Warm greetings to all the wonderful maintainers,
I am sorry to report that, with the latest Iceweasel (31.3.0) update
came something I did NOT want:-
This version is constantly loading two google cookies - google.com
google.com.au (country specific). If you go into Edit ->
Preferences -> Privacy -> Show Cookies and try to delete these
unwanted (in my case) cookies, they will re-appear in seconds and
have to be deleted again, and again .... ad nauseum.
If you then try to 'block' these cookies in Edit -> Preferences ->
Privacy -> Exceptions, then addresses in the 74.125.237.xxx IP range
continue to 'steal' bandwidth by trying to communicate with the
Iceweasel browser.
I have tested this at length using a blank (new tab) in Iceweasel and
leaving this open, while watching the 'Activity' and 'Received' counters
on Firestarter increment while nothing else is accessing the internet.
The only 'Active connections' listed in Firestarter are to 'Program' =
iceweasel and are consistently 'Destination' address 74.125.237.xxx and
using port 443 - HTTPS.
This 'bandwidth theft' happens at a rate of nearly 5Mbyte (4.9MByte) per
10 minute period or about 30MByte per hour, while Iceweasel is doing
nothing - at a blank new tab. This would equate to an overhead of
approximately seven percent of my total allocation. While this may not
seem much, when you are on a fixed income, every bit (pun intended) counts.
This does not happen with Epiphany or Konquerer.
Using http://www.pagesinventory.com/ to look up this IP range I find
that there is a substantial block of addresses from approx.
74.125.237.135 up to about 200 (and beyond?) that is registered to
itwa.net. When I try to find out about itwa.net by accessing their web
page through a browser, there is nothing out there - blank page.
I then used Firestarter's configuration files
/etc/firestarter/outbound/deny-to and
/etc/firestarter/outbound/deny-from to block / deny access to
74.125.237.136/27 and 74.125.237.167/27 (block of 60 addresses from
xxx.136 to xxx.197). I found that this stopped this on-going wastage of
my bandwidth, but this also effectively cut off ALL access to many sites
that use embedded google maps to show where their various business
premises are located, when I wish to try to conduct business with them.
I also found that I could no longer access any instructional /
educational / current affairs videos on youtube. It was this that
alerted me to the fact that google must be using these addresses - since
google owns youtube and google maps.
I have long distrusted google and for this reason google is my search
engine of VERY LAST RESORT!!! I do not wish to contract with them in
any form or manner and I do not consent to any of their presence on any
of my IT resources. It is for this reason, that I have Iceweasel Edit ->
Preferences -> Privacy -> Accept cookies from sites -> Always -> Keep
Until -> I close Iceweasel set, so as to clear out these un-wanted cookies.
I use Linux (more especially Debian - 'The Ethical Linux'), so that I
may have SOME control over my own IT resources. So when I am forced to
have cookies I do not want and have my bandwidth stolen, even when I am
running The Ethical Linux, I get very annoyed. II feel that someone has
slipped us something sick and wrong into this wonderful 'brew' that is
'Debian - The Ethical Linux'.
This is 'theft' of bandwidth for which I PAY, which is for my exclusive
use only - NOT some snooping, mongrel, NSA lapdog with way too much
money. Not only is this theft but it is also done under subterfuge by
using an unrelated domain name - itwa.net.
"A system can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it
cannot survive "treason" from within. An enemy at the gates is less
formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. The
"traitor" moves amongst those within the gates freely, his sly
whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of
government itself, for the "traitor" appears not a "traitor". He
speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face
and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in
the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a system, he works
secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of its
nations, he infects the body politics so that it can no longer
resist. A murderer is less to fear. Beware, beware, beware..." --
Marcus Tullius Cicero 42 B.C
I look forward to this issue being fixed.
Thanking you in anticipation
Kind regards and best wishes again to the maintainers for their efforts
with Linux and Freedom of Choice.
Ale
