DonationCoder.com Software > Finished Programs
DONE: perform random URL queries (Random Submitter)
mouser:
it looks like Scott was ahead of his time, today I saw this:
http://mrl.nyu.edu/~dhowe/TrackMeNot/
TrackMeNot runs in Firefox as a low-priority background process that periodically issues randomized search-queries to popular search engines, e.g., AOL, Yahoo!, Google, and MSN. It hides users' actual search trails in a cloud of indistinguishable 'ghost' queries, making it difficult, if not impossible, to aggregate such data into accurate or identifying user profiles. TrackMeNot integrates into the Firefox 'Tools' menu and includes a variety of user-configurable options.
--- End quote ---
Scott:
Paranoia goes one step closer to mainstream! Oh, wait, it did that a few years ago... Never mind.
This extension doesn't work nearly as well as Random Submitter does. For one thing, it seems to only be able to submit two-word queries. It also has--and this strikes me as insane--a word pool that includes strings like "letterbombs", "bombs", "mailbombing", and so on. To me, polluting your search queries is one thing, but including search terms like that is just begging to make eyebrows go up. This is especially true if some other strings in the word pool happen to be something like "embassy", "president", or something of the sort. I don't think you want to be searching for something like "bombs embassy" or "letterbomb president" 400 times a day. But that's just me.
lanux128:
i was reading this when i realized that mouser had already made such a pre-emptive tool for Scott... wow, both of you must be some kind of visionaries.. ;)
mouser:
this got a big laugh on the satirical "Colbert Report" tv show tonight, in the middle of a fake news report about the leaking of the search data. his advice which got a real laugh:
"for every real search, do a fake search."
mouser:
Bruce Schneier (very respected security/crypto guy) on why this basic idea is flawed:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/08/trackmenot_1.html
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version