Tracking protection in the Firefox browser. The Best Browser Plugins for Privacy Protection
Internet security involves the use of programs. In this article I will give short review such programs (plugins).
The problem of total surveillance of a user on the Internet was discussed earlier. The previous article was devoted to tools that allow you to manage and erase cookies that are used to track the user. However, deleting cookies is not enough because... they will arise again. Therefore, in addition to removal, it is important software for blocking and other methods of tracking you online. I will list some of them.
Review of anti-tracking plugins for your browser
(Chrome,IE, Firefox) - a product of Google. Disables personalization of online advertising based on cockies. The plugin works immediately after installation and does not require configuration (at least for Chrome).
(Chrome, Firefox, Safari) - prevents Twitter, Facebook, Goole and other web resources from following you online.
(Chrome,IE9, Firefox,Opera, Safari) - does not allow sending data about you
(Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari) - the most multifunctional plugin. Provides an easy way to control websites that track you. Makes it possible to identify and block any tracking carried out not only through cookies, but also using scripts and other methods. Shows you which companies are following you on a specific website and gives you the opportunity to learn more about them.
It’s up to you personally to decide whether to use such plugins or not, but you should at least know about their existence.
11.02.17 4844Today, there are many browser plugins that promise to protect user privacy. In this article we will look at the most popular browser plugins that protect from advertising on the Internet.
Block ads, scripts and pop-ups with AdBlock Plus
Ad and script blockers provide control over your browsing experience. They allow you to block ads on sites you visit and prevent the execution of scripts and widgets that send user data to unknown destinations.
But if you don't know how to use such tools, they can interfere with your browsing, making them unusable until you figure out what to allow and what to block. Additionally, by blocking ads, you can have a pretty significant impact on the site and the people working on it.
AdBlock Plus (Firefox/Chrome/Safari) blocks advertising banners, pop-ups, video ads and much more. It prevents you from visiting domains that host malware, and also disables third-party tracking cookies and scripts. We believe it combines ease of use with whitelisting and automated management to make it a tool that anyone can use. Advanced users can get their hands on and experiment with various lists subscriptions and the active list settings they use.
Alternatives:
In our opinion Adblock Plus is best choice, but there are several other plugins that do the same thing.
Let's consider other options Internet advertising protection:
- uBlock Origin for Chrome and Firefox is supported by the original developer. The plugin is as powerful as AdBlock Plus. Perhaps even more powerful because, unlike ABP, it gives you more control over what to block and what to allow. It also takes less system resources and does not cause such problems as ABP, the creators of which are paid by some large companies to ensure that their ads fall within the framework of the “acceptable advertising” policy. The only reason uBlock Origin isn't our favorite is that it's a bit complex for first-time users and blocks more than ABP. So first you need to understand it in order to customize it to your needs. And second: ABP has features like Facebook cleaning, hiding YouTube comments and many other things that uBlock Origin doesn't do... at least until you're an experienced enough user to do it yourself. If you consider yourself an advanced user, remove ABP and install uBlock Origin;
- NoScript ( Firefox) and ScriptSafe ( Chrome, formerly ScriptNo): both disable script execution on pages until the user enters them into White list. Block execution of Java, JavaScript, Flash and other components. They are powerful, but very aggressive and interfere with the functioning of many sites. If you're going to use them, be prepared to understand the scripts on every site you visit to figure out which ones make the site work. Besides this, AdBlock Plus already does this ( and less aggressive), you just need add correct filters.
If you don't use additional functions AdBlock Plus for cutting out various YouTube junk or not blocking certain elements, try uBlock Origin. It will work wonders - it will reduce the amount of memory consumed by your browser, and as a result you will get a more powerful and customizable online ad protection tool for free. Although you will have to tinker with it to make it work exactly the way you want.
Blocking all tracking requests with Disconnect
Includes anti-tracking and anti-cookie extensions.
Disconnect Private Browsing ( Firefox/Chrome/IE/Safari) is our choice because it protects against tracking, malware and malicious advertising, provides secure Wi-Fi and provides optimization functionality bandwidth, which is simply not available in other tools. It blocks tracking cookies and gives you control over all scripts and site elements from an easy-to-use toolbar.
Disconnect can protect you even when malware embeds its advertisements on popular pages or the advertising network is infected with embedded malware. The plugin also protects against tracking via social networks such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, which use the browser to collect data about you even outside of their social platforms. Finally, Disconnect protects you when an attacker can use stolen cookies to access personal data without having to steal your password.
Alternatives:
Disconnect is our favorite plugin of the bunch, but there are other browser extensions that do the same thing:
- Privacy Badger ( Chrome/Firefox) - since he is new to this field, he tried to take the best from all previously created plugins. Acts too soft - blocks unwanted actions and creates a "blacklist" when it observes bad behavior, rather than blocking specific sites, cookies, and pop-ups. This makes it more lightweight, but it provides a little less protection, at least as long as it learns based on your behavior. You also get an easy-to-operate button on the toolbar that gives you a completely clear view of your information being recorded. System " Green / yellow / red» shows whether you are being tracked across sites or not;
- Do Not Track Me ( Firefox/Chrome/IE/Safari): offers a drop-down browser toolbar that shows you what tracking cookies and scripts are being loaded on the site and allows you to disable them completely. Has a friendly interface. It also leaves plugins and scripts running until you turn them off. Disconnect is much more powerful and functional, Do Not Track Me is suitable for those people who want to download online ad protection and disable elements selectively;
- Ghostery(): Just like other browser extensions, Ghostery blocks tracking cookies and scripts while loading. Displays a list of blocked items so you can see if the blocked items are harmless. The Ghostery database is huge and provides the ability to block everything or something specific. Unfortunately, Ghostery has problems selling information to advertisers, so you might want to stay away from it.
You could argue that Disconnect, Do Not Track Me and Ghostery do the same thing, but we still think Disconnect is the most reliable of the three. We like Privacy Badger's approach" learn as you go", but we can't argue that it will provide less protection when entering the tracking area than any other plugin. By the way, a new version Disconnect is only available for Firefox and Chrome, so if you prefer Safari, IE, or Opera, we'd suggest Do Not Track Me.
Essentially it comes down to personal preference: what doesn't interfere with your browsing and what works best in the browser you use most often. So if one plugin doesn't work, don't be afraid to try another one.
Desktop and mobile protection Disconnect Desktop
The Disconnect browser tool is worth downloading, and we recommend it for those who want privacy or faster web browsing. If you want to go even further, new desktop package Disconnect Private Browsing, which we mentioned above, with its own proxy and VPN will ensure the safety of your web surfing. It checks connections against a list of malware embedded in ad networks, monitors tracking tools for known malicious hosts and sites, and then simply blocks them.
The free version of the Disconnect desktop suite includes the browser plugins we mentioned above, with its own search service and a basic proxy server that ensures secure web surfing. When you upgrade to Disconnect premium for $5 per month or $50 per year, you can get these features along with mobile applications for iOS and Android.
This is great service protection against advertising on the Internet, and, frankly, there is no alternative to it. However, the premium price may be too high for some people. We think you should sign up for a VPN, especially when you're in a Wi-Fi zone or on untrusted networks, but Disconnect is designed for privacy and security. For many people, the Disconnect extension is all they need for protection.
Additional privacy tools
HTTPS Everywhere ( Firefox/Chrome) is required no matter what security measures you choose to use. Once installed, the extension will check your connection using SSL and try to find secure versions of the sites you visit. This great way protect your web surfing.
Virtual private network(VPN) encrypts all your Internet traffic and offers the highest possible protection against prying eyes. Look for a provider that stores only the minimum required logs for troubleshooting, offers strong encryption, has a good reputation among users, and provides plenty of options. Don't rush to any offshore VPN just because your VPN provider is in a distant country. If you're just looking free service, to protect yourself while you surf the Internet, and at the same time you are not ready to try a full-fledged paid VPN service ( or your own), try Hideman or Tunnelbear.
Antivirus utilities important for protecting safety. Try to avoid suspicious sites, practice good online hygiene, and keep your antivirus tools up to date.
Other security tools you may need
We have reviewed the most important and necessary tools to ensure privacy and security, but there is always one more step you can take to ensure that your communications will not be intercepted and read by third parties. Here are some more tools for better protection from advertising on the Internet:
- Web of Trust ( WOT): (Firefox/Chrome/Safari/IE) WOT does a great job of ranking sites by reputation. It's not an ad blocker or anything like that, but it does notify you when the site you're visiting is untrustworthy. Experienced users may not need support, but newbies may not always be able to see what is being loaded onto their computer when they visit a site;
- Encryption Email : If you want to take desktop security to a completely new level new level, you may want to consider email and chat encryption procedures. Our favorite chat apps Pidgin and Adium can make this quite easy. If you need another option, use TorChat;
- Tor ( Windows/Mac/Linux) encrypts your Internet traffic and sends it back through a series of other computers, known as relays, to hide your location as well as maintain your privacy. Of course, anonymity doesn't go far: traffic leaving a Tor network node is no longer encrypted. Only while the traffic is inside the Tor network
Good bad
For the convenience of Internet users, browser functions are constantly being improved. However, browsers are not only getting better, but also “more curious”: they send search queries, information about the use of programs and other information to the servers of their developers. Sites you visit can share information with each other through various cookies that remain on the system.
It was always believed that intelligence services could easily eavesdrop on any conversation and read email correspondence, messages in in social networks and via messengers.
How do intelligence agencies receive correspondence?
Several methods are used to obtain information. So what ways do Russian intelligence services have to read someone else’s mail?
- SORM - system technical means to ensure the functions of operational-search activities. This is the provision by Internet providers of access to their communication channels and special-purpose services. Without providing such access, not a single Internet provider in the Russian Federation will receive a license.
- An official request from an investigator, prosecutor or court to the server of a company providing email services.
But not everything is so complicated for those who encrypt the communication channel and also use foreign postal services. Foreign servers postal services are not physically located in the Russian Federation and do not have a license to operate in the Russian Federation.
The Russian government recommends, and in some cases tries to force, foreign companies to cooperate with the Russian Federation and provide access to the correspondence of its users. For example, the well-known Telegram service Pavel Durov was repeatedly threatened with banning and blocking in Russia if he did not cooperate with the Russian intelligence services.
“Skype, for example, immediately agreed to cooperate, it gives authorities access to encryption algorithms,” Putin’s adviser German Klimenko said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
How to choose an email service and protect yourself from reading your mail?
It is necessary to proceed from whether the postal company cooperates with Russian laws or not. I will quote the words of Adviser to the President of Russia German Klimenko from an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. “So, our company Mail.ru will respond to the investigator’s request. But Google won’t answer, but will send you away. Why? He also responds to 32 thousand Agency requests per year. national security USA. But he doesn’t answer ours.” From here we can conclude that services such as mail.ru, yandex.ru, rambler.ru can be read by the FSB of the Russian Federation, but services such as yahoo.com, gmail.com, aol.com cannot be read.
Any legislation in the field of messaging boils down to the fact that build servers with us, and if you are encrypted, provide access keys. The question is why?
Adding tracking protection to your browser
Why does the Russian government want to control everything? The government explains this as helping to catch criminals: “drug addicts, rapists, pedophiles,” Klimenko reports.
Although on the Internet you can read an alternative opinion of people who talk about control of petty criminals just as a curtain, but the meaning of total control lies elsewhere. Well, for example, to identify organizations of mass protests against the current government. Identification of opposition activities.
Let's summarize:
In order to protect your correspondence you need to use postal services foreign service With democratic politics, it is imperative to encrypt your Internet connection, because this is not prohibited by law.
German KlimenkoSurveillance traffic encryption
Every time you access the Internet, you leave “digital traces”: account passwords, messages, information about your preferences. Sometimes there is absolutely no need for outsiders to store this data. 42.TUT.BY has compiled “instructions for paranoids” and collected ways to protect against online surveillance advertising networks, large services and attackers.
Inappropriate ads can be annoying: you bought the iron a long time ago, but you see it again and again. Or they might put you in an awkward situation if, for example, after searching for C# strings, your work computer starts showing you advertisements for lingerie.
Two largest networks, the advertisements of which Belarusian users see are Google AdWords and Yandex.Direct, their blocks are placed on thousands of sites. Disable ad personalization from Google network here, and for Yandex - here. Advertising will not disappear after this, but will no longer take into account the history of sites you have visited and the content search queries.
You can also enable Do Not Track in your browser. It will notify sites that you don't want advertisers to track your web movements and collect data using cookies. The most intrusive advertisers can be stopped using special plugins. They will block cookies and scripts from those companies that continue to track your activities despite your blocking.
Chrome, Safari, Opera, Firefox, Android, iOS, Facebook.
Plugins: Privacy Badger (available for Chrome browsers and Firefox) or Ghostery (there are versions for Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari).
Many online login services use social media accounts as a quick replacement for registration. Sometimes they simply confirm your identity, and sometimes they get rights to access correspondence and even publish posts instead of you.
Sometimes, even if you no longer use a service, permissions for it continue to be stored. In such cases, it is better to disable unnecessary third party applications, linked to your social networks.
How to disable third-party services:
“VKontakte”, “Odnoklassniki”, Facebook, Google.
Google is watching every step
Google is the world's largest IT company, and many of its services are the most popular on the planet. And most likely, these services know more about you than you do yourself.
Google remembers every product you've ever used, everything you've found through a search, every video you've watched on YouTube, the passwords you've saved, and even your movements.
All this information is stored so that the company’s services work better. Google takes privacy seriously. True, such a volume of your data in one place can cause internal discomfort.
How to disable:
You can disable Google tracking on your own. special pages, dedicated to tracking and security.
Surveillance by hackers or intelligence agencies
If you feel like someone is intentionally spying on you, you should practice some “digital hygiene.” No one knows for sure what tools people who want to steal your information have. Here are some tips from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for civil liberties online.
Use HTTPS. Using strong encryption, every email sent is converted so that no one except the recipient can read it. HTTPS encrypts communications so that they cannot be seen by other people on your network - for example, users of the same Wi-Fi connection, work colleagues, or attackers. If communication occurs over HTTP rather than HTTPS, intercepting and reading everything the browser is used for becomes a simple task.
Many sites use encryption to protect data, but this protection is not always enabled by default. The HTTPS Everywhere browser plugin will help solve this problem, which enables encryption on all sites that have it.
Use a VPN.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a virtual private network. It protects your Internet traffic from surveillance on public networks. There are many paid and free options online. A free VPN client with unlimited data consumption has recently been available in the Opera browser.
How to encrypt everything
Encrypt correspondence. If you discuss something via VKontakte or WhatsApp, your messages are already encrypted from intruders and any third parties while the information is in transit. But the chat is not protected from the service provider company. She has the encryption keys for your chat and can give them to the authorities or use them for marketing purposes.
To protect correspondence, you can apply additional encryption instant messages and email - for example, OTR technology or PGP encryption. Another option is to use “secure” instant messengers, which do not allow the server to record your conversation. For example Signal (Android, iOS) or ChatSecure (Android, iOS).
Access the Internet using Tor Browser. It works like any other web browser, except it sends your requests through Tor.
The safest browser: how to avoid online surveillance
It's harder for people who follow you to know exactly what you're doing online. It's harder for those who monitor the sites you visit to determine where you connected from. The browser itself can be downloaded here, and the installation guide can be read here.
True, all these measures cannot provide absolute guarantees. What you formally deleted may continue to be stored on someone else's servers, and serious security precautions may contain vulnerabilities. It is worth remembering that the most reliable way To protect yourself from online surveillance, don’t use the Internet at all.
Read in full: https://42.tut.by/522004
Read in full: https://42.tut.by/522004
Read in full: https://42.tut.by/522004
Read in full: https://42.tut.by/522004
2004
How to protect yourself from scanner programs
Publishing House "KOMIZDAT"
In addition to viruses and spam, so-called scanner programs often penetrate your computer from the Internet. These uninvited guests make themselves at home on the computer and begin to spy on the owners
Few people still do not know that storing confidential information on a computer is not nearly as safe as in a safe or even just in a desk drawer, especially if the computer is connected to the Internet. But in order for someone to interfere in your affairs, an Internet connection is not necessary. Of course, the creators of some websites monitor user activity and then sell this information to advertising specialists. But besides this, programs are often downloaded onto the computer via the Internet that spy on our actions and report them to their unknown masters.
Such spy utilities are usually installed on the PC along with free programs, promising—and delivering—something useful. But, as you know, free cheese only happens in a mousetrap.
The second type of “spyware” comes to us not from the Internet, but from respected bosses who want to know what we do during working hours. This option the worse that you can’t stop your boss from following you! Both jealous spouses and vigilant parents use such things...
Commercial keyboard scanners such as Spector Pro, Eblaster, WinWhatWhere, XPCSpy, Desktop Surveillance Personal Edition monitor your actions completely unnoticed. They note not only every key pressed, but also every visit to a website, email or ICQ message. They take screenshots and send them along with other reports remote computer- all this without your knowledge. Everything you do on the computer is recorded and transmitted to the unknown Alex.
Identifying invisible people
It's amazing and sad how many companies live on people's suspicions. Even sadder is that the products of these companies - surveillance programs - are not so easy to recognize and remove. Many similar utilities They disguise themselves very well as “legal” applications and processes. Existing software tools to combat them do not always give the desired effect. None of the known anti spyware, such as 1Ad-aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, PestPatrol and Spy Sweeper, does not recognize and destroy 100% of “outsiders”. It remains to rely on logical considerations: the more anti-spyware utilities are used, the higher the chances of success. It is recommended to install at least Ad-aware and Spybot on a computer connected to the Internet; For greater guarantee, you can install PestPatrol and Spy Sweeper.
If you suspect that a keyboard and mouse scanner is installed on your computer, you can try to remove the program from “invisible” mode and uninstall it. Most programs detect themselves by key combinations - for example, for Spector Pro it works
When all programs are closed, click
There are other detection methods hidden programs. One such method is described on the website of X Software, a spyware manufacturer: in order to remove the XPCSpy utility from invisible mode, select Start command> Run, enter the rx command in the Open field and click OK.
If it is discovered that a spyware is operating on the system, you will most likely not be able to access its settings, since most similar programs password protected. But at least you will know that some Big Brother trying to keep an eye on you. Of course, you won’t like it much that your actions are being recorded and even less that someone is spying on you. However, the employer has the right to install tracking systems on equipment owned by him (see also “Software Monitoring”, K+P No. 10/2003). Therefore, stating that you do not like the presence of such a program on your work computer, much less trying to disable it, may not be in your best interests. Before you do anything, review your rights and, in particular, the contents of the contract concluded with your employer.
Tracking Protection in Firefox
If the computer belongs to you or a member of your family, the situation becomes even more delicate...
In any case, disabling the scanner program will warn its owner that you know everything. If you try to get rid of the spyware, but find that it is protected by a password that prevents the uninstaller from running, you can try to delete the program files if you find out what they are called and where they are located. Big list keyboard scanners, both commercial and free, are presented on the PestPatrol website. There you will also find instructions on how to remove and disable them.
If, after trying different options, you still cannot get rid of the scanner, the last resort remains: save all data, format HDD and reinstall the operating system and applications.
To prevent installation on your computer unwanted programs, it is better to use operating systems with strict registration, such as Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Linux (protocols Windows registration 98 and Me are more free). Choose good passwords for all user accounts—ones that you have never used before.
Again about firewalls
So, “spy” programs come in two ways: from people - strict bosses, a jealous wife, vigilant parents, smart children - or from the Internet. In the first case, it is probably better to rely on diplomacy: in the end, good relations are often the most important thing. But in the second case, obviously, curiosity should be said decisively “no!” and put a barrier to it in the form of hardware and software firewalls.
Anti-spies
The following software tools can detect at least some commercial scanner programs.
Spam should remain unanswered
To confirm that their letters reach real people, many spammers use letters requiring notification of receipt. For its part, the best reaction of the recipient to spam is no reaction - as if he forgot this address long ago and does not read the mail, which means there is no point in sending it.
Therefore it is better to disable mail client message confirmation function, if it is enabled by default. To do this, in Outlook 2000 and 2003, select Tools > Options, go to the Preferences tab, open E-Mail Options > Tracking Options, turn on Never send a response, and click on the OK button.
IN Outlook Express select the command Tools> Options> Receipts (Tools> Options> Confirmation), enable the Never send a read receipt mode and click on the OK button. In Mozilla and Netscape Mail, select Edit > Preferences, open the Category window under Mail & Newsgroups > Return Receipts, enable Never send a return receipt, and click the button OK.
How to properly configure Firefox to stop data leakage And disable surveillance?
It's no secret that nothing is free in this world and that you have to pay for everything. Free browsers and other free software in in this case is also no exception.
- Preface
- How do browsers make money?
- How to disable tracking in Firefox browser
How do browsers make money?
In this chapter I will get a little philosophical. But you can always go to the next chapter, which will talk about the browser settings themselves.
What is most valued in this world? That's right - money and information. Everything is simple with money; no one wants to part with it just like that. That's why there are millions of people who take their word for free. But with information everything is different. Sharing your personal information we don't feel like we're paying. Information is something that cannot be held in your hand or carried in your pocket. Accordingly, it is easy to part with this.
So how do browsers make money?
And they make money by using your information. These are primarily search queries and user behavior on websites. As far as we know, all this information is used exclusively for commercial purposes. But no one can guarantee that this information will not fall into the hands of the intelligence services.
I am in no way advocating to bury your head in the sand and become paranoid, but I am simply trying to show that on the Internet everything is not as you think. And if anonymity and privacy are important to you, follow the tips I give in this article.
By the way, about anonymity. If you are an Android phone user, I advise you to read the article “,” which describes in detail the way you can make your phone as secure as possible and your online experience more anonymous.
Firefox developer Mozilla Foundation actively uses Amazon cloud web services. This can be seen from the many connections to compute.amazonaws.com servers that appear immediately when the browser starts.
Firefox browser automatic connections
They occur every time launching Firefox 51.0 even if it's just installed. In addition to Amazon, traffic goes to the subnets of Akamai, Cloudflare, EdgeCast and Google. This is necessary to balance the load when downloading updates for the browser itself and its add-ons, as well as to ensure the ability to quickly send search queries. In addition, by default, a new browser tab displays links to other Mozilla community projects, images for which are also downloaded from the Internet.
Basic statistics about Firefox sent to telemetry.mozilla.org. It looks scanty and quite harmless.
The physical location of a device running the Firefox browser is determined through open system Mozilla Location Service, but only if the user has allowed it in the settings: “Menu → Tools → Page Info → Permissions → Know your location.”
How to disable tracking in Firefox?
But in this article I will not talk about add-ons, but will show you the hidden settings of Firefox itself, which you can change, thereby limiting the information that your browser leaks and leaves on the sites you visit.
To access the hidden Firefix settings, type the command about:config in the address bar. After this you will see a warning window.
Warning when entering Firefox hidden settings The browser persistently discourages us from changing these settings. And it's clear why. As long as you need to hide it from the user and then scare him, this technique works great. But, Mozilla, I still love you ;)!
In short, we promise that we won’t be too hooligan and click on the big one blue button. A window for hidden browser settings will open in front of us. This is where you will have to change the options, which I will talk about in the next chapter.
We change the settings this way: On the required function (line), click right click and in the menu that appears, select Switch
Hidden settings FirefoxGoogle Safe Browsing
The enabled Google Safe Browsing option sends your surfing history to Google company. Please note that disabling the “Safe Browsing” function increases the risk of becoming infected with viruses as a result of visiting some malicious site with fresh exploits.
Disabling Google Safe Browsing
browser.safebrowsing.enabled
browser.safebrowsing.downloads.enabled
browser.safebrowsing.malware.enabledFirefox Statistics
This feature sends performance and stability reports to Mozilla company, developers of the Firefox browser. I highly recommend turning it off. It won't do you any good.
Disable performance and stability reports
datareporting.healthreport.service.enabled
datareporting.healthreport.uploadEnabledDisable Firefox statistics collection
toolkit.telemetry.enabled
WebRTC
Leaking your real IP address when using VPN/TOR. Here you can find out more about all popular browsers.
Disabling WebRTC
media.peerconnection.enabled
Encrypted Media Extensions (DRM)
DRM - binary extension with unknown source code, which since version 38 comes with Firefox. The plugin allows you to play encrypted media content and use Netflix, etc. without Microsoft Silverlight. If you want to completely remove DRM, you will need to install the EME-free version of the Firefox browser.
Read more about Encrypted Media Extensions.
Disabling DRM
media.eme.enabled
media.gmp-eme-adobe.enabledPocket integration
This is a third-party service - it manages the list of articles set aside for future reading.
Disabling integration with Pocket
browser.pocket.enabled
Geolocation
Disable detection feature.
Search tips
Everything you type in the search bar is merged search engine. After disabling this feature, suggestions will still work, but only based on local search history.
Disable sending search queries (tips)
browser.search.suggest.enabled
Protection from website tracking
All of the above functions had to be disabled, but this feature, on the contrary, should be activated. This is necessary to actively block sites that have poor trust (trust on the network) and are known for their not entirely correct behavior regarding surveillance of users. Just don’t confuse this option with the feature, which only “asks” sites not to track you. In this case, a forced blocking is performed.
Enable blocking of suspicious sites
privacy.trackingprotection.enabled
That's all, friends! I hope you were able to disable browser tracking and, using the recommendations proposed in this article, made your online experience more secure and anonymous. Of course, you won’t be able to make a completely surveillance-free browser, but it’s quite possible to minimize the leakage of your personal data.
Update your operating system. The easiest way for hackers to track your activities is through the use of malicious software (viruses). By updating your operating system (OS), you stay up to date with the latest critical security updates, which prevents viruses from running on your computer.
Keep your programs updated. New versions of programs usually improve the use of the application and add new functions. But not only that: it is also a way to correct mistakes. Exist different types errors: errors in the visual part of the program, errors in the software of the program, and others can be remotely and automatically used by hackers to gain access to your computer. No errors, no attacks from remote servers.
Update your antivirus and keep it turned on. If the antivirus database is out of date, then some viruses may slip through. If your antivirus is turned off and the system is not checked regularly, then you better remove antivirus program. Antivirus programs search for viruses, spyware, rootkits and worms.
Do not use multiple antivirus programs at the same time. Antivirus, most often, behaves aggressively in order to function correctly. At best, one of your antiviruses will mistake the second one for a false alarm. In the worst case, both antiviruses will not be able to work correctly. If you want to use several antiviruses, then update the program database, pull out network cable, disable the main antivirus program and enable the second antivirus in on-demand mode. After this, enable your main antivirus program and use your computer as before. Malwarebytes would be a good addition to the first level of virus protection.
Never download anything from unofficial sites (any operating system) or trusted stores (Linux/BSD/MacOS). For example, if you want to download VLC media player, then download it from the official website (search in a search engine and find: www.videolan.org/vlc/). Do not use links on unofficial sites, even if your antivirus is silent.
If you can, look at electronic signatures (see also the wiki article). Essentially, the idea is to find out the signature of the file (the program installer). This signature is issued from an official website or from a trusted database. While downloading the file, you can look at its signature and compare it with the signature on the official website: if they match, then you have downloaded the correct installer. If not, then most likely you downloaded a spoofed installer or something went wrong during the download (in any case, download the file again to ensure its authenticity). This process is automatic on most Linux and *BSD using a package manager, without additional actions. Using Windows, you will have to check this manually.
Use a firewall. Under Linux/*BSD there are two great firewalls (netfilter/iptables and pf, respectively). Under MS Windows you will have to find one of these programs. You have to understand that a firewall is like a switchboard in the middle of a huge train station with trains (network data), platforms (ports) and roads (flows). The train cannot unload itself: it needs someone to do it (a program that runs on a specific port). Let me remind you: a firewall is not a wall or a gate, it is an adapter. Don't forget, you can't control outgoing connections (only if you lock everything down and pull out the network cable), but you can document them. If you have access to standard program firewall (netfilter/iptables and PF), log unexpected outgoing traffic and block all incoming connections except established and trusted connections.
If your firewall is not enabled, use it for logging. You will not be able to block incoming connections correctly. Try not to enable filters on applications: this is ineffective and gives false confidence in security.
Check running services. If your computer is not a server, then some services are not needed and may be disabled (be careful: most Windows/Linux/MacOS/BSD services are important for the system to function properly). If possible, disable unnecessary services and block any traffic on the appropriate ports in your firewall (for example, if the NetBios service uses ports 135 and 138, then you can block all incoming and outgoing traffic on these ports unless you are using Windows shares). Please remember: service errors are an open gateway for hackers to access your computer. You can try port scanning programs like nmap to find out which ports you need to close or which services you need to disable.
Do not use account with administrator rights: This can be done in Windows Vista and Seven, but if you are using an account with administrator rights, then viruses can request these privileges to operate themselves. If you are not an administrator, then viruses must be much smarter to successfully operate on your system. The biggest thing that can happen is that the virus can track information about you, but not about other users. During such access, the virus will not be able to use your resources completely, so it is much easier to remove it.
If you don't play games or use rare software, switch to Linux. On this moment Only a few viruses are known to work under Linux. And they were fixed a long time ago - all thanks to security updates. Programs are downloaded from trusted storage sites. You don't need antivirus software, and there are plenty of free ones out there. open source software good quality(firefox, chrome, inkscape, gimp, pidgin, openoffice, filezilla, ffmpeg, ghostscript, xchat and many other programs).