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...an eyeopening extension for Firefox.
I've used Collusion for months, so I'm familiar with this extension and I must say that I was astounded by the number of connections many entirely unrelated websites have...and how I fit in with all those connections. I didn't like it...but I found a way to reduce those connections. I found another extension called Ghostery that enables you to block a lot of the tracking sites. I also use the web tracking blocking feature of my anti-virus, Avast. For example, when I open that pcworld link, Ghostery blocks 20 sites...Avast blocks 18.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not fundamentally against tracking sites. Heck, most brick and mortar retailers do much the same thing. You got one of those discount cards from your grocery store? They are tracking your purchases. It's just a personal thing for me...I try to minimize the tracking as much as I can.
You are being stalked, right now, at this very moment. And by that, I mean your personal information is considered a very hot commodity among people you have never even met.
We all leave behind little bits of personal information with every new new step in our digital footprint: What sites we visit, what searches we conduct, what links we follow, and so on. Collecting that information is big business. Every time you visit a website—even this one—a ripple of data is sent through the Internet, often without our knowledge and sometimes without our consent. Lightbeam, a visually striking new add-on from Mozilla, helps illuminate the sometimes-invisible connections that weave our digital lives.
Hands-on: Mozilla's Lightbeam is info porn for privacy geeks | PCWorld
I've used Collusion for months, so I'm familiar with this extension and I must say that I was astounded by the number of connections many entirely unrelated websites have...and how I fit in with all those connections. I didn't like it...but I found a way to reduce those connections. I found another extension called Ghostery that enables you to block a lot of the tracking sites. I also use the web tracking blocking feature of my anti-virus, Avast. For example, when I open that pcworld link, Ghostery blocks 20 sites...Avast blocks 18.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not fundamentally against tracking sites. Heck, most brick and mortar retailers do much the same thing. You got one of those discount cards from your grocery store? They are tracking your purchases. It's just a personal thing for me...I try to minimize the tracking as much as I can.
