this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2024
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Privacy
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Easiest answer would be: Use a common OS, with a common browser, and no add-ons.
The moment you start using something different to Windows, Android, iOS or macOS with Safari, Chrome or Firefox, you're probably already in the 5 % (just my uninformed estimate). Add-ons also increase this value drastically.
Long story short: The sad truth is, the moment you're interested in online-prviacy, you're very unique.
Is there no way to spoof that I'm using one of those without actually using them?
One of the points of Libre Wolf is to make you unique, but each session should be unique.
You can find some additional setting tweaks here: https://librewolf.net/docs/settings/
The "letterboxing" feature is an additional uniqueness feature you could consider enabling.
I'm particular you could check your result in this experiment: https://fpresearch.httpjames.space/
Try it in both normal and in a private tab, then record those results, reopen Libre Wolf, and try again.
Can you explain what I'm supposed to be looking for in that .space link? What's the server code and client code? Am I trying to see if the emojis and number at the bottom changes when I reopen the site?
So server code is your fingerprint based on what a server is able to see. This would be your fingerprint with JS disabled, essential. Client code is the JS generated fingerprint.
So, if I have the same client code and a different server code, I'm followable only as long as I have JS enabled?
So .... Again, what is the point of this test, lol. What am i looking for? It seems like no one actually knows what the hell this test is showing, lol. Idk why it was posted if no one knows what it's showing? Do you know what I'm supposed to be looking for?
The test is simply showing two fingerprints for your browser. One, the server fingerprint, is one that any tracker can see. The other, the client fingerprint, is what can be used if you have Javascript enabled.
Instead of inundating you with test results, this one is simple - check to see if your fingerprints change between browsing sessions. If they don't change, that means you can be tracked. In which case you can mess with settings and try again.
Mine appears to change each time between browser sessions on a semi-hardened firefox. No clue what the bottom section means though.
The bottom result (the % certain one) is just a fuzzy match of similar fingerprints AFAICT.
So should both the server and client codes change each time you reopen a new browser session? Or just the client?
Both should if your goal is to not have a reusable fingerprint (which for a privacy focus would be). Server should change more frequently since it has access to less information about the browser. Server based fingerprinting is fairly unreliable, client side uses Javascript to generate more bits of unique data.
Spoofing is a whole hell of a lot easier said than done. Content delivery networks like Akamai, Cloudflare, etc. all know exactly how different versions of different browsers present themselves, and will catch the tiniest mistake.
When a browser requests a web page it sends a series of headers, which identify both itself and the request it’s making. But virtually every browser sends a slightly different set of headers, and in different orders. So Akamai, for example can tell that you are using Chrome solely by what headers are in the request and the order they are in, even if you spoof your User-Agent string to look like Firefox.
So to successfully spoof a connection you need to decide how you want to present yourself (do I really want them to think I’m using Opera when I’m using Firefox, or do I just want to randomize things to keep them guessing). In the first case you need to be very careful to ensure your browser sends requests that exactly matches how Opera sends them. One header, or even one character out of place can be enough for these companies to recognize you’re spoofing your connection.
librewolf hopefully supports changing user agents. if not, uninstall it