What is browser fingerprinting?

What is Browser FingerPrinting?

While surfing the internet, we often sacrifice our data and information online, which can be very dangerous and increase the threat to the user. Data breaches often misuse user data and sell it to other companies, which can be used to show multiple targeted ads, manipulate consumer behavior, and compromise individuals’ privacy. One of the most dangerous ways to do this is by fingerprinting, as it is very difficult to track and identify. Browser fingerprinting is done by collecting user data and assigning it to a unique ID to track and recognize while the user is surfing the web. Everyone has different devices, hardware IDs, operating systems, time zones, etc. that are particular to them, and this information can be combined to assign unique IDs. This can be done by tracking IP addresses, collecting browser information, and collecting operating system details. This way, the trackers analyze all these attributes and track users without their consent. Web fingerprinting is harder to track and prevent as compared to cookies because cookies can be restricted and stopped to some extent, but fingerprinting is a silent killer. Users are unaware that their online activity is being tracked by someone.

How Web FingerPrinting Works?

Websites use several different methods to track users on the internet. While visiting a website the web browser saves some of the user’s details of their system. Websites use various methods to track users on the internet such as time zone, language, resolution, screen details, past browsing history, and enabled and disabled cookies. Web fingerprinting tracks these users’ unique characteristics of their web browser so that when the same user moves around other sites it can it recognizable easily and more data can be traced by the tracker.

Web fingerprinting also involves techniques like canvas fingerprinting, where JavaScript is used to extract texts and images on an HTML5 canvas, contributing to the creation of a unique identifier or combining all the details and converting them into a unique ID. In this technique, users are distinguished based on their unique characteristics so that the website can recognize and track users. Users are unaware of fingerprinting as it is a backend process, and we cannot find whether our data is stored or not because it is not stored on our device. Due to this uniqueness, websites can easily assign you a particular ID that can be unique for that device.

Cookies are often used as a medium to obtain user’s data. Since cookies are stored on our own devices, they can be used to track users, across different websites. As we surf different sites, cookies are created every time we visit a site, and each cookie is associated with a specific site. These cookies can be used to create an identifier for companies that can access your preferences to show multiple ads. The information stored in these cookies is mainly user details and data, which can be combined with other fingerprints to create a whole set of IDs.

How to Prevent Browser FingerPrinting

We can use different methods to prevent fingerprinting, but we cannot completely stop it. These are some of the ways you can reduce the risk of fingerprinting.

• Use incognito mode while you are using browsers like Chrome, safari, edge, and Firefox. Incognito mode reduces risk to some extent by making your browsing private. It does not save your browsing history, Cookies, and other information.

• Use Plugins to block scripts that can prevent you from ads and invisible trackers. Install Plugins like NoScript, Chameleon, CanvasBlocker, Disconnect, etc.
• Use anti-malware software which can create a wall of protection.
• Use a secured browser like Tor browser which directs the internet traffic to multiple relays and protects your privacy.
• Use a good VPN or virtual private network that hides your IP address and makes it difficult to track the user. VPN acts as a medium between you can your server where your IP address is safe, and trackers cannot keep a record of your IP address.

• Limiting JavaScript can reduce the risk of fingerprinting as the process of fingerprinting relies mostly on reading JavaScript. You can disable JavaScript in Chrome by going into the settings and then into site privacy and security.

How to Test Browser FingerPrinting

To test whether your device is safe from browser fingerprinting. Sites like AM I UNIQUE can be to see fingerprinting details of your device. It considers multiple factors like user agent, platform, cookies enabled, time zone, BuiltID, etc to find out the possibility of fingerprinting. After scanning your device, it will show the output as to how many factors can affect your risk towards fingerprinting.

Conclusion

Web fingerprinting is increasing very widely, and it is very difficult to track it. We can only prevent it up to a certain extent by taking some important measures like installing browser extinctions, using plugins, disabling JavaScript, and disabling unnecessary cookies. Web fingerprinting is not restricted to user data, but it also tracks you even when your IP address is secured. Therefore, it is important to be aware of this threat which can become serious in the future. You can also keep your data safe by regularly checking your security and privacy on your browser and updating your browser regularly.