On Thu, 2012-01-26 at 11:14 -0500, Michael Mol wrote: > On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:04 AM, Frank Steinmetzger <war...@gmx.de> wrote: > > On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 09:34:56AM -0500, Michael Mol wrote: > > > >> >>> I guess you mean https://panopticlick.eff.org/ > >> >> > >> >> My results from work: > >> >> > >> >> Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 1,939,102 > >> >> tested so far. > >> >> > >> >> Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that > >> >> conveys at least 20.89 bits of identifying information. > >> >> > >> > > >> > > >> > Funny, I get exactly the same thing except add one to the large number. > >> > I guess you tested before I did. How does one avoid this but still > >> > have sites work? > >> > >> Well, I just went to the same site using a Chrome 'incognito' browser, > >> and got this: > >> > >> Within our dataset of several million visitors, only one in 969,560 > >> browsers have the same fingerprint as yours. > >> > >> Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that > >> conveys 19.89 bits of identifying information. > > > > I get almost the same numbers with just using NoScript and Flashblock. (And > > the above result when I allow the Java applet and JavaScript). > > > > This backs me up in using noscript and flashblock. Sometimes I doubt myself > > when I get asked once more why I would use NoScript in times when most of > > the > > web relies on JS. I then say that privacy and comfort is more important to > > me > > than having to allow JS on a site from time to time. (Even though some sites > > obviously don't work without it, such as video portals, most of them still > > do, > > albeit some gt a borked layout from it). > > FWIW, I'm not using NoScript or Flashblock, only an Adblock. And > Chrome blocked the Java applet both in the normal and incognito modes. > >
To turn this on its head ... rather than hiding, is there a way to create identical browsers that pollute their (google et al.) databases? Perhaps a read only VM with a standard fit out? (noscript etc. - basically a sandboxed browser for the paranoid!) or does such a thing already exist? BillK
