What is Browser Fingerprinting? - News Boss

Quantrimang.com There have been many articles on online privacy and include high privacy tools such as proxies, VPNs and similar software. But did you know that the site already knows who you are! This method is called Device Fingerprinting or Browser Fingerprinting. In this article, the reader will have a chance to learn about Browser Fingerprint and then see if there are any methods to help you avoid being tracked or traced.

What is Browser Fingerprint?

Gathering data according to the web pages you visit with any browser and identifying you based on that data is called Browser Fingerprinting. Most Internet users have different settings for their browser. Not only browser information, but websites running JavaScript or Flash scripts can also know the type of computer screen you have, the font on your system, cookies, etc.

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Browser Fingerprinting tells websites who you are

But if you're using proxies and VPNs, do these matter? A proxy only changes your location. It does not add or remove extensions from the browser or change its settings. Likewise, a VPN will also not change the screen resolution and pixel depth. None of these options can prevent the website from querying the fonts installed on the computer or other information.

In other words, they cannot modify or delete the Browser Footprint. Most browsers will ask the sites not to track you, the site(s) may or may not accept the request. You may also use a number of third-party tools to help reduce tracking and tracing of information about you. They work, but cannot block queries coming from those websites.

Going back to Browser Fingerprinting, there are third-party companies tasked with identifying you among the millions of people visiting a particular website. Most data is obtained by querying your browser: Number of extensions, installed extensions, browser settings, cookies you are allowed to store on your computer and the like . Some companies add scripts to your system configuration. In short, they first identify you and then follow you, often for profit!

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By now, you know that websites can identify you using a variety of methods. Next, learn how to get rid of this type of tracking.

How to avoid, disable Browser Fingerprint

There are several steps you can take to prevent or disable browser fingerprinting

While there are some plugins for Chrome and Firefox that claim to do the task by randomly enabling and disabling add-ons, this can't really help. It will tell websites more about your browser using these specific plugins. Plus, websites can always read all existing plugins and extensions even if they're disabled.

You can add some plugins manually before starting the browsing session. After each, you can delete them and add some more plugins. This is also not a surefire way to prevent or disable browser fingerprinting.

The main problem is that they can query the computer with Javascript or Flash code. Code Flash can provide a lot of information about your system.

Some people may think that using incognito or InPrivate mode can be helpful. But even without the extension, the browser still has unique identifiers.

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There are several steps you can take to prevent or disable browser fingerprinting:

1. Disable JavaScript

Turning off JavaScript is a strong defense against browser fingerprinting, as it removes the code that websites use to detect plugins, fonts, use super cookies, etc. But this can affect the experience your browsing experience.