I've read somewhere in these forums that there is something beyond the IP that Ggle can identify on macs. Something that would, say, identify my friend who might try using a private proxy to sign up for adwords after a ban, perhaps, using the same computer he/she used for the banned account, but changing everything else. Seriously. Everything. He/she was thorough!

If memory serves, the solution presented was to use a VPN. Completely do-able, for my friend that is. Just curious what it is that Google sees and if there's anything can be done about it.

Google Is Using One Of These To Spy On Your Mac

F**king kitten update! Out already!?

Clear the browser cache, google is probably loading you with tracking cookies.

Use Ccleaner, but you have to remove G cookies from the list of cookies to not erase, i've been using it for years and i discovered just a few days ago that G cookies keep beeing stored -_-

They probably know what kind of porn you surf. From there, they can tell if you are homo or hetero sexual. Not that there is anything wrong with either.

Originally Posted by axus_auto

They probably know what kind of porn you surf. From there, they can tell if you are homo or hetero sexual. Not that there is anything wrong with either.

Geez guys. Now you got me all paranoid. I look up, but nothing there. I look down to type again, and out of the corner of my eye I can see furry little preference-sniffing porn-busting pussies looking in my windows.

The Ggle Pussy Update: stealthiest, most sophisticated algorithm yet.

Here is something pretty interesting...

Beyond your IP, cookies, etc, your browser leaks a ton of information to every website it visits that can be used to generate a unique 'signature' for your PC, if Google so desired (and they probably do). More info: http://centralops.net/asp/co/BrowserMirror.vbs.asp

If you have javascript active, that most likely you have, a highly unique combination of plugins installed, screen resolution and browser capabilities of your own machine is leaked making not only your browser UNIQUELY identifiable with a certain margin of error but in many circumstances also your pc/mac. I remember some site like eff having a test you could run to see how unique your browser was.

Wherever you feel like not wanting this info to be leaked consider blacklisting the execution of js and you'll be halfway there.

Originally Posted by howard_hughes

Google Is Using One Of These To Spy On Your Mac

i knew that kitty is a spy. will tell my dog called Facebook to bite her.

add flash cookies to the list (google may not be watching but its still a possibility)

also system clock vs time zone, etc

I don't know if this works for PCs as it does for Macs. I use a Mac and recently found a web with a catchy title: "Want to discover what we know about your computer? (Something like that. I can´t remember the exact words)

Intrigued, I took the test and got into the page. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!

Just by visiting this site, its webmaster found out not just my ISP details but my mac OS version and my complete hardware specs (what Apple names "System Profiler"). So take care...

I use lynx on my arch linux box. I got it for Christmas back in 1985.. time flies *sigh*

I´ve heard about VPN to overcome this issue.

Does somebody know if running your BH stuff from a virtualized windows could do also?

I mean, if you install Parallels or VMWare on a Mac, then create a virtual machine and install Windows on it, what hardware specs would G00gle (or whoever) see? The ones from your virtual machine (those false specs that virtualizing software uses to decieve Windows, so to get this OS to install on a Mac) or the ones from your computer?

Check this out, it's not even a comprehensive list of all the unique-ifying features of a browser.

http://panopticlick.eff.org/

Google has a ton of patents for identifying unique users, unique users behind the same IP etc.

Originally Posted by howard_hughes

Google Is Using One Of These To Spy On Your Mac

I got him.

Originally Posted by Autumn

Check this out, it's not even a comprehensive list of all the unique-ifying features of a browser.

http://panopticlick.eff.org/

Google has a ton of patents for identifying unique users, unique users behind the same IP etc.

Reading this a few years ago made me start using vmware. I have multiple instances of windows on my machines with different software installed etc. Not because I am paranoid but because I do alot automated stuff and dont want big G to know how I am gaming him/her!

Originally Posted by goinviral

Reading this a few years ago made me start using vmware. I have multiple instances of windows on my machines with different software installed etc. Not because I am paranoid but because I do alot automated stuff and dont want big G to know how I am gaming him/her!

What do you mean by "multiple instances of windows"? One virtual machine running XP, another one Vista, another Seven...? Or same major version (let's say XP), but on one virtual machine you run "XP home", on other "XP professional"...?

I'm asking because it seems to me to be easier to stick to just one major Windows release (i.e. XP), then virtualize different versions of it; rather than running every Windows around since year 2000. What I ignore, that's why I'd like to know how you're managing this, is whether this shortcut of mine will actually work or ruin the disguise.

(On another note, I'm assuming that you run several web browsers on each virtual machine.)

Anyway, my main concern on this method is that VMWare or Parallels could leave some footprint themselves or that the false hardware specs this kind of software attributes to each virtual machine were not 100% run-of-the-mill, so unique or traceable somehow.

Have you checked your scheme on pages like the one Autumn's just shared, to see "how do you look like" from such these radars?

Hi Ken,

I run multiple machines that I run vmware on (7 actually). However you can run different versions of windows from the same machine I do do this on 1 or 2 machines. I run each instance off of external hard drives, it is a bit slower but not noticeably. Once I have the vmware booted I fire off my macros and bots and walk away. SO I dont really care if the machine is slow to boot. My office also has 4 different broadband providers and I have lots of proxies, some on my own dedicated servers. My wife calls my office "the factory" which is pretty close to the truth. Yeah I checked a few of my machines on eff awhile ago and all considered different machines. So yes it works.

Thanks a lot, mate.

I do understand your wife, LOL. If I ever try to plug in as many computers, HDs, etc. as you've done, my "office" will burn to ashes (so my home too ).

Anyway, quite valuable info. Now, I just have to downgrade your method to my humble requirements.

its g00gle who makes millions $$$ each year from the internet so of course they have their own special ways to identify users

Originally Posted by goinviral

I run multiple machines that I run vmware on (7 actually). However you can run different versions of windows from the same machine I do do this on 1 or 2 machines. I run each instance off of external hard drives, it is a bit slower but not noticeably. Once I have the vmware booted I fire off my macros and bots and walk away. SO I dont really care if the machine is slow to boot. My office also has 4 different broadband providers and I have lots of proxies, some on my own dedicated servers. My wife calls my office "the factory" which is pretty close to the truth. Yeah I checked a few of my machines on eff awhile ago and all considered different machines. So yes it works.

Now that's the kind of thorough I can get behind.

Thanks for your answers guys and gals. I suspected it was a bit more complicated than cookies and caches but I wasn't sure how deep they could see. It feels right that the browser/OS leaves a unique enough sig to identify, um, my friend unless some measures are taken.

Panopticon confirms it: "Currently, we estimate that your browser has a fingerprint that conveys at least 20.83 bits of identifying information."

I would imagine G takes all that info and throws it in a copyscape-like application, sorts out the repeats, and bans all my (friends') accounts! Not for every user of course, which is why a lot of the time you can fly under the radar for a while before pulling anything really risky. Then, enough trouble out of you and bam. Off to the public library with ya.

Originally Posted by mouthpaw

Geez guys. Now you got me all paranoid. I look up, but nothing there. I look down to type again, and out of the corner of my eye I can see furry little preference-sniffing porn-busting pussies looking in my windows.

The Ggle Pussy Update: stealthiest, most sophisticated algorithm yet.

You can change your Mac from Windows

Originally Posted by mazgalici

You can change your Mac from Windows

@Mazgalici: Could you elaborate on that, please?

OP, he was not talking about your MAC as in Macintosh computer, he was referring to your MAC Address, completely different.

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/n.../aa062202a.htm

Although there is a lot of other great info in this thread!

Truly this in an invaluable thread. Thanks again for all the info.

After looking at the panopticlick proile of my comp again, It's clearly the browser plugins and system fonts that kill me, while user-agent isn't necessarily helping.

user agent uniqueness: 1 in 8,600+/-
browser plugin uniqueness 1 in 1,895,756
system fonts: same as plugins (interestingly)

turn off js and the most unique thing anyone can grab (according to panopticlick) is http_accept headers, at 8,500+/-.

The above comment about being able to view system profiler info is far above the worst however, as the mac address is listed there, and that's 100% unique and (as far as I know) unchangeable. Can anyone verify or deny this one? I can't seem to find anything in my searches.

If true, I'm gonna need 7 computers too.

Originally Posted by mouthpaw

Truly this in an invaluable thread. Thanks again for all the info.

After looking at the panopticlick proile of my comp again, It's clearly the browser plugins and system fonts that kill me, while user-agent isn't necessarily helping.

user agent uniqueness: 1 in 8,600+/-
browser plugin uniqueness 1 in 1,895,756
system fonts: same as plugins (interestingly)

turn off js and the most unique thing anyone can grab (according to panopticlick) is http_accept headers, at 8,500+/-.

The above comment about being able to view system profiler info is far above the worst however, as the mac address is listed there, and that's 100% unique and (as far as I know) unchangeable. Can anyone verify or deny this one? I can't seem to find anything in my searches.

If true, I'm gonna need 7 computers too.

MAC addresses cannot be found without the use of JS plugins, possibly just based on javascript - if you disable JS, you're in the clear there. I DID find some ancient PHP code that is supposed to be able to grab a MAC address, but from my testing it was inaccurate.

Btw, you don't need 7 computers, just run VMs. Look into Oracle VM VirtualBox - it's free! I believe it can run on Mac/Linux, too.

Originally Posted by Jrim_Software

MAC addresses cannot be found without the use of JS plugins, possibly just based on javascript - if you disable JS, you're in the clear there. I DID find some ancient PHP code that is supposed to be able to grab a MAC address, but from my testing it was inaccurate.

Btw, you don't need 7 computers, just run VMs. Look into Oracle VM VirtualBox - it's free! I believe it can run on Mac/Linux, too.

You can't get the MAC address using javascript because js is sandboxed from hardware by the browser. The only way to get a MAC address via a browser that I know of is using ActiveX, which does allow direct access to hardware. So, don't use IE.

Just found this on the first site:



1) Bring down the interface: "ifconfig xl0 down"

2) Enter new MAC address: "ifconfig xl0 link 00:00:00:AA:AA:AA"

3) Bring up the interface: "ifconfig xl0 up"

Linux

1) Bring down the interface: "ifconfig eth0 down"

2) Enter new MAC address: "ifconfig eth0 hw ether 00:00:00:AA:AA:AA"

3) Bring up the interface: "ifconfig eth0 up"

Windows 2000/XP
Method 1:

This is depending on the type of Network Interface Card (NIC) you have. If you have a card that doesn't support Clone MAC address, then you have to go to second method.

a) Go to Start->Settings->Control Panel and double click on Network and Dial-up Connections.

b) Right click on the NIC you want to change the MAC address and click on properties.

c) Under "General" tab, click on the "Configure" button

d) Click on "Advanced" tab

e) Under "Property section", you should see an item called "Network Address" or "Locally Administered Address", click on it.

f) On the right side, under "Value", type in the New MAC address you want to assign to your NIC. Usually this value is entered without the "-" between the MAC address numbers.

g) Goto command prompt and type in "ipconfig /all" or "net config rdr" to verify the changes. If the changes are not materialized, then use the second method.

h) If successful, reboot your system.

Method 2:

This should work on all Windows 2000/XP systems

a) Go to Start -> Run, type "regedt32" to start registry editor. Do not use "Regedit".

b) Go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}". Double click on it to expand the tree. The subkeys are 4-digit numbers, which represent particular network adapters. You should see it starts with 0000, then 0001, 0002, 0003 and so on.

c) Find the interface you want by searching for the proper "DriverDesc" key.

d) Edit, or add, the string key "NetworkAddress" (has the data type "REG_SZ") to contain the new MAC address.

e) Disable then re-enable the network interface that you changed (or reboot the system).

Method 3:

Use the program Etherchange from http://ntsecurity.nu/toolbox/etherchange/

Windows 9x

Use the same method as Windows 2000/XP except for the registry key location is "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Net" and you must reboot your system.

source:
http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/changemac



I don´t looked over it but it may help some of you.
There are some other ways too

Ahh and for the topic:

Use CCleaner and remove google cookies from the "to not erase" list,
disable plugins. Google may be powerfull... But not THAT powerfull
You should be fine.

If you really want to do save just use a Linux USB distribution or something like that.

Cheers,

Black.Star

OK, I found this: "when information leaves your computer it has your computer's MAC address, but when it arrives at your router that MAC address is removed. When the information is sent by your router further upstream to your ISP's router, it contains the MAC address of your router. When it moves from the ISPs router to another router on the internet, it contains the MAC address of the ISPs router. And so on."


But also, as mazgalici said above, this: "The MAC address can be set in software in many network interfaces, meaning that whatever the original MAC address, it can be overridden later."

Originally Posted by Autumn

You can't get the MAC address using javascript because js is sandboxed from hardware by the browser. The only way to get a MAC address via a browser that I know of is using ActiveX, which does allow direct access to hardware. So, don't use IE.

You're correct, sorry! I was thinking of using the router configuration page where you can change the MAC Address and there is always a button to clone the MAC of the PC you're accessing from... but it must be getting your MAC based on your connection to the router rather than through the browser.

Originally Posted by mouthpaw

The above comment about being able to view system profiler info is far above the worst however, as the mac address is listed there, and that's 100% unique and (as far as I know) unchangeable. Can anyone verify or deny this one? I can't seem to find anything in my searches.

Hi, mate.

It was me who previously commented about system profiler. I'm very afraid that I cannot remember the URL where I found my Macintosh fully exposed; but every specification from my computer appeared onscreen while visiting this website, that's for sure.

(It was a promotional page about some software. Sort of CleanMyMac, CCcleaner... that kind.)

Last months I've been thoroughly researching on anonymity, as I intend to build a lot of Micro Niche Sites for Adsense, through several different accounts, and, perhaps, a private blog network too (in due course).

On my view, some posters here have given you the best possible solution: install VMWare Fusion and several instances of Windows on top of it, so that your Mac specs don't be leaked any longer, but the ones from a ficticious PC computer appear on instead.

Just make sure to change your MAC Address in VMWare, for the default one that this software asigns to you smells "virtual" from miles away.

I'd figure that out dude

That panopticlick thing uses JAVA (not javascript) "bug" (applet) through javascript to get the info. I just blocked the JAVA binary from accessing the info and Voilà, the panoptiwhatever just hung on a loop. Go ahead and disable the JAVA binaries via firewall and you'll see that test hang on a loop.

Code:

 <ELEMENT CLASS="userData" ID="oPersistElement">

        <script type="text/javascript">
          var attributes = {codebase: "java", code: "fonts.class", id: "javafontshelper", name: "javafontshelper", "mayscript": "true", width: 1, height: 1};
          if (deployJava.versionCheck('1.1+'))
            deployJava.writeAppletTag(attributes);
        </script>
        <div id="flashcontent"></div>

        <div id="oPersistDiv" class="userData"></div>
        <script src="resources/fetch_whorls.js" type="text/javascript">
        </script>

Originally Posted by roamer

That panopticlick thing uses JAVA (not javascript) "bug" (applet) through javascript to get the info. I just blocked the JAVA binary from accessing the info and Voilà, the panoptiwhatever just hung on a loop. Go ahead and disable the JAVA binaries via firewall and you'll see that test hang on a loop.

I have java disabled in my browser and it still ID'd me. Not to say that java isn't a big security risk, but you can still get all of the info on panopticlick by just using javascript.

Originally Posted by Autumn

I have java disabled in my browser and it still ID'd me. Not to say that java isn't a big security risk, but you can still get all of the info on panopticlick by just using javascript.

You're right about that.

The nice thing about virtual machines is that in most cases (like VMWare ones) you can run them inside a window and have the resolution change dynamically as you resize it. That takes care of the resolution variable and the OS one as well. Then you're left to deal with the user-agent string, the plugins you've got installed, your IP, etc.

Search for Panopticlick and you'll see a fingerprint of everything that's readily retrievable. This data can be easily aggregated to figure out your habits.
Additionally you'll see that your configuration is highly unique.

Check out here: http://analyzemy.net/