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Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

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Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#211

Post by djrogers »

ljoshua wrote: post #155
Darthy wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's actually not how ApplePay works. You get a new randomized credit card number, but only once. Shops can still track you by checking for the number. You can check that yourself by looking at receipts when you pay with ApplePay - each receipt features the same numbers (most receipt only show the last 4 digits, but they are always the same when you pay with ApplePay).

Is it a randomized number per card per merchant, or just a randomized number per card?

It's per-device/per card, so your Amex gets a different number on your iPhone, watch, and MacBook, as will your visa.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#212

Post by webuser321 »

It is well-known that Apple uses Omniture (acquired by Adobe, aka SiteCatalyst, aka 2o7.net, etc.).

As in 192.168.0.2o7.net. Remember, "SWF" stands for Small Web File. Yes, they actually tried to get users to swallow this when Shockwave Flash started to be used in devious ways, such as to track users.

Omniture's business is third party tracking cookies similar to Google Analytics or KISSmetrics. Not sure and don't care whether Flash is used so much anymore. If too young to rememeber search and ye shall find information about "permanent, Flash cookies" that could not be removed.

Apple is not saying "We will not engage with companies selling third party tracking cookie services." Clearly they are not opposed to third party tracking cookies in principle.

Instead they are announcing some change to their browser. Wow, exciting. It is not clear what exactly this announcement accomplishes for users. Probably nothing. If you are trying to avoid ads and tracking, popular browsers (without extensions, etc.) are not your friends.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#213

Post by euyyn »

om2 wrote: post #175
tptacek wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My contention was that Safari is less safe than Chrome, not that Safari's sandbox was in particular worse than Chrome's. Nevertheless, on balance, Safari's sandbox is significantly worse than Chrome's. I think --- but you'd know better than I would --- that this is because browser security is a platform problem for Apple, and an application problem at Google. Apple's platform-level mitigations are very powerful on iO…

You actually did make a claim that Safari's sandbox was in particular worse than Chrome's, in the post I directly replied to. That is what got my dander up. Elsewhere you implied that the Safari sandbox comparable to the Java sandbox. I hope you will now agree that the Safari sandbox is closer to Chrome's than to Java's. I don't know enough about the full spectrum of security technologies in all the browsers to have…

> note that we're moving to boringssl in the upcoming OSes

Could you give more details on these plans?

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#214

Post by moogleii »

tptacek wrote: post #92
moogleii wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Safari-5-1-Protects-Users-wit...

Just because both features are named "sandbox" doesn't make them equivalent; the exact same argument says you should also be happy to run hostile Java applets, which, after all, are sandboxed.

Oh, now you use your words?

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#215

Post by frio80 »

hellofunk wrote: post #3

It's unclear to me how these "trackers" work? How do they track you, is it cookies, or what?

It's cookies and the change isn't really earth shattering but it does close the "redirection trick" loophole that some companies were using to track you across domains. See my example here for more specific details: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14493373

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#216

Post by macintux »

webuser321 wrote: post #161

Meanwhile Apple is tracking users 24/7. There is no option to turn off phoning home to Apple in Apple's pre-installed operating systems. Every user of iOS is constantly pinging Apple servers all day every day . Connect an iOS device to the internet and watch the network. The user is given no control over this. All users are assumed to need Apple's help setting the system time. The networking functionality of NeXT/App…

"But that is not something we are allowed to discuss"

I suspect you'd have fewer down votes (and thus perhaps some discussion) without this. Congratulations on the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#217

Post by alternativetoo »

donarb wrote: post #190
alternativetoo wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmmm. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/isps-say-your-we... > CTIA is the main lobbyist group representing mobile broadband providers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint. It doesn't just represent them, Apple is also a member: https://www.ctia.org/about/our-members

You do know that Apple makes mobile devices, right? And so it would make sense that Apple is part of the group the supports hardware standards in the mobile device industry, they're not just a lobbying group.

You mean the Walkman, right? Why yes, I heard of it, but thanks for double checking.

Anyway, If they're pro-privacy, it would also make sense for them to raise hell about the group they're part of for some other reason is arguing that browsing data shouldn't be considered private, of all things.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#218

Post by oliv__ »

oculusthrift wrote: post #198
andreyf wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which would be super creepy if they were a company which is beholden to advertisers for their revenue. But alas, they are not.

neither is MS but every thread about them seems to have a top comment crying about telemetry

Microsoft themselves put ads in their OS... I think that's pretty telling of the kind of company they are.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#219

Post by alternativetoo »

eridius wrote: post #205
alternativetoo wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5 downvotes huh; anyone able to explain how the above is compatible with a strong pro-privacy stance? That's like saying you're a vegetarian, except for saturday noon.

Apple may be a member of CTIA, and CTIA may have argued for a particular anti-privacy stance, but that doesn't mean Apple supports that stance. There are a lot of members of CTIA, and CTIA presumably lobbies for a lot of things, not just ISP privacy rules.

May be a member? They are. And I tried looking for an statement by Apple on that issue, couldn't find one. So until I see one, I'll say the lobby group speaks for them.

Is the money that lobby groups works with organized in such a way that Apple's money doesn't go towards this particular thing? If not, what does "not supporting that stance" even mean? That they outsourced their fight for it, so that they can have the nasty outcome and stay morally pure, that as long as there is some bending over backwards possibility of Apple being against it, they're against it?

> There are a lot of members of CTIA,

Apple is a giant, not just one member among hundreds. If they are quiet on this, it has their support. Or are you saying they might not even be aware? Just didn't find it important enough to scream bloody murder about it? No matter how you try to spin it, can you spin it into something really good?

> and CTIA presumably lobbies for a lot of things, not just ISP privacy rules.

Unless you're meaning to say the also have a part of the budged for lobbying for the opposite of this effort I can only ask "yes, and?".

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#220

Post by [deleted] »

macintux wrote: post #216
webuser321 wrote: post #161

Meanwhile Apple is tracking users 24/7. There is no option to turn off phoning home to Apple in Apple's pre-installed operating systems. Every user of iOS is constantly pinging Apple servers all day every day . Connect an iOS device to the internet and watch the network. The user is given no control over this. All users are assumed to need Apple's help setting the system time. The networking functionality of NeXT/App…

"But that is not something we are allowed to discuss" I suspect you'd have fewer down votes (and thus perhaps some discussion) without this. Congratulations on the self-fulfilling prophecy.

[deleted]
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