MESSAGE
| DATE | 2015-08-22 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] First good news on the privacy front
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http://www.pcworld.com/article/2971652/security/mozilla-tests-a-true-stealth-mode-for-firefox.html
Mozilla tests a true stealth mode for Firefox
Sick of having that one ad follow you around the Internet for weeks?
A new tool in pre-beta builds of Firefox could help block browser
tracking across sites.
Zach Miners
IDG News Service
* Aug 15, 2015 11:05 AM
* e-mail
* print
Mozilla wants to make private browsing truly private.
The company is testing enhancements to private browsing in Firefox
designed to block website elements that could be used by third parties
to track browsing behavior across sites. Most major browsers, Firefox
included, have a “Do Not Track” option, though many companies do not
honor it
.
Mozilla’s experimental tool is designed to block outside parties like ad
networks or analytics companies from tracking users through cookies and
browser fingerprinting
.
It’s available in the Firefox Developer Edition on Windows, Mac and
Linux, and Firefox Aurora on Android, Mozilla said
Friday.
The tool is in prebeta, although it might be incorporated into future
versions of Firefox’s main browser.
The tool might cause some data-hungry websites to not load properly,
Mozilla said. Users can unblock specific websites if they wish.
The enhancements also better identify unsafe browser add-ons that could
install malware or collect user information.
“We’ve worked with developers and created a process that attempts to
verify that add-ons installed in Firefox meet the guidelines and
criteria we’ve developed to ensure they’re safer for you,” Mozilla said
in a blog post.
Web tracking provides fuel to the lucrative business of targeted ads. A
recent report showed that the usage of ad-blocking software is on the
rise
,
costing publishers billions of dollars.
Other browser extensions designed to block tracking and targeted ads
include Ghostery and AdBlock Plus.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, meanwhile, is trying to develop a
new standard
for the “Do Not Track” browser setting to make it more effective.
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