Using Linux makes you more trackable?

[Vostrocity]

Maybe this is common sense for some of you, but I found it quite interesting. According to EFF's new project, websites can track you (your computer) without cookies using only your browser configuration (that's obvious). But not known to me, they can delve as deep as knowing what fonts you have and what plugins you're running! For my test, this was the downfall that made my computer uniquely-identifiable among the 150,000 something they have tested so far. Using Linux thus makes you more-easily tracked as you are more likely have an obscure configuration.

The project is called Panopticlick and is run by digital rights advocacy group EFF.

[blueshiftoverwatch]

Yeah, I just read that earlier today. Although, just by disabling Javascript I went from having a unique configuration out of the 150,000+ people it's recorded to being one of about 900 other people with my exact same configuration.

Although, since that article is more likely to be read by tech oriented people and tech oriented people are more like to run Linux than a sample from the general population. Running Linux will make your configuration more unique compared with the rest of the web's population than what that test would lead you to believe.

[Paqman]

Well, I just tried it on an XP/Firefox machine and it said I was uniquely identifiable out of 166,000 people. So I wouldn't sweat it too much that your oddball OS is what's fingering you. Judging from my result it looks like your plugins alone will give the game away.

[markp1989]

i dony know how much truth there is in that site, but it tells me "Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 166,824 tested so far". which to be honest i dont believe

[JDShu]

Just like everybody else, I'm unique as well apparently.

[handy]

If I test multiple times, I become less unique by over 10,000 each time?

It is still an interesting site, particularly the detailed info' that is being picked up from the browser, even when using a variety of methods to be more anonymous.

1/27,000

[jfloydb]

It seems to me that the site itself is taking your (browser configuration) fingerprint. Information that it can use to coordinate with others to trace your activities. I didn't try it.

[handy]

It seems to me that the site itself is taking your (browser configuration) fingerprint. Information that it can use to coordinate with others to trace your activities. I didn't try it.

The point is, ANY site can do that.

[Edit:] https://www.eff.org/

[texaswriter]

If you are aware of Permutations and Combinations, 170,000 users isn't exactly a lot. Well, let's see how hard it would be to have 170,000 possibilities off of a relatively insignificant possibilities.

Let's start here: how many distro's are there: Debian (say there's three different versions in use: old_stable, stable, and unstable). Ubuntu: 8.04, 9.04, 9.10 and 10.04, Let's say there are 10 other linux operating systems with 3 different versions each..

So that's 10*3+1*3+1*4 = 37 different operating system versions.

Let's say each one has just two different versions of the browser. Since you may or may not be running an up to date distro AND OR custom compiled, this is somewhat fair

People have from 0 to up to 50 addons in Firefox/iceweasel

Among those addons there is probably a variation of versions in use. Let's just say there are an average of 3 version variations.

Most Linux have a media player, there is a variation with respect to Gnome or KDE... maybe more, we'll just suppose 2 here

Those media players have various plugins. This will be left to include the movie player as well.

Let's say there are only 5 different screen resolutions available.

You could have from about 15 fonts up to many many more... We won't include this variation since it is too ahrd to predict.

Ignoring ALOT of other variations: 55,500 possibilities...

Well, if you only multiplied that by 3, you have ur 165000 possibilities.

[LightB]