Privacy for the web #3

Written by Anachron on 2024-01-11

Read the article or go back.

1. Living in the times of mass tracking
   1. Laptop, tablet, phone, watches, smart home devices, etc
   2. TVs
2. Protecting against web tracking
   1. Using a browser redirector
   2. Using browser addons
   3. Using a DNS server to filter your content
3. Comments

# Living in the times of mass tracking

Let us not be mistaken, tracking is just a new mainstream term for surveilliance.

Nowadays we’re getting tracked in everything we do. And no, not only in China.

While it is not a surprise that search engines and social media track and collect every data they can get, other areas are maybe a bit more surprising to the general population.

Here are some ways you get tracked daily:

# Laptop, tablet, phone, watches, smart home devices, etc

• GPS, WLAN, Bluetooth
  • Position, direction, networks in your area
• Microphone and Webcam
  • Conversations, face, behavior, home
• Apps and programs
  • Data + input

# TVs

• Apps and programs
  • shows/movies/radio stations
  • Data + input

# Protecting against web tracking

In this mini series, we’re trying to protect us against some of the obvious (and less obvious) ways of getting tracked on the web.

Let’s dive right in.

# Using a browser redirector

Using a redirector like libredirect allows one to redirect from services that track quite a lot (like Youtube) to more privacy aware frontends.

These services are in constant battle with the service providers, so some may break at random times and/or stop working alltogether.

# Using browser addons

When browsing the web, one does not only have to protect against “cyber criminials” but also all kinds of unwanted so-called-features:

• Automatic video/audio playback
• Annoying fullscreen windows
• Aggressive advertisement
• Subscription banners
• Cookie consent banners
• And much more

To regain a bit of your sanity, you can install browsers such as:

• uBlock Origin
• NoScript

These are great addons which help you block unwanted content and makes your browsing experience faster. If this isn’t a win-win, I don’t know what is.

# Using a DNS server to filter your content

I don’t know if this is widespread knowledge, but you can set up your DNS-server to something that blocks unwanted content by DNS.

While I don’t neccessary agree to all of cloudflares pratices, it has created a nice family friendly DNS server that I can recommend people to use in combination of the other measures.

For the self-hosting person you can set up an unbound DNS resolver which automatically loads some blocklist like StevenBlacks one.