Related papers: TrackerSift: Untangling Mixed Tracking and Functio…
Modern websites extensively rely on JavaScript to implement both functionality and tracking. Existing privacy enhancing content blocking tools struggle against mixed scripts, which simultaneously implement both functionality and tracking,…
Modern websites heavily rely on JavaScript (JS) to implement legitimate functionality as well as privacy-invasive advertising and tracking. Browser extensions such as NoScript block any script not loaded by a trusted list of endpoints, thus…
Recent advances in web technologies make it more difficult than ever to detect and block web tracking systems. In this work, we propose ASTrack, a novel approach to web tracking detection and removal. ASTrack uses an abstraction of the code…
Numerous tools have been developed to aggressively block the execution of popular JavaScript programs (JS) in Web browsers. Such blocking also affects functionality of webpages and impairs user experience. As a consequence, many privacy…
This work presents a systematic study of navigational tracking, the latest development in the cat-and-mouse game between browsers and online trackers. Navigational tracking allows trackers to 'aggregate users' activities and behaviors…
Web tracking harms user privacy. As a result, the use of tracker detection and blocking tools is a common practice among Internet users. However, no such tool can be perfect, and thus there is a trade-off between avoiding breakage (caused…
Websites use third-party ads and tracking services to deliver targeted ads and collect information about users that visit them. These services put users' privacy at risk, and that is why users' demand for blocking these services is growing.…
On the modern web, trackers and advertisers frequently construct and monetize users' detailed behavioral profiles without consent. Despite various studies on web tracking mechanisms and advertisements, there has been no rigorous study…
This manuscript presents an exhaustive review of blockchain-based mixing services, aiming to fill the existing gap between academic innovations and real-world implementations. Starting with an identification of the core functionalities and…
To combat phishing attacks -- aimed at luring web users to divulge their sensitive information -- various phishing detection approaches have been proposed. As attackers focus on devising new tactics to bypass existing detection solutions,…
While JavaScript established itself as a cornerstone of the modern web, it also constitutes a major tracking and security vector, thus raising critical privacy and security concerns. In this context, some browser extensions propose to…
Mixer services purportedly remove all connections between the input (deposited) Bitcoins and the output (withdrawn) mixed Bitcoins, seemingly rendering taint analysis tracking ineffectual. In this paper, we introduce and explore a novel…
Third party tracking is the practice by which third parties recognize users accross different websites as they browse the web. Recent studies show that 90% of websites contain third party content that is tracking its users across the web.…
We present a study of how local frames (i.e., iframes loading content like "about:blank") are mishandled by a wide range of popular Web security and privacy tools. As a result, users of these tools remain vulnerable to the very attack…
Understanding user behavior is essential for improving digital experiences, optimizing business conversions, and mitigating threats like account takeovers, fraud, and bot attacks. Most platforms separate product analytics and security,…
Web tracking has been extensively studied over the last decade. To detect tracking, previous studies and user tools rely on filter lists. However, it has been shown that filter lists miss trackers. In this paper, we propose an alternative…
One reason for the popularity of Bitcoin is due to its anonymity. Although several heuristics have been used to break the anonymity, new approaches are proposed to enhance its anonymity at the same time. One of them is the mixing service.…
Third-party networks collect vast amounts of data about users via web sites and mobile applications. Consolidations among tracker companies can significantly increase their individual tracking capabilities, prompting scrutiny by competition…
Websites are constantly adapting the methods used, and intensity with which they track online visitors. However, the wide-range enforcement of GDPR since one year ago (May 2018) forced websites serving EU-based online visitors to eliminate…
Various methods have been proposed for creating and maintaining lists of potentially filtered URLs to allow for measurement of ongoing internet censorship around the world. Whilst testing a known resource for evidence of filtering can be…