Race Is On to 'Fingerprint' Phones, PCs

RVINE, Calif.—David Norris wants to collect the digital equivalent of fingerprints from every computer, cellphone and TV set-top box in the world.

He's off to a good start. So far, Mr. Norris's start-up company, BlueCava Inc., has identified 200 million devices. By the end of next year, BlueCava says it expects to have cataloged one billion of the world's estimated 10 billion devices.

It might seem that one computer is pretty much like any other. Far from it: Each has a different clock setting, different fonts, different software and many other characteristics that make it unique. Every time a typical computer goes online, it broadcasts hundreds of such details as a calling card to other computers it communicates with. Tracking companies can use this data to uniquely identify computers, cellphones and other devices, and then build profiles of the people who use them.

Computers are getting dirt cheap. One company has already said that you should buy one computer specifically for working with all your online banking and credit accounts and use it for nothing else online.

If I were to be up to seriously nefarious stuff, I’d get a separate computer for that purpose alone. Heck, I might even create some false identities on various sites (like FR and DU) to create a “fake” person. Maybe even a facebook page.

I would ONLY use public WiFi for all of my online work, and would disperse my work wildly. If I wanted to get serious I would even wear a big shirt with a pillow under it, and a baseball hat with “fake draadlocks” just in case I was up to SERIOUS felony where the government actually traced my activity to a particular location and pulled out security videos from the time in question.

No, I’m not up to anything. Back in 1974 I worked at a J. C. Penny’s store during christmas in the warehouse. After one of many conversations, one of my workmates finally asked, Robroy (not my real name ;)), why do you always come up with so many ways to rip off the company. He knew I wasn’t stealing anything, so we both thought that maybe I should pursue a career in security. :)

BTW, I came across a good video on this a few weeks ago.

How to disapear in America:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_gIRdS4XPk

This guy DID create a fake persona complete with facebook account, tons of friends, etc.

“buy one computer specifically for working with all your online banking and credit accounts and use it for nothing else online”

This is an excellent idea that I have thought about doing. I have also wanted to set up a honey pot PC just to watch what would happen to it.

I have been using noscript, and have been very happy with it. I don’t care if flash and videos don’t load, unless I allow them.

Also beware of Flash cookies. I use BetterPrivacy for them, but you may be able to set Flash as explained here:

http://www.itworld.com/internet/118784/how-murder-a-flash-cookie-zombie

VM’s are slllllooooowwwww...

They work, but unless you have a really, really fast machine, they have a tendency to be too slow to be useful. At least for me.

They are nice though if you absolutely have to have two different operating systems to do work on.

But you sacrifice speed for convenience.

You’re better off ‘dual booting’ if you need to different systems.

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