Firefox add-on Lightbeam

[mandru]

I saw this reviewed on a news program.  It looks like it allows a user when visiting a web site to view who (3rd parties) that site is sharing your unique information with.  From what I understand there are some control settings that allow limiting info shared.

Free and downloadable in Firefox by going to Tools>add-ons and searching Lightbeam.  From there you can click on more to receive a detailed description of it's functionality.  File size 814 KB and has a pretty spiffy cascading display of who your information is being given to and outward iterations of who these 3rd parties subsequently are in turn re-sharing it with when it is enabled.

While Minecraft may be an amusing pastime Data Mining has become a personal pet peeve for me.  >:((

Lightbeam may be worth checking out for anyone with some security and tech savvy.  I know I'd appreciate any feedback or opinions as to it's usefulness.  :-X

[Art Blade]

OK, installed it. Pity you can't access it through a right mouse button menu or something similarly easy and quick. I'll let you know how it goes :)

[Art Blade]

Well, that's it, then. I removed it  :-D

Apparently my own tools and add-ons are so effective that lightbeam doesn't show anything but one sort of menu bar stating something like, "you visited 2 sites. 4 sites were third-party." You know, just one small bar with text, something like that, and one massive screen full of stuff that did nothing, just black or empty. I couldn't access any details. There was no "visualisation" or anything. Which means, it is useless for me.

[mandru]

Ah thanks for the review Art.  ;D

[Art Blade]

Welcome :)

A few things you can do:

* Install the add-ons "Adblock Edge 2.0.7" and "NoScript 2.6.8.4" (versions of today)
* Disable cookies from sites (but use the exceptions, basically your own "white list" like for OWG)
* Disable tracking
* Block pop-up windows (use exceptions, like for OWG)
* Warn when sites try to redirect or reload

* Don't just "surf" the net (except specific searches with google, wiki and so on)
* Don't use shady addresses (torrents and so on).
* Don't install stuff you didn't get from trusted sites/manufacturer sites.
* Think first, click later.

:)

[PZ]

I've installed AVG Do Not Track on one of my machines, and it does indicate when trackers are being used - for example Goggle analytics

https://addons.mozilla.org/En-us/firefox/addon/avg-do-not-track/?src=search

[Art Blade]

noscript blocks everything that I haven't allowed.. so google (lol, "goggle") analytics is automatically blocked.