3 ms·

One thing I don't get about this; I've been trying it with completely default installs of Fedora core 11 running Firefox and it calls them all unique. I feel l

by ErrantX 16y ago

One thing I don't get about this; I've been trying it with completely default installs of Fedora core 11 running Firefox and it calls them all unique. I feel like I am missing something obvious - anyone care to point me in the right direction (I read most of the links of the project site)?

lallysingh 16y ago
It's the bits of entropy. You're unique within 2^bits users on the web as a whole (according to their model). Said another way, according to how they're measuring uniqueness, that you get N bits of entropy. On a hypothetical website that had 2^N different users, you could be uniquely identified. Specifically, you'd be the only FC11/ffox user in the mix :-)
- ErrantX 16y ago
  You misunderstand. Identical default installs still report as unique. I couldn't understand what they tested that could differetiate them (because by rights they all should report identically - or at the very least some of them should). This was tested with 25 identical machines I was commissioning for a task.
  - travisp 16y ago
    Well, it reports how it determined it was unique (i.e. the browser characteristics), so perhaps you can look at that. When I visited the page 10 minutes ago, it said I was unique. I cleared everything and then went back to the page, and then it was "one in" 400k something visitors has the same as you. Did it again, and I was one in 200k something visitors. So, at least in my case, it at least seems to realize that the three visits had the same fingerprint.
  - ZeroGravitas 16y ago
    There may be some non-determinism in the order of initializing plugins, or fonts. This could result in a unique order when they are polled.
    - ErrantX 16y ago
      Aha. You've nailed it I think.. partly anyway. It looks like the plugins do come up in different orders...
  - lallysingh 16y ago
    Without GUIDs, no machine is absolutely unique. The bits of entropy are relative measures.

by ErrantX 16y ago

lallysingh 16y ago

It's the bits of entropy. You're unique within 2^bits users on the web as a whole (according to their model). Said another way, according to how they're measuring uniqueness, that you get N bits of entropy. On a hypothetical website that had 2^N different users, you could be uniquely identified. Specifically, you'd be the only FC11/ffox user in the mix :-)

ErrantX 16y ago
You misunderstand. Identical default installs still report as unique. I couldn't understand what they tested that could differetiate them (because by rights they all should report identically - or at the very least some of them should). This was tested with 25 identical machines I was commissioning for a task.
- travisp 16y ago
  Well, it reports how it determined it was unique (i.e. the browser characteristics), so perhaps you can look at that. When I visited the page 10 minutes ago, it said I was unique. I cleared everything and then went back to the page, and then it was "one in" 400k something visitors has the same as you. Did it again, and I was one in 200k something visitors. So, at least in my case, it at least seems to realize that the three visits had the same fingerprint.
- ZeroGravitas 16y ago
  There may be some non-determinism in the order of initializing plugins, or fonts. This could result in a unique order when they are polled.
  - ErrantX 16y ago
    Aha. You've nailed it I think.. partly anyway. It looks like the plugins do come up in different orders...
- lallysingh 16y ago
  Without GUIDs, no machine is absolutely unique. The bits of entropy are relative measures.