💡Fun fact: Your computer’s battery status API can be used to track you.
Some websites ping battery levels to create a unique fingerprint, even in incognito mode. It’s subtle, creepy—and real.
🛡️ Quick fixes:
• Chrome: Install “Disable Battery API” extension
• Use Brave (built-in protection) or Firefox (already blocks this)
Sky News: Meta found ‘covertly tracking’ Android users through Instagram and Facebook. “Academics at the Radboud University in the Netherlands and IMDEA Networks said they discovered Meta and Yandex have been tracking Android users’ browser activity without their consent and then using the data in their apps. Meta said it was looking into the issue, while Yandex denied collecting any […]
I remember a time when websites did not require tracking subdomains to be loaded in order for a user to login.
You want me to unblock the tracker to login... ill take my business elsewhere.
This is happening with more frequency. I guess sites are getting wise to users blocking third party cookies and third party tracking sites / plugins.
How-To Geek: Using Incognito Mode? These 7 Entities Can Still Track You. “There’s a common perception that using private browsing modes makes it so no one can see which sites you’re using, or what you do on them, but the truth is that the only place these modes hide anything is on your own computer. All of these other entities can see exactly where you’re spending time online.”
NC Newsline: House bill would allow NC consumers to opt out of targeted online ads. “House Bill 462 would allow consumers to confirm whether companies, called ‘controllers’ in the bill, have their personal data. Consumers would be able to obtain their data, have it corrected, or have it deleted. Companies would have to tell consumers what third parties have their personal information. […]
PC World: Brave browser’s newest tool swats away those annoying cookie pop-ups. “I appreciate and respect what the GDPR was trying to accomplish. The hours of corporate training and ‘please let us track you with cookies, we pinky-promise we need them’ messages that appear on nearly every website? Not so much. Now, the latest version of the Brave browser hopes to get rid of them—the […]
#GESISGuide #Webtracking
New GESIS Guide published: “Overview of Working with Web Tracking Data”
Mangold, F., & Stier, S. (2025). Overview of Working with Web Tracking Data (GESIS Guides to Digital Behavioral Data, 23). Cologne: GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.
https://doi.org/10.60762/ggdbd25023.1.0
How can web tracking be used as a method for studying digital media use and online behavior? How does web tracking data collections differ from other digital research methods ?
🔍 Ever opened an email & later saw ads for that brand? That’s a web beacon tracking you.
📌 Web beacons (AKA tracking pixels) are invisible 1x1 images that:
✅ Track email opens & location
✅ Log website visits
✅ Work even if cookies are blocked
💡 How to block them:
✔ Disable remote content in emails
✔ Use Firefox + uBlock Origin
✔ Try Tor or Mullvad Browser
Urusai — это реализация "noisy" на Go, предназначенная для генерации случайного HTTP/DNS трафика, создающего фоновый шум, который повышает анонимность и снижает ценность продажи ваших данных.
Проект предлагает конфигурацию через JSON файл, настраиваемые агенты пользователя и черные списки URL. Также доступны регулируемая глубина обхода и интервалы ожидания.
https://github.com/calpa/urusai
**Пояснение:**
**Urusai** — это реализация концепции *"noisy traffic"* на языке Go. Она создаёт случайный HTTP/DNS трафик, который действует как фоновый шум. Это помогает:
✔️ **Усложнить отслеживание** — ваш реальный трафик теряется в случайных запросах.
✔️ **Снизить ценность проданных данных** — алгоритмы рекламных компаний и слежки получают "мусорную" информацию.
**Функции:**
🔹 **Конфигурация через JSON** – гибкие настройки.
🔹 **Настраиваемые User-Agent'ы** – имитация разных браузеров.
🔹 **Чёрные списки URL** – исключение нежелательных адресов.
🔹 **Глубина обхода и задержки** – контролируемая генерация трафика.
Проект на GitHub: Urusai
**Хэштеги:**
#Privacy #CyberSecurity #Anonimity #Infosec #Urusai #GoLang #webtracking
**Как использовать Urusai без глубоких знаний администрирования**
**Urusai** создаёт случайный HTTP/DNS трафик для повышения анонимности. Если вы не администратор и не хотите углубляться в командные строки, вот простой способ запустить его.
**1. Установка**
✅ **Требования:**
Windows, macOS или Linux
Go (если хотите скомпилировать исходники)
Или готовый бинарник с GitHub
**a) Установка через Go (если установлен)**
```sh
go install github.com/calpa/urusai@latest
```
(После этого `urusai` можно запускать из командной строки.)
**b) Скачивание готового бинарника**
Перейдите в репозиторий.
Скачайте версию под вашу ОС (например, `urusai-linux-amd64` или `urusai-windows.exe`).
Распакуйте и запустите.
**2. Запуск**
Простейший вариант:
```sh
./urusai
```
или для Windows:
```sh
urusai.exe
```
Это сразу создаст случайный сетевой трафик.
**3. Настройка через JSON (если хочется точнее настроить)**
Можно создать конфигурационный файл `config.json`, например:
```json
{
"user_agents": ["Mozilla/5.0", "Chrome/98.0"],
"blacklist": ["example.com", "ads.tracker.net"],
"crawl_depth": 3,
"wait_time": 5
}
```
Запуск с настройками:
```sh
./urusai -config config.json
```
**4. Автозапуск (чтобы не включать вручную каждый раз)**
Можно добавить в автозагрузку:
**Windows:** Использовать `Task Scheduler`
**Linux/macOS:** Добавить в `cron` или `systemd`
**Что важно знать?**
⚠️ **Urusai создаёт "мусорный" трафик**, что может вызвать вопросы у провайдера или админа сети.
⚠️ **Не перегружайте сеть**, чтобы не снизить скорость реальных подключений.
⚠️ **Этот инструмент не заменяет VPN/Tor** — он только дополняет приватность, но не анонимизирует полностью.
**Вывод:** Если хотите уменьшить свою цифровую «отпечатку», но не хотите разбираться в сложных настройках — Urusai можно запустить в пару кликов. 🚀
Munk.org: 24 Hours with Pi-Hole, the Digital Bouncer at the Gate. “Over the past day, devices, computers and phones attached to my network made some 86,000 DNS queries to translate domain names for outside domains into IP addresses that are the actual address the Internet uses to route requests. That’s a *LOT*. The second surprise was to find that over a THIRD of those requests were for […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/24/munk-org-24-hours-with-pi-hole-the-digital-bouncer-at-the-gate/
#mte #meettheexperts #webtracking #datacollection
New #video on #YouTube:Meet our Experts Dr. Joachim Piepenburg and Dr. Frank Mangold who showcase research that linked surveys and #webtracking, present the data collection infrastructure and introduce how the academic community can participate in the data collections and use the collected data.
BBC: Critics say new Google rules put profits over privacy. “Privacy campaigners have called Google’s new rules on tracking people online ‘a blatant disregard for user privacy.’ Changes which come in on Sunday permit so-called “fingerprinting”, which allows online advertisers to collect more data about users including their IP addresses and information about their devices.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/17/bbc-critics-say-new-google-rules-put-profits-over-privacy/
Chrome's Related Website Sets feature raises privacy concerns: Research shows users struggle to identify related sites, potentially enabling cross-site tracking in Chrome despite third-party cookie deprecation. https://ppc.land/chromes-related-website-sets-feature-raises-privacy-concerns/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #PrivacyConcerns #Chrome #WebTracking #Cookies #UserPrivacy
Google Analytics introduces Data Layer Tutorial for enhanced web tracking: New video tutorial explains data layer implementation in Google Tag Manager and gag.js for improved website tracking and tag management. https://ppc.land/google-analytics-introduces-data-layer-tutorial-for-enhanced-web-tracking/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #GoogleAnalytics #DataLayer #WebTracking #TagManager #Gtag
Lukasz Olejnik: Biggest Privacy Erosion in 10 Years? On Google’s Policy Change Towards Fingerprinting. “While it is possible to use fingerprinting in line with laws like the EU GDPR and ePrivacy, big technology platforms had set higher standards. This shift arrives at a time when data demands—fueled by AI developments—are intensifying. The 2024 opinion of the European Data Protection […]
Privacy-friendly Alternatives to Popular Apps
There is immense power in being in control of your own data. As ownership and governance of apps and online services consolidate, it’s understandable if you want to consider your options when it comes to where you store your private data and records of your everyday activities.
Take a minute to think about what you’d want to leave behind. Big Tech giants that hoard your data? Subscription services? Invasive ad tracking? Government surveillance? Your needs and risks are unique to you, but hopefully a few of these recommendations help to hit the spot.
from TechCrunch – https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/24/these-alternatives-to-popular-apps-can-help-reclaim-your-online-life-from-billionaires-and-surveillance/
#Webtracking Dienste sammeln täglich 1 Million an Nutzerdaten
Derzeit wird #Mozilla beschuldigt, Firefox-Nutzer ohne Erlaubnis zu tracken. Wie groß das Ausmaß des Datensammelns ist, zeigt eine aktuelle Kaspersky-Analyse. #Privatsphäre #Tracking #Datenschutz
#Call for Research Proposals: Collect Your Own Linked #WebTracking and #SurveyData with the New GESIS Panel.dbd Digital Behavioral Data Sample:
Participate in repeated surveys and digital behavioral data collections within the GESIS Panel.dbd.
#Privacy #DataProtection #WebTracking #WebXray: "A lot of this leaking data is not just potentially embarrassing, or perhaps harmful to career prospects if it were to be made public, but outright illegal. Over the past half-decade, the European Union, a number of US states, and other governments around the world have enacted laws that restrict what kind of data websites can collect, or require a company to receive consent from a user before it does so. Every day, tech companies may violate those laws when, say, search engines and medical websites trample HIPAA by allowing search logs of users’ ailments to be tracked, documented, and sometimes monetized by companies like Google, or running roughshod over consent rules by turning a blind eye to advertising cookies embedded in publishers’ websites.
This, Libert says, is why he developed WebXray, a crude prototype of which he’s demoing for me right now. It’s a search engine for rooting out specific privacy violations anywhere on the web. By searching for a specific term or website, you can use WebXray to see which sites are tracking you, and where all that data goes. Its mission, he says, is simple; “I want to give privacy enforcers equal technology as privacy violators.” To level the playing field.
On Thursday, Libert plans to launch the website to the public, so anyone can get a sense of how sprawling the web of privacy violations being made every day really is, along with a premium tier for regulators and attorneys, who can use the tool to assess those violations and address them. Libert knows a thing or two about both search engines and digital privacy. Until last year, he was a staff engineer on the privacy team at Google, which is of course the operator of the largest search engine in the world—and the largest collector of data of the billions of people who use it."
https://www.wired.com/story/webxray-online-privacy-violations/
#USA #USPS #DataProtection #Privacy #WebTracking: "In our testing, TechCrunch discovered that the USPS website shared the postal address of a logged-in USPS Informed Delivery customer with Meta, LinkedIn and Snap. TechCrunch tested this by inspecting the network traffic using tools baked into most modern browsers.
Our testing showed the data-collecting code on USPS’ website was scraping the customer’s address from the Informed Delivery landing page after customers logged in, and then sending it to the companies.
The code also collected other data, such as information about the user’s computer type and browser, which appeared as partly pseudonymized — essentially scrambled in a way that makes it more difficult for humans to know where data came from, or who it relates to, by using randomized identifiers in place of real customer names. But researchers have long warned that pseudonymous data can still be used to re-identify seemingly anonymous individuals.
TechCrunch also found that tracking numbers entered into the USPS website were also shared with advertisers and tech companies, including Bing, Google, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Snap. Some in-transit tracking data was also shared, such as the real-world location of the mail in the postal system, even if the customer was not logged in to USPS’ website."
https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/18/usps-shared-customer-postal-addresses-with-meta-linkedin-and-snap/
