In this article we'll be looking at settings and extensions you can use in your browser of choice to make your browsing experience safer and more private.
Topics include :
- Trackers. What are they and how to stop them.
- Privacy related browser settings to change.
- Adblockers. They block more than just ads!
This article is by no means exhaustive, but it’s very effective considering the small amount of effort required.
I searched Amazon for ‘weighted blankets’ one time and now it’s the only ad I see!
Sure, it can be helpful for the internet to seemingly read your mind, but it’s also a little creepy. Especially since the ads show up on completely different websites than the one you were originally searching on.
So how do they know? Trackers.
Advertisers and other third parties track where you go on the web using a combination of web cookies and scripts, hoping to find useful data they can use to fingerprint you and target you with ads that you would be more likely to click, wherever you go.
Even if you use an ad-blocker (we’ll get to them later), they’re still collecting data on you whether you see the targeted ads or not. *insert creepy, shivering feeling here*
Ok, so how can I get these trackers off my back?
Through a combination of browser cookie settings and an extension called Privacy Badger, you can drop off the trackers’ radar completely.
Privacy Badger is created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF – Defending civil liberties in the digital world since 1990!). It can be installed into your browser as an extension. It watches website behaviour as you move around the internet and if it finds the same tracker following you around from site to site, it blocks all communication to them. As far as the tracker is concerned, you just disappeared. They’ll have to move on to the next unassuming person.
I will list the various download locations for Privacy Badger below, depending on your browser of choice. Note that mobile browsers, aside from Firefox on Android, do not have the ability to install extensions.
Privacy Badger for Microsoft Edge (the new Chromium based one) :
Safari :
Privacy Badger is not available for Safari. If you’re a Mac user, you can use Chrome or Firefox and use the download links above. Or, if you want to stick with Safari, at least check that ‘cross-site tracking’ settings are blocked by going to Safari > Preferences > Privacy > check the box next to ‘Prevent cross-site tracking’. If you don’t see that option, click ‘Ask websites not to track me’. This won’t block all trackers, but it’s better than nothing
What were you saying about Cookie settings?
Each browser allows you to control how you handle cookies, little files left over from websites you visit to keep track and remember your preferences.
They can make your browsing life easier, remembering you when you return so you don’t have to keep logging in, keeping items in your cart on shopping sites, things like this.
Third party cookies however are cookies made by a website other than the one you are currently on. These are the ones trackers and ad companies use. If you'd prefer to not use Privacy Badger mentioned above, you can still glean privacy benefits from blocking third party cookies across the board. It won't stop all trackers, like Privacy Badger would however.
Please note: Not all third party cookies are bad. Some are necessary for the page to function. So it follows that blocking third party cookies has the potential to break how some websites work. If a site is misbehaving, turn them back on and try it again.
How to block third party cookies :
Chrome :
Click the More button (3 dots) > Settings > Privacy and Security > Block third-party cookies
Firefox :
Click the Menu button (3 horizontal lines) > Options > Privacy & Security > Switch to Strict to block tracking cookies as well as everything blocked in Standard
Edge (the new Chromium based one) :
Click the Menu button (3 dots) > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Switch to Strict to block more trackers
Safari: Safari > Preferences > Privacy > Allow from current website only
What is the best ad-blocker to use?
There are so many ad-blocker extensions to choose from, but you have to be careful as some are known to collect data on you and sell it.
The current trusted de-facto when it comes to ad-blockers is uBlock Origin. Be careful of imposters.
This extension not only blocks ads but, as a result, speeds up your browsing experience dramatically. As well, ads are a popular avenue of attack for malware, so this protects you from that as well.
Download locations :
uBlock Origin for Microsoft Edge (the new Chromium based one) :
Safari :
I can't find an ad-blocker I feel comfortable recommending for Safari. uBlock Origin for Safari is managed by a different developer and it currently doesn't work at all for later versions of Safari. The simplest solution would be to change to Firefox or Chrome. If you want to stick with Safari, definitely do your own research before installing a different ad-blocker.
What’s next?
You can go down a never ending rabbit hole if you want, but I think this is a very good start, or even an end if you want, to browser privacy.
I’ll leave you with two more tips:
Duckduckgo.com is a great alternative search engine to Google if you value your search terms not being logged or used to target ads toward you.
Are you thoroughly creeped out by all this tracking going on behind the scenes? This is a great resources regarding the topic including even more steps you can take to protect yourself : https://datadetoxkit.org/
Back to Cybersecurity Blog Home.
Stavros Tzagadouris - Level 1 Information Security Officer - Trent University