How does Google know what my home page is?

[Dan]

And how do I hide it from the SOB's? I recently switched to Duckduckgo
as my home page. I prefer them for their non-tracking, though you can
make the case that Google often gives superior search results. So I
also have the FF extension which allows you to highlight a word & right
click "search Google for... ", and I use it occasionally. Every time I
do, I get a Google popup on the results page offering to tell me how to
change my homepage to GOOGLE. How do they KNOW what my homepage is?
What else does FF allow any page I happen to visit to view? All my
bookmarks? My search/visit history? How can I block/minimize sites
from access my browser details? Note that I am NOT signed into a Gmail
account, etc., when this happens.

FF 51.0.1, Win 7 64 bit.

TIA

Dan

[Wolf K.]

If you were using google for home page, it would announce itself as such.

What else? Your IP address supplies location, every search on google
supplies data about you, every commercial website and most
non-commercial ones link to 3rd party pages that watch what you're
searching for on that site, etc and so on and so forth.

And it's all legal because your Congress hasn't passed the necessary
stringent privacy laws. Not that it would make any real difference,
since anybody that really wants to can spy on you without you knowing
about it. The NSA has been doing it for years, and anything the NSA can
figure out, anybody else can figure out, too. After all, humans are
pretty smart, no matter what language they speak. All it takes is time
and people willing to do the work (for a sufficiently high price, bien
sur, which isn't all that high in places like Bulgaria and Roumania).
Not to mention the exposure and release of NSA spying tools recently,
which any idiot and crook can use for their amusement or profit.

Have a nice paranoid day,

--
Wolf K.
https://kirkwood40.blogspot.com
"What good is it having lower taxes when you can’t drink the water?”

[Dan]

Agreed. Still don't see the mechanism for knowing my home page,
however. "If you were using google for home page, it would announce
itself as such." How? And more importantly, how to BLOCK that.

[Paul in Houston, TX]

The Borg, er, I mean Google, knows everything you do.
"Resistance is futile."

My Opinions:
It's not FF, it's the internet.
You can fool them somewhat... until they come for you:
Turn off cookies or at least make them session cookies.
Run a cleaner such as CCleaner often (daily).
Get a good firewall with port blocking.
Install a second router and local LAN.
You should never hook a computer to your WAN router.
Spoof your UA to be like everyone else - NO unique ID's.
Block IP geolocation.
Block Google Analytics.
Block popups.
Turn off sync with other devices.
Etc.
To see how unique vs. how well hidden you are, start here:
https://panopticlick.eff.org/
http://browserspy.dk/
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message
<mailman.1279.149542476...@lists.mozilla.org>, "Paul

in Houston, TX" <Pa...@Houston.Texas> writes:
>Dan wrote:
>> And how do I hide it from the SOB's? I recently switched to
>>Duckduckgo as my home page.
>> I prefer them for their non-tracking, though you can make the case
>>that Google often gives
>> superior search results. So I also have the FF extension which
>>allows you to highlight a
>> word & right click "search Google for... ", and I use it
>>occasionally. Every time I do, I
>> get a Google popup on the results page offering to tell me how to
>>change my homepage to
>> GOOGLE. How do they KNOW what my homepage is? What else does FF
>>allow any page I happen
>> to visit to view? All my bookmarks? My search/visit history? How
>>can I block/minimize
>> sites from access my browser details? Note that I am NOT signed into
>>a Gmail account,
>> etc., when this happens.
>>
>> FF 51.0.1, Win 7 64 bit.
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> Dan
>
>The Borg, er, I mean Google, knows everything you do.
>"Resistance is futile."

[]
You, like the other guy, have STILL not answered his SPECIFIC question:
how do they know what his home page is? Or, more specifically, how do
they know, when he uses them, that they are NOT his home page? (And how
can he tweak Firefox so they _don't_ have this information?)

To save everyone's time: let's NOT have any _more_ general paranoia
replies; such paranoia may be completely justified (I suspect it is),
but _doesn't_ answer the original question, viz. how do they know what
his homepage is/isn't, and how does he stop them knowing that?
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

- often six furlongs ahead of the field, but on the wrong racecourse. - Colin
Dexter on (his creation the character) Morse; Radio Times 12-18 May 2012.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message
<mailman.1279.149542476...@lists.mozilla.org>, "Paul
in Houston, TX" <Pa...@Houston.Texas> writes:

>Dan wrote:
>> And how do I hide it from the SOB's? I recently switched to
>>Duckduckgo as my home page.
>> I prefer them for their non-tracking, though you can make the case
>>that Google often gives
>> superior search results. So I also have the FF extension which
>>allows you to highlight a
>> word & right click "search Google for... ", and I use it
>>occasionally. Every time I do, I
>> get a Google popup on the results page offering to tell me how to
>>change my homepage to
>> GOOGLE. How do they KNOW what my homepage is? What else does FF
>>allow any page I happen
>> to visit to view? All my bookmarks? My search/visit history? How
>>can I block/minimize
>> sites from access my browser details? Note that I am NOT signed into
>>a Gmail account,
>> etc., when this happens.
>>
>> FF 51.0.1, Win 7 64 bit.
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> Dan
>
>The Borg, er, I mean Google, knows everything you do.
>"Resistance is futile."

[Jeremy Nicoll]

On Mon, 22 May 2017, at 03:40, Wolf K. wrote:

> If you were using google for home page, it would announce itself as such.

Eh, no. I /do/ use Google as my homepage, and in the last couple of
days
I've noticed I'm also getting that stupid reminder/prompt.

I think when you use their way fo setting the homepage, whatever that
is,
it probably stores a cookie saying you did it. I clear cookies several
times
a day, which would explain the stupid prompt re-appearing, but not why
it hasn't always done that.

--
Jeremy Nicoll - my opinions are my own.

[Big Al]

If you are using CCleaner you can mark certain cookies not to be
deleted. Not sure how many people know that setting in CC.

[Wolf K.]

I suspect it's the extension. OP should turn it off. If the google ads
disappear, then he knows that it's extension. FWIW, when I use google
instead of DuckDuckGo, the search engine switches to Bing. There's
something I could do (Win 8.1), but IMO it's not worth the bother.

Not that it will much difference. Every search you originate transmits
data about you, because otherwise you would never see the results of
your searches. You can do a number of things to reduce exposure and data
gathering, as listed by Paul in Houston. But you can't avoid it
completely. Tor supposedly anonymises your internet connection(s), but a
recent report by the Register indicates that even Tor can't protect you
completely.

Dial the paranoia to a comfortable level, and get on with your life.

"Sunny days!" :-)

[Wolf K.]

That makes sense.

[Millwood]

IIRC, just clicking on tell me how is sufficient to get them to stop -
at least for a while. This supports the cookie conjecture.

[The Real Bev]

OTOH, maybe that flashes up automatically whether or not you have google
for your home page :-(

--
Cheers, Bev
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea:
massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining,
and a source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you
least expect it." --Gene Spafford (1992)

[Mayayana]

"Dan" <no...@yahoo.com> wrote

| What else does FF allow any page I happen to visit to view? All my
| bookmarks? My search/visit history? How can I block/minimize sites
| from access my browser details?

Paul gave you a basic list of things to look
into if you want a modicum of privacy. It
has nothing to do with Firefox, per se. I would
also question why you need a homepage. While
duckduckgo should be OK, the idea of default
search is mainly a gimmick to make you trackable.
I use my own home-made page of links as a
homepage. You can also just use a blank page.


Google may know you by a cookie, or they
may guess they don't know you if you block
cookies. Google is also one of several companies
that may be tracking nearly everywhere you go
if you don't use something like a HOSTS file
or extensions to block them. Again, that has
nothing to do with Firefox. Google analytics.
Google fonts. Google/Doubleclick ads. They're
on most commerical webpages, which means
allowing any of those through provides them
with a record of your activities, even if you
block cookies.

The single most important item for both
privacy and security is to disable javascript.
But some sites won't work properly without
it. As a compromise you might want to try
the NoScript extension. The vast majority of
malware attacks require javascript to work.
Also, most tracking other than web bug images
requires javascript. With script, a page can even
monitor your mouse movements and track clicks.
Without script they get nothing except the record
of files you downloaded. If you use a HOSTS file to
block web bug images then they don't get those,
either. (Most commercial sites will try to use web
bugs if they can't track you via script.)

But with all of this there's a tradeoff. You can't
do whatever you like online, with no inconvenience,
and still have good privacy. Tracking is ubiquitous.
Many sites now show spyware-based ads and
assume their right to do so. Many will even view
you as a cheater if you block their ability to spy
on you.

[VanguardLH]

I tell you to tie your shoelaces. I don't have to look. I could be
blind. I could be thousands of miles in another country calling you to
tie your shoelaces. If your shoelaces are untied, gee, how did I know?
I didn't. If your shoelaces were already tied, you'd ignore my advice.
Offering to change your home page is not the same as knowing what it is.
Any site can offer to programmatically change your web browser's home
page to their page. I don't know if web browsers have blunted this hack
scheme. It seems when offered to change, the user still gets a choice.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3075409/universal-javascript-for-set-homepage-functionality

You sure the Google site is asking you to change your web browser's home
page? The ones that I've seen are offering to give me Google Chrome.
That's the entire web browser. They know the client that connects to
their server. The oldest way is to use the User-Agent header that the
client sends to the server. Since users can fake the UA header to
pretend they are using a different web browser, and because the UA
header is deprecated for determining the client connecting to a server,
the more accurate method is to use feature detection (e.g.,
https://modernizr.com/). Rather than a site having to write multiple
conditionals in their page code to handle the anomalies between web
browsers, knowing what features they support lets you code a page
independent of what web browser the visitor happens to use. Another old
way was to use Javascript to test the value of an attribute and then use
a big if-else-else-<ad nauseum> conditional to determine which web
browser was indicated by the attribute.

[Mayayana]

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JP...@255soft.uk> wrote

| You, like the other guy, have STILL not answered his SPECIFIC question:
| how do they know what his home page is? Or, more specifically, how do
| they know, when he uses them, that they are NOT his home page? (And how
| can he tweak Firefox so they _don't_ have this information?)
|
| To save everyone's time: let's NOT have any _more_ general paranoia
| replies; such paranoia may be completely justified (I suspect it is),
| but _doesn't_ answer the original question, viz. how do they know what
| his homepage is/isn't, and how does he stop them knowing that?

It's not an easy question and Dan doesn't
seem to know the basics of privacy online. Maybe
he's allowing Google cookies? Maybe he's not, and
that's why he sees the popup? Maybe it's just a
dumb popup. From my point of view, his first problem
is that he's seeing ANY popups. :)

I thought Paul's answer was perfect: succinct
and with links for further research. Because Dan
clearly wants to understand at least something of
what he's dealing with. He's asking about Google,
but tracking is not just done by Google.

[Paul in Houston, TX]

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

> In message <mailman.1279.149542476...@lists.mozilla.org>, "Paul in
> Houston, TX" <Pa...@Houston.Texas> writes:
>> Dan wrote:
>>> And how do I hide it from the SOB's? I recently switched to Duckduckgo as my home page.
>>

>> The Borg, er, I mean Google, knows everything you do.
>> "Resistance is futile."
> []
> You, like the other guy, have STILL not answered his SPECIFIC question: how do they know
> what his home page is? Or, more specifically, how do they know, when he uses them, that
> they are NOT his home page? (And how can he tweak Firefox so they _don't_ have this
> information?)
>
> To save everyone's time: let's NOT have any _more_ general paranoia replies; such paranoia
> may be completely justified (I suspect it is), but _doesn't_ answer the original question,
> viz. how do they know what his homepage is/isn't, and how does he stop them knowing that?

We cannot directly answer his question.
He will have to test to find out what is causing the problem.
It will be one of the things that I listed.

[EE]

Google might still be tracking you through Google Analytics, unless you
block trackers. If it sees less traffic coming from you, it might
theorize that your home page is different. My home page is about:blank,
which sends out nothing, and nobody is urging me to change it, but then
again I block trackers.

[EE]

I doubt it. My home page is about:blank, and nobody has urged me to
change it.

[Timothy Lechowicz]

mac 'n' safari get it done and Yahoo Canada, merci Yahoo ?.   And thank - you for giving us a .ca email address.

 

 Tim G. Lechowicz

On Monday, May 22, 2017 1:22 PM, EE <nu...@bees.wax> wrote:

I doubt it.  My home page is about:blank, and nobody has urged me to

change it.

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[Sid Knee]

On Sunday, May 21, 2017 at 10:15:49 PM UTC-4, Dan wrote:
> Every time I do, I get a Google popup on the results page offering to tell me how to
> change my homepage to GOOGLE. How do they KNOW what my homepage is?

TV stations often say "You are watching Station-XXX ...." how do they know what I'm watching? I've long suspected that TV's contain spy devices which feed back to the TV stations (and who knows who else). I think this proves it.

I have plenty more conspiracy theories :-)

[VanguardLH]

Millwood <marc...@gmail.com> wrote:

> IIRC, just clicking on tell me how is sufficient to get them to stop -
> at least for a while. This supports the cookie conjecture.

Your IP address is known to every host to which you connect. That is
required so the other end knows where to send any requested traffic back
to the originator. Tis easy to table your IP address so you are offered
something only, say, once per day. When you visit, are you in the IP
log? If so, skip the content.

[Mayayana]

"Sid Knee" <meva...@gmail.com> wrote

| TV stations often say "You are watching Station-XXX ...."
| how do they know what I'm watching? I've long
| suspected that TV's contain spy devices

You think you're joking, but these days you need
to think twice before making assumptions about
what's paranoid. TVs *do* spy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/02/06/these-smart-tvs-were-apparently-spying-on-their-owners/

https://securityledger.com/2015/11/viewing-data-from-smart-tvs-used-to-push-ads-to-all-your-screens/

https://securityledger.com/2014/05/bad-actor-with-update-lg-says-no-monitoring-no-smart-tv/

Those 2 links are about TV makers spying. There's
also cable companies. Comcast has even filed for
patents.
Vizio paid a relatively tiny fine to the FTC, and that
only after years of spying.

Unless you watch a non-Internet-connected TV,
without cable, there's a good chance you are being
spied on.

The good news: If you live near a big city you can
probably get dozens of broadcast stations for free.
We get 5 stations of PBS alone. It's not as good as
it used to be, but at least we're not under the thumb
of a cable company. I don't worry about missing
anything from the likes of HBO. And there's no need to
have the TV connect online.

[Mark12547]

In article <mailman.1338.1495513432.24901.support-
fir...@lists.mozilla.org>, V...@nguard.LH says...

The IP address method is rather unreliable.

More and more people are being placed behind CGNATs and other ways of
IPv4 address sharing among customers, such as MAP-E and MAP-T. Even
Comcast (staunch supporters of Dual Stack) are trialing one of the MAP
techniques.

And as people get more concerned about privacy and start using VPNs, in
many cases it is like sitting behind yet another NAT: multiple customers
may be using the same public-facing IP addresses, but this time may
include sharing IPv6 addresses.

No, cookies and fingerprinting are more reliable than IP addresses.