Browser Settings
Security Settings
The browser can also be a
gateway
for
malware,
therefore you should
- keep it always (automatically) up to date and
- set it as as secure as possible:
Privacy Settings
A browser also reveals a lot about you: with cookies, but also through
"canvas fingerprinting", you can often be
uniqly identified on the web.
Privacy settings using Firefox as an example
- In the "Privacy & Security" area, set "Enhanced Tracking Protection"
to Strict.
If this causes problems with individual pages, you can define an exception
via the shield symbol (left of the address bar).
- Set the item "Send websites a "Do Not Track" signal that you don't want
to be tracked" to Always.
- "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" and
"Clear history when Firefox closes" should be enabled.
- Search suggestions in the address bar should be disabled, otherwise
every character you enter will be transmitted to the search engine you set
(often Google) - you are also better protected if you set a more
privacy-friendly search engine like DuckDuckGo right away.
- In addition to the above-mentioned uMatrix, there is also
uBlock to block advertisements (also available for many other
browsers).
- Using the add-on I don't care about cookies"
you also get rid of all cookie requests - but not the cookies themselves:
You usually agree to their use anyway and with the settings made above you
are on the safe side.
- Using the add-on "Firefox Multi-Account Containers"
you can split the browser into several, separate areas and define that
certain pages are always opened in certain containers; the default settings
include Work and Leisure. With the add-on Temporary Containers
you can expand this concept with containers whose data is automatically
deleted when the tab is closed.
Further tips can be found, for example, at the US
CERT.