16 votes

An interesting study into how ads are fingerprinting your devices

15 comments

  1. [15]
    torekk
    Link
    I'm thankful there's stuff like this: https://adnauseam.io/ Sadly not many people use it(yet), else stuff like this wouldn't happen since it'd become obsolete.

    I'm thankful there's stuff like this: https://adnauseam.io/

    Sadly not many people use it(yet), else stuff like this wouldn't happen since it'd become obsolete.

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      Lawrencium265
      Link Parent
      I prefer to go the other way. I use a VPN as well as pihole. and the Firefox container add-on along with ad and script blockers. For aps I will ignore a service if it requires one. I'm considering...

      I prefer to go the other way. I use a VPN as well as pihole. and the Firefox container add-on along with ad and script blockers. For aps I will ignore a service if it requires one. I'm considering going to full Linux containers entirely for different use cases, so I can have my real accounts completely separated from things like social media.

      5 votes
      1. torekk
        Link Parent
        The addon isn't that much about blocking ads, but showing advertisers that the current way isn't really working. You don't prevent that with your approach... with stuff like AdNauseam however you...

        The addon isn't that much about blocking ads, but showing advertisers that the current way isn't really working. You don't prevent that with your approach... with stuff like AdNauseam however you basically force advertisers to re-think their ways.

        6 votes
    2. [3]
      Wes
      Link Parent
      I may not like seeing ads online, but delivering fake clicks seems unethical to me. It'll burn through the budgets of small businesses that rely on ads for outreach. I can't get behind that. If...

      I may not like seeing ads online, but delivering fake clicks seems unethical to me. It'll burn through the budgets of small businesses that rely on ads for outreach. I can't get behind that.

      If you dislike ads, I'd suggest just blocking them the standard way.

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        torekk
        Link Parent
        Just disable the addon for said small businesses, what's the problem? And just blocking ads won't change stuff.

        Just disable the addon for said small businesses, what's the problem?

        And just blocking ads won't change stuff.

        1 vote
        1. hoytschermerhorn
          Link Parent
          In OP’s case, small businesses == small advertisers. Since you can’t know beforehand what ads will be served from a small business, preemptively disabling the ad-on isn’t really a solution.

          In OP’s case, small businesses == small advertisers. Since you can’t know beforehand what ads will be served from a small business, preemptively disabling the ad-on isn’t really a solution.

          2 votes
    3. [8]
      NecrophiliaChocolate
      Link Parent
      I don't get it. What is the point of this instead of ublock? It said this is built on top of ublock and clicks on ads, but why? Does it give the people incorrect data? Why should I even care about...

      I don't get it. What is the point of this instead of ublock? It said this is built on top of ublock and clicks on ads, but why? Does it give the people incorrect data? Why should I even care about that if I am already blocking them tho?

      2 votes
      1. [6]
        rkcr
        Link Parent
        This Wired article gives a good overview of why, but in short, it prevents you from being successfully tracked by flooding the trackers with garbage data. It's like losing yourself in a crowd;...

        This Wired article gives a good overview of why, but in short, it prevents you from being successfully tracked by flooding the trackers with garbage data.

        It's like losing yourself in a crowd; sure, you're still somewhere in the crowd, but it's really hard to find you!

        3 votes
        1. [2]
          GarrusVakarian
          Link Parent
          There's a great Android app that does this with public WiFi networks as well. It spoofs your IP address to give whatever servers that are around a harder time tracking you and flooding them with...

          There's a great Android app that does this with public WiFi networks as well. It spoofs your IP address to give whatever servers that are around a harder time tracking you and flooding them with garbage information.

          The app is called Pry-Fi, though you do need to be rooted.

          2 votes
          1. unknown user
            Link Parent
            s/IP address/MAC address/ It's like the difference between lying about your name on a shipping form vs lying about your address – if you make up a random name, the post still arrives, but if you...

            s/IP address/MAC address/

            It's like the difference between lying about your name on a shipping form vs lying about your address – if you make up a random name, the post still arrives, but if you make up a random address, it'll go somewhere completely different.

            1 vote
        2. [3]
          NecrophiliaChocolate
          Link Parent
          Ok I read the article, still don't get why its better than just an ad blocker.

          Ok I read the article, still don't get why its better than just an ad blocker.

          1. [2]
            Lawrencium265
            Link Parent
            It punishes advertisers because they pay per click in most cases.

            It punishes advertisers because they pay per click in most cases.

            1. NecrophiliaChocolate
              Link Parent
              Ah ok. I couldn't care less about punishing them, so I guess I'll stick to ad blocker.

              Ah ok. I couldn't care less about punishing them, so I guess I'll stick to ad blocker.

      2. torekk
        Link Parent
        It doesn't give them incorrect data, it's just the data they receive isn't unique, as basically anyone who has this addon installed sends them the same data.

        It doesn't give them incorrect data, it's just the data they receive isn't unique, as basically anyone who has this addon installed sends them the same data.