beside the newly created entry, and choose " Make default. " Make default. That’s it! You can now enter your query in the Chrome URL box to get web results without an AI Overview, People Also Ask, etc. However, one issue with this method is that if you search your query directly on the Google.com page, it may still show AI Overviews. So, to achieve a permanent solution, follow the next method, which basically disables the AI Overview for your Google account. Method 3: Turn Off Google AI Overview for Your Account Before we continue, let me clarify that this method will only be effective if you are using the Chrome browser and signed in with your own Google account, as we will disable the AI Overview for our Google account in this process. Currently, you have the option to turn off AI Overviews, but it may (or may not) be removed in the future. Despite this, some users still report seeing AI Overviews in search results, but you can still give it a try, as it worked flawlessly for me. To start, open the " Chrome " browser, and ensure you're signed in with your Google account. Then, navigate to this Google Labs page , and disable the " Turn this experiment on or off " option. Chrome Google Labs page Turn this experiment on or off You're all set! Take a moment, and try searching queries on Google without encountering the AI Overview. If it persists, or the above option disappears, Google may have removed it. The only remaining methods to disable AI Overview in search results are those mentioned earlier. Bonus Tip! Turn Off Google AI Overview on Mobile Turning off the AI Overview in the Chrome browser on mobile devices can be quite tricky, as aside from the third method mentioned in this article (which is also uncertain to work in the future), neither of the other two methods will work. So, you can either manually switch to the Web each time you perform a search or opt for different search engines like DuckDuckGo, Yahoo!, Bing, or Yandex. However, some of these search engines are starting to roll out AI-powered features, and others may soon join the competition. Web The best way to get rid of AI Overview from search results on mobile is by using the trick from tenbluelinks; it’s straightforward. Just open “ Chrome ” browser on your mobile, visit tenbluelinks.org , let the page load, and then, without closing it, open another tab and search for anything. Chrome tenbluelinks.org Step 1 Step 1 Step 2 Step 2 Next, tap the three dots in the top right corner to open the " menu ", select " Settings ", then choose " Google Web " under the " Recently visited " section in the " Search engine " settings. menu Settings Google Web Recently visited Search engine Step 3 Step 3 Step 4 Step 4 That’s it! Now, every time you search for a query in the Chrome URL box, it will display the search results on the Web . However, if someone searches the query on Google.com, an AI Overview will again appear. Web Wrap Up Turning off the AI Overview in the Chrome browser is a challenging task, and the method may stop working over time, except for the extension if the developer insists on keeping it regularly updated. If you are a regular user who simply wants the AI Overview to disappear, you can try the method mentioned in this article. If it doesn’t work, let us know, or alternatively, you can opt for alternative browsers like Brave , Firefox , DuckDuckGo , etc. Brave Firefox DuckDuckGo

Turn Off Google AI Overview From Search Results in Chrome

This paper is available on arxiv under CC0 1.0 DEED license. Authors: (1) Salim Chouaki, LIX, CNRS, Inria, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris; (2) Oana Goga, LIX, CNRS, Inria, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris; (3) Hamed Haddadi, Imperial College London, Brave Software; (4) Peter Snyder, Brave Software. Table of Links Abstract and Introduction Background Measurement Methodology Results Limitations Related Work Conclusion, Acknowledgments, and References Appendix 3 MEASUREMENT METHODOLOGY We develop a measurement methodology to capture network flows when clicking on an ad from a search engine results page. Using multiple crawlers, we simulate a large number of search engine queries in order to collect a sample of information flows per search engine. For each request, we collect the cookies created, the locally stored values, and the web request sent by the browser. In addition, we rely on several open-source datasets to detect web requests to online trackers. We consider five main search engines: Google[1], Bing[2], DuckDuckGo[3], StartPage[4], and Qwant[5]. We use Google and Bing as baselines to compare with the other three, which claim to have higher privacy standards and protective measures in place. 3.1 Crawling system Each crawling iteration begins at a search engine’s main page, where our system will type a query and access the search engine results page. Next, it chooses one of the displayed ads to click on to access its destination website. Then, the navigation path passes through zero or more redirectors before landing on the ad’s destination website. The redirectors are invisible to the user but can be identified through an analysis of network requests initiated by the browser. Each of these redirectors can read the query parameters added by the search engine or other intermediaries and store them locally or send them to other third parties. The system records all first-party and third-party cookies, local storage values, and web requests at each step. We run each iteration in a new browser instance to ensure no stale data is cached from previous iterations. Depending on the search engine, ads are either part of the main page or are loaded through an iframe. We use scrapping techniques to detect them and rely on several HTML elements’ attributes. For instance, all ads on StartPage are inside an HTML element titled "Sponsored Links". Moreover, we use hyperlink values to detect Google ads since they all link to "www.googleadservices.com/*". Our system prioritizes ads with landing domains it has not visited yet, aiming to maximize the number of different destination websites. Each time a crawler clicks on an ad, our system adds the domain of its landing URL to the list of visited websites. In the subsequent iterations, the crawler first extracts the landing domains of all the displayed ads. The landing domains are included within the HTML objects of the advertisements on all search engines. The crawler then gives preference to click on ads leading to domains that have not been encountered in the list of visited websites. We reproduced these steps for 500 search queries on the five search engines. We randomly choose them from Google Trends [21] and movie titles from MovieLens [6]. All iterations were performed in "accept" cookies mode. Table 1 represents the number of different search queries we typed, the number of different destination pages we landed on, and the number of different domain paths we collected for each search engine. We implemented our system using Puppeteer [7] to automate visiting search engines’ websites, typing search queries, detecting and clicking on one of the displayed ads, and waiting for 15 seconds on the ad’s destination website. We reproduce these steps multiple times from the same IP address for each search engine. To reduce the chance of being identified as bots, we use puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth [8]. This plugin applies various techniques to make the detection of headless Puppeteer crawlers by websites harder. Puppeteer allows us to record cookies and local storage for each request. However, it does not guarantee that it can attach request handlers to a web page before it sends any requests [33]. Hence, detecting and collecting web requests only using Puppeteer might cause losing some of them. We use a Chrome extension alongside Puppeteer crawlers to record web requests during all the crawling time. We do not observe a significant difference between web requests recorded by crawlers and web requests recorded by the extension. In median, the crawlers recorded 97% of the requests recorded by the extension. The code of the crawling system and the dataset are available at https://github.com/CHOUAKIsalim/Search_Engines_Privacy. 3.2 Detection techniques We use URL filtering to detect web requests to online trackers. We use filter rules from two open-source lists: EasyList [4] and EasyPrivacy [5]. EasyList is the most popular list to detect and remove adverts from webpages and forms the basis of many combination and supplementary filter lists [19]. EasyPrivacy is a supplementary filter list that detects and removes all forms of tracking from the internet, including tracking scripts and information collectors [19]. These filter lists are used by extensions that aim to remove unwanted content from the internet, like AdBlock and uBlock. We combined and parsed these lists using adblock-rs [1] and obtained 86 488 filtering rules. Detection of trackers: In addition, we use the Disconnect Entity List [2] to get the entities of online tracker domains. It is a dictionary where keys represent entities such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, and values represent the web domains that belong to each entity. Hence, to get the entity of a tracker, we iterate over all values and search to what entity is the tracker domain associated with. This list contains 1 449 entities and 3 371 related web domains. We classify an instance as bounce tracking when an advertisement’s destination link is altered to pass through one or more redirectors. To construct the redirection sequence, we trace the series of URLs the browser navigates through after clicking an ad and prior to reaching the advertisement’s intended landing page. We further validate the redirection sequence by examining the HTTP response headers, precisely the ’Location’ and ’status code’ headers. These headers divulge the redirection process, as the ’Location’ header contains the new redirection URL, and status codes such as ’301 Moved Permanently,’ ’302 Found,’ ’307 Temporary Redirect,’ and ’308 Permanent Redirect’ indicate the occurrence of redirection [17]. Detection of bounce tracking: To detect UID smuggling, we need to differentiate between query parameters that represent user identifiers and non-tracking Detection of UID smuggling and user identifiers: query parameters such as session identifiers, dates, and timestamps. We consider all query parameters, localStorage, and cookie values. We call them tokens. There are 6 971 unique tokens in our dataset. We perform the following filtering, which is similar to the one performed by Randall et al. [33]: (i) Each iteration is executed in a new browser instance; hence, user identifiers should not be shared across browser instances. We discard tokens that are the same across all or a subset of browser instances. (ii) For each browser instance and search query, we analyze the tokens resulting from the URLs of all ads that appear on the results page (which are usually in the form of googleadservices.com/..../aclk?..cid=CAESbeD2ZWCwqFv3e2k_....). We discard tokens with different values for the different ad URLs as they likely correspond to ad identifiers. (iii) To detect session identifiers, we store the profile of each iteration in a separate directory and execute an extra iteration per browser instance one day later to see which values of cookies/parameters change. We discard tokens with different values in the two iterations as they are more likely session identifiers. (iv) Similar to [33], we use programmatic heuristics to discard particular values. We discard tokens that appear to be timestamps (values between June and December 2022 in seconds and milliseconds), tokens that appear to be URLs, tokens that constitute one or more English words ([20]), and tokens that are seven characters long or less. After using these filters, we are left with 1 942 tokens. We manually investigated them and observed a non-negligible number of false positives. Hence, we manually filtered the remaining tokens and removed those composed of any combination of natural language words, coordinates, or acronyms. In the end, we are left with 1 258 user-identifying tokens, which we consider to be user identifiers. [1] https://www.google.com/ [2] https://www.bing.com/ [3] https://duckduckgo.com/ [4] https://www.startpage.com [5] https://www.qwant.com/

Understanding the Privacy Risks of Popular Search Engine Advertising Systems:Measurement Methodology

In web development, staying ahead with the best tools is crucial for enhancing productivity, simplifying workflows, and delivering top-notch projects. Especially as this tech progresses at a rapid rate… While there are tons of entertainment, marketing and , there are also tons of great resources for anyone more in tune with the technical side of the web. productivity apps for Google Chrome So I’ve gone through and picked out some of the best Chrome extensions for developers in 2024 and beyond. Some of these you might already know about, some might be new to you. Many of these are either freemium or come with a free trial. So you can start using them and see if it works for you and then upgrade to the premium version later. So let’s check out some of these cool dev tools for Chrome. Marker.io Revolutionizing the way developers handle bug reporting and feedback, Marker.io is a game changer for devs who want to iron out those glitches before it's too late. Gone are the days of disjointed workflows and cumbersome bug-tracking methods. With Marker.io, you can effortlessly capture issues, annotate them for clarity, and directly integrate them into your project management tools. This seamless integration bridges the gap between identifying and solving problems, streamlining the development process, and enhancing team collaboration. BrowserStack BrowserStack is a beacon for ensuring cross-browser and cross-device compatibility, a challenge every web developer faces. By offering a platform for real-time testing, BrowserStack offers access to an extensive range of browsers and devices right there from your desktop. Using BrowserStack ensures your web applications perform flawlessly, delivering a consistent user experience. As a developer, knowing that your projects will stand up to the diverse ways users will interact with your content is crucial to a successful (and glitch free) launch. Save yourself a bunch of headaches here…. If you’re looking for a cool dev tool for Chrome that brings confidence to your launches, you need a this one in the tool kit. Cyber Ghost VPN We all know what a VPN is. But for web developers, a Chrome VPN extension such as CyberGhost is indispensable for secure and anonymous web browsing. A good VPN allows developers to test geo-specific features, access content restricted in certain regions, and ensure the privacy and security of their online activities. A reliable VPN extension in Chrome ensures developers can safely connect to various web services and APIs, simulate different user locations, and protect their internet connection from potential threats. Fake Filler Fake Filler is the ultimate time-saver for developers engaged in repetitive testing activities. This extension intelligently fills out forms with dummy data, allowing you to bypass the tedium of manual entry. It's not just about speed; it's about creating a more realistic testing environment by populating forms with credible, test-ready information. Fake Filler enables developers to focus on what truly matters—perfecting their projects' functionality and user experience. Loom You might have seen Loom used for webinars or sharing course information. But it's also super useful for developers too. In fact, Loom brings a new dimension to sharing and collaboration among development teams and clients. With the ability to create concise, informative video recordings, Loom eliminates misunderstandings and provides a clear visual context to discussions. Whether detailing a bug or walking through a feature, using Loom enhances communication, making remote collaboration more effective and personal. What's more, it also saves you having to jump on yet another meeting that could have been an email (or in this case, a Loom). LT Debug LT Debug transforms your browser into a powerful debugging workstation. With features like modifying HTTP headers and simulating network conditions, LT Debug equips developers with the tools to uncover and address issues directly from the browser. This is great for gaining insights into how web applications behave under various conditions. And of course, this testing ensures robustness and reliability in the face of real-world challenges. Something that you know that app will need to be ready for… Web Developer Checklist Ths tool from Toptal is like having a vigilant mentor that ensures no critical aspect of web development is overlooked. From SEO to mobile responsiveness, this extension scrutinizes your web pages against best practices, highlighting areas for improvement. Web Developer Checklist is invaluable for maintaining high standards and ensuring your projects are complete and polished. And plus, when you’re juggling 85 things at the same time, it’s a really useful way to make sure nothing slips through the gaps. Wappalyzer Wappalyzer is your insight tool into the building blocks of any website. Wappalyzer offers a peek behind the curtain by identifying the technologies used, revealing the CMS, server software, and JavaScript libraries powering sites. This knowledge satisfies curiosity and serves as a learning tool and a competitive intelligence resource, helping you stay abreast of industry trends and choices. ModHeader Another super handy debugging tool, ModHeader offers some great flexibility in testing and debugging web applications. By allowing you to modify request and response headers, ModHeader enables you to mimic various states and scenarios without the need to alter backend code. It's a tool that is designed to improve experimentation and innovation, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in web development. Requestly One more for the debug set. Requestly is a Swiss Army knife for modifying network requests and responses, empowering developers to test, debug, and optimize web applications efficiently. Whether redirecting URLs, mocking APIs, or streamlining front-end development processes, Requestly provides a comprehensive set of features that cater to a wide range of development needs. This one is great for controlling the web environment, enabling developers to tailor their work to their testing requirements. WAVE WAVE goes beyond mere compliance, advocating for a web accessible to all. By evaluating web content for accessibility issues, WAVE helps developers meet legal requirements. It embraces a more inclusive approach to web design. It's a tool that champions universal access, ensuring that web projects are usable by everyone, including those with disabilities. Lighthouse A really useful open source tool, Lighthouse is like a beacon guiding developers toward excellence in web performance, accessibility, and SEO. By providing comprehensive audits and actionable feedback, Lighthouse helps developers optimize their sites, ensuring they are fast, accessible, and search engine friendly. An essential tool for modern web development, where performance and user experience are paramount. JSONView JSONView brings clarity to the often murky waters of JSON data. Using JSONView makes it easy to inspect, debug, and understand API responses by formatting and highlighting JSON directly in the browser. As most devs know, getting a clear view of your work as you go can really help to smooth out the process later on. A great tool for turning raw data into insight, facilitating a smoother development process when working with web services. Clear Session Too many settings and cookies making things more complex than you need? Clear Session is your digital reset button, offering a quick way to clear browsing data for a fresh start. Whether it's testing user flows from scratch or ensuring that cached data doesn't interfere with development work, Clear Session provides a one-click solution to common challenges faced by developers. When it comes to maintaining a clean slate, where each test is as reliable and accurate as the first, this is a super useful dev Chrome extension. VisBug Ever wished you could just click and fix things right there in the browser? Well, thats what VisBug is for! VisBug empowers developers to fine-tune web designs directly in the browser. It's like having a set of design superpowers, allowing you to adjust layouts, experiment with colors, and tweak typography on the fly. This great Chrome extension for developers bridges the gap between design and development, facilitating real-time collaboration and iterative design improvements. Grepper Hunting for code snippets doesn’t need to be time consuming or tedious. Grepper is your shortcut to coding solutions, integrating seamlessly with search results to provide immediate access to a wealth of code snippets and programming wisdom. It accelerates the problem-solving process, offering developers a quick way to find answers and learn from the collective knowledge of the programming community. uBlock Origin Do you love ads? Yeah who does, right…? uBlock Origin is more than an ad blocker. It's a guardian of the developer's online environment. By eliminating distractions and potential malware threats, uBlock Origin ensures a safer and more focused browsing experience, allowing developers to concentrate on their work without interruption. Vimium With the headline ‘The Hackers Browser’, Vimium brings the efficiency of Vim keyboard shortcuts to the web browser, enhancing productivity for developers accustomed to the speed and precision of Vim. Super handy dev extension for minimizing reliance on the mouse, streamlining navigation, and making web browsing a more keyboard-centric experience. OctoTree OctoTree enhances the GitHub experience, providing an organized, tree-like view of repositories. This makes code exploration and review more intuitive and efficient, especially in large projects. OctoTree is the tool that makes GitHub navigation a breeze, saving time and enhancing code comprehension. Dark Reader Do you enjoy the visual strain of long coding sessions? Well, if you don’t, you’re in luck.  With its dark mode for every website, Dark Reader creates a comfortable development environment, reducing eye strain, and making the web a more visually appealing place for those who prefer darker aesthetics. And as it reduces the strain on the eyes and makes those migraines a little less inevitable, this is definitely an essential Chrome extension for any software developer or coder spending hours looking at their screen. LanguageTool We can’t all be proofreaders as well as devs. So LanguageTool ensures that your web content is technically sound and linguistically polished. By checking grammar and style in real-time, LanguageTool helps developers present their projects in the best possible linguistic light, enhancing readability and professionalism. Save yourself the embarrassment of spotting an obvious error later and download LanguageTool. So there you have it, my pick of the best Chrome extensions for in 2024 (so far). I think there’s something for everybody in here, so enjoy! web developers

20 Chrome Extensions for Web Developers 2024

Overview Digital fingerprinting is a technique used to identify users across different websites based on their unique device and browser characteristics. These characteristics - fingerprint parameters, can include various software, hardware (CPU, RAM, GPU, media devices - cameras, mics, speakers), location, time zone, IP, screen size/resolution, browser/OS languages, network, internet provider-related and other attributes. The combination of these parameters creates a unique identifier - fingerprint, that can be used to track a user's online activity. Fingerprints play a crucial role in online security, enabling services to identify and authenticate unique users. They also make it possible for users to trick such systems to stay anonymous online. However, if you can manipulate your fingerprints, you can run tens or hundreds or more different accounts to pretend that they are unique, authentic users. While this may sound cool, it has serious implications as it can make it possible to create an army of bots that can spread spam and fakes all over the internet, potentially resulting in fraudulent actions. Note: Obviously, I won’t discuss here how you can do "bad" things; you must always be careful, stay away from the “dark side,” and avoid committing illegal actions. This article is about the technology behind this, so use the information wisely. This is the first (and maybe not the last) article in this domain, so it will be more like an overview. The content offers an intro to the topic. There are dozens of tools and ways to detect, collect, and spoof fingerprints, and there are many different parameters and technologies that can reveal or hide your real identity or the fact that you're spoofing fingerprints (meaning you're not an authentic user). Parameters in Digital Fingerprints Let's consider some of them, some examples of obvious, simple, or well-known params, some that are rarer, less-know, and difficult to spoof. this string provides information about the user's browser, operating system, and device. User-Agent: it reveals the user's network and geo-location. Services use IP addresses for security and to prevent malicious activities. If you use one account from different IPs or many different accounts from the same IP, some services may view this activity (in combination with other params) as suspicious and use some level of bot protection against you. This can also be triggered if you use IPs that are already used or in some kind of banned list (proxies). IP: Information about installed plugins and extensions can be used to create a unique fingerprint - it helps in identifying users based on their browser's additional functionalities. Browser Plugins and Extensions: different users often have different display characteristics. Screen Resolution and Color Depth: they are important factors in fingerprinting - if you have random values, e.g., Japan timezone Norwegian language this is a bit unusual. Timezone and Language Settings: it involves rendering hidden graphics in the user's browser to gather information about the graphics hardware. Quite a tricky one because if you spoof your hardware info, then you can’t have the proper canvas value - you can’t render it on your different real hardware. Canvas: it exploits the unique capabilities and limitations of the user's graphics hardware in rendering 3D graphics - additional information about the user's device. WebGL Fingerprinting: the list of fonts installed on a user's system can be used as a fingerprinting parameter. This information is accessible through JavaScript. The list of fonts has to be realistic - so e.g. you can’t have Win fonts on macOS or you can’t have just 1 or 2 fonts, this is a very suspicious indicator. Fonts: it allows websites to determine the device's battery level and charging status, the combination of battery attributes can be used for fingerprinting. Battery status API: websites can use the web audio API to generate unique audio fingerprints by analyzing the audio processing characteristics of the device. Audio Fingerprinting: This information includes details about the software and hardware components of the device, such as the graphics card, network adapter, and operating system. This adds to the uniqueness of the fingerprint. Hardware Concurrency: This information includes details about the network connection, such as the IP address, ISP, and DNS server. Network Information: some users may use some software that listens to specific ports which also might be useful for some specific cases. Open and used ports: Navigating the Web incognito Digital fingerprint manipulation is a difficult task that demands a proactive approach to avoid detection. The are lots of strategies and tools to hide your identity (fingerprints) or pretend that you are someone else. Use privacy-focused browsers Opting for privacy-focused browsers, such as Brave, Ghostery, Tor, Octo Browser, or Vivaldi with enhanced privacy settings, provides a fundamental defense against common fingerprinting techniques. These browsers prioritize user privacy and incorporate features designed to hide your real fingerprints, making it harder to track your activities. For example, the Tor Browser, grounded in principles of anonymity, routes internet traffic through the Tor network. This strategic routing obscures the user's identity by bouncing connections through a series of volunteer-operated servers, enhancing overall online anonymity. Browser Extensions Privacy-centric browser extensions, including AdBlock, uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, or CanvasBlocker, could be active defenses against tracking scripts, cookies, and fingerprinting attempts. These tools operate in the background, protecting and preserving user anonymity. VPN and Proxies The use of VPNs or proxy services adds an additional layer of protection by masking the user's real IPs (location, timezone, language, etc) and encrypting internet traffic. This is not only used to change your fingerprints but also to provide a more anonymous online presence and a higher security level. Motivations behind fingerprint spoofing Understanding the Whys Individuals concerned about personal privacy and the growing digital surveillance often spoof fingerprints to shield themselves from relentless online tracking. Privacy: Spoofing fingerprints prove useful for circumventing geo-restrictions, allowing users to access content restricted to specific regions. VPN and proxy services play a crucial role here by not only hiding the user's identity but also providing access to servers in different geographic locations. Geo-restriction: Avoiding targeted advertising and online profiling serves as a compelling motive for individuals to manipulate their digital fingerprints. Some tools can block 3rd-party tracking scripts and cookies, disrupting the profiling process. Ads: Web scraping, multi-accounting, e-commerce, bounty&airdrop, bonus-hunting, social networks bots, and affiliate marketing are often sources of income or bases for medium businesses. Digital agencies, individuals, and influencers engaged in these activities may require fingerprint spoofing to navigate through complicated bot detection systems. Avoiding detection becomes vital for some services, ensuring that legitimate activities are not mistakenly flagged or restricted (though quite often, such activities and accounts are not really legit but pretend to be so). Some of the most popular tools are Multilogin, X-Browser, Octo Browser, AdsPower, Incogniton, Scrapy, Surfsky, Web Scraper.io, ScrappingBee, etc. Strategic needs in the digital arena, bot detection, and protection systems: Collecting Users' Fingerprints Websites use JS (obviously) to harvest details about users to construct comprehensive digital portraits. This involves probing screen resolution, device orientation, mouse movements, keystroke dynamics, etc. Sophisticated fingerprinting scripts enumerate a wide range of browser and hardware attributes. JavaScript: Persistent cookies and data stored in local storage work to track users across sessions and platforms. Techniques include leveraging browser cookies and storing unique identifiers for user tracking. Depending on your purposes you need to know when you need an "empty" browser with unique fingerprints or when you need to trick a service showing that you have particular cookies and the same fingerprints. Cookies and local storage: The inclusion of 3rd-party scripts for analytics and advertising embeds invisible trackers often used to adjust systems behavior for a specific user based on collected fingerprints. You can use the aforementioned tools and approaches to selectively block or trick such scripts to get the needed behavior. 3rd-party scripts: Understanding Your Online Identity Panopticlick (EFF), Pixelscan, deviceinfo.me, and BrowserLeaks show your browser's fingerprint parameters such as User-Agent, canvas fingerprinting, fonts, etc. These checkers provide insights into the uniqueness and stability of your digital fingerprint across different browsing sessions. Online checkers: they allow users to inspect network requests, cookies, and other fingerprinting parameters, fostering a deeper understanding of their digital imprint and how websites detect bots and unique legit users and collect fingerprints. Examining the Network and Application tabs in browsers provides a real-time view of the data exchanged between the browser, websites, and servers. Browser developer tools: Here are some examples of how you can get some info about users' fingerprints in the browser. GEO: navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function(position) { var userLocation = position.coords; }); Microphone: navigator.mediaDevices.enumerateDevices() .then(function(devices) { var microphones = devices.filter(device => device.kind === 'audioinput'); }); Camera: navigator.mediaDevices.enumerateDevices() .then(function(devices) { var cameras = devices.filter(device => device.kind === 'videoinput'); }); Speakers: navigator.mediaDevices.enumerateDevices() .then(function(devices) { var speakers = devices.filter(device => device.kind === 'audiooutput'); }); Audio: var audioContext = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)(); var oscillator = audioContext.createOscillator(); var analyser = audioContext.createAnalyser(); oscillator.connect(analyser); analyser.connect(audioContext.destination); GPU: var canvas = document.createElement('canvas'); var gl = canvas.getContext('webgl') || canvas.getContext('experimental-webgl'); var renderer = gl.getParameter(gl.RENDERER); console.log(renderer); Fonts: var fonts = []; var fontList = document.fonts.forEach(function(font) { fonts.push(font.family); }); console.log(fonts); Canvas (hashing): var canvas = document.createElement('canvas'); var context = canvas.getContext('2d'); var dataURL = canvas.toDataURL(); var canvasHash = MurmurHash3(dataURL); console.log(canvasHash); RAM and CPU: function getCPUInfo() { return navigator.hardwareConcurrency || 0; } function getDeviceMemory() { return navigator.deviceMemory || 0; } var cpuInfo = getCPUInfo(); var deviceMemory = getDeviceMemory(); console.log(`CPU Cores: ${cpuInfo}`); console.log(`Device Memory (GB): ${deviceMemory}`); Bot Detection Systems: Defending Against Automation A couple of examples of such systems: It is a global leader in bot detection and mitigation. It provides a proactive and precise way to verify that legitimate human users are accessing your website, mobile app, and APIs. Distil Networks uses a combination of techniques to detect bots. It studies a range of variables such as cursor movement, click patterns, and web browsing patterns across other websites. It uses , which checks all visitors against hundreds of different characteristics, focusing on their behavior. Distil Networks defends against web scraping, competitive data mining, account takeovers, transaction fraud, unauthorized vulnerability scans, spam, click fraud, denial of service, and API abuse. It can automatically block 99.9% of malicious traffic without impacting legitimate users. It also offers Distil Bot Defense for Web and API, which protect your website and API servers respectively. Distil Networks: Bot Detection: device fingerprints and Are You a Human technology It actively pulls additional data from the browser to identify devices with precision. When a browser request comes in, Distil interrogates the headers to see if the visitor is lying about their identity. This unique identifier can be used to fully or partially identify individual devices even when cookies cannot be read or stored in the browser, the client IP address is hidden, or one switches to another browser on the same device. It uses machine learning to detect biometric patterns in mouse activity and scrolling, as well as looking at browsers, devices, and other factors for clues. It can detect many simple or medium complexity bots that run JS from a web page. Resource Protection: It's a comprehensive cybersecurity platform that integrates fingerprint-based identification to discern legitimate users from potential threats. Utilizing advanced behavioral analysis and anomaly detection, Imperva builds profiles based on a combination of factors, including IP reputation, user-agent, different fingerprint params, and behavioral characteristics. This allows the system to detect suspicious activities indicative of bot traffic and mitigate potential threats effectively. Imperva: It's a prominent content delivery and cloud service provider that incorporates robust bot detection mechanisms within its security offerings. Leveraging a combination of fingerprint-based detection, behavior analysis, and machine learning, Akamai identifies and mitigates various bots. Akamai's global network allows for real-time threat intelligence, enabling proactive defense against evolving bot tactics. Akamai: It's a widely used content delivery network and security service that employs a multifaceted approach to bot detection. Cloudflare distinguishes between human users and bots by analyzing parameters such as IP reputation, user-agent characteristics, and behavioral patterns. The platform also utilizes threat intelligence and community-driven insights to stay ahead in the battle against emerging bot threats. Cloudflare uses to profile SSL/TLS clients and block potential bot requests. It also uses to apply rules and route traffic based on HTTP request information. is used to identify specific files and prevent data loss. These techniques help in detecting not real users. Cloudflare: JA3 Fingerprinting HTTP Filtering Data Fingerprinting Role of Bot Detection Systems: They play a pivotal role in enhancing bot detection capabilities. With servers strategically positioned around the globe, they can leverage geographical insights and real-time threat intelligence to identify and mitigate bot traffic effectively. The platform's WAF and bot managers contribute to a comprehensive defense against automated "users.” In this ongoing cat-and-mouse game, Bot Detection Systems continue to evolve, leveraging advanced technologies to stay ahead of fingerprint spoofing tech. The collaboration between security providers, businesses, and the wider online community remains crucial in defense against the tactics of automated threats but also, in a way, used against users' privacy, anonymity, and experience online, bringing intrusive ads and sophisticated user tracking tools that are only beneficial for businesses not for users. However, privacy protection, fingerprint hiding and spoofing, and ads and trackers blocking tools are also developing to evade even the most sophisticated user tracking systems. Websites' additional verification steps If a fingerprint appears suspicious, such as frequent changes or unusual combinations of data points, the website may trigger additional verification steps. Suspicious behavior: Websites may present users with captcha challenges to verify their identity. This involves solving puzzles or identifying distorted text, tasks that are difficult to perform for primitive bots. Captcha: Websites may request users to verify their mobile phone numbers to establish a stronger connection between a unique identity and a real-world entity. This can help prevent fraudulent activities. Mobile verification: the idea is the same as with mobile phones, but you need to submit your ID ID verification: Examples: Google doesn't require additional verification for new users with clear, consistent fingerprints. If a user's fingerprint changes frequently or resembles those used by known bots (or just already known for Google), Google may ask for a mobile phone number or ask to deal with a captcha. Financial websites often enforce stricter verification measures due to the sensitive nature of transactions. They may require users to provide additional personal information, verify their identity through secure channels, or pass more complex captcha challenges. Opinion: spoofing is better than hiding Hiding fingerprints can enhance privacy, security, and online anonymity, but spoofing them to appear as a unique, legitimate user offers even greater advantages. By blending in with the crowd and avoiding suspicion from systems that detect anti-detection tools, you can maintain credibility and trust. This approach allows you to enjoy the benefits of being perceived as a unique, legitimate user, minimizing the chance of facing additional protecting measures or obstacles. and, obviously, it helps in preventing leaking of your real data and identity. Also published . here

Intro to Digital Fingerprints: Understanding, Manipulating, and Defending Against Online Tracking

ডিজিটাল ফিঙ্গারপ্রিন্টের ভূমিকা: অনলাইন ট্র্যাকিংয়ের বিরুদ্ধে বোঝা, ম্যানিপুলেট এবং ডিফেন্ডিং

Einführung in digitale Fingerabdrücke: Online-Tracking verstehen, manipulieren und sich dagegen wehren

Introducción a las huellas digitales: comprensión, manipulación y defensa contra el seguimiento en línea

Introduction aux empreintes digitales : comprendre, manipuler et se défendre contre le suivi en ligne

डिजिटल फ़िंगरप्रिंट का परिचय: ऑनलाइन ट्रैकिंग को समझना, हेरफेर करना और उसके विरुद्ध बचाव करना

デジタル指紋の概要: オンライン追跡の理解、操作、および防御

디지털 지문 소개: 온라인 추적에 대한 이해, 조작 및 방어

Introdução às impressões digitais: compreensão, manipulação e defesa contra rastreamento on-line

Введение в цифровые отпечатки пальцев: понимание, манипулирование и защита от онлайн-слежения

Dijital Parmak İzlerine Giriş: Çevrimiçi Takibi Anlamak, Yönetmek ve Savunmak

Giới thiệu về Dấu vân tay kỹ thuật số: Hiểu, thao tác và bảo vệ chống lại việc theo dõi trực tuyến

数字指纹简介：理解、操纵和防御在线跟踪

A Taxonomy of Inclusiveness

অন্তর্ভুক্তির একটি শ্রেণীবিন্যাস

Eine Taxonomie der Inklusivität

Una taxonomía de la inclusión

Une taxonomie de l’inclusivité

समावेशिता का एक वर्गीकरण

包括性の分類法

포괄성의 분류

Uma taxonomia de inclusão

Таксономия инклюзивности

Kapsayıcılığın Taksonomisi

Phân loại tính toàn diện

包容性分类

What is wrong with Google There are a bunch of problems with “Google Search”, and if you google “why Google sucks”, you can get a glimpse of them. Here are some of the issues people are complaining about: Very specific searches do not return the results people hope for Endless ads instead of organic results, even for nuanced queries for no reason Blacklisting sites Lowering the ranking of sites that turn off ads Prioritizing large businesses over smaller ones that involve sensitive topics like immigration, abortion, etc Removing autocomplete results Fraud sites and doorways are ranked higher than original content Lack of privacy Let me break this down and list those of the reported issues that do not bother me. You probably do not need to care about them as well: Endless ads are easy to fix by installing “uBlock Origin”, which removes 99.99% of all ads on the Internet. You can also install Pi-Hole in your home and enjoy ad-free content on all devices, including your smart TV. Lack of privacy is easy to work around by using the private mode in your browser, but it might be inconvenient. Another option is to use a proxy, like StartPage, or even install your own self-hosted proxy, like SearX. Removing autocomplete results that involve certain topics. Just use your brain instead of Google’s suggestions. The rest are problems that you cannot work around and I encountered all of them as well: Specific queries return results to artificially boosted sites, e.g. American sites .gov Censorship, aka blacklisting sites for no legal reason Small sites with original content do not show up in Google results At the same time, big sites with scraped content are at the top Limited number of results without pagination as it used to be Finding search engines better than Google To find the best search engines, I will conduct two types of tests: Test for censorship, aka blacklisting. For this, I will search for “kiwifarms” whose original domain is and the current active one is . I expect to see either both of them or the current one at the top of the search results. The current one should be higher than the old one because it is the active one. kiwifarms.net kiwifarms.st Test for original content from a small site. For this, I will search for my article on this very blog. I will use the article’s header “ ” as a search. I expect my article to show up at the top. How to run Vaultwarden in Podman as a systemd service For both searches, the higher the expected result in the list, the better. Testing conditions Every request was made using a US VPN to make sure that search results were not affected by local laws. In the US, they have the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech that you cannot get elsewhere. Definitely not in Europe, where I’m currently residing. I’ve run the tests in private browsing mode without signing in to avoid any personalization search engines might do on me. This ensures that results are not affected by my browsing history, the cookies I have stored, or my personal preferences. Why Google sucks The results of “Google Search” are so ridiculously wrong that I couldn’t help but write about them separately. Let’s list issues for the “How to run Vaultwarden in Podman as a systemd service” search: The very first result is some Chinese scraped-content site on a subdomain. You can see that the title is different because they scraped a copy of my article from Hackernoon where it has a different title. The next nine results are completely irrelevant to the specific query I ran. The 11th result is a Hackernoon tweet about my post published on Hackernoon. The 19th result is another big scraped-content site in Russian. At least they auto-translated it, so it’s original content to some degree. They also kept a backlink to my blog. There are a total of 28 results, and both my original article and the Hackernoon copy are nowhere to be found. Yes, you got it right—Google ranks Hackernoon so low that it doesn’t even return it to me. Instead, it returns some scraped-content sites. Let’s see how badly Google is censoring the “kiwifarms” search: At the top, I see anything, but not what I’m looking for. WP, Wokepedia, even TikTok. kiwifarms.st is in 44th place. Who will scroll that low? Search engines competing with Google is a search engine created by Brave Browser’s team. They claim that it’s the most complete, independent, and private search engine. Unlike many other search engines, Brave claims to have a fully independent search index. They also claim not to filter, downrank, or censor search results. I will demonstrate that it’s not true. Brave Search is a search engine by Microsoft. They admit to censoring and downranking sites if they violate “Microsoft’s policies or core values.” I could skip it at all, but I decided to still test it for completeness. You will see that they indeed censor and downrank. Bing uses Bing’s search engine under the hood, with all of its downsides. Yahoo is not a search engine per se, but can be used to search by site name. I also wanted to demonstrate that it censors results, which you wouldn’t expect from a service calling itself “archive”. Web Archive is another archiving solution that can also be used to search by site name. Unlike the Web Archive, it does not censor the results. In other words, it behaves accordingly. Archive Today is a decentralized search engine powered by blockchain technology. Anyone can run a Presearch node and be rewarded with PRE crypto tokens. They claim they are community-driven and censorship-resistant, “similar to Wikipedia”. The reference to Wikipedia (recently called Wokepedia) indicates that they either don’t know what they are talking about or intentionally mislead people. Presearch is a search engine that claims to value privacy above all. Its search results are largely sourced from Bing, which has its downsides (downranking and censorship). DuckDuckGo is a metasearch engine “that indexes various other search engines”. It uses the Tor network to enable anonymous search and not track users. No tracking cookies, no logging of IPs, and no other identifying information. Torry is one of the oldest search engines, developed in Russia. It has had its own fully independent index from the very start. Initially, it was only for the Russian language, but it’s been a long time since it covered the whole web. Yandex Test results For the first test, I searched for “kiwifarms” and was expecting to see at the top. kiwifarms.st HERE GOES THE TABLE For the second test, I searched for “How to run Vaultwarden in Podman as a systemd service” and expected to see my post on at the top. atabakoff.com HERE GOES THE TABLE Best search engines 2023 The overall best search engine is . It performed better than any other engine in both tests. It was quite surprising to me because it used to be subpar compared to Google. Yandex The first test showed both kiwifarms.net and kiwifarms.st, respectively, in the first and second positions. The only other one that placed both of them in the same positions is Archive.is, which is not even a search engine. I still included it in the list because one might use it to search by a site name. The rest of the search engines didn’t even list kiwifarms.st on the first page. For the second test, Yandex was the only one that put my post in first place. Both Web Archive and Archive.is are not applicable here. The rest of the engines performed quite well, placing my post in second place. Except for Presearch which put it in 6th place. Google was the worst and didn’t show my site at all. I would not use Bing and all search engines that source from it because it admits to censoring its results. Those that rely on Bing are: Yahoo DuckDuckGo It also makes sense to exclude Brave Search because I demonstrated that they lied about not censoring or downranking results. Presearch seems to be simply not that great at ranking sites. The only option left is Yandex, which showed excellent ranking performance and a lack of censorship. I have switched to Yandex as my default search engine and will see how it goes. Hopefully, it will not disappoint me, since there are no options left. Also published . here

What to Do If You Don't Like Google Search

আপনি যদি গুগল সার্চ পছন্দ না করেন তাহলে কি করবেন

Was tun, wenn Ihnen die Google-Suche nicht gefällt?

Qué hacer si no te gusta la búsqueda de Google

Que faire si vous n'aimez pas la recherche Google

अगर आपको Google सर्च पसंद नहीं है तो क्या करें?

Google検索が気に入らない場合の対処法

Google 검색이 마음에 들지 않으면 어떻게 해야 할까요?

O que fazer se você não gosta da Pesquisa Google

Что делать, если вам не нравится поиск Google

Google Aramayı Beğenmiyorsanız Ne Yapmalısınız?

Phải làm gì nếu bạn không thích Google Tìm kiếm

如果您不喜欢 Google 搜索该怎么办

Hi future OSINTers, Welcome to the OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) Guide. Throughout this guide, I aim to provide you with a detailed, step-by-step, beginner-friendly guide to mastering the art and science of OSINT. This exciting field opens the door to the vast world of publicly available information and teaches you how to gather, analyze, and utilize this information effectively. OSINT is an intelligence-gathering discipline that involves collecting information from public sources. In the era of the digital world, there’s an incredible amount of data available, and with the right techniques, you can use this data for various purposes such as cybersecurity, journalism, private investigation, and market research. Remember, though the information we will be working with is publicly available, ethical considerations and respecting privacy should always be at the forefront of any OSINT activities. This guide is broken down into several sections. We’ll start with the basics, covering the principles of OSINT, the tools you’ll need, and how to set up your workspace. We’ll then move into more advanced techniques and specific use cases. Each section will include hands-on tasks for you to complete. Step 1: Understanding the Basics of OSINT Our journey into the world of Open-Source Intelligence starts with understanding the basic principles that govern this domain. OSINT is not just about finding information; it’s about finding the information, and then analyzing it to derive meaningful intelligence. right Before we dive into the technical aspects of OSINT, we need to understand the following: Sources of OSINT : OSINT comes from a variety of public sources. These can include media (news broadcasts, newspapers, magazines), public data (government reports, directories, press releases), professional and academic publications, and digital data (web pages, social media posts, online videos). Ethics and Legalities : Though OSINT deals with publicly available data, it’s crucial to understand the ethical and legal boundaries. It’s important to respect privacy, obtain information ethically, and use it responsibly. The Intelligence Cycle : The Intelligence Cycle is a process used to process and use the collected information effectively. It includes several stages: planning and direction, collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination. Remember, Your task for this step is to research these key areas. Write a summary about each point and ensure you understand the overall landscape of OSINT. This basic knowledge will act as the foundation for your journey ahead in this guide. In the next step, we’ll dive into preparing your workspace for OSINT. Step 2: Preparing Your Workspace for OSINT Here, we will cover the essentials of setting up your digital environment. A well-prepared workspace is the key to effective and safe OSINT work. Secure Computer Environment : A secure system is paramount. Consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for an additional layer of security and privacy when conducting OSINT investigations. A Virtual Machine (VM), like VirtualBox or VMware, can also be useful. It provides an isolated environment, which helps keep your main system clean and secure. Web Browser : A secure and privacy-oriented browser such as Firefox or Chrome is recommended. Incognito or Private Browsing modes can be beneficial to avoid saving cookies, history, or other potentially revealing information. Browser Extensions : Tools like uBlock Origin (for ad blocking), Privacy Badger (to prevent tracking), and HTTPS Everywhere (to force secure connections where possible) are recommended. Be mindful that each extension added can potentially impact your privacy and security. Note-Taking and Organization Tools : Keeping your findings organized is critical. Evernote, OneNote, or even a simple document can serve as a log of your activities and findings. OSINT Tools : There are numerous free and paid tools available that can assist with OSINT. These range from simple search engine tools to more complex data analysis software. Some popular options include Maltego, Shodan, and Google Dorks. Remember, your task for this step is to set up your workspace. Install a secure browser, consider setting up a VPN and VM, and familiarize yourself with a few OSINT tools. Once you have your workspace ready, you’ll be well-prepared to start your OSINT journey. In the next step, we’ll dive into the practice of OSINT with some basic exercises. Step 3: Basic OSINT Techniques: Search Engines and Social Media Now that you’ve prepared your workspace, let’s get started with some basic OSINT techniques. Mastering Search Engines : Search engines like Google and Bing are the first tools in any OSINT practitioner’s toolbox. Knowing how to use search operators can help you get more specific results. For instance, using quotes to search for an exact phrase (“Israel Israeli”), or using a minus sign to exclude a word (Israel Iaraeli -pizza) can refine your search. Spend some time learning about advanced search operators and how they can enhance your searches. Social Media Exploration : Social media platforms are rich sources of information. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and others can provide insights about a person or organization. Note that different platforms may require different approaches. Be mindful of privacy settings and respect them. People Search Engines and Directories : Websites like Whitepages, Spokeo, and Pipl allow you to search for individuals. Be aware that these sites can contain outdated or incorrect information and should be used as one of many tools, not a sole source of information. Reverse Image Search : Reverse image search can be used to find the source of an image, or find other instances of the image on the web. Google Images and TinEye are popular tools for this. Remember, your task for this step is to practice using these basic techniques. Choose a topic or a person you’re interested in, and try to find information using search engines, social media platforms, people search engines, and reverse image search. In the next step, we’ll move on to more advanced techniques and tools. Remember, the goal is not just to find information but to find relevant information and make connections. Step 4: Advanced OSINT Techniques: Geolocation and Metadata Analysis After mastering the basic techniques, let’s move on to more advanced OSINT techniques that will help you gather more specific and nuanced information. Geolocation : Geolocation involves determining the geographical location of an object or person based on digital information. This can be done using tools like Google Earth and satellite imagery, or by analyzing social media check-ins, IP addresses, or even the backgrounds of photos. Metadata Analysis : Metadata is data about data. For example, a photo’s metadata might include the camera model that took the picture, the time and date it was taken, or even GPS coordinates. Tools like ExifTool or online metadata viewers can be used to extract this data from files. Web Domain and IP Analysis : Tools like WHOIS, nslookup, or DNSDumpster can provide information about a website’s owner, IP address, server location, and more. Similarly, analyzing IP addresses can provide insights into a target’s location or network. Advanced Social Media Analysis : Digging deeper into social media can involve analyzing trends in posting behavior, connections between users, or even the text of posts or comments for sentiment analysis. Remember, your task for this step is to practice these advanced techniques. Using the topic or person from the previous step, apply geolocation, metadata analysis, and web domain/IP analysis to gather more detailed information. As always, remember to respect privacy and use this information responsibly. In the next step, we’ll discuss how to analyze and report on the data you’ve collected. Step 5: Data Analysis and Reporting in OSINT After collecting a substantial amount of information, it’s crucial to analyze it and derive actionable insights. This step also includes documenting and reporting your findings in a structured, accessible manner. Data Analysis : Sifting through and making sense of the data you’ve gathered is often the most challenging part of OSINT. Look for patterns, correlations, and inconsistencies in the data. Try to connect the dots and form a coherent narrative or understanding of your subject. Use of Analytical Tools : Various OSINT tools can help analyze your data. For instance, Maltego can help visualize connections in your data. Tools like Tableau or Microsoft Excel can assist in analyzing and visualizing large datasets. Reporting : Once your analysis is complete, you need to compile your findings into a report. This should include the sources of your information, the methods used to gather it, a summary of the information, your analysis, and any conclusions or recommendations you can draw from it. Verification : Always cross-verify your information with multiple sources to ensure its authenticity. Inaccurate information can lead to flawed analysis and conclusions. R emember, your task for this step is to take the information you’ve gathered in the previous steps and analyze it. Look for patterns or connections, use tools to visualize and understand your data, and compile your findings into a report. Remember, the goal of OSINT isn’t just to gather data but to turn that data into useful intelligence. In the next step, we will talk about maintaining your OSINT skills and keeping them sharp. Step 6: Maintaining and Improving Your OSINT Skills The world of OSINT is constantly evolving with new tools, techniques, and resources becoming available. Staying up-to-date and continuously improving your skills is key to being effective in this field. Continuous Learning : Keep yourself updated with the latest OSINT tools and techniques. Blogs, podcasts, webinars, online forums, and communities can be valuable resources. Websites like Bellingcat and OSINT Curious offer excellent materials and updates in the field of OSINT. Practice : As with any skill, practice is essential in OSINT. Regularly conducting research and analysis helps keep your skills sharp and allows you to learn new techniques and strategies. Participate in Challenges : Online Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges, OSINT challenges, and puzzles can be a fun and effective way to hone your skills. Networking : Joining communities of OSINT enthusiasts can provide a wealth of knowledge and resources, as well as opportunities to collaborate on projects or solve problems together. Ethics and Privacy : Always strive to uphold high ethical standards in your OSINT work and respect privacy laws and regulations. Regularly review these standards and laws to ensure your practices are up-to-date. , your task for this final step is to make a plan for maintaining and improving your OSINT skills. Choose some resources for continuous learning, find some challenges to participate in, and consider joining an OSINT community. Remember Lastly, review your ethical guidelines to ensure you are always working responsibly and respectfully. You are now well-equipped to conduct effective OSINT investigations while respecting privacy and ethical guidelines. Remember, the journey of learning in the field of OSINT is perpetual. Happy investigating OSINTers! Also published here

From Zero to Sherlock: A Guide to Have the Ultimate OSINT Adventure

How to Access YouTube in Restricted Areas — 10 Methods

Cómo acceder a YouTube en áreas restringidas: 10 métodos

Comment accéder à YouTube dans les zones restreintes – 10 méthodes

प्रतिबंधित क्षेत्रों में YouTube तक कैसे पहुंचें - 10 तरीके

制限エリアで YouTube にアクセスする方法 — 10 の方法

Como acessar o YouTube em áreas restritas – 10 métodos

Cách truy cập YouTube ở khu vực hạn chế - 10 phương pháp

如何在受限区域访问 YouTube — 10 种方法

Mozilla Firefox is one of the most popular web browsers around, and for good reason. It's fast, secure, open-source, and it's backed by an organization that actually respects your privacy. That's why at PrivacyTools as a general-purpose browser for most users. we recommend Firefox We think Firefox is fantastic out of the box, but where it really shines is customizability. By adjusting Firefox privacy settings and using helpful add-ons, you can increase your privacy and security even further. 1. Change Your Search Engine This is an easy one if you're looking for some protection from big advertising networks. In the tab of your Firefox Preferences, change your to something other than Google. Search Default Search Engine Out of the built-in options, DuckDuckGo is the most privacy respecting service, but there's a number of that can be easily installed as well. search engines we would recommend 2. Enhanced Tracking Protection Now we'll delve into the biggest set of options for people like us, Firefox's options section. First up is their . This set of filters is set to Standard by default, but we'll want to change it to Strict for more comprehensive coverage. Privacy & Security Enhanced Tracking Protection Strict protection takes a stronger stance against third-party trackers and cookies, but in rare situations it can break some websites. However, there's no need to worry about enabling it here. If you suspect the Strict browsing protection is breaking a website you visit frequently, you can disable it on a site by site basis with the shield icon in the address bar. Disabling Enhanced Tracking Protection will of course decrease your privacy on that site, so you will have consider whether that's something you are willing to compromise on, on a site-by-site basis. Another benefit of Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection is that it can actually speed up your browsing! Advertising networks and social media embeds can sometimes make your browser download huge files just to show an ad or a like button, and blocking those out trims the fat, in a sense. 3. Disabling Telemetrics When you use Firefox, Mozilla collects information about what you do, what kind of extensions you have installed, and various other aspects of your browser. While they claim to do this in a privacy-respecting way, sending as little data as possible is always preferred from a privacy standpoint, so we would go ahead and uncheck all the boxes under just to be safe. Firefox Data Collection and Use 4. Clearing Cookies Regularly For more advanced users, Firefox provides the option to delete all your cookies and site data every time Firefox is closed. Cookies and site data are little pieces of information sites store in your browser, and they have a myriad of uses. They are used for things like keeping you logged in and saving your website preferences, but they also can be used to track you across different websites. By deleting your cookies regularly, your browser will appear clean to websites, making you harder to track. This will likely log you out of websites quite often, so make sure that's an inconvenience you're willing to put up with for enhanced tracking protection. 5. Enable DNS over HTTPS DNS (or the Domain Name System) is what your browser uses to turn domain names like privacytools.io into IP addresses like 145.239.169.56. Because computers can only make connections to IP addresses, it's necessary to use DNS every time you visit a new domain. But DNS is unencrypted by default, that means everyone on your network (including your ISP) can view what domains you're looking up, and in some situations even change the IP answers to redirect you to their own websites! Encrypting your DNS traffic can shield your queries and add some additional protection to your browsing. Encrypted DNS takes many forms: DNS over HTTPS (DoH), DNS over TLS, DNSCrypt, etc., but they all accomplish the same thing. They keep your DNS queries private from your ISP, and they make sure they aren't tampered with in transit between your DNS provider. Fortunately, Firefox recently added native DoH support to the browser. On the page of your preferences, scroll down to and open . At the bottom of the window you will be able to select "Enable DNS over HTTPS" and choose a provider: General Network Settings Keep in mind that by using DoH you're sending all your queries to a single provider, probably Cloudflare unless you choose that supports DNS over HTTPS. While it may add some privacy protection from your ISP, you're only shifting that trust to the DoH provider. Make sure that's something you want to do. another provider It should also be noted that even with DoH, your ISP will still be able to see what domain you're connecting to because of a technology called Server Name Indication (SNI). Until SNI is encrypted as well, there's no getting around it. Encrypted SNI (eSNI) is in the works — and can actually be today — but it only works with a small number of servers, mainly ones operated by Cloudflare, so its use is limited currently. enabled on Firefox Therefore, while DoH provides some additional privacy and integrity protections, its use as a privacy tool is limited until other supplemental tools like eSNI and are finalized and implemented. DNSSEC 6. Use an Adblocker By far, the biggest privacy concern when browsing the web today is third-party tracking networks, like large advertisers and social media companies. Additionally, the use of online advertisements to spread malware and cryptominers ( ) has seen a recent upswing in popularity. This is why we recommend all users use a good adblocker on their browser. malvertising We recommend , an efficient ad- and tracker-blocker that is easy on memory, and yet can load and enforce thousands more filters than competing blockers. We trust it because it is completely open-source, and unlike its competitors, it has no monetization strategy: There's no "Acceptable" ads program or a similar whitelist like many other adblockers feature. uBlock Origin 7. Install "HTTPS Everywhere" HTTPS is the secure, encrypted version of HTTP. When you see an address starting with https:// along with the padlock in your browser's address bar, you know that your connection to the website is completely secure. This is of course important when you're logging into websites and sending your passwords and emails in a form. But it also prevents people on your network and your ISP from snooping in on what you're reading, or changing the contents of an unencrypted webpage to whatever they want. Therefore, is a must-have extension, all it does is upgrade your HTTP connections to HTTPS wherever possible. And because it works silently in the background, you probably will never notice it! We trust HTTPS Everywhere because it is completely open-source, and is developed by the , a non-profit dedicated to promoting private and secure technologies. HTTPS Everywhere Electronic Frontier Foundation Of course, it only works with sites that support HTTPS on the server's side, so you'll still need to keep an eye on your address bar to make sure you're securely connected. But fortunately more and more websites have implemented HTTPS thanks to the advent of free certificates from organizations like Let's Encrypt. 8. Install "Decentraleyes" When you connect to many websites, your browser is most likely making connections to a myriad of "Content Delivery Networks" like Google Fonts, Akamai, and Cloudflare, to download fonts and Javascript that make the website run. This generally makes websites look and feel better, but it means you're constantly making connections to these servers, allowing them to build a fairly accurate tracking profile of you. works by impersonating those CDNs locally in your browser. When a website wants to download a program like jQuery, instead of connecting to a remote CDN Decentraleyes will serve the file from its own cache of files. This means that you'll won't have to make remote CDN connections for the files that Decentraleyes supports, and therefore the remote CDNs can't track your browser. Decentraleyes Because everything is stored locally instead of on a far away server, Decentraleyes has the added benefit of speeding up your browsing as well. Everything happens instantly, and you won't see a difference in the websites you visit. 9. Consider Multi-Account Containers Mozilla has an in-house add-on called that allows you to isolate websites from each other. For example, you could have Facebook in a container separate from your other browsing. In this situation, Facebook would only be able to set cookies with your profile on sites within the container, keeping your other browsing protected. Multi-Account Containers A containers setup may be a good alternative to techniques like regularly deleting cookies, but requires a lot of manual intervention to setup and maintain. If you want complete control of what websites can do in your browser, it's definitely worth looking into, but we wouldn't call it a necessary addition by any means. Additional Resources — Our comprehensive set of recommendations for browsers and tweaks you can make to enhance your privacy is a great next step for more advanced users looking to protect their privacy online. Web Browsers at PrivacyTools — For more advanced users, the ghacks user.js is a "configuration file that can control hundreds of Firefox settings [...] which aims to provide as much privacy and enhanced security as possible, and to reduce tracking and fingerprinting as much as possible - while minimizing any loss of functionality and breakage". ghacks user.js — Of course, we always recommend reading through the privacy statement of any organization you deal with, and Mozilla is no exception. Mozilla's Privacy Policy Firefox Privacy Summary In conclusion, we believe that Firefox is the most promising browser for privacy-conscious individuals. The non-profit behind it seems truly dedicated to promoting user control and privacy, and the good defaults coupled with the sheer customizability of the browser allow you to truly protect your information when you browse the web.

Nine Essential Privacy Settings and Add-ons for Mozilla Firefox

As the world gets more focused on privacy rights, companies will begin to offer more and more “at-home” products to offer you “more privacy.” There have been home firewalls that plug into your router, even expensive self-hosting email servers for those who want to try setting up their own email and realize it’s a lot harder than it seems. At the end of the day, most of these (not all), are preying on people’s fears and don’t offer much for privacy. Or at the very least, as I will show you, offer a very expensive product for something that be done for under $50. Enter the Raspberry Pi. The Pi, as I will refer to it from here on out, is a single-board computer around the size of a credit card. It has options such as WiFi, ethernet, USB, and more, allowing the user to set up a very basic home computer that runs a variety of Pi based Linux operating systems (It can run some version of Windows as well, but this is about privacy, so let’s stick with Linux). While the Pi can be used for a personal computer, media center, retro gaming device, and countless other fun projects, I want to focus on a few great at home privacy projects you can use your Pi for. Ad/Content Blocker Most of us use ad and content blockers such as uBlock Origin on our browser, but with a Pi, you can set up an at home blocker for the whole house, no browser plugin needed (though, for redundancy, I do recommend both). There is and both offer free software options that allow the user to set a variety of content blockers up to stop ads, and even blacklist websites (even per-device). Don’t want people having access to YouTube, you can block it. PiHole AdGuard The concept is very simple and just requires that you set up each devide on your network to connect to the Pi and blockers DNS address (which both products can walk you through) and then your traffic is then routed from the router, through the Pi, and then to the device. If done with a wired connection, there is zero loss in speed. When done wirelessly, you might sometimes see a slight drop, but usually it’s not noticeable. Cloud Storage Most of us have cloud storage somewhere. We use iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, or any other variety of cloud storage options, including privacy focused options such as Nextcloud, Owncloud, or Tresorit. But did you know with a Pi you can easily create your own Nextcloud server at home and store all your files there? You want privacy, there’s not much more private than physically having your files stored in your own home. , but Nextcloud is incredibly easy to use and is feature rich for those looking for great cloud-based solutions. It can take a little work VPN Now, I want to start here by saying that if you’re avoiding government surveillance or think you could be in physical harm, setting up your own VPN isn’t always the best idea. But for the average internet user who might want to mask some traffic from ISP or want to make it harder to hackers to access your information in transit. What you should know is that it won’t offer you more benefits that you get from a larger VPN like changing server locations to watch streaming services in other countries or changing your physical location to avoid surveillance. It’s regardless and does offer benefits as long as you’re clear on what it can and cannot do. a fun project Password Manager Password managers such as Bitwarden allow you to so that you’re not relying on their services to store your passwords. self-host your password manager You can easily set up your Pi at home as your password server and connect it to your devices even on the go. Much like cloud storage, this puts the data itself in your hands, not trusting someone else. These are just a few ideas you can use at home for your Pi. I have seen projects where people set up their own security camera so they can avoid using products like Ring. You can even run a few of these on the same device. Depending on your server load, you can easily manage cloud server, ad blocker, and likely even your password manager all at the same time. The Raspberry Pi is a great and fun computer with countless projects you can find yourself running.

4 Privacy Focused Raspberry Pi Projects

Your web browser is your window to the internet, and while it gives you a view of everything you can find online, windows work both ways. The same tool giving you access to the outside world is the same one used to give Big Tech a window into your private life. One of the most popular questions from the privacy community, and especially those just starting to examine the steps they can take to protect their privacy online is: which browser is the most private? The honest answer is none of them. Every single browser has its flaws, and every single browser does provide an opportunity for a website to invade your privacy. That said, not all browsers are created equal, and many are built with privacy in mind, and with some additional tools they can be modified to protect your privacy much better. While many browsers will tell you they care about privacy, the one that stands out at the forefront is Firefox. First, Firefox is a not-for-profit organization, so unlike other Big Tech giants, they are not mining your data to increase their profit margin. They rely on donations and sponsorships to sustain their operation. On top of that, they have many great privacy tools built right into the product, letting users select which level of privacy they want from a “Standard” setting which blocks basic trackers from social media sites, cross-site cookies, and more, to a more “Strict” setting which blocks all the above, but also helps isolate cookies, and blocks even more tracking content. Firefox also lets you set custom DNS settings for your browser that help protect your browser from annoying redirects from your ISP, and even speed up your internet experience. If you pair all of that with privacy-respecting plugins such as Startpage’s Privacy Protection plugin or uBlock Origin, you can block trackers and cookies that make it past the Firefox settings and have a much more private browsing experience. However, Firefox isn’t the only privacy option, and when it comes to browsers, there is a degree of personal preference for how they work. Firefox is built upon an engine called Gecko, this is the backend that drives the browser. Chrome-based browsers use an engine called Blink, which for some, is the preferred engine. For those users, Vivaldi offers a wonderful browsing experience with many Firefox-like features allowing users to set their level of privacy and use addons such as Privacy Protection. For mobile users, your choices narrow depending on the operating system your phone is running. For those running iOS, your most privacy-respecting browser is Safari. This is Apple’s built-in browser and has such privacy features as such as Intelligent tracking protection, isolated Private Browsing tabs, iCloud Private Relay, and automatic HTTPS. iOS doesn’t allow other browsers to use their own engine, meaning every browser is basically just a modified version of Safari. While Firefox does offer its own iOS browser, and it works well with many privacy-respecting features to go along with it, for most users, it’s just as simple to stick with Safari. On Android, however, you’re able to choose between Firefox and Vivaldi so that you can get a better privacy experience with the same browser you might be using on your desktop. Now, all of this is for your average user. None of these browsers or plugins will make you anonymous online. There are only two ways to do that. First, you can browse sites through Startpage’s , and visit websites as though you’re using a VPN. Your other option is using Tor, which has many benefits for those in need of strict anonymity but isn’t for everyone or everyday use. Anonymous View

What Is the Best Browser for Your Privacy?

¿Cuál es el mejor navegador para su privacidad?

For many, the idea of being tracked online doesn’t sound all that scary. “I am pretty boring” is a common comment from people when discussing online data collection and tracking, and worse is, it’s usually followed by “so I doubt anyone is actually tracking me.” That’s because many of us think of tracking as some government agency, looking for nefarious activity, and most of us aren’t worried about that. We use the internet to shop, talk to friends, explore our hobbies, and keep up with the world news. What people don’t always realize, however, is that your daily browsing, no matter how mundane or boring you may think it might be, is pure profit for Big Tech. For Big Tech, they don’t care what you do online, they care that they know what it is, and then find a way to monetize it. You may think you’re boring, or not of interest, but I bet you shop online. Knowing what sites you visit, the links you click, the Facebook posts you comment on or like, all build a profile of who Big Tech thinks you are and then opens the door for them to put products, via ads, in front of you that you might take interest in. These sites around the web when they can. Otherwise, they rely on their own networks by hoping that users rely on many of their platforms for social media, or even things like search, email, and news. usually use cookies to track you If you’re not clicking those ads, they know that too and will modify their offers to you until they find out what’s working. A personal example is that I shop for vinyl records, I love music and love shopping for new albums. Yet, I take privacy seriously and offering me ads via my interests can be hard. Most ads I get make no sense to who I am, and I like it that way. But it only takes one click As part of my threat model, I allow myself to use Instagram. It fills a professional need I have and allows me to connect to those in the same field. Because I use it only on iOS, the application itself is protected from cross tracking, so they can only see what I am doing inside the app itself. This does, of course, create a profile of who I am to them. In Instagram, I get ads more relevant to the topics I am following on the app, but also is a great example of how they can figure you out. I don’t shop for records on Instagram, but I did recently follow two record stores in my local area. That alone gives them an indication I like music, and because these are exclusively vinyl record stores, they can infer from this that I like vinyl records. Then it happened. I got my first ad for another record store. Incidentally, it was for an album I already have, but a genre I love. Without even noticing it was an ad, and not the record stores I already had followed; I liked the post. The ads started flowing in. Now, while my iOS device might be protecting cross-application tracking, I think we all understand that Instagram is owned by Meta. Meta owns Facebook, one of the largest Big Tech companies that track users everywhere they go, Facebook users or not. Now, in my threat model, Facebook or Meta knowing I like vinyl records is no threat to me, but it doesn’t mean I want that. Obviously, I could have avoided this by not using Instagram, but I took the risk and paid the price. For my own needs, it was a price I was willing to pay, but that’s not always the case. This one example just shows you how even the most mundane of users can generate money for these companies. My single click cost that record story money in their ad budget that went to Meta. If I was to buy something, the record store would then see that their investment was worth it and pour more ad money into Meta. Instagram had around 1.2 billion active users in 2021. If each of them clicked one single add, just once, for around $1 a click, Instagram makes over $1 billion. For those not taking any privacy precautions and using multiple Meta platforms, plus a non-privacy respecting search engine, and has a much larger digital footprint, the ads will be so precise, they can almost guarantee multiple clicks per month, at worst, per year. Tracking you online is a multi-billion-dollar industry. But you can help stop it First, use a privacy-respecting search engine such as Startpage or DuckDuckGo. Install a browser plugin such as of uBlock Origin. You can also to protect your privacy,  and have a little fun . Privacy Protection take simple steps outsmarting Big Tech algorithms In any case, Big Tech wants to track you, it doesn’t matter if you live the most boring or more exciting lifestyle. If they can sell ad space to companies to target you, or sell ad companies information about you, it makes you worth tracking.

How Am I Being Tracked Online? A Story.

Do you find the iOS Facebook app and Instagram app slow? Yes, it is because it does much more than what they display. Felix Krause, a former Google engineer who studies privacy, said in a on the 10th that Facebook and Instagram apps . blog post track users' browsing behavior on third-party websites without consent Background Apple actively countering : cross-host tracking Starting with iOS 14.5, Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency to give users control. Apps need permission from users before their data can be tracked across apps owned by other companies. Also, Safari already t. blocks third-party cookies by defaul After the App Tracking Transparency was introduced, announced: Meta Apple’s simple iPhone alert is costing Facebook $10 billion a year Facebook complained that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency favors companies like Google because App Tracking Transparency “carves out browsers from the tracking prompts Apple requires for apps.” Websites you visit on iOS don’t trigger tracking prompts because the anti-tracking features are built in. – & Daring Fireball MacWorld As web browsers and iOS provide users with more privacy controls, it's clear why Instagram is interested in monitoring all web traffic from external sites. The Findings (Thanks, Krause!) Krause wrote that the iOS versions of the Facebook and Instagram apps inject code on every website they open and use a instead of Apple's built-in Safari Browser, monitoring user behavior. As a result, the two apps track user privacy "without the consent of the user and the site provider," Krause said. "custom-built in-app browser" Krause said he couldn't be sure what data Instagram was tracking but stressed that the built-in browser follows everything a user does on the site, including , a browser that can be used to steal sensitive information, such as home addresses. "Tracking codes allow us to collect user data for targeted advertising or evaluation," Meta, the parent company of Instagram, said in a statement to on Tuesday. "every screen click" and "browsing behavior." The Guardian "When shopping through the in-app browser, we seek consent to store payment data. So that the next purchase can be automatically filled in.” Krause responded that the practice still “exposed users a lot of risks” and “there is no option not to open a custom built-in browser.” What If I Stop Using the App? The Tracking Beyond Facebook Facebook also reaches outside Facebook itself. So what it means by “targeted advertising or evaluation“mean? Meta has partnerships with marketing firms and ad networks so that activities on other sites, including: Logging into Public WiFi that requires Facebook Check-in; Logging into a third-party service with your Facebook account; Browsing website that contains “Facebook Pixel”; and more; can be combined with your Facebook profile. The  tracker is not new for Facebook but new to us. It at least gives us a way to glimpse how much it knows about us. It shows to feed you specific ads and posts. Facebook and sister apps Instagram and WhatsApp don’t need the microphone open What Is the off-Facebook Activity? Off-Facebook Activity breaks the association between what you do on Facebook and off it. So, for example, if you’re shopping for shoes on a third-party retail site, you won’t suddenly see shoe ads all over your Facebook News Feed. Here is a direct link to the . complete activity list This off-Facebook Activity is also monitored In addition, tracking tools like help websites and online retailers collect information about their visitors, including whether they return. whether or not you have a Facebook account. the Facebook Pixel Third parties are broadly using Facebook’s advertising and tracking technologies, which means you are now just hiding from Facebook but its “friends,” too. This new tool will not allow you to reset your relationship with Facebook; Rather, it gives you a new way to disconnect some surveillance from your Facebook account with third parties. Bonus: “People You May Know,” How Does It Work In real life, it is easy to come up with a person you may know in the natural course of conversation. For example, when you say where you are, it is not uncommon for someone to say things like, “Oh, my roommate is also from there!”. And they would tell you more details like where they live and their full name, and you may or may not recognize them, depending on how small the town is. Similarly, you may assume the friend recommendations on Facebook would work in the same way: You fill in your personal information Facebook finds out who you may know online However, Facebook does not work like that, as the dataset from their side is far beyond the scale of everyday human interactions. Often people see a familiar face pop up in the suggestions, but you have no mutual Facebook friends with that person. https://twitter.com/WillOremus/status/984109389823930368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E984109389823930368%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=file%3A%2F%2F%2FUsers%2Fzchan%2FGoogle20Drive%2Fmedium-export%2Fposts%2F2021-04-08_Facebook-Is-Stalking-You-Even-You-re-Offline---And-How-to-Limit-It-e271456cbe23.html How did Facebook figure out this kind of information? Why do they know who your high school teacher is and who your family doctor is? What is Shadow Profile? Providing your address books is one of the first steps Facebook asks people to follow when they originally sign-up so that they can continue with “Find Friends.” (You can choose the second option, “Sign up without uploading my contacts. “) Down in the little font, below the “Get Started” button, the page states that: “Info about your contacts in your address book, including names, phone numbers, and nicknames, will be so we can suggest friends and provide and improve ads for you continuously uploaded to Facebook and others,” Behind the Facebook profile you built for yourself, a shadow profile is . The contact information you’ve never given Facebook is linked with your account, helping Facebook completely map your social connections on a massive scale. made from the contents of other Facebook users' inboxes and smartphones But most users are unaware of its extent and power. Since Shadow Profile happens inside Facebook’s algorithms, people can’t see how deep the data-mining of their lives is until a mysterious recommendation pops up. Shadow contact information has been a known feature of Facebook ! since 2013 How To Protect Yourself From Zuckerberg? 1# Web Browsers Go to the web version of IG and FB: https://www.facebook.com https://instagram.com Whenever you open FB or IG posts, use a web browser that stops trackers, like Mozilla’s and . Also, as mentioned, Safari is already blocking third-party cookies since iOS 14.5. Therefore, the next time someone sends you a link to FB or IG, open them using “Open in Browser“mode. Firefox Brave If you want to open FB and IG like an app, you can do that by using a web clip in Safari. If you prefer Brave, you can also do that by web app shortcut. 2# Ad-Blocker and DNS I would suggest going the extra mile in the browser area. One addition is the An addon called “ ” is available on Firefox and Chrome. uBlock Origin may require some initial configuration. ad-blocking extension. , uBlock Origin Some other good and easy-to-use ad or tracking-blocking extension choices for your browsers would be or . Brave has its built-in ad-blocking features called “ .” Firefox and Mozilla’s Facebook Containeaddonon prevent Facebook’s software from connecting with other sites. Ghostery EFF’s, Privacy Badger Shield In mobile apps, where tracking is common and unavoidable, the quest is harder to stop as mobile web browsers are less functional and users cannot add extensions. However, a few services, such as , and , scan app activity, and block tracker traffics, may also reduce bandwidth usage. 1.1.1.1 Disconnect’s Privacy Pro Next DNS 3# Ultimate Fix — Farewell I am and . But, of course, you can stop Facebook from stalking you from now on. So far, though, that’s not a choice most people have been willing to make. And it is doubtful but un-verifiable that your data is still sitting inside its data center, like what Pierre disclosed. saying Goodbye to Facebook and Instagram forever closing your accounts Final Words — Nothing is Free, Especially When It Comes to Meta Even though you know that the free is not accessible on Facebook, you might not realize the extent and the depth of Facebook tracking all over the internet. So anyone worried about the power of Facebook to manipulate people and shape elections should consider how it tracks us. Facebook knows full well that users are upset about its data collection policies and is trying to push out means that grant more control. Sadly, but are more about how data is used for ad personalization. Still, until recently, they just for the Messenger app and WhatsApp, with an estimated 2023 launch globally. these don’t do much about data collection started to test E2E encrypted chats The tracking stretches , into various apps you’re playing on your phone, and to the locations where you physically visit in the real world — particularly if you decide to or the WiFi requires you to check in on Facebook while you’re there. across other websites and services If you want to take advantage of its features, you must give up some of your personal information. But Facebook has ways of keeping tabs on people who aren’t even signed up for the service. In comparison, Facebook is striving to downplay the leak's gravity, judging how serious this does not lie with the company alone. Thank you for reading. May InfoSec be with you🖖. Reference: https://krausefx.com/blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser#how-to-protect-yourself-as-a-user https://www.holovaty.com/writing/framebust-native-apps/

Expert: Facebook, IG App Can Steal Secrets, and Users Can't Turn It Off!

Experto: ¡Facebook, la aplicación IG puede robar secretos y los usuarios no pueden desactivarla!

Expert : Facebook, l'application IG peuvent voler des secrets et les utilisateurs ne peuvent pas l'éteindre !

विशेषज्ञ: फेसबुक, आईजी ऐप रहस्य चुरा सकते हैं, और उपयोगकर्ता इसे बंद नहीं कर सकते!

専門家: Facebook、IG アプリは秘密を盗むことができ、ユーザーはそれをオフにすることはできません!

Especialista: Facebook, IG App pode roubar segredos e os usuários não podem desligá-lo!

Chuyên gia: Ứng dụng Facebook, IG có thể đánh cắp bí mật và người dùng không thể tắt nó!

专家：脸书、IG App可以偷秘密，用户关不掉！

“Whoever controls the DNS, controls the universe” (image credit: OpenAI Dalle2) spice The following article will provide a very brief overview of what DNS actually is, and what makes it “authoritative”. Then, I will discuss why you may choose to disregard its authority in some cases in order to have a better browsing experience and gain a bunch of superpowers using a service our team has built over the last 2 years. Strap yourself in. What is DNS First things first: what is DNS? DNS (Domain Name System) is a distributed “phone book” that maps (domain) names to IP addresses. When you enter hackernoon.com into your browser, it will query the router on your network for the IP address of hackernoon.com. Your home router doesn’t perform any DNS resolution and forwards the request upstream to whatever DNS server is configured there. This could be your ISP or a 3rd party resolver like Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 or Google 8.8.8.8. These resolvers are typically recursive in nature, meaning they reach out to the root DNS servers for the .com zone, and perform a recursive lookup against the authoritative DNS servers for the DNS zone (hackernoon), and then you finally get the IP(s) that hackernoon.com resolves to. So your DNS query takes the following route (simplified view): Your Device → Router → DNS Provider → Root Name Server → Authoritative Server → IP Address Saul Goodman explains this best. This process is fairly slow and can take ~1s, so typically the response is cached by the DNS provider for some period of time so the next lookup can be served from a cache. Your browser will also cache the response for the duration of the TTL associated with a particular DNS record, so as not to initiate a DNS query every single time. The responses that the authoritative DNS server emits are typically static. This means that any user, anywhere, asking any DNS server “where is hackernoon.com” will get the same response: yegor@Work-Desktop:~$ dig +short hackernoon.com 172.67.69.96 104.26.11.89 104.26.10.89 There are some notable exceptions to this when it comes to CDNs, which will geo-code your source IP, and return variable results based on your location. A user in the UK will see different IPs than a user in the US. This is done for performance reasons, so people in different countries connect to the nearby CDN location in order to reduce latency. That being said, you’re still bound by what the authoritative DNS server returns (or doesn’t). The above flow is true for pretty much every single thing that you do online that communicates with a remote server. Every web resource you download,  every API call you make, and every Git commit you do resolves a domain to an IP address that the authoritative DNS server returned. What if you could disregard what the authoritative server tells you? What advantages (superpowers) does that have? Let’s dive in. What is Control D Control D, as you probably guessed, is a DNS service. It can do all the things your standard DNS provider can (resolve  domains), but it can also do a lot more. Control D is a user-configurable DNS service that offers transparent proxies deployed on top of an anycast network, with exit locations in over 69 countries. Sure, that all sounds impressive, but what does it ACTUALLY do? When you get started with Control D, you will get a set of DNS resolvers that are unique to your account and can enforce your unique configuration. Think of it as your personal authoritative DNS server, for the entire Internet. You can customize your configuration via a simple web interface, as there are no required apps to install to use the service.  Control D supports multiple DNS protocols: - least secure, but most widely supported Legacy IPv4/IPv6 - most secure, supported by modern OSes DNS-Over-HTTPS (DoH) - most secure, supported by modern OSes DNS-Over-TLS (DoT) The first protocol offers the best compatibility and can be used on any Internet connectable device. Legacy DNS is not encrypted, so it can be easily intercepted and manipulated by your ISP, or network administrator. The latter two offer you the best privacy and security, as your DNS queries are encrypted with TLS and cannot be intercepted or manipulated. Think of it as: Legacy = HTTP DoH/DoT = HTTPS What’s the difference between DoH and DoT and which one is better? Honestly, just stick with DoH, as it operates on TCP port 443 and is indistinguishable from normal HTTPS traffic. DoT operates on a special port (853) and is easily detectable (and therefore easily blocked). The advantages of DoT (less overhead and therefore faster resolution time) are debatable, and we have not seen them in practice. Mind you, on some platforms like Android, you have no choice but to use DoT, as DoH is not supported ( ). but will be soon Once you configure one of the DNS resolvers on your device (router, computer, browser, phone) your DNS queries will be steered to the Control D network. By default, if no settings are changed, Control D will behave like a standard DNS resolver, no different than Cloudflare, Google, or your local ISP. Once you start fiddling with the knobs, you can do of neat things, by selectively disregarding authoritative DNS records and substituting your own. all kinds Block a category of sites (ads, or porn for example) Block malicious domains non-malicious domains that point to malicious IPs and Block a specific service (Facebook, or TikTok) Block a specific TLD, FQDN, subdomain, or a wildcard entry (i.e. server-*.domain.com) Spoof a service, TLD, FQDN, subdomain, or all DNS queries to a specific IP address of your choice (think a wildcard-supporting hosts file) Redirect a specific service through a proxy location (BBC iPlayer through London, for example) Redirect a specific TLD, FQDN, subdomain, or wildcard entry through a proxy location (All .ca domains get proxied through Toronto) Redirect resolved DNS queries through a specific proxy location (there are over 100 cities to choose from) all Override blocks enforced by category filters, or services Schedule any of the above behavior to kick in at a certain time of day A whole bunch more TL;DR: Control D allows you to selectively disregard the authoritative DNS records associated with any domain you attempt to resolve (regardless of it actually existing in public DNS), and replace the answers with anything you want. This can prevent the domain from loading by spoofing  it to an IP of your choice (like 127.0.0.1), or to one of over 100 supported by Control D. Then, Control D will transparently proxy SNI (and some non-SNI) enabled traffic through servers in that location/country. exit locations You can also block, spoof, and redirect ALL of your DNS queries by using the catchall "Default Rule". Bad Use Cases You wouldn’t use a hammer to perform dental surgery (hopefully) - every tool has its use case. The same applies here, so before we jump into why you use a service like Control D, let's spend a moment talking about why you . should shouldn't Life Critical Anonymity If you live in a country where freedom of speech is non-existent, or you are a whistleblower, dissident or political activist, you should not use Control D to stay safe online. Despite Control D encrypting your DNS queries, even if you are using the proxy capabilities to spoof your location, the Server Name Indication (SNI) TLS extension is still transmitted in plaintext. This means that on adversarial networks where this information is captured and filtered, Control D will not provide you any security benefits. It will not be able to unblock restricted sites, and your browsing history could still be captured by the network administrator. If this is your particular use case, you are much better off using a (shameless self-plug as Windscribe is our sister company). Do keep in mind that a VPN is not a magical security solution either, despite what you may have heard from your favorite YouTuber while they react to videos of people describing the taste of meat to vegetarians. trusted, no-logging VPN Their scripted “opinions” are worth less than the Zimbabwean dollar.  A VPN is just tools that should be in your toolbelt if you care about these things.  I could rant all day about this, but let’s move on. one of the many BitTorrent Control D will not affect the BitTorrent protocol. Since this is a P2P protocol, which does not rely on DNS, all your torrent activity will be in the clear. Control D offers an optional filter that will block all common torrent indexes and trackers, which will make the use of the BitTorrent protocol difficult on the network where Control D is deployed (and this Filter enabled), but it will not 100% eliminate all torrent activity. If you wish to apply a layer of privacy to your torrent activities, you should use a VPN. Gaming (Improvements) Many people use VPNs for gaming in order to "improve ping" or mask their IP from trolls. The efficacy of this is , but Control D is unlikely to help here. In fact, there is a good chance that if you redirect all your traffic to our proxies, it will break some games entirely. debatable We recommend disabling Control D functionality if you experience problems playing your favorite games. You can do this from the section of the control panel; simply find your game and create a rule. Services BYPASS Actual Use Cases So now that we got that out of the way, what CAN you use Control D for? The following list is not exhaustive but should give you an idea of the flexibility you can achieve. Block Ads, Trackers, and Malware (and many other things) Yes, you can use a browser extension like uBlock that will do a really good job blocking things in your browser (until anyway, when we all eat a Google turd sandwich). January of 2023 However, this will just block ads in your favorite desktop browser. All tracking (and ad delivery) that happens outside of the browser (OS, installed programs, mobile applications, and browsers) will get through. If you set up Control D inside the operating system, or on your router, all DNS queries that any application makes (including the browser) will query your personal resolver, and all your rules apply. This means you can eliminate 99% of all ads and trackers (as well as 14 other categories)  from even loading on your devices. This effectively creates a network/system-wide ad block, which is highly effective. With this in mind, you can block many other categories, including: Malware distributing, typosquatting, and phishing domains (if you accidentally click a shady link) Adult content (handy on networks with kids) Social networks (stop wasting time looking at your "feed") IoT telemetry (prevent your fridge from talking to servers in China) Gambling, Drugs, Dating sites (keep your vices in check) A whole bunch more Help with Dev Efforts You’re probably familiar with the host’s file, which allows you to define domain names that may not exist in public DNS. You can also use it to override the DNS responses that are in public DNS to point to your local dev machine or a remote dev server. With Control D you can have a remote hosts file. This has several advantages: You can enforce the same host’s file on all your dev/test devices, including a mobile (or your smart toaster) Control D supports wildcards entries, so you can redirect all subdomains with a single rule Simulate regional access to your project from over 100 city-level locations Eliminate Your Pi-Hole Pi-Hole is a great tool to control your network, deploy custom blocklists, and have visibility on what is being resolved, but there are downsides: Pi-Hole only works on your home network – Control  D works on all networks, including cellular. You have to manage blocklists yourself – Our bespoke filters are built on top of community-maintained blocklists, with tens of thousands of false positives removed, based on feedback from 45M Windscribe users. We did all the work for you! Lack of advanced blocking – Pi-Hole only blocks domain names. Control D malware filter also blocks domains that resolve to malicious IPs from threat intelligence feeds. Lack of scheduling or flexibility – With Control D, your rules don't have to be static. They can change day to day, and be different on different devices. You have to run it yourself – Control D is deployed on top of a global anycast network, is available everywhere, including cellular networks, and supports Secure DNS protocols out of the box. (Selectively) Spoof Your Location Unlike a VPN, which sends all your activity to a single server in a chosen country, you have a lot more, well, when you use Control D. Since it operates at the DNS layer, you can create all kinds of rules in your configuration to do all kinds of things. control Here is a silly example of 7 different websites seeing you in 7 different places, all at once: You can instruct Control D to resolve different FQDNs through proxies in different countries, with as little as 3 clicks. When your browser asks to resolve a domain that has a rule, Control D will return a proxy IP instead of the true IP of the destination (disregarding the authoritative answer). It will read the SNI, and forward the end-to-end encrypted request to the site you wanted to load. From here, we can get fancier. Instead of creating individual rules, you can create a folder of rules, and assign an action (block, redirect, or bypass) to it. Any domain you add to this folder will inherit and apply the chosen folder rule. Don't want to make your own rules? That's where the Services section comes in. We've created rules for over 200 most common services online, and this list is always growing based on . user requests With a single toggle switch, you can apply a chosen rule to a video streaming service, an audio service, a store, a tool, a social network, or a game.  Each service can be redirected through a unique location (or blocked entirely), so you can appear to be in 69 countries, all at once. Lastly, you can redirect all your activity through the closest , if you don't care about the geolocation of your IP. This will have the best performance and supports IPv6 end-to-end. Control D Primary Location Optionally, you can choose a specific exit location (city), which will double hop your traffic from the closest Control D Primary Location to a Windscribe VPN server in the chosen country. All of this is without having to install a VPN app. You can use all 3 behaviors in parallel to create some very unique browsing profiles. The rule engine works as follows: Custom rules take precedence over everything Service rules are second in line, and are checked if there are no custom rules that match the DNS query Filters (which block things) are 3rd in-line and will match a domain if there is no overriding custom rule or Service rule Last in line is the Default Rule, which will, like the name suggests, match queries that aren't affected by any of the above Parental/Productivity/Impulse Controls The internet is full of distractions and outright harmful content. You may choose to block certain types of content at certain times of day (or all the time) so you can get stuff done, or prevent your kids from wasting time when they should be doing their homework. Control D gives you the tools to block large categories of distractions (social networks and games) so you can concentrate on your school or work. You can also use the same tools to block harmful content like porn, drugs, and malware on your network if you have kids. You can make these rules permanent, or time-based using the Scheduler. Here are some examples: Block social networks and games every Monday to Friday, and allow playtime on the weekends during certain hours Block porn, Reddit, and TikTok Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm so you can remain gainfully employed and boost your productivity British TV Fridays: Every Friday your Netflix and Disney+ shows British content Shopping Tuesday Mornings: All popular shopping sites are blocked every day except for 1hr on Tuesday morning. Then you can decide if you REALLY needed those $800 custom sock puppets you found at 3 am after a few drinks, and thought were super cool. Unique Device Configurations You're not limited to a single set of rules. Each account allows you to have up to 10 unique browsing profiles (configurations), and you can then create up to 10 devices and enforce your configurations using unique per-device DNS resolvers. Your personal laptop and phone can have one profile,  your partner's iPad could use another, and your kids' phones can use the rest. Each physical device can be configured to access or block a unique set of filters, services, and custom rules. Conclusion As you can see, there's a you can achieve with Control D, and this article really only scratches the surface. I recommend you (no payment details required!) and play around with it - I think you will be pleasantly surprised. It's time to take back control of your Internet experience. lot get yourself a trial account PS. The service is very much in active development, so if you have an idea or a suggestion, don’t hesitate to send us any and all feedback. We release new stuff weekly.

What Is DNS and Why You Should Control It

A week ago, Twitter it is launching a service to showcase NFTs as profile photos. It is doing so by allowing users to link an account to a digital wallet, which itself uses an API to access the Ethereum Blockchain, where information about a “minted” image is stored. announced Twitter Blue The resulting profile picture takes the shape of a hexagon. . If that sounds like convoluted technobabble, trust your instincts Here’s why this new feature is problematic. The Beginning of the End for Privacy The Ethereum blockchain is fully public. However, what you might see when accessing it is nothing more than long strings of codes. With enough sleuthing using public information, it’s possible to link real people to wallets and transactions, but it takes some effort. This is a key feature of blockchain technology . Twitter is proposing to publicly link a to an . That means anyone will be able to see every transaction a person has made, as well as the current assets in their wallet. Twitter admits this publicly. person anonymous wallet “This means your Twitter account will be associated with your current and historical crypto wallet transactions and holdings, including all other NFTs in that wallet, because this information is all available on the public blockchain.” This is only a privacy worry if the person linking the NFT to their profile is using their real name on Twitter, from which a lot of information can be gathered. My issue is that people who have NFTs want to show them off. That’s a core feature of the NFT community, and there is no point in showing off anonymously. This is especially true for people who are giving Twitter money to use Twitter Blue. What would the ROI otherwise be? The problems begin here, but it is certainly not where they end. Scams & Cybersecurity insanity NFT aficionados are being . They tend to be aggressively middle-class, with some disposable income. They often showcase poor judgment, low social literacy (if my DMs are anything to go by), high tolerance for absurd risks, and are highly persuadable. It makes them perfect targets for . primed for scams social engineering schemes Twitter just allowed these people to put a target on their backs. Not only that, . And with a name often comes an address, an email… Scammers must be squealing with glee right now. but that target has their name on it Fans of the Hexagon will also have given their payment information to Twitter, to pay for the Blue features. If a user gets scammed today, they stand to lose a lot more than a few megaBONK tokens . Twitter seems to be well aware of the risks. They warn against scams at least 3 times in their one-page note about the launch. Twitter will never request funds from your crypto wallet. Twitter will never request your private key or seed phrase. It’s as if they can already see the writing on the walls. The Centralization has Begun Beyond privacy, another key feature of blockchain technology is decentralization. No one platform owns or controls the blockchain. , but it’s worth highlighting again in the context of Twitter’s announcement. Plenty has been said on the matter Only 6 wallets can be linked to a profile today (Argent, Coinbase Wallet, Ledger LiveMetaMask, Rainbow and Trust Wallet). These wallets all access the Ethereum Blockchain through the OpenSea API. That’s one company, centralizing access. Some might agree to give up privacy for decentralisation, but giving it up to yet again be at the mercy of a few entities is a lose-lose situation. Beyond this, Twitter ensures that only people who pay them monthly get to enjoy their NFTs pfps in a hexagon. This pay-to-play model goes against the core values NFT enthusiasts claim to espouse. Yet… I’m not hearing much outcry. . They have given up digital privacy, gotten nothing in return, and are even paying for that privilege Let the bullying begin...Again NFT fans (usually) are… not the most likable people (judging, again, from the DMs I receive). This, in part, has to do with the technology’s core concept. . An NFT is little more than a bit of cultural value on top of hundreds of acres of forest burnt to make electricity to create the fancy puzzles enabling the technology This makes these people targets for bullying, which should not be wished on anyone. Case and point, have been created to automatically mute or block anyone with an NFT profile picture : a handful of tools — a web browser plugin that lets you mute NFT avatars. Better TweetDeck — a filter line to hide NFT avatars in uBlock Origin. Hide in uBlock Origin — some user JavaScript to change the hexagon avatar frame to a poop emoji. HexaGone More importantly, it’s possible to send anything to a digital wallet. They’re publicly accessible. So, if a Twitter user bothers me, I can pay 40$ in gas fees to send them horrifying images, which will stay in their wallet unless they pay to have them removed. Women, in particular, are sure to love that feature… As discussed, this move from Twitter actively negates the few positives of Blockchain technology. Meanwhile, it does nothing to solve existing issues around NFTs. I can still right-click on an image, save it, mint it, and have it as a hexagon on my profile. The solution would be to only allow verified collections to be approved but… ? what about decentralisation . They are targeting proud, gullible people to get them to pay a subscription to show off images. This feature is a great move for Twitter shareholders and terrible news for everyone else Because they want to feel special. Because the world sucks and we’re too often reduced to a list of assets on hand. ? Is this the hill Jack Dorsey died on Good luck out there.

Twitter's  Hexagon NFT pfp: All Show With Unanswered Questions on Scams, Bullying, & Centralization

Although privacy becomes a priority among browser-creators, they may not go that far as you think. You may want to be as anonymized as possible or fighting in any chance to avoid ads on the internet. So let’s take a look at how to tweak your browser settings to enhance your internet privacy. Not long ago, I shared . It has elevated privacy protection on the big tech companies’ priority list by revealing how companies compile data as you are online. the data collection problems of Facebook What’s their goal? To build a detailed user profile so that you can become the target of more accurate, clickable, and thus profitable advertisements. In the last WWDC 2021, Apple has made privacy a top priority in its products, including Safari. What are the alternatives? For startup company Brave, privacy is their goal; And Mozilla and Microsoft have begun promoting privacy as a way to separate their browsers from Google Chrome. You can give yourself a privacy boost for all of the browsers listed here by changing the default search engine. For instance, . Although its search results may not be as valuable or extensive as Google’s, DuckDuckGo is a longtime favorite among the privacy-focused for not tracking user searches. try DuckDuckGo Other standard measures that boost privacy include: disabling your browser’s location tracking disabling search engine autocomplete features turning off password autofill regularly deleting your browsing history In the meantime, here are some simple settings you can change in your browser to help keep you off from advertising trackers. Chrome Sadly, the world’s most popular browser is also thought to be the least private when used with default settings. However, Chrome is flexible and open-source that has allowed developers to release privacy-focused extensions to avoid trackers. In the : Chrome Web Store Click on the left Extensions Type the name of the extension you’re looking for into the search bar Once you find the correct extension in the search results, click . Add to Chrome A dialog will pop up explaining which permissions the extension will have for your browser. Click to bring the extension into your browser. Add extension If you change your mind, you can manage or remove your extensions: Open Chrome and click the three-dot menu on the right More Select and then More Tools Extensions Click to see more about the extension Details Here are four extensions to look at as you get started: , Cookie Autodelete , uBlock Origin , and Privacy Badger HTTPS Everywhere Another bonus tip is, One thing I would typically do is do Google Search using a private window. It can prevent Google from mapping my Google account with my searches. use a “private window” or “incognito mode” to surf if you do not need to log in or do not want to leave traces. In the same three-dot menu in Chrome, you can also by: block third-party cookies Select Settings Scroll down to the section Privacy and security Click Cookies and other site data Select . Block third-party cookies Safari Safari, by default, turns on its exclusive tool. However, the tool hasn’t always worked as expected since its . Moreover, Google researchers spotted . Intelligent Tracking Prevention 2017 debut how Intelligent Tracking Prevention itself could be used to track users Starting from Safari 14, it will tell users which ad trackers are running on the website and give you a 30-day report of the known trackers. Safari will also record which websites those trackers came from. In WWDC 2021, Apple announced , which blocks unwanted trackers. In addition, in Safari 15, Apple is also blocking trackers from locating a user’s IP address on Safari. As a result, user activity associated with a fixed IP address (i.e., your home IP address) will no longer possible be used to build a “profile” about the user. “ Enhanced Intelligent Tracking Protection ” Cookies can be helpful, not just invasive. Still, you can block them all together for more robust privacy — both first-party cookies from the website publisher and third-party cookies from others like advertisers. To do so, check the box beside . Block all cookies To check that blocking is on: Open Safari and click Preferences Click Privacy See if the box beside is checked. Prevent cross-site tracking On the same interface, you can also : manually delete your cookies Click to see which sites have left their trackers and cookies hanging out in your browser. Manage Website Data Click next to any of the individual trackers, or Remove Remove the whole list by clicking at the bottom of your screen. Remove All Privacy-focused extensions for Safari (install via App Store): Adblock Plus Ghostery Lite for Safari Edge Microsoft’s Edge browser is the default browser built-in from Windows 10. It includes some simplified privacy and tracker blocking options on its options. Unfortunately, simplified settings also mean that it is not much you can do. Tracker Prevention To check your settings in Edge: Select the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner Select Settings From the menu that then appears on the left, select Privacy and services Microsoft provides three privacy settings to choose from: Basic, Balanced and Strict Besides, Edge’s Strict setting may interfere with some sites functions but block the most significant trackers. For the Basic setting, it will still block trackers used for crypto mining and fingerprinting. By default, Edge uses the Balanced setting. Privacy-focused add-ons for Edge: Ghostery uBlock Origin Cookie AutoDelete Privacy Badger HTTPS Everywhere Firefox Firefox’s default privacy settings are more protective than those of Chrome and Edge, and the browser has more privacy options, among others. is a popular choice and on the web for a while as it is fast and easy to use. In addition, it has built-in “trackers blocking” features and password vaults for users to protect their identity. Firefox From inside Firefox’s main menu: Select Preferences Once the Preferences window opens, click Privacy & Security From here, you’ll be able to choose between three options: Standard, Strict, and Custom. , the default Firefox setting, blocks trackers in private windows, third-party tracking cookies, and crypto miners. Standard The setting may break a few websites, but it blocks everything blocked in Standard mode, plus fingerprints and trackers in all windows. Strict is worth exploring for those who want to fine-tune how trackers are being blocked. Custom To apply your new tracking settings, click the button that appears. Reload All Tabs Privacy-focused Extensions for Firefox: uBlock Origin Privacy Badger NoScript Security Suite HTTPS Everywhere Brave is a newcomer in the browser arena. It making the browser the best privacy-preserving web browser. For example, Brave blocks all ads, trackers, third-party cookies, and fingerprinters by default while maintaining good performance. Brave Web Browser does not store any record of people’s browsing history, Brave also offers a built-in , a heavy-duty tracker blocking option, and . Tor private browsing mode a built-in VPN+Firewall for iOS users Inside Brave’s main menu: Select Preferences Select the panel on the left Settings Select to see a list of privacy options on the right side of the screen Shields Select the view, and you’ll be able to choose which kinds of trackers to block. Advanced By scrolling down, you’ll also be able to block login buttons and embedded content from . Facebook, Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn Explore on the left, and select or even more protection and privacy fine-tuning. Additional Settings Privacy and security f Another advantage of Brave is . Therefore, you can switch from memory-hungry Chrome to this one. the support of the Chrome extensions Mobile Users For Android and iPhone users, extensions or add-ons are not supported at this moment. So you’ll need to use alternative browsers like: (Also support ) DuckDuckGo’s app iOS (Also support ) Focus by Firefox iOS and “ ” (for iOS only) Brave Brave Firewall + VPN, powered by Guardian supplement both iPhone and Android device’s built-in measures to track a lost or stolen phone. It aims to build on those capabilities with tools that help to track and recover a lost smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Prey Project The app provides a concept of control zones — specific areas on a map the device shouldn’t leave. We can configure a zone with security actions (for example, a lock ) that trigger when a device moves in or out of the area. If a device is missing, you can: lock the screen remotely send an alert to contact the owner set off an alarm that will ring like gangbusters so you could hear it if the stolen phone is still nearby. When a device goes missing, Prey generates a report that includes: GPS tracking coordinates active nearby Wi-Fi locations, and hardware information about the device (IP, MAC address, and serial number) When available, the app will also take a photo of the perpetrator. Remarks: A free plan lets you track up to three devices in a single control zone, take basic security actions, and receive evidence reports, but no data protection or reactive security. Thank you for reading. May InfoSec be with you🖖.

Keep Trackers and Advertisers at Bay with these Browser Privacy Tips

Stories, News & Mentions about UBLO

Ublo’s Stories on HackerNoon