Web Fingerprinting Infrastructure

Introduction to fingerprinting

Fingerprinting is a technique used by different companies to identify their users through the websites they access. This is sometimes referred to as browser fingerprinting. When we browse the internet, the browser gives away a lot of our information simply because the websites request it and we grant permission. Sometimes, they don’t even ask for permission. Furthermore, somewhat like third-party cookies, websites give users unique identities that help in the tracking process. This information includes but is not limited to:

• Browser type
• Browser version
• Language being used
• Time zone
• Specifications of the computer, monitor, and peripherals
• Plug-ins and extensions installed

The information given by the browser doesn’t directly identify users, but with the use of information gathering techniques, like the one learned from the OSINT process, we could uniquely identify the different users on the internet.

Browser fingerprinting

If we care about privacy, we should be concerned about fingerprinting. There are a number of ways this can be mitigated, but they’re not foolproof. The Tor Browser makes us a more unique target considering its infamy. Mozilla’s Firefox combats browser fingerprinting by blocking all requests made to third-party sites that are known for intrusive fingerprinting, but they only block the ones they’re aware of. Finally, VPNs and proxies and the like can’t block the more determined fingerprinting techniques.

Am I Unique provides developers with data to help them build defense mechanisms against browser fingerprinting. It collects and showcases the same information that websites collect as we surf the internet. The less unique you are, the better.