Browser Fingerprinting

"There is more than what meets the viewport"

How Does Browser Fingerprinting Work?

A Browser Fingerprint is an unique ID that can be used to identify a specific browser/computer among the 4.6 billion internet users in the world. This process is easier than it may sound, and it involves a familiar programming language. JavaScript is a powerful programming language that facilitates web interactivity, but since it is so powerful it needs certain information to run properly. For example, it knows your screen resolution, orientation of your screen, your web browser, your operating system, the device type, the default language you use, your time zone, what browser plugins you have installed, if you have Microsoft office installed (what Microsoft office apps if so?)

Developers can write JavaScript code that can fingerprint a browser by running the "Font test". It runs JS code to see how a particular computer/ device renders certain elements (such as how does the computer render the letter ‘a’?). This unique way that a computer renders elements can be used to identify the computer

WebGL allows for the creation of 2-d and 3-d graphics in a webpage. It uses the device’s graphics processor to accomplish this task. However, every device has a unique way of creating these graphics, which can be used as an identifier to the device that creates them.

Data Security
How Can You Protect Yourself?
Data Security

Although there is never a guarantee that your information will not be collected, there are some countermeasures that can help reduce the amount of information a website can collect about you:

  • Use Mozilla Firefox 72, which offers browser fingerprint protection.
  • Use a plug-in like NoScript; however, this would make most websites break, and it would be harder to use most of the internet’s websites.
  • Make yourself less unique by not standing out from the crowd. For example: if most internet users are using Google Chrome as their web browser, don’t use Opera.

Browsing the internet with the level of interactivity that it provides comes at a cost of user data. If browsing the internet is not a fair trade for your data, it is advisable not to browse most websites on the internet.

Turkmen & Ranpura