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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

#251
post #189
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is wrong for people to want to protect something they have of value, from someone else just harvesting it from them? I can see why this is annoying but can you really not see the other side of this situation?

I don't think you quite understand this conversation. I'll prefer to not argue with you any further.

>I don't think you quite understand this conversation.

Pretty sure you should read the remainder of the comments and see which person is having trouble understanding everyone else.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm saying what I said: if your browser isn't adequately secure, all the anti-tracking features don't much matter, because the people you really need to worry about will be able to own up your entire machine and quietly persist themselves into it.

Let me play back what I'm hearing: Chrome is great because it uniquely protects you from 3rd-party hackers on the internet. Fair enough. But do Chrome's protections also protect you equally from intercession by Google? I just want to clarify this point in my mind.

> But do Chrome's protections also protect you equally from intercession by Google? I just want to clarify this point in my mind.

I'd say yes, unless Chrome has specific backdoors for Google. If that was ever discovered, I'd imagine a huge shitstorm happening.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#253
post #180

Thumbs up for Apple distinguishing themselves by their pro-privacy stance, as opposed to MS, who don't have anything to win by Win10's excessive "telemetry" IMHO.

It's also a real shame they're doing this before Mozilla. Mozilla already has Tracking Protection but only for Private Windows. It's like Mozilla can't even embrace its privacy stance fully.

You can enable Tracking Protection in Firefox for normal browsing windows in the settings->privacy tab

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#254
post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also a real shame they're doing this before Mozilla. Mozilla already has Tracking Protection but only for Private Windows. It's like Mozilla can't even embrace its privacy stance fully.

You can enable Tracking Protection in Firefox for normal browsing windows in the settings->privacy tab

Does not appear for me. It's only for the private windows.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Chrome security team is probably the most sophisticated software security team in the industry Unfortunately the Chrome security team can't provide the kind of security I care about - security from Google's tracking.

Unless Google can track you better when you use Chrome, that's not an argument against using Chrome.

Google can indeed track you better when you use Chrome, since Chrome doesn't have Safari's default-on tracking protections.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#256
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Does this mean browser fingerprint is somehow scrambled before it is sent to the tracker instead of blocking? It might be homogenized instead of scrambled. Every iOS device could be given (barring IP etc.) the same fingerprint.

I don't think that's even theoretically possible. How do you block JS font enumeration without crippling the browser font API?

One way would be to not expose any installed fonts to web content other than the system default ones.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#257

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

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.

Are you absolutist or absolutian?

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#258

I read https://webkit.org/blog/7675/intelligent-tracking-prevention... which details this. They're just being a little sophisticated in how they block third-party cookies. This will hardly stop other tracking scripts, tracking images, widely-used fingerprinting techniques and related js calls. So nothing remotely close to even Brave let alone a TOR or the Epic Privacy Browser.

And something says me that ability to completely block third party cookies is going to just as magically disappear.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can enable Tracking Protection in Firefox for normal browsing windows in the settings->privacy tab

Does not appear for me. It's only for the private windows.

Oh. I am sorry. True, it doesn't appear for normal windows. Anyway, as some other user suggested, visit "about:config" and change the privacy settings there.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#260

Thumbs up for Apple distinguishing themselves by their pro-privacy stance, as opposed to MS, who don't have anything to win by Win10's excessive "telemetry" IMHO.

Apple has every reason to do so, as their revenue doesn't come from ads. But I guess Google also has the motivation to enable this in Chrome, to make other ad networks less effective (and Google ads more effective). If it happens, what does this mean for the internet advertising business?
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