Fingerprinting is another one of those concepts that most people seem to have given no thought to. But it's not all that complex, and it's not even in any doubt. Once explained it's actually pretty obvious. Not many people online seem to be discussing it, so I plan to do a full blog post about it soon.
To kick things off I'll just do a quick summary. Every computer (or laptop, or tablet, or phone, or other device) is unique. For example a laptop has identifying serial numbers built into it, with the motherboard, the sound card etc, each having it's own number. Unless it's running Linux the operating system does as well.
But that is only the starting point of your device's fingerprint. Every change you make to the settings, every program you add, is unique as well. If you install a browser, every change to the settings you make, and every extension you add to it, all becomes part of your fingerprint.
At this point I'm guessing everyone is expecting me to say something like "So that is why you need to use Linux". No, I'm sorry to say, there is no practical work around for this fingerprint thing. There is a very impractical work around I'll get to later, but unless you are Jason Bourne, you won't be doing it.
Despite not being a geek, from time to time friends & family ask me to sort out their computers for them. Over the past decade, typically that would be something like a basic Dell 15" laptop running Windows 10. They will have left everything as it came out of the box, made no changes at all, used it online for years with no thought of privacy or security, and eventually something has gone wrong. I have either given it a clean out, and installed a few new programs, or said no, this is junk, time to buy a new one!
To kick things off I'll just do a quick summary. Every computer (or laptop, or tablet, or phone, or other device) is unique. For example a laptop has identifying serial numbers built into it, with the motherboard, the sound card etc, each having it's own number. Unless it's running Linux the operating system does as well.
But that is only the starting point of your device's fingerprint. Every change you make to the settings, every program you add, is unique as well. If you install a browser, every change to the settings you make, and every extension you add to it, all becomes part of your fingerprint.
At this point I'm guessing everyone is expecting me to say something like "So that is why you need to use Linux". No, I'm sorry to say, there is no practical work around for this fingerprint thing. There is a very impractical work around I'll get to later, but unless you are Jason Bourne, you won't be doing it.
Despite not being a geek, from time to time friends & family ask me to sort out their computers for them. Over the past decade, typically that would be something like a basic Dell 15" laptop running Windows 10. They will have left everything as it came out of the box, made no changes at all, used it online for years with no thought of privacy or security, and eventually something has gone wrong. I have either given it a clean out, and installed a few new programs, or said no, this is junk, time to buy a new one!
For a total contrast, my own laptop is a top of the line Dell 17" business model with both hard drives upgraded, and a fresh Linux install that I've spent hours tweaking every setting to get it set up how I like. I have uninstalled the default browser and installed four other privacy browsers each running various extensions. But the galling thing about fingerprinting is that it makes no difference at all. In fact my laptop is actually easier to fingerprint than a $500 Windows 10 one.
So what would Jason Bourne do? If you get a brand new laptop that can't be tracked back to you, and do a fresh Linux install on it, all from a location that has no connection to you, you can use it for one task - send an email, do a blog post, do a crypto transfer etc - but remember that if you use it again, they now have that fingerprint. They may not yet have worked who you are, but the pattern is being established. If you want to do a second anon job, it's time to get another new laptop and set it up from a completely different location. (Preferably in a different country).
And that is another one of those penny dropping moments - yes they already have your fingerprint...