- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
Damn… I guess the next idea is going offline for good
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But VPNs aren’t supposed to make you anonymous.
They secure your data while in transit to/from the exit node. Maybe that’s your job so you can access their LAN. Or it’s a public VPN that secures your dada from the local WiFi or ISP you’re directly connected to. That’s what it’s built for.Back in the day there were apps that generated phony web searches to obfuscate your real searches. Seems like there could be tools to mess around and change browser fingerprints periodically. No?
Already done, see: https://github.com/uazo/cromite
When I go to the fingerprint test, a bunch of the values like canvas resolution and timezone are randomized.
…Not everything, though.
There is a browser extension called Chameleon that will spoof a fair amount of data, but after testing it against one of those fingerprint test sites, it looks like it doesn’t/can’t spoof everything.
It could be done on the browser level (maybe it’s something browsers like LibreWolf do), however, it would break sites that require the fingerprints to be the same for “security reasons” which may or may not be a legitimate claim.
You could say “well, I’m not going to use that particular website then”, but the problem is that there are less and less websites that don’t require these technologies to function properly.
There’s this but it blocks only one of the many methods voyeurs use.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/no-canvas-fingerprinting/
And Canvas Blocker (which only optionally blocks but randomizes them). But Firefox has that built-in now; canvas fingerprinting should be pretty much useless there.
Ultimately being truly anonymous on the internet is pretty hard, and thus VPNs are mostly helpful for getting around region blocks for streaming services, not for obtaining more privacy.
I disagree.
There seems to constantly be two sides of the privacy discussion with public VPN options and they’re both wrong on their own. It’s correct that using a VPN on its own is not enough to keep you private online, fingerprinting being one example to why. However, not using a VPN but having no identifiable browser fingerprint doesn’t either, since your IP is still a fingerprint too.
I like to give the following analogies:
- Doing only an oil change on your vehicle but no other maintenance won’t keep your vehicle running forever
- Doing all vehicle maintenances except oil changes won’t keep your vehicle running forever
If the goal is to be private, remember that a VPN is only one tool in a very large tool belt.
I think TOR would be more suitable than a VPN
Tor is definitely another option. For my personal use however, I have my entire network covered by a VPN so all outgoing traffic uses it.
I’m sure I could setup Tor to do the same, but I imagine my family and I would get blocked more heavily on sites, as well as get our bank accounts and such flagged or something.
Like many things, it obviously depends on your threat model.
Here are some extra tips for increased privacy:
- Don´t use your browser in fullscreen
- Download Chameleon for Firefox, it periodically changes the browser and OS it pretends to be
OR: Use Chameleon and set yourself to the most common combo. Get lost in the noise.
What’s the issue with full screen?
randomlzing your window size shows trackers different resolutions.
depending on which OS you use it won’t show 1920x1080, as taskbars and other extras take off a few pixels.
example: if your browser is fullscreen and only shows a resolution of 1920x1075 it could most likely mean you use macos (randomly chosen)
Why no full screen? The second point makes sense and I might go back to using FF, but I can fathom what not going full screen accomplishes.
look at my reply on the other comment :)
Thanks! I had no idea. I figured the resolution came from system specs. This is good to know. Although, I’m super close to just banishing the internet entirely. Tracking is getting out of hand…
Edit: corrected “vanishing” to “banishing.” Autocorrect. 🙄
Just use Tor or Mullvad browser (you don’t need to use the Tor Network or Mullvad VPN, you can bring your own).
That said the wasted screen real-estate is a dealbreaker for me. So if I’m not gonna log in then I’ll go with a fully separate installation.
