Device Fingerprint

A device fingerprint or machine fingerprint is information collected about a computing device for the purpose of identification. The information is usually provided as a brief identifier using a fingerprinting algorithm. A browser fingerprint is information collected specifically by interaction with a web browser on the device.

The creation of device fingeprinting has been evolving and some solutions are most sophisticated. The resulting fingerprint can be a unique identifier that might look like e73cc0bfe0b07dac2f which is formed by the results of testing various properties and resources of a user's web browser. 

Data most commonly collected

  • Device information, such as operating system, make, model and screen resolution.
  • Browser type and version, like Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
  • IP addresses can contribute to the fingerprint in combination with other data points.
  • Browser settings, including time zone, language, and whether cookies are enabled.
  • Installed fonts and plugins
  • The way your device renders graphics to contribute to the fingerprint.
  • Hardware information about your device’s graphic card and drivers.
  • Supercookies (more persistent than regular cookies) that include browsing history.
  • Do Not Track settings, ironically, can be used as a data point.

Uses for Fingerprinting

Online Advertising - Most of the time, digital fingerprinting comes down to advertising and sales. Advertisers use fingerprints to across multiple websites. They then use the analysis to build user profiles that detail their interests and habits, enabling them to deliver highly targeted ads.

Security and Fraud Detection - By comparing a user’s fingerprint with a saved profile, security professionals and systems can flag suspicious behavior, which could indicate fraudulent activity or unauthorized access.

User Validation - Being able to detect bots and persistent actors can prevent the creation of fake accounts and reduce spam.

Digital Rights Management - Unfortunately fingerprints may not always be constant because browsers can change and so can many other factors like how many extensions or fonts are installed. Also, there are many ways to spoof fingerprinting. Some browser extensions are designed to do just that, and some web browsers provide options in their prefences to "poison data" and how often it should be changed.

Preventing Fingerprints

Basic security like a VPN and blocking cookies is a good initial step in making your digital fingerprint harder to track, but they’re not enough on their own. An ad blocker can also stop some data collection but will not stop all tracking.

Blocking will restrict a lot of data points that can be collected. This is the most effective way to stop all tracking, but it can prevent most websites from working. For example, YouTube and other popular sites will not work without .

 

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