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Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

noiszy.com

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Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#101
post #97

https://github.com/dhowe/AdNauseam does the same but for ad-tracking. It hides ads from webbrowser but clicks them in background (just sends request to tracking server that user clicked the ad).

I think Google removed it from the Chrome Web Store recently. Bummer.

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#102
It generates meaningless tracking data by doing meaningless browsing automatically. So it sucks bandwidth. That's not a good solution.

Returning fake responses to tracking cookies is more efficient. For phones, returning bogus info to app requests for contact lists and location is especially effective.

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#103
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You win buzzword bingo

How else would you describe the system liotier is talking about?

"Littered with buzzwords" and "interesting" are not necessarily mutually exclusive...

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#104
post #99
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite what you're describing, but the venerable Squid cache can do distributed caching. Something, at least, to play with with your nerdy friends.

Could you please tell more about it? How would that work? Do you have the config?

It can work in multiple ways, depending on your goals. Keep in mind, Squid is infrastructure software, not end-user software. There is no one configuration; it depends on what you want to achieve and your environment.

That said, the web site[1] offers great docs with lots of config samples to start from. If you're starting from scratch, take a look at CARP configuration. Squid also speaks ICP and HTCP.

Squid is one of the rarely-sung heroes of web content delivery.

[1] http://www.squid-cache.org/

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#105
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has actually blocked similar "noise generation" apps from the Chrome Store in the past. As I recall, there were a few extensions out there that would 'click' on every ad displayed. Obviously that would have created serious problems for Google, so they nixed it.

Ad Nauseam does this. It was removed from the chrome web store and I had to install it as a developer plugin, so it nags me to disable it as it could "damage my computer" every time I restart Chrome. It estimates since I installed it that I've cost advertisers $460 in clicks. https://adnauseam.io/

[deleted]

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#106

It generates meaningless tracking data by doing meaningless browsing automatically. So it sucks bandwidth. That's not a good solution. Returning fake responses to tracking cookies is more efficient. For phones, returning bogus info to app requests for contact lists and location is especially effective.

It sucks far less bandwidth than advertising traffic or video content

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://adnauseam.io/ I wasn't convinced it was very useful and thought it would only take some easy heuristics to filter out when I first saw it, but if Google removed it from the store, it must have been a pain to deal with. Maybe I'll even end up using it.

This website reminds me of the KenM post where he suggests that he's getting back at Papa Johns by not tipping the pizza delivery driver. Generating click fraud on your favorite web comic's website or other small websites you may be visiting is pretty sad. Adsense bans for life.

Selling your users' privacy is also pretty sad.

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#108
post #36
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It most likely is because it is incredible hard to create realistic fake traffic. The moment you start using such a tool is probably very easy to detect due to a sudden jump in traffic. Then you can use prior data to figure out what you were actually doing - sites you visit, times you are active times, how you switch between sites, how long you stay on sites, and so on. Randomly following links will show very differe…

If I were writing this, I would try to get it into as many hands as possible, and do some sort of backfeeding of data to generate "real" profiles of user activities, then send back down suitably randomized profiles of other real users that you use for some period of time. It's important to conceive of this as an arms race, and I think one of the underappreciated things about arms races is that if you successfully ant…

Yes, let's fight the sale of our browsing data to build profiles by... Giving away our browsing data to build profiles.

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#109
post #9

I don't mean to be a curmudgeon, but why put out this kind of privacy-minded plugin for Chrome, one of the browsers I'd probably least trust to respect my privacy?

Hi, Noiszy creator here. You're totally right - Firefox is next!

Re: Noiszy – A Chrome plugin that creates meaningless web tracking data

#110
post #97

https://github.com/dhowe/AdNauseam does the same but for ad-tracking. It hides ads from webbrowser but clicks them in background (just sends request to tracking server that user clicked the ad).

I think Google removed it from the Chrome Web Store recently. Bummer.

so at least we know it works!
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