Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 67 posts

Re: Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

#21

Post by netsharc »

saberworks wrote: post #12

I'm usually completely against using "apps" for anything, but does using an app (on mobile) protect against this type of thing? Does an embedded web view have access to the things you're logged into in your main browser on your phone? So does using my credit union app to access my account protect me from them getting all this info from my phone browser?

Safer? I doubt it, apps can ask the Android system for list of installed packages, and list of currently running apps:

http://stacktips.com/tutorials/android/how-to-get-list-of-in..., https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3304685/how-to-get-the-l...

For example the Facebook app is a curious one. IIRC it also asks the system to notify it when a package (any package) is installed or uninstalled: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11246326/how-to-receivin...

I guess they can easily track the popularity of apps like Snapchat or WhatsApp. Geez, also, identify any apps that are "going viral" in popularity, and either buy the company, or squash them through imitation...

Re: Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

#25

Post by exhilaration »

Capira wrote: post #14

Sounds like they copy pasted my demo into production: https://robinlinus.github.io/socialmedia-leak/

Nice, nothing came up for me! This is the first time I've seen the positive impact of disabling third party cookies.

Re: Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

#26

Post by yamalight »

nomadiccoder wrote: post #10

I use ublock origin to block ads and ghostery to block a lot of trackers, theres some configurability to block some stuff from social media accounts maybe it will help..?

umatrix [1] from gorhill (ubo dev) does that pretty well (along with a bunch of other things)

[1] https://github.com/gorhill/uMatrix

Re: Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

#27

Post by blibble »

endymi0n wrote: post #8
blakes wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Qubes OS pretty much solves this problem! https://www.qubes-os.org/

...or "how to immediately get flagged as a paranoid weirdo nerd and die without credit FOREVER ALONE" A little like the paradox that by using more secure browsers and configurations, any browser fingerprinting algorithm will single you out reliably from all the other sheep.

it's like the old adage that "the NSA really love people using PGP email, as it immediately reveals who's worth watching"

Re: Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

#28

Post by mindslight »

dzdt wrote: post #19
iamNumber4 wrote: post #2

I would suggest the following when connecting to this site. 1. use a dedicated browser, and only use that browser for this site. 2. utilize private mode if you don't want to dedicate a browser only for this site 3. use different profiles in your normal daily browser. for example firefox, and chrome allows you to have multiple profiles. Create a new profile to use when going to this site. 4. analyze the javascript and…

You trust the credit union with your money, but don't trust them with a fingerprint of your browser identity?

Yes. Money is easily verified (balance = deposits - withdrawals), and there are centuries of law/customs for preventing fraud/theft.

Meanwhile, tying browser fingerprints to a pretty solid real-world identity has deniable value, is discreetly sold (private surveillance bureaus operate with no oversight), and is just the type of gimmicky revenue stream that consumer-capturing industries are on the lookout for.

Re: Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

#29

Post by WillPostForFood »

codedokode wrote: post #24

Why don't those companies (stackoverflow, Google and others) close the vulnerability?

some have, including StackOverflow:

2016/10/14: Stackoverflow has fixed the issue.

via: https://robinlinus.github.io/socialmedia-leak/

Re: Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?

#30

Post by Volt »

dzdt wrote: post #19
iamNumber4 wrote: post #2

I would suggest the following when connecting to this site. 1. use a dedicated browser, and only use that browser for this site. 2. utilize private mode if you don't want to dedicate a browser only for this site 3. use different profiles in your normal daily browser. for example firefox, and chrome allows you to have multiple profiles. Create a new profile to use when going to this site. 4. analyze the javascript and…

You trust the credit union with your money, but don't trust them with a fingerprint of your browser identity?

Trust is neither binary nor universal.
Post reply on HN