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THIS WEEK'S MUST READS /

How to prevent Google 1

How to prevent Google from
tracking you

from tracking you Internet

Corning's germ-fighting glass

To ensure that your browsing history isn't shared with online 2 means you can touch an ATM
with less worry
advertisers, use Google's opt-out features or the free Tech Industry
Disconnect add-on for Google Chrome and Firefox to opt out of
With one OS to run them all,
receiving ads based on your online footprints. 3 Microsoft is shrinking
by Dennis O'Reilly / January 30, 2012 12:57 PM PST
Windows 10
Operating Systems

0 / / / / / more + Apple said to plan September

4 launch of subscription TV
service
Much has been made of Google's new privacy policy, which takes effect March 1. Digital Media
If you're concerned about Google misusing your personal information or sharing
Nintendo will make games for
too much of it with advertisers and others, there are plenty of ways to thwart Web 5 phones, new 'NX' system
trackers. Video Games

But what exactly are you thwarting? You don't become anonymous when you
block tracking cookies, Web beacons, and the other identifiers as you browse.
Your ISP and the sites you visit still know a lot about you, courtesy of the
identifying information served up automatically by your browser.

The
Electronic Related stories
Frontier
Foundation Make use of what Google knows about you
offers the Add Do Not Track to browsers
Panopticlick Privacy-centric alternatives to Google, Gmail, and Facebook
service that
Five great privacy add-ons for Firefox
rates the
anonymity of Browse safely by blocking Web ads
your browser. Forward your Gmail to Outlook or Thunderbird
The test
shows you
the identifiable information provided by your browser and generates a numerical
rating that indicates how easy it would be to identify you based solely on your
browser's fingerprint.

According the the entropy theory explained by Peter Eckersley on the EFF's
DeepLinks blog, 33 bits of entropy are sufficient to identify a person. According to
Eckersley, knowing a person's birth date and month (not year) and ZIP code gives
you 32 bits of entropy. Also knowing the person's gender (50/50, so one bit of
entropy) gets you to the identifiable threshold of 33 bits.

When I ran Panopticlick's test on a Mac Mini, it reported 20.89 bits of identifiable
information, which according to the entropy formula would be insufficient to
identify me. But maybe I want the sites I frequent to know a little bit about me. As I
explained in a post from last October, personal information is the currency of the
Web.

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your inbox. ontier Foundation's Panopticlick scanner generates a numerical
rating of your browser's anonymity.
Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly
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In some ways, ogle's explanation of personalized ads is more informative than

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personalization as a boon to users. It certainly does help pay for the "free"
services we've come to rely on.
THIS WEEK'S MUST READS /
Use Google's own tools to opt out of ad networks
Prominent in the Google privacy policy are links to services that let you view and How to prevent Google from
1 tracking you
manage the information you share with Google. Some of this personal data you
Internet
volunteer, and some of it is collected by Google as you search, browse, and use
other services. Corning's germ-fighting glass
2 means you can touch an ATM
To view everything (almost) Google knows about you, open the Google with less worry
Dashboard. Here you can access all the services associated with your Google Tech Industry

account: Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube, Picasa, Blogger, AdSense, and every With one OS to run them all,
other Google property. The dashboard also lets you manage your contacts, 3 Microsoft is shrinking
calendar, Google Groups, Web history, Google Voice account, and other services. Windows 10
Operating Systems
Google Dashboard service listings
Apple said to plan September
4 launch of subscription TV
Get information about all the Google services associated with your account in one service
place via the Google Dashboard. Digital Media
Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly
Nintendo will make games for
5 phones, new 'NX' system
More importantly, you can view and edit the personal information stored by each
Video Games
Google service, or delete the service altogether. To see which other services have
access to the account's information, click "Websites authorized to access the
account" at the top of the Dashboard. To block an authorized service from
accessing the account, click Revoke Access next to the service name.

Sites authorized to access your Google account

View the services that access information in your Google account via a link on the
Google Dashboard.
Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly

The Google Ads Preferences Manager lets you block specific advertisers or opt
out of all targeted advertising. Click the "Ads on the Web" link in the left column
and then choose "Add or edit" under "Your categories and demographics" to
select the categories of ads you want to be served or to opt out of personalized
ads.

Google Ad Preferences Manager categories and opt-out options

Google's Ad Preferences Manager lets you choose the categories of ads you see or
opt out of personalized ads entirely.
Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly

Another option is to use Google's Keep My Opt-Outs extension for Chrome.

Google also participates in the Network Advertising Initiative's opt-out program.
Select some or all of the dozens of online advertisers from the NAI program and
then click Submit to place a cookie in your browser instructing the ad networks
not to serve personalized ads.

Free add-on for Firefox and Google Chrome targets tracking cookies
Several free browser extensions help you identify and block the companies that
are tracking you on the Web. For example, Ghostery (available in versions for
Firefox and Chrome) adds an icon to your browser toolbar showing the number of
trackers on the current page. Click the icon to see a list of the trackers and view
options for blocking or white-listing specific ones.

The free Disconnect extension (also available for Facebook and Chrome) takes a
more direct approach to wiping your Web tracks. Disconnect blocks tracking by
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and Digg. It also has an option for
depersonalizing searches.

Disconnect tracker-blocking pop-up window in Google Chrome

The free Disconnect extension for Google Chrome and Firefox blocks tracking
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and other popular Web services.
screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly
Share your ideas with the
community, receive exclusive offers
As with Ghostery, Disconnect places an icon in the browser toolbar that shows
for sweeps and events, and get the
the number of elements it has blocked on the current page. Click the icon to open
latest news, reviews and how-tos in
a window showing the number of trackers blocked for each service. To unblock
your inbox.
tracking for one of the services, click its entry. (Note that I tested Disconnect only
with Google; also, blocking of international Google domains is not yet available,
to Disconnec No, thanks.
GET STARTED NOW
according
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is understandable considering that blocking the cookie prevents Google from

keeping you signed in. Otherwise I was able to use Google services without a
problem, including search, viewing and sending Gmail, and accessing, creating, THIS WEEK'S MUST READS /
uploading, and downloading Google Docs files.
How to prevent Google from
1 tracking you
While people are rightly concerned about who is watching and recording their
Internet
Web activities, at least Google makes it possible to use the company's services
without being too forthcoming with your personal information. ISPs and other Corning's germ-fighting glass
Web services do as much tracking as Google--or more--but garner far fewer 2 means you can touch an ATM
headlines. For a detailed look at the state of privacy in the digital world, read with less worry
Tech Industry
about the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Surveillance Self-Defense project.
With one OS to run them all,
After all, the true threat to privacy is from the trackers we don't know about, and 3 Microsoft is shrinking
who aren't household names. Windows 10
Operating Systems

Tags: Internet, Operating Systems, Gmail, Chrome, Firefox, Privacy, Facebook, Apple said to plan September
4 launch of subscription TV
Google
service
Digital Media
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dennis O'Reilly / Nintendo will make games for
Dennis O'Reilly began writing about workplace technology as an editor for 5 phones, new 'NX' system
Ziff-Davis' Computer Select, back when CDs were new-fangled, and IBM's PC Video Games
XT was wowing the crowds at Comdex. He spent more than seven years
running PC World's award-winning Here's How section, beginning in 2000.
O'Reilly has written about everything from web search to PC security to
Microsoft Excel customizations. Along with designing, building, and
managing several different web sites, Dennis created the Travel Reference
Library, a database of travel guidebook reviews that was converted to the
web in 1996 and operated through 2000. See full bio

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THIS WEEK'S MUST READS /

How to prevent Google from

1 tracking you
Internet

Corning's germ-fighting glass

2 means you can touch an ATM
with less worry
Tech Industry

With one OS to run them all,

3 Microsoft is shrinking
Windows 10
Operating Systems

Apple said to plan September

4 launch of subscription TV
service
Digital Media

Nintendo will make games for

5 phones, new 'NX' system
Video Games

BECOME A CNET MEMBER FOR FREE!

Share your ideas with the

community, receive exclusive offers
for sweeps and events, and get the
latest news, reviews and how-tos in
your inbox.

GET STARTED NOW No, thanks.