If ad blocking is the hacksaw of Internet-protecting add-ons, DoNotTrackMe is a finely honed katana, slicing out tracking behaviors embedded in sites without destroying the modern Web.

The latest version makes some helpful changes both on the surface and how it protects you. Formerly known as Do Not Track Plus, the add-on’s redesign makes it significantly easier to use. DNTMe’s new crosshairs icon sits next to your location bar, and is easier to find than the previous one. It still shows you the number of trackers that it’s blocked on the site that you’re visiting, but the layout redeco looks much less like a Windows XP reject.

Click on the crosshairs and a drop-down window opens that shows you a sun icon if there’s no trackers on the site, or in-depth tracking info if there’s more going on than meets the eye. If trackers are detected, you see first a list of the companies tracking you, and then a breakdown of which companies to which they report. These include separate call-outs for social networks, as well as other private companies. The slider at the top is also what you click to allow all tracking from a specific site.

Below the tracker data is a real-time chart showing you how many trackers you’ve been protected from, although the chart’s data is a bit thin. At the very bottom you have links to a combination of Abine privacy products, such as its DeleteMe service, and free blog posts that help explain more information about tracking and privacy concerns.

DNTMe’s benefit isn’t just that it blocks trackers, but that it keeps the social Web active while protecting you. Publisher Abine does this by actually rebuilding the social-networking buttons on most sites, which prevents sites from gleaning tracking data from you when you’re not logged in. By rebuilding social-networking buttons on the fly without sacrificing privacy or site load times, it keeps the kind of functionality people want from the Web.

It’s a unique response to the problem of tracking, and reflects how seriously Abine takes its task. DNTMe also blocks ad networks and companies from following you around the Web.

Several under-the-hood changes to DNTMe have improved how it protects you. It’s dropped advertiser opt-out cookies, a small change that eliminates confusion about different types of cookies and increases your protection. It will warn you, too, when it knows about social-networking news and when social-networking sites make privacy policy changes.

The settings icon, a small gear at the top, lets you toggle tracking cookie blocking on a per-site basis. And throughout the interface, links take you to Abine’s sites that explain what the add-on is doing and why it’s doing it. We’re talking smart, helpful stuff.

If you’re aware of the serious privacy risks on the Internet today, but are looking for something more nuanced than an ad blocker or JavaScript killer that still lets you experience the modern Web, the Do Not Track HTML header is too anemic to be useful despite its good intentions. Protect yourself by putting some serious weight behind that impulse with DoNotTrackMe.

The post Download Blur (formerly DoNotTrackMe) for Firefox Free for Windows appeared first on software.muycloud.com.

On Monday, Abine announced a new privacy add-on called MaskMe. MaskMe promises to protect your personal information by creating custom aliases that “mask” your log-in information.

“In today’s world of big data and NSA surveillance, consumers are realizing that any personal information they give away can be exploited,” said Bill Kerrigan, Abine CEO. “The real lesson is to stop giving out your personal data in the first place. That used to be difficult for consumers, who didn’t have a choice if they wanted to use online services.”

The full service includes masking aliases for all channels of contact, including e-mail, phone numbers, and even credit card numbers. In a sense, it works like a hybrid between KeyPass, and PayPal, giving users the ability to manage their accounts and passwords. You can automatically generate an e-mail alias and dummy password within a form or manually add an account for any Web service. The result is the ability to access all the benefits of Internet services without compromising or really putting your actual personal data at risk.

The basic version includes unlimited disposable e-mails and auto-fill forms so that you don’t have to constantly fill out standard Web forms. MaskMe will remember all your account credentials, which you can manage and access from the MaskMe homepage. The premium tier unlocks masked phone numbers and credit cards — an extra layer of security.

After a few days of use, we found using MaskMe to be surprisingly nondisruptive and quite useful. The beauty of MaskMe is that from a front-end perspective, it feels more like an account management app than a needy security measure. You can control what e-mails from companies get through to your inbox and block any unwanted spam mail from even “well-intentioned” companies if you prefer to just sign up for an account but never want to hear from them again.

Credit card masking is another noteworthy feature: if you opt for the premium service, you can create dummy credit card numbers with spend caps that you can enable or disable at any point. Any online shopping done with these masked cards will show up on your statements as simply purchases from Abine, regardless of which vendor you may have shopped from.

Abine’s latest product is geared toward those who want to enjoy the most out of the Web without sacrificing their personal data in the process. Though there are still many alternative methods, ranging from creating your own separate dummy accounts to complete net abstinence, MaskMe offers a happy medium, sure to please both the casually careful user and identity theft paranoid netizen, alike.

The post Download MaskMe for Chrome Free for Mac appeared first on software.muycloud.com.

If ad blocking is the hacksaw of Internet-protecting add-ons, DoNotTrackMe is a finely honed katana, slicing out tracking behaviors embedded in sites without destroying the modern Web.

The latest version makes some helpful changes both on the surface and how it protects you. Formerly known as Do Not Track Plus, the add-on’s redesign makes it significantly easier to use. DNTMe’s new crosshairs icon sits next to your location bar, and is easier to find than the previous one. It still shows you the number of trackers that it’s blocked on the site that you’re visiting, but the layout redeco looks much less like a Windows XP reject.

Click on the crosshairs and a drop-down window opens that shows you a sun icon if there’s no trackers on the site, or in-depth tracking info if there’s more going on than meets the eye. If trackers are detected, you see first a list of the companies tracking you, and then a breakdown of which companies to which they report. These include separate call-outs for social networks, as well as other private companies. The slider at the top is also what you click to allow all tracking from a specific site.

Below the tracker data is a real-time chart showing you how many trackers you’ve been protected from, although the chart’s data is a bit thin. At the very bottom you have links to a combination of Abine privacy products, such as its DeleteMe service, and free blog posts that help explain more information about tracking and privacy concerns.

DNTMe’s benefit isn’t just that it blocks trackers, but that it keeps the social Web active while protecting you. Publisher Abine does this by actually rebuilding the social-networking buttons on most sites, which prevents sites from gleaning tracking data from you when you’re not logged in. By rebuilding social-networking buttons on the fly without sacrificing privacy or site load times, it keeps the kind of functionality people want from the Web.

It’s a unique response to the problem of tracking, and reflects how seriously Abine takes its task. DNTMe also blocks ad networks and companies from following you around the Web.

Several under-the-hood changes to DNTMe have improved how it protects you. It’s dropped advertiser opt-out cookies, a small change that eliminates confusion about different types of cookies and increases your protection. It will warn you, too, when it knows about social-networking news and when social-networking sites make privacy policy changes.

The settings icon, a small gear at the top, lets you toggle tracking cookie blocking on a per-site basis. And throughout the interface, links take you to Abine’s sites that explain what the add-on is doing and why it’s doing it. We’re talking smart, helpful stuff.

If you’re aware of the serious privacy risks on the Internet today, but are looking for something more nuanced than an ad blocker or JavaScript killer that still lets you experience the modern Web, the Do Not Track HTML header is too anemic to be useful despite its good intentions. Protect yourself by putting some serious weight behind that impulse with DoNotTrackMe.

The post Download Blur for IE (fka DoNotTrackMe) Free for Windows appeared first on software.muycloud.com.

On Monday, Abine announced a new privacy add-on called MaskMe. MaskMe promises to protect your personal information by creating custom aliases that “mask” your log-in information.

“In today’s world of big data and NSA surveillance, consumers are realizing that any personal information they give away can be exploited,” said Bill Kerrigan, Abine CEO. “The real lesson is to stop giving out your personal data in the first place. That used to be difficult for consumers, who didn’t have a choice if they wanted to use online services.”

The full service includes masking aliases for all channels of contact, including e-mail, phone numbers, and even credit card numbers. In a sense, it works like a hybrid between KeyPass, and PayPal, giving users the ability to manage their accounts and passwords. You can automatically generate an e-mail alias and dummy password within a form or manually add an account for any Web service. The result is the ability to access all the benefits of Internet services without compromising or really putting your actual personal data at risk.

The basic version includes unlimited disposable e-mails and auto-fill forms so that you don’t have to constantly fill out standard Web forms. MaskMe will remember all your account credentials, which you can manage and access from the MaskMe homepage. The premium tier unlocks masked phone numbers and credit cards — an extra layer of security.

After a few days of use, we found using MaskMe to be surprisingly nondisruptive and quite useful. The beauty of MaskMe is that from a front-end perspective, it feels more like an account management app than a needy security measure. You can control what e-mails from companies get through to your inbox and block any unwanted spam mail from even “well-intentioned” companies if you prefer to just sign up for an account but never want to hear from them again.

Credit card masking is another noteworthy feature: if you opt for the premium service, you can create dummy credit card numbers with spend caps that you can enable or disable at any point. Any online shopping done with these masked cards will show up on your statements as simply purchases from Abine, regardless of which vendor you may have shopped from.

Abine’s latest product is geared toward those who want to enjoy the most out of the Web without sacrificing their personal data in the process. Though there are still many alternative methods, ranging from creating your own separate dummy accounts to complete net abstinence, MaskMe offers a happy medium, sure to please both the casually careful user and identity theft paranoid netizen, alike.

The post Download MaskMe for Firefox Free for Mac appeared first on software.muycloud.com.

DoNotTrackMe for Chrome is a helpful application that prevents online trackers from collecting your data while you surf the Web. Neatly blending into Chrome, this add-on gives you control of your browser and provides security tools to protect your personal information.

Pros

Awesome performance: Upon loading a new website, we noted that DoNotTrackMe’s blocking capabilities were fast and reliable. While this program can block most tracking services, an innovative feature suggests which trackers may be beneficial for you, preserving your online experience.

Privacy protection: Besides blocking trackers, DoNotTrackMe for Chrome masks your personal email address from advertisers and the like. This option is somewhat limited in the free version of this application, but we found the email forwarding to be timely and secure.

Excellent support: The online how-to guides and FAQs answered all questions that we had about this program. Additionally, DoNoTrackMe offers an 800 number for more advanced technical support, so we are confident that you will never be lost.

Cons

Weaker than competitors: We ran DoNotTrackMe against a similar program and observed that DoNotTrackMe usually blocked 10-20 percent fewer trackers than its competitor. This isn’t a large issue, but it does make us wary about how well the paid version of this software will perform.

Bottom Line

DoNotTrackMe for Chrome’s blocking and privacy features are near perfect — you will find very few faults. We suggest that DoNotTrackMe add more personalization features, such as Ghostery’s whitelist option. In all aspects, this is an excellent application for your Chrome browser, and we recommend that you download DoNotTrackMe to ensure your privacy.

The post Download Blur (formerly DoNotTrackMe) for Chrome Free for Windows appeared first on software.muycloud.com.

If ad blocking is the hacksaw of Internet-protecting add-ons, DoNotTrackMe is a finely honed katana, slicing out tracking behaviors embedded in sites without destroying the modern Web.

The latest version makes some helpful changes both on the surface and how it protects you. Formerly known as Do Not Track Plus, the add-on’s redesign makes it significantly easier to use. DNTMe’s new crosshairs icon sits next to your location bar, and is easier to find than the previous one. It still shows you the number of trackers that it’s blocked on the site that you’re visiting, but the layout redeco looks much less like a Windows XP reject.

Click on the crosshairs and a drop-down window opens that shows you a sun icon if there’s no trackers on the site, or in-depth tracking info if there’s more going on than meets the eye. If trackers are detected, you see first a list of the companies tracking you, and then a breakdown of which companies to which they report. These include separate call-outs for social networks, as well as other private companies. The slider at the top is also what you click to allow all tracking from a specific site.

Below the tracker data is a real-time chart showing you how many trackers you’ve been protected from, although the chart’s data is a bit thin. At the very bottom you have links to a combination of Abine privacy products, such as its DeleteMe service, and free blog posts that help explain more information about tracking and privacy concerns.

DNTMe’s benefit isn’t just that it blocks trackers, but that it keeps the social Web active while protecting you. Publisher Abine does this by actually rebuilding the social-networking buttons on most sites, which prevents sites from gleaning tracking data from you when you’re not logged in. By rebuilding social-networking buttons on the fly without sacrificing privacy or site load times, it keeps the kind of functionality people want from the Web.

It’s a unique response to the problem of tracking, and reflects how seriously Abine takes its task. DNTMe also blocks ad networks and companies from following you around the Web.

Several under-the-hood changes to DNTMe have improved how it protects you. It’s dropped advertiser opt-out cookies, a small change that eliminates confusion about different types of cookies and increases your protection. It will warn you, too, when it knows about social-networking news and when social-networking sites make privacy policy changes.

The settings icon, a small gear at the top, lets you toggle tracking cookie blocking on a per-site basis. And throughout the interface, links take you to Abine’s sites that explain what the add-on is doing and why it’s doing it. We’re talking smart, helpful stuff.

If you’re aware of the serious privacy risks on the Internet today, but are looking for something more nuanced than an ad blocker or JavaScript killer that still lets you experience the modern Web, the Do Not Track HTML header is too anemic to be useful despite its good intentions. Protect yourself by putting some serious weight behind that impulse with DoNotTrackMe.

The post Download DoNotTrackMe for Chrome Free for Mac appeared first on software.muycloud.com.

If ad blocking is the hacksaw of Internet-protecting add-ons, DoNotTrackMe is a finely honed katana, slicing out tracking behaviors embedded in sites without destroying the modern Web.

The latest version makes some helpful changes both on the surface and how it protects you. Formerly known as Do Not Track Plus, the add-on’s redesign makes it significantly easier to use. DNTMe’s new crosshairs icon sits next to your location bar, and is easier to find than the previous one. It still shows you the number of trackers that it’s blocked on the site that you’re visiting, but the layout redeco looks much less like a Windows XP reject.

Click on the crosshairs and a drop-down window opens that shows you a sun icon if there’s no trackers on the site, or in-depth tracking info if there’s more going on than meets the eye. If trackers are detected, you see first a list of the companies tracking you, and then a breakdown of which companies to which they report. These include separate call-outs for social networks, as well as other private companies. The slider at the top is also what you click to allow all tracking from a specific site.

Below the tracker data is a real-time chart showing you how many trackers you’ve been protected from, although the chart’s data is a bit thin. At the very bottom you have links to a combination of Abine privacy products, such as its DeleteMe service, and free blog posts that help explain more information about tracking and privacy concerns.

DNTMe’s benefit isn’t just that it blocks trackers, but that it keeps the social Web active while protecting you. Publisher Abine does this by actually rebuilding the social-networking buttons on most sites, which prevents sites from gleaning tracking data from you when you’re not logged in. By rebuilding social-networking buttons on the fly without sacrificing privacy or site load times, it keeps the kind of functionality people want from the Web.

It’s a unique response to the problem of tracking, and reflects how seriously Abine takes its task. DNTMe also blocks ad networks and companies from following you around the Web.

Several under-the-hood changes to DNTMe have improved how it protects you. It’s dropped advertiser opt-out cookies, a small change that eliminates confusion about different types of cookies and increases your protection. It will warn you, too, when it knows about social-networking news and when social-networking sites make privacy policy changes.

The settings icon, a small gear at the top, lets you toggle tracking cookie blocking on a per-site basis. And throughout the interface, links take you to Abine’s sites that explain what the add-on is doing and why it’s doing it. We’re talking smart, helpful stuff.

If you’re aware of the serious privacy risks on the Internet today, but are looking for something more nuanced than an ad blocker or JavaScript killer that still lets you experience the modern Web, the Do Not Track HTML header is too anemic to be useful despite its good intentions. Protect yourself by putting some serious weight behind that impulse with DoNotTrackMe.

The post Download Blur (formerly DoNotTrackMe) for Safari Free for Windows appeared first on software.muycloud.com.