TrackingTheTrackers
Security and privacy
tracker detection
SHOW HN2019
124points
45comments
#369of 2,195 in 2019
Top 17%of 2019 by points
How HN took it
QuietFewer than 5 comments about the project
1 positive, 1 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 1 critical, out of 3 comments about the project.
Execution: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful for advancing tracker blocking; quick fix when a bug was reported
From 2 comments
Back when I was working for a site on their first-party in-house analytics, the only blocker to catch it was https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/better-blocker/id1080964978 (Better…
lstamour on HNCool, fast update!
throwawaymath on HN
Objections
Tool is limited; a tracker check misses JavaScript-loaded trackers
From 2 comments
This tool is limited. It cannot be used to assess subdomains. For example, checking news.ycombinator.com redirects to checking ycombinator.com.
throwawaymath on HNIf we request each of those pages, e.g., foxnews.com, cnn.com, bbc.co.uk, etc. with a simple HTTP client (no JavaScript engine) and we look at the subdomains that appear in each…
3xblah on HN
CNAME cloaking is hard to block with browser extensions
From 1 comment
It's not that browser add-ons aren't capable of blocking them, it's that a) browser extensions generally don't have access to dns resolution, b) even if they did, cname tracker…
garren on HN
Questions
Where is the line between first-party and third-party analytics?
From 2 comments
We now have trackers acting like first-party properties, but where do you draw the line between first-party and third-party? What I mean is, if I build my own in-house analytics…
teamjimmyy on HNIt depends on why you care about the distinction. If you're talking from a purely privacy perspective, the important questions are (1) are you taking analytics? (2) what are you…
munchbunny on HN
Alternatives named
NextDNS CNAME uncloaking
From 1 comment
NextDNS blocks those trackers, see: https://medium.com/nextdns/nextdns-added-cname-uncloaking-support-becomes-the-first-cross-platform-solution-to-the-problem-e3f437f84342
poitrus on HN
uBlock Origin rules
From 1 comment
> Just to be clear, I was not advocating using third party DNS. Well, you weren't, but the OP is a Show HN by a company offering such a service. > It is only an opinion, but I…
bscphil on HN
Better Blocker and 1Blocker
From 1 comment
Back when I was working for a site on their first-party in-house analytics, the only blocker to catch it was https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/better-blocker/id1080964978 (Better…
lstamour on HN