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How unique and traceable is your browser?

Started by Cain, February 03, 2010, 03:47:37 PM

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Cain

February 03, 2010, 03:47:37 PM
http://panopticlick.eff.org/index.php?

Quite useful, actually.

Richter

#1
February 03, 2010, 04:49:05 PM
What's that registering?  Cookies / Acceptance of cookies / java or flash settings?
Quote from: Eater of Clowns on May 22, 2015, 03:00:53 AM
Anyone ever think about how Richter inhabits the same reality as you and just scream and scream and scream, but in a good way?   :lulz:

Friendly Neighborhood Mentat

Richter

#2
February 03, 2010, 05:08:04 PM
500k isn't exaclty a representative sample to compare against, when you think about all the computers on the internet currently.  I'd give this a month then try again. 
Quote from: Eater of Clowns on May 22, 2015, 03:00:53 AM
Anyone ever think about how Richter inhabits the same reality as you and just scream and scream and scream, but in a good way?   :lulz:

Friendly Neighborhood Mentat

Requia ☣

#3
February 03, 2010, 05:54:00 PM
Still enough for counter trolling.  Especially since the easily modifiable bits like the user agent don't seem to matter.
Inflatable dolls are not recognized flotation devices.

Shibboleet The Annihilator

#4
February 03, 2010, 07:17:32 PM
Interesting, but I'm not sure how accurate this is. I'm guessing their sample size is not very big.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

#5
February 03, 2010, 08:09:30 PM
Quote from: Slanket the Destroyer on February 03, 2010, 07:17:32 PM
Interesting, but I'm not sure how accurate this is. I'm guessing their sample size is not very big.

QuoteYour browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 555,280 tested so far.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 19.08 bits of identifying information.

No, not very large yet.
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Reginald Ret

#6
February 03, 2010, 11:32:01 PM
Within our dataset of several hundred thousand visitors, only one in 13,631 browsers have the same fingerprint as yours.

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Golden Applesauce

#7
February 04, 2010, 03:36:51 AM Last Edit: February 04, 2010, 03:43:57 AM by GA
I got one in 8000, but the FAQ contains more about the whole experiment - they aren't using every bit of information the browser sends, for instance.

See also:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/primer-information-theory-and-privacy
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A: We have hired a number of FORMER 8th graders.

Jasper

#8
February 04, 2010, 03:44:50 AM
Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 561,244 tested so far.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 19.1 bits of identifying information.


OHSHI-

Muir

#9
February 04, 2010, 05:49:40 PM
"Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 569,090 tested so far.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 19.12 bits of identifying information."

Interesting, possibly helpful, but until the number of fingerprints grows...not very accurate.
Remember, there are no stupid questions - but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots...

Triple Zero

#10
February 04, 2010, 06:44:44 PM
check the comment under this post:

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/01/tracking_your_b.html

i dunno what EFF thinks it's doing, but it's not accurate at all.
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e-prime disclaimer: let it seem fairly unclear I understand the apparent subjectivity of the above statements. maybe.

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Dr. Paes

#11
March 08, 2010, 02:00:33 AM
Within our dataset of several hundred thousand visitors, only one in 234 browsers have the same fingerprint as yours.

Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys 7.87 bits of identifying information.

PeregrineBF

#12
March 09, 2010, 05:55:25 AM
Being unique doesn't matter. Being consistent does. Someday I'll get around to making a firefox addon to randomly swap through a list of different user agents & vary HTTP_ACCEPT headers & such with each visit to a given site. Sure, they will still be unique (probably more so) but instead of being one unique person you appear to be 20 or 100 or such.

Jasper

#13
March 09, 2010, 05:57:43 AM
That's the ticket.  Be a moving target.

bugmenоt

#14
March 12, 2010, 07:30:34 AM
Here is a user agent switcher add-on for firefox:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59

You can be a google spybot. I heard that from some webpages you get different content if you are pretending to be a google spybot.

Or you can type anything you want. But as was mentionned, the user agent does not make one's whole fingerprint.

:buttsecks:
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