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Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

monica-at-mozilla.blogspot.com

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Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#291
post #83
post #5

"To enable Tracking Protection in Firefox 35 and later, visit about:config and set privacy.trackingprotection.enabled to true" Edits - This quote from the article is interesting, especially considering Google the worlds biggest advertising industry company also has a browser. "That Firefox is first and foremost a user-agent, not an industry-agent"

The thing I don't understand: why not just make the "Do Not Track" switch set this, as well as sending the eponymous header? The user has stated an intent to not be tracked... so help them accomplish that! (In the same sense, I'm surprised that "incognito browsing" windows don't implicitly download a Tor "component" and route through it, the same way DRMed elements implicitly download the Adobe DRM component.)

There are many caveats* to consider when routing through Tor. It would be a bad idea to just silently do so when the user engages private mode. Incorporating Tor as a 'super-private' mode or whatever would be great, but it should be possible to use normal private mode without it.

*In particular the information that you share with the exit node. Especially if you're not aware you're using Tor, it would be easy to share identifiable information.

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#292
post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the only thing Apple does is simply pay people to poke around the app on an iPhone for a few minutes, then by that assertion there should be a stunning amount of Malware on the AppStore. I mean, all you have to do is place a time delay code, or a server side activation procedure, and you would be able to bypass all manual checks. What on earth makes you think that Apple does NOT use malware scanning. I mean, it's…

You've made so many mistakes of logic and fact, it's hard to figure out where I should begin. First, itself "wild" and not "wiled". Second, Apple doesn't allow "virus scanners," which is why you'll never hear companies like Sophos talking about malware on iOS -- they have nothing to gain. If you are in the right circles, you know there is plenty of malware on the App Store -- it's significantly easier to get it on th…

> First, itself "wild" and not "wiled".

Thank you for the correction, and I am guessing you mean "it is" rather than "itself" in the above correction of my spelling.

> Second, Apple doesn't allow "virus scanners," which is why you'll never hear companies like Sophos talking about malware on iOS -- they have nothing to gain.

1. Until recently Apple did allow virus scanners on iOS. However, those programs were largely useless for 2 reasons. First, because without a jailbreak you can not run unsigned code on iOS, unless you have found a jailbreak vulnerability that can be exploited directly on the device, but I haven't see those since iOS 3 or 4. Second, because iOS jails each app, so one app can not scan the file system or any of the other apps on the OS. Conversely, one app can not maliciously attack or install unsigned code on the OS without a jailbreak.

2. Sophos would have a lot to gain from exposing wide spread malware in the App Store. Such news would pressure Apple to reconsider their decision and allow virus scanners into the App Store, or at least clean up their act. One way or another, it would be a lot of GOOD pub for Sophos.

3. Given that there are many jailbroken iPhones, and that it's trivial to access app files on a jailbroken iPhone, it would be easy for Google to run their own Malware scanners on AppStore submissions. Considering that they would most certainly (according to you) find hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, instances of Malware, it would be a wonderful PR story for Google, once and for all proving the undeniable superiority of the Android OS. And yet, I have yet to read that story. Forget Google, HTC, Sony, LG, and any number of other manufacturers would have direct pecuniary interest in discrediting Apple by proving to the world that the AppStore is teaming with Malware. I guess all of the above mentioned companies are operated by utter idiots, if we are to believe your assertions.

> If you are in the right circles, you know there is plenty of malware on the App Store -- it's significantly easier to get it on the App Store than it is to get it on the Play Store.

What are these "right circles?" Links, facts, anything to backup the above statement?

> The main deterrent to malware on both platforms is the requirement that the app publisher have a credit card, which the stores both verify.

Use a prepaid VISA card, put any name and address you like. Works like a charm, you can register an account like that on either store.

> Finally, you seem to be confusing manual scanning, static analysis, dynamic analysis, and human review to the point where it's hard to even figure out what you're claiming.

You are confusing the meaning of such terms as manual scanning, static analysis, dynamic analysis, and human review. There, we both made utterly unsubstantiated claims, now we are even!

> Google implemented dynamic analysis long before 2014 (your "wiled west"), which Apple very clearly still hasn't done.

1. Thank you yet again for pointing out the SAME typo in my previous post for the second time in your reply. To return the curtesy, I would also like to point out that "itself" and "it is" do not have the same meaning in the english language. I do understand that this page is frequented by many people from other countries, who may speak different languages. I, for instance, speak fluently 2 languages, in addition to English. So I do apologize ahead of time if you are indeed an ESL person, but to improve your knowledge of the English language I felt the need to point out your mistake yet again.

2. Could you please provide any proof what so ever to your claimed assertion that Apple does NOT conduct dynamic analysis.

3. Please refer to this article [0] which details utter inaptitude of PlayStore's dynamic analysis tools in 2014.

[0] http://www.syssec-project.eu/m/page-media/3/petsas_rage_%20a...

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#293
post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the television program is broadcast from one transmitter and is chosen by the TV company. Defining the 'content' to be legally protected is easy then - it is what the broadcast transmitter sent. In the UK we have a system for monitoring the actual broadcast output of TV stations to ensure that they comply with certain rules, so there is an evidence base. TV broadcasting is (usually) organised on national territor…

I see your point, but here the problem is not only tracking, but ads serve. As a content provider, my content is "what the broadcast transmitter sent", this is a code sent from my server to the browser of the client. Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code. It's very clear what I wish to send - my code, but this program is modifying my code. Superfish and other injection malware replace parts of my c…

"Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code."

No they are not modifying your code at all. They are taking the content you provide to the public network and presenting it according to the choices of the person who wants to read your content. I believe that adverts on your pages are served from servers other than your own and I think that in general (perhaps not on your sites) people in different parts of the world will see different adverts when viewing the same page.

If I am having a slow Internet day (don't ask) I ssh into my shell account and use the links text mode browser. Am I modifying your code then? No, just using a rather odd way of viewing Web pages.

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#294

This is no news to anybody that ever tried an ad blocker, a proxy/content filter or even a generic hosts file. The difference is very noticeable. In fact, it's the main reason I run such filters. The difference is not only in traffic saved/lower latency, but also much lower cpu usage. However, this it would be a bit hypocritical for Mozilla (and probably the reason why the filter is off by default). Firefox is not mu…

Been using Noscript in Firefox for years now. Sometimes the number of domains that gets loaded in the background on certain sites is mind numbing.

Personally I use Ghostery on Chrome right now but with this development by Mozilla, I'm inclined to switch. Feels good to use a browser with no corporate interests, and a simple feature to stop abuse of cookies by ~70% is just crazy. Too crazy to not be a built-in browser feature. Maybe I'm disrupting how news sites intend to work, but they're disrupting how the web was intended to work.

Anyway, ... I got sidetracked. I meant to say that what's even "funnier" is that if I disable Ghostery for some domain temporarily, the number of trackers usually skyrocket even further, since now the scripts get to run more scripts.

Yes, it's insane and honestly out of control.

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#295

Man, ads are great. They allow content to be targeted towards people that could potentially not afford the content and towards people that might not necessarily use the product normally. The world is already significantly divided by wealth. Assuming someone poor even has access to a service like Google, imagine if it was behind a paywall. Could they afford it? If not imagine how much of a life advantage someone wealt…

Who pays for the content? Noone, ads make it free! Who pays for the ads? Companies. Who pays the companies? The customers. When I check out at the grocery store, I pay for all the ads of the store, the suppliers, the factories and all the tools and services they use. If I could deduct all these fees for all my purchases, I would gladly distribute that money directly among content providers of my choice. It would like…

The point is the ads provide "liquidity". By viewing the ads on their site, you're doing basically exactly what you said except you don't need to subscribe to 40+ different sites.

I get really frustrated by paywall sites, even those I have subscriptions to (journals) when I need to enter my credentials. People complain ads are disruptive while looking for information, I find the process of logging in or not being able to access something I want because I need to get a subscription a lot more disruptive.

Also - a side effect of paying for every site you go to is selectivity. You'll end up locking yourself into a bubble. I'd only be willing to pay for more conservative news sources since that's the majority of what I read/enjoy. It's healthy for me to get alternative perspectives from sources like The Guardian or I'll never challenge my own opinions.

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#296
post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see your point, but here the problem is not only tracking, but ads serve. As a content provider, my content is "what the broadcast transmitter sent", this is a code sent from my server to the browser of the client. Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code. It's very clear what I wish to send - my code, but this program is modifying my code. Superfish and other injection malware replace parts of my c…

"Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code." No they are not modifying your code at all. They are taking the content you provide to the public network and presenting it according to the choices of the person who wants to read your content. I believe that adverts on your pages are served from servers other than your own and I think that in general (perhaps not on your sites) people in different parts of…

The problem: New feature from Mozilla (not enabled by default) disables Google Adsense Ads.

Mate, I'm really sorry to participate this discussion. I never had such bad experience. So many downvotes, make me feel really bad.

I see here most people are "users". I was expecting here to find people that actually work in tech, make their money from internet.

I can't understand how you do you see the world, without payment for your work.

It's very easy to talk about privacy rights, bandwidth issues, but the problem here is pure business.

The people who make content, don't receive payment, while people who consume content - consume it.

You must block whole page, if you do not agree with the terms.

But you want to read the content, without payment.

There are no free lunch, guys.

If this model is accepted by all browsers, please, explain to me who will pay salaries?

C'mon ppl, so many downvotes, please, explain to me, who will pay, IF all browsers remove ads?

I'm using Mozilla, since version phoenix 0.3... I'm fan of open-source.. I'm a freelancer.. My only revenue stream is my websites.

Forgive me I want to support my family.

p.s. I'm really disappointed from the community here. I'd expected more from you guys. Really sad.

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#297
post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Been using Noscript in Firefox for years now. Sometimes the number of domains that gets loaded in the background on certain sites is mind numbing.

Personally I use Ghostery on Chrome right now but with this development by Mozilla, I'm inclined to switch. Feels good to use a browser with no corporate interests, and a simple feature to stop abuse of cookies by ~70% is just crazy. Too crazy to not be a built-in browser feature. Maybe I'm disrupting how news sites intend to work, but they're disrupting how the web was intended to work. Anyway, ... I got sidetracked…

Yep, i have noticed those "matryoshka" scripts from time to time. Enabling one script domain in Noscript result in 2+ more waiting to be enabled after page reload.

And sometimes you have to dig 3+ layers into the nesting to get the site to function at all...

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#298
post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see your point, but here the problem is not only tracking, but ads serve. As a content provider, my content is "what the broadcast transmitter sent", this is a code sent from my server to the browser of the client. Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code. It's very clear what I wish to send - my code, but this program is modifying my code. Superfish and other injection malware replace parts of my c…

"Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code." No they are not modifying your code at all. They are taking the content you provide to the public network and presenting it according to the choices of the person who wants to read your content. I believe that adverts on your pages are served from servers other than your own and I think that in general (perhaps not on your sites) people in different parts of…

Mate, the option, when you enable it - it's disables all ads and tracking from Google and some other networks.

It's doesn't matter on what network you are, on what device.

I'm on desktop dual Xeon, with high bandwidth, and this feature disables Adsense ads. It's not disable some other Ad networks, for which Mozilla never heard of, but most of the Ads are disabled.

"No they are not modifying your code at all."

Content is modified, some ads are stripped away.

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#299
post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code." No they are not modifying your code at all. They are taking the content you provide to the public network and presenting it according to the choices of the person who wants to read your content. I believe that adverts on your pages are served from servers other than your own and I think that in general (perhaps not on your sites) people in different parts of…

The problem: New feature from Mozilla (not enabled by default) disables Google Adsense Ads. Mate, I'm really sorry to participate this discussion. I never had such bad experience. So many downvotes, make me feel really bad. I see here most people are "users". I was expecting here to find people that actually work in tech, make their money from internet. I can't understand how you do you see the world, without payment…

I'm not downvoting you at all and I regret those that are.

What I'm trying to probe is the extent to which you expect international legal protection for your right to protect the totality of one of your Web sites including algorithmically defined advertising.

An example of your work might focus the discussion.

If your content is valuable, why not just pop it behind a pay-wall and charge $1 per month for access?

Re: Firefox tracking protection decreases page load time by 44%

#300
post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Now Mozilla and AdBlock extensions are modifying my code." No they are not modifying your code at all. They are taking the content you provide to the public network and presenting it according to the choices of the person who wants to read your content. I believe that adverts on your pages are served from servers other than your own and I think that in general (perhaps not on your sites) people in different parts of…

Mate, the option, when you enable it - it's disables all ads and tracking from Google and some other networks. It's doesn't matter on what network you are, on what device. I'm on desktop dual Xeon, with high bandwidth, and this feature disables Adsense ads. It's not disable some other Ad networks, for which Mozilla never heard of, but most of the Ads are disabled. "No they are not modifying your code at all." Content…

The adverts are not your content. You do not know what adverts will be seen by viewers to your page. That (if my understanding is correct) is determined by the algorithmic tracking of users. The adverts may be completely irrelevant and distracting from your content.
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