Can I get better online security then what I have?
 

Ok. First I know nothing is 100%. I also am aware of, in Chrome and Firefox, private browsing so nothing is saved to our computer.

I at times use the private browsing feature, might even like to use it all the time by default automatically when I start Firefox, if I can figure out how to do that.

Currently the add-ons in Firefox I use are these:

Adblock Plus
BetterPrivacy
Ghostery
HTTPS-Everywhere
NoScript
Redirect Remover

(I also use OpenDNS and search engines like Sroogle SSL and IXquick HTTPS.)

Can I do better then this? I am not paranoid or doing anything illegally but if someone wants to track me I want to make it a real pain in the ##s for them.

Also with all the talk about Net Neutrality dieing and the chances are that ISP's will end up monitoring internet usage so they can target you with partner advertisements/products/websites/etc. How can I hide/block/what ever my tracks so they can't do this or at the very least find it very difficult to do? I hate the whole idea of them watching me and TELLING me want I want. I know what I want, I know I will get it if I can afford it and I will get what ever when I choose to. I don't need pretty little adverts and encouragement from them watching me and telling me these things.

I like to use the browser add on called Web of Trust. It is available for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome. It will warn you if you try to connect to an address that is on its blacklist. Also, in Firefox and Google Chrome, it will mark links that you see on a web page with a green or yellow or orange or red circle depending on its reputation.

It is great when I am searching for something at a search engine such as Google. Many links are marked red or orange. I avoid going to those sites.

Thanks. I will give Web of Trust a try, sounds good.

I should have mentioned this. When you first install it and restart your browser it will direct you to their home page. They make you think that you have to register to use it. However, if you simply close the Java window hovering over their main page and then close the main web page window Web of Trust will work without you registering.

STRESS_JUNKIEwas spot on about WOT! It is one the most useful tools to warn you about a site's safety.As he said "Red and Orange' are a no go! Grey is "be cautious or the site's not analyzed yet". Can you kindly tell us which version of Firefox you are using?
Regards,
vyver.

To stress_junkie,
Can't thank you enough for the two links at the bottom (signature)! You have earned a "did you find this post helpful?" a Plus!

Regards,
vyver.

Thanks. :) I've been using those distributions for years. They're great!

Have you considered using privoxy and/or tor? Also, here's a link to see how unique/trackable you are: http://panopticlick.eff.org/

These days, I think that Privoxy is pretty much essential.

Has anyone noticed that in Firefox 3 you no longer have the option to be asked about cookies? You can choose to not accept them at all, or to accept all of them. They did restore the separate option to reject 3rd party cookies (spyware by definition) in FF3. But you can't set a default policy of "block" and then allow specific sites to set cookies.

With Privoxy, you can deal with that problem.

Dear barriehie,
Checkout : ipchicken.com and most of us will find out that we are ready for the Cyber slaughter !
TOR+Privoxy bundle is excellent and i can lend a helping hand if need be!

Regards,
vyver.

Well I should have said Iceweasel. I keep forgetting that is what Debian uses by default. It is Iceweasel 3.5.15 and WOT works with Firefox 3.6+ so later today I have to install the actual Firefox or find Iceweasel 3.6.

I am using Debian Testing. I might move it up to Debian SID. I think the latest Iceweasel/Firefox is there.

I don't recommend Tor, because it can actually decrease your privacy, and is slow.

Make sure to setup noscript to block almost everything including web bugs. I don't have flash installed, I just download youtube vids.

I also keep the FF web cache in '/dev/shm' (which is RAM).

Also use Flashblock -- keeps Flash from running without permission.

Noscript seems to cover the flash part, does Flashblock add more security?


Excellent idea. One question. Isn't there a possibility of this information, or partial, getting burnt into the ram after awhile? Or does that have to be the same exact data over and over for that to happen?

And how do I set that up with my Firefox?

Also: Warning. Getting Cataclysm. All work on this will be a day behind, lol. (World of Warcraft for those that don't know.)

Why is that? Tor is about anonymity. Without understanding how the internet works, Tor can give a false sense of privacy. But actually decrease it?

Malicious exit nodes can manipulate transmitted content, service providers can ban accounts using tor (temporary ban happended to me once, I presume because my IP as seen by the website was the same as the IP some evil activity originated from). But I don't think privacy behind Tor is actually worse than without any proxy.