Prebake: Block EU Cookie Notices with Adblock

NIST Randomness Beacon Summary: NIST is implementing a prototype source of public randomness. The prototype (at https://beacon.nist.gov/home) uses two independent commercially available sources of randomness, each with an independent hardware entropy source and SP 800-90-approved components.

The Beacon is designed to provide unpredictability, autonomy, and consistency. Unpredictability means that users cannot algorithmically predict bits before they are made available by the source. Autonomy means that the source is resistant to attempts by outside parties to alter the distribution of the random bits. Consistency means that a set of users can access the source in such a way that they are confident that they all receive the same random string. Description:

The Beacon will broadcast full-entropy bit-strings in blocks of 512 bits every 60 seconds. Each such value is time-stamped and signed, and includes the hash of the previous value to chain the sequence of values together. This prevents all, even the source, from retroactively changing an output packet without being detected. The beacon keeps all output packets and makes them available online.

DRBG Beacon System Diagram Uses:

Tables of random numbers have probably been used for multiple purposes at least since the Industrial Revolution. The first published table appears to be by the English statistician L.H.C. Tippett. In the digital age, algorithmic random number generators have largely replaced these tables. The NIST Randomness Beacon expands the use of randomness to multiple scenarios in which the latter methods cannot be used. The extra functionalities stem mainly from three features. First, the Beacon-generated numbers cannot be predicted before they are published. Second, the public, time-bound, and authenticated nature of the Beacon allows a user application to prove to anybody that it used truly random numbers not known before a certain point in time. Third, this proof can be presented offline and at any point in the future. For example, the proof could be mailed to a trusted third party, encrypted and signed by an application, only to be opened if needed and authorized.

NIST encourages the community at large to research and publish novel ways in which this tool can be used. A few examples of applications are described below:

    Unpredictable Sampling
    New Secure Authentication Mechanisms
    Secure Multi-party Computation

Re: Prebake: Block EU Cookie Notices with Adblock

#5

Post by lucb1e » Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 11:49 AM UTC

Tried this before and it helps only so much. Many sites actually don't work before you accept cookies (they pose it as a requirement and tell you that cookies keep you logged in, even though the cookie law is only applicable to tracking cookies) so you need to see the banner before you can see the page. Examples: fok.nl and tweakers.net.

Re: Prebake: Block EU Cookie Notices with Adblock

#6

Post by cornewut » Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 11:50 AM UTC

vruiz wrote: post #2

This is great not just from a user's perspective, also the fact that it exists helps pointing out the stupidity of the law.

I think law is fine and there should be only a handful of sites in the Internet that would need such warnings.

Problem is the abuse of technology to track users.

Re: Prebake: Block EU Cookie Notices with Adblock

#7

Post by Udo » Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 11:56 AM UTC

This whole thing is ridiculous. While adding these widgets to blocking filters seems like a workable short-term solution, the entire cookie notice scheme is unworkable in the long run. The problem is, this crap will stack up in the future, and none of it will ever get abolished. On some sites, I get a triple-stacked legalese warning banner, and I have to manually close all three of them.

Since internet law will only get worse, maybe it's time for a "real" technical solution to this. For example, if we had a standardized HTML element attribute to mark these widgets, browser/adblock makers could enable people to opt out of displaying them. It might look something like this:

  ...
  ...
  ...

And ideally, there would be a JavaScript API to query this as well, maybe piggy-backed on the Permissions API:

  navigator.permissions.query({ name : 'skip-notice', topic : 'cookies' })

Re: Prebake: Block EU Cookie Notices with Adblock

#8

Post by prodmerc » Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 11:57 AM UTC

Well, this is just funny. Or sad, depending on how you look at it.

Personally, I'm annoyed by the cookie messages, but the law is supposed to help people.

Blocking (or auto-accepting) them is basically saying we don't give a shit about this law :-)

Re: Prebake: Block EU Cookie Notices with Adblock

#9

Post by Kequc » Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 12:00 PM UTC

Udo wrote: post #7

This whole thing is ridiculous. While adding these widgets to blocking filters seems like a workable short-term solution, the entire cookie notice scheme is unworkable in the long run. The problem is, this crap will stack up in the future, and none of it will ever get abolished. On some sites, I get a triple-stacked legalese warning banner, and I have to manually close all three of them. Since internet law will only…

These laws are still evolving and changing. Different for every country. We don't have something international we can build standards upon at this point in time.

It seems to me there would also be an active push against any such implementation because it would make current solutions for getting around this type of cruft more effective than it already is.

Although if we were going to go this route I'd like to see it be a server-side rather than included in the markup. The browser could detect that you are visiting a new domain and request relevant information upon connection.

Re: Prebake: Block EU Cookie Notices with Adblock

#10

Post by dazc » Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 12:01 PM UTC

cornewut wrote: post #6

vruiz wrote: post #2

This is great not just from a user's perspective, also the fact that it exists helps pointing out the stupidity of the law.

I think law is fine and there should be only a handful of sites in the Internet that would need such warnings. Problem is the abuse of technology to track users.

Adsense have recently notified publishers that they need to implement a cookie law compliance solution.

I don't know how aggressively they [google] will have to enforce this but the possibility of losing adsense revenue will be a hugely motivating factor.

So the number of sites the need such warnings is about to increase massively.