The Best Chrome Extensions To Prevent Creepy Web Tracking (wired.com) 38
Wired has highlighted several browser extensions that "are a simple first step in improving your online privacy." Other steps to take include adding a privacy-first browser and VPN to further mask your web activity. An anonymous reader shares the report: Privacy Badger is one of the best options for blocking online tracking in your current browser. For a start, it's created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a US-based non-profit digital rights group that's been fighting online privacy battles since 1990. It's also free. Privacy Badger tracks all the elements of web pages you visit -- including plugins and ads placed by external companies. If it sees these appearing across multiple sites you visit then the extension tells your browser not to load any more of that content.
DuckDuckGo is best-known for its anonymous search engine that doesn't collect people's data. DuckDuckGo also makes an extension for Chrome. The Privacy Essentials extension blocks hidden third-party trackers, showing you which advertising networks are following you around the web over time. The tool also highlights how websites collect data through a partnership with Terms of Service Didn't Read and includes scores for sites' privacy policies. It also adds its non-tracking search to Chrome.
The Ghostery browser extension blocks trackers and shows lists of which ones are blocked for each site (including those that are slow to load), allows trusted and restricted sites to be set up and also lets people you block ads. The main Ghostery extension is free but there's also a paid for $49 per month subscription that provides detailed breakdowns of all trackers and can be used for analysis or research. There are Ghostery extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Opera.
Unlike other tools here, Adblock Plus is primarily marketed as an ad blocking tool -- the others don't necessarily block ads by default but aim to be privacy tools that may limit the most intrusive types of ads. Using an ad blocker comes with a different set of ethical considerations to tools that are designed to stop overly intrusive web tracking; ad blockers will block a much wider set of items on a webpage and this can include ads that don't follow people around the web. Adblock Plus is signed up to the Acceptable Ads project that shows non-intrusive ads by default (although this can be turned off). On a privacy front Adblock Plus's free extensions block third party trackers and allow for social media sharing buttons that send information back to their owners to be disabled.
DuckDuckGo is best-known for its anonymous search engine that doesn't collect people's data. DuckDuckGo also makes an extension for Chrome. The Privacy Essentials extension blocks hidden third-party trackers, showing you which advertising networks are following you around the web over time. The tool also highlights how websites collect data through a partnership with Terms of Service Didn't Read and includes scores for sites' privacy policies. It also adds its non-tracking search to Chrome.
The Ghostery browser extension blocks trackers and shows lists of which ones are blocked for each site (including those that are slow to load), allows trusted and restricted sites to be set up and also lets people you block ads. The main Ghostery extension is free but there's also a paid for $49 per month subscription that provides detailed breakdowns of all trackers and can be used for analysis or research. There are Ghostery extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Opera.
Unlike other tools here, Adblock Plus is primarily marketed as an ad blocking tool -- the others don't necessarily block ads by default but aim to be privacy tools that may limit the most intrusive types of ads. Using an ad blocker comes with a different set of ethical considerations to tools that are designed to stop overly intrusive web tracking; ad blockers will block a much wider set of items on a webpage and this can include ads that don't follow people around the web. Adblock Plus is signed up to the Acceptable Ads project that shows non-intrusive ads by default (although this can be turned off). On a privacy front Adblock Plus's free extensions block third party trackers and allow for social media sharing buttons that send information back to their owners to be disabled.
Adblock plus (Score:5, Informative)
Remove this submission, this is a sponsored submission that has not been declared as is required under federal law. Anyone with a functioning brain knows that uBlock Origin or a hosts file is the proper way to block ads without aid of a pi hole.
Re: (Score:1)
Anyone with a functioning brain knows that uBlock Origin or a hosts file is the proper way to block ads without aid of a pi hole.
This. Adblock Plus defaults to allowing whitelisted advertising from companies that pay them. Scum.
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Adblock Plus defaults to allowing whitelisted advertising from companies that pay them. Scum.
This is hardly hidden - in fact it's the second bullet point of three in the middle of their web site. By doing this they are providing a model where advertising would not involve privacy invasion and advertisers. In fact let's look at the main problems of advertising (quick list from my head - feel free to add)
Re:Adblock plus (Score:4, Informative)
Indeed, AdBlock is to be avoided. I recommend:
uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin Extra
Cookie Autodelete
Decentraleyes
Never-Consent
Privacy Badger
Privacy Possom
They can require a bit of tuning for some sites but will protect you from tracking cookies and other site data, canvas fingerprinting, referer and other headers, and a large amount of other crap.
PiHole isn't bad but hosts based blocking is a but limited. For Android DNS66 offers hosts blocking even on mobile.
Re: (Score:2)
Any time I use a hosts-based blockfile on my motorola one it ends up blocking all internet.
Re: (Score:2)
Mission. Fucking. Accomplished.
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My list of essential extensions:
uMatrix
Vanilla Cookie Manager
Decentraleyes
Random User-Agent
Dark Reader
I know the last one isn't privacy related, but it's such a necessity for me that I included it. Since I use Vivaldi, I use the built-in tracker and ad blocker with DuckDuckGo Tracker Radar and Fanboy+Easylist-Merged Ultimate List blocking sources.
Fail (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
[_] defend against overusedCword web tracking
[_] chrome
Pick one
Re: (Score:3)
I think pretty much everyone came here to say this very thing and most of the early posts will be some variation of your comment. Mine was going to be: "Best Chrome plugin: Firefox"
Re: (Score:1)
I wish someone would provide some actual evidence of this though. Hard proof that Chrome spies on the user.
Re: (Score:2)
How about the fact that Chrome, a web-browser program, scans all the disk drives in your PC ?
Without even asking you in the first place ?
Do you really need anything else to be convinced ?
Re: (Score:2)
It does have anti virus features, yes. But I mean is there any evidence it sends, say, your browser history to Google without your permission?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Don't have a Chromebook in front of me but on Android open a new tab, click on your avatar icon at the top, click on your account and select "sign out" at the bottom.
Google claims to encrypt the data with your master password, if set, or otherwise a random key. They also claim not to process it for any reason, it's literally just stored. Again I would be very interested in seeing any evidence that this is not the case.
To Prevent Creepy Web Tracking (Score:5, Informative)
Chrome for Windows installing System Services? (Score:2)
Run the excellent free Microsoft Process Explorer [microsoft.com] to check.
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Ghostery (Score:2, Troll)
Re: (Score:3)
oh, the ad companies are out modding you down today. Ghostery is one of the smartest scams they ever pulled (et tu Wired?) and when people find out they uninstall.
Firefox (Score:3)
Or anything but Chrome.
The extensions are also available for firefox (Score:5, Interesting)
How about ... (Score:1)
Use Brave browser with Https Everywhere, Privacy B (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
Yes, why use Chrome when Brave is available?
Re: Use Brave browser with Https Everywhere, Priva (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Use Brave browser with Https Everywhere, Priv (Score:2)
browser (Score:2)
Better advice available elsewhere (Score:5, Informative)
For practical, general-purpose privacy software recommendations, this site is hard to beat:
https://www.privacytools.io/ [privacytools.io]
Switch browsers (Score:3)
The best "Chrome extension to prevent creepy web tracking" is to ditch Chrome and start using Firefox.
Firefox is better, focussed on privacy, and not a corporate vehicle intended to take control over internet away from users.
I remain socked to note how people are gleefully walking into the same trap that Internet Explorer was. Granted, Google (+ recently Microsoft) now package the deceit differently, because well, they don't want people to understand too easily. But it's not /that/ difficult to see through...
Beyond privacy & security browser plugins: How (Score:3)
Yes, browser plugins are a vital first step, and those mentioned in the article are all worthy additions I also use. But they can't handle everything, as there are so many other browsers, not to mention other phone and PC apps, that display ads and invade privacy.
There's another problem with browsers and their plugins: I use several different browsers on every platform (mobile & PC, home & work), and keeping the same set of plugins on each browser on each platform is an annoying challenge.
But it gets worse: Browsers aren't the only programs or apps that display adds and invade privacy. That's why we have firewalls and antivirus tools, right? So we lock-down our platforms. One at a time. Which is only slightly better than locking-down my many browsers one at a time. And it gets worse since work and home have very different approaches.
So, I decided I needed to do what I could for my personal systems and networks, separately from what work does for theirs, and somehow have it all work well together, since work devices come home and home devices go to work.
Despite being an engineer, I'm no network guru. For many years (starting in the mid-1990s) I struggled with various Linux router/gateway approaches, and was overwhelmed by DD-WRT. I decided I didn't want my home network defenses to become a frustrating hobby, yet I didn't like any of the commercial alternatives (too many of whom did their own spying). I wanted my network defenses, both for privacy and intrusion, to be something a step above DIY, preferably based on Open Source tools.
In late 2015 an article here on /. pointed me toward the Turris Omnia Indiegogo campaign, and it was love at first sight: Buy a small bespoke gateway/router box, and get lifetime software support. Not only did the CZ.NIC folks relieve me of my DD-WRT frustrations, they also integrated features I had been wanting yet never had the time to struggle with.
I've had my Turris Omnia for 4 years now, and am still very happy with it. It took me a while to get it configured, in part because there are so many great security features, but mainly because I kept discovering new things I wanted to try that had little to do with security or privacy (media server, NAS, home automation, etc.). When things finally settled down, the final configuration has proven stable through 4 years of updates, primarily because "breaking" updates were announced to the Turris customer list before the update was released, so I was able to have everything ready in advance with literally only a few minutes of my time.
I believe devices like the Turris Omnia (targeted platforms running OpenWRT, DD-WRT, Tomato, etc.) have matured to the point where they can be managed by anyone able to follow the recommendations in the /. post. I found the Turris forum to be a very helpful place, especially with Google Translate helping with the many Czech posts.
FMI:
OpenWRT: https://openwrt.org/
CZ.NIC, Turris creators: https://www.nic.cz/
Turris today: https://www.turris.com/en/
Turris forum: https://forum.turris.cz/
The original Turris Omnia campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/turris-omnia-hi-performance-open-source-router#/
Don't Use Chrome (Score:2)
Oxymoron (Score:1)
Chrome & Privacy? (Score:1)
I am sorry, but those 2 words do not go together.
.
Friends don't let friends use Chrome as their browser.