Tuesday, 22 July 2014

This new web tracking technique laughs at your puny ad blockers

This new web tracking technique laughs at your puny ad blockers

A coalition of web researchers have reportedly discovered a new web-tracking technique that could prove difficult to block.


Called canvas fingerprinting, it draws each user a unique, hidden image using typical web code, so existing types of ad blockers and privacy settings can't stop it.


Researchers documented it in a new report called "The Web never forgets: Persistent tracking mechanisms in the wild."


Even privacy standard Do Not Track is apparently useless against canvas fingerprinting (making it even more useless, somehow).


Heaven help us


Those who are concerned about their privacy online know that advertisers and other web entities are always coming up with new ways to track browsers' activities.


Some sites will reportedly give users the option to opt out of the new tracking technique, but otherwise there's little you can do.


The fingerprinting technique is currently being tested by a social sharing network called AddThis, which is currently being used by sites ranging from California's government websites and Perez Hilton to numerous porn sites.


Thankfully, though, the technique has one flaw: it's ever-so-slightly inaccurate, meaning it may never fully catch on.

















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