Regular readers of TuxDiary might remember Panopticlick, an EFF effort to identify a browser uniquely using fingerprints. as we discussed earlier, Tor takes privacy to a higher level and makes it more difficult to track a browser. The good news is, Mozilla is working actively to bring Tor privacy settings to regular Firefox, sans additional plugins. Continue reading Tor privacy settings adoption on Firefox
Tag: internet privacy
Panopticlick 2: test browser security
Panopticlick from EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) got a new update in version 2. It’s an online service is to check how secure your browser is from online tracking. Our regular readers might remember, EFF is also the team behind Privacy Badger. Continue reading Panopticlick 2: test browser security
Hulbee: privacy-oriented search engine
You might have already come across the fact that search engines like Google invade your privacy and track you. There are alternatives like DuckDuckGo, Startpage which focus heavily on honoring user privacy. Hulbee is a new name in the list with its servers located in Switzerland. Continue reading Hulbee: privacy-oriented search engine
Chromium based secure browsers for Linux
Many of us are strong Firefox fans but there’s no denying that Chromium browser runs faster (at the cost of more memory). On the other hand, Firefox had always been the leader when it comes to secure web browsing. Continue reading Chromium based secure browsers for Linux
vpnbook: access from Ubuntu
We explored how to use FrootVPN earlier and vpnbook isn’t much difference. You don’t need to create a user account with vpnbook and it’s 100% free. Servers are available in Europe as well as US. To use the service, visit vpnbook and click on the tab openvpn. Note down the username and password. Download any of the bundles. Continue reading vpnbook: access from Ubuntu
Firefox adds active tracking protection
If you are a Firefox user you might have noticed the Do Not Track option in the Privacy tab in preferences. The caveat is, websites are not required to honour the request. Even the incognito mode doesn’t ensure that websites can’t collect data. When you are tracked, websites can collect information to identify you uniquely. Continue reading Firefox adds active tracking protection
Cyph: anonymous encrypted chat
We explored some anonymous chat solutions earlier. Cyph is a chat service that generates a random chat room for you and allows you to communicate with your friends over an anonymous and encrypted connection. That’s about it! No sign-ups, installations, configuration or logging. Your chat link and log expires shortly after the chat session is over. Invite your friends with the randomly generated URL link and you are good to go once they join.
A new version of Cyph is under development.
Webpage: Cyph
FrootVPN: encrypted anonymous VPN
Update: FrootVPN is no longer free.
FrootVPN is a (The Pirate Bay endorsed) free VPN service that routes all your network traffic anonymously through servers in Stockholm. The mechanism is different from Tor, where network bandwidth is randomly shared among the users. As per the claims on the FrootVPN website, the traffic is fully anonymous, censor free and no user information is saved in the servers. Continue reading FrootVPN: encrypted anonymous VPN
DuckDuckGo adds cool features
DuckDuckGo is already quite popular but if you haven’t heard about it, it is an anonymous web search engine. Unlike Google, it doesn’t track you and the interface is clutter-free. Recently DuckDuckGo has added some interesting features to cater to specific types of searches:
- Auto-suggest – See suggested search results as you type your search term.
- Redesign – Less clutter and default, classic or dark theme options.
- Images and videos – Always available on search results page via a carousel.
- Places – Find local places of interest.
- Meanings – Better search for ambiguous words.
- Recipes – Search for cooking recipes.
- Weather – Get instant weather forecasts.
- Answers – Answers to your questions.
Here’s the procedure to add it to the Firefox search bar.
Webpage: DuckDuckGo
Privacy Badger: new browser add-on to block trackers
Privacy Badger is a new browser extension being developed by EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) to protect your online privacy. Privacy Badger blocks spying ads and invisible trackers. It’s there to ensure that companies can’t track your browsing without your consent.
While there are tools like Disconnect which also do the job well Privacy Badger gives you a clearer view of which trackers are trying to track you. It also allows you more control on dealing with the trackers.
Privacy Badger sends a Do Not Track header with each request and when it finds that the request is not being honored, it automatically blocks any requests being sent to the domain. Each tracker is denoted by 3 suggestive states: GREEN (unblocked), YELLOW (do not send cookies or referrers) and RED (block). You can change the state manually too. Advertisers and other third-party domains can unblock themselves in Privacy Badger by making a strong commitment to respect Do Not Track requests. By including this mechanism, Privacy Badger not only protects users who install it, but actually provides incentives for better privacy practices across the entire Web.
It is still in an Alpha stage as we write and needs more testing. We encourage readers to try it out and send feedback or bug reports. Currently it supports Firefox and Google Chrome.
Similar extension for Firefox – Ghostery.
Webpage: Privacy Badger
