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Comment Re:HTML/A like PDF/A (Score 1) 149

You might be interesting in the work of the W3C Private User Agent Community Group that is exploring solutions to prevent such leaks. One option for limiting the capability to leak the mouse positions is to limiting the back channels available to leak the state out to the web. A web browser that resists such leaks can still support rich client side Javascript content. Not surprisingly, early results demonstrate that much web advertising is caught by such protections - for example Google search ads still work but most content network ads violate security and are blocked. Other options are being explored such as declarative web actions to offload interactive tasks to trusted apps, and a curated database of trusted scripts that implement widely used features such as slide shows etc. There is a lot of resistance from shills wanting to entangle our computing use with web services and even offload web browser security to the cloud, and they are currently winning, so if people are interested in such solutions then please consider supporting this group, see: http://www.w3.org/community/pua/

Comment PUA HTML could be great to childrens apps (Score 4, Interesting) 65

A significant motivation for starting the W3C Private User Agent community group was the experience of watching children using online apps with the understand of all the covert monitoring and tracking going on. I believe that a lot could be done to better secure the privacy of the web browser and to better support a more private platform for children, and others. Most of the apps for very young children really do not need to be connected to the web, the apps just need to be downloaded, and could then be run in a sandbox.

Comment Re:Privacy hysteria (Score 1) 76

Personal computers have traditionally been a private space and the Internet has not been 'complete anarchy' so you are simply wrong. Simply because the web browser is becoming a platform for delivering applications should in no way make the personal computer open to the covert sharing of its state. I understand that 'privacy' is a loaded word and perhaps you have misunderstood the intention of this group - 'complete privacy on the Internet' is certainly way out of its scope as is discussion about privacy in public places. I believe it is possible to do a lot better than simply disabling Javascript and this is a challenge for the group. Please understand that I expect a web application run on my personal computer to have the same level of privacy as a local application which I do not believe is unreasonable, and if the HTML standards can not and will not address this issue then I believe they have lots their legitimacy.

Comment Re:Fuck JavaScript (Score 1) 76

Noscript has many useful features, and some of it's features are being integrated into standards, such as ClearClick which is proposed for CSP - although in CSP it is proposed that any violations are silently reported to the server rather than the user. I think we can do better than just disabling JS to prevent covert sharing of UA state. Further there are other source of leaks, such as CSS.

Comment Re:If I can't track your interactions with the sit (Score 1) 76

Through a navigation request or form submission request, or you can send me Javascript to handle the button click on the UA and it will be run in a context that has no access to back channels, or it may be that the button press is intentional enough that it could be passed to a Javascript context that has no access to the AU state but can proxy the event back to your server and then forward an update from your server back to the private UA context. Keep in mind that this is a proposed group to work on the issues, not a detailed proposal to solve all the problems.

Comment Re:Translation... (Score 1) 76

The proposed group is open to a range of technical solutions. Limiting the back channels open to Javascript is one approach and this could be very effective for many web activities and still support interactive pages driven by Javascript such as games and children's leaning tools. Another approach is limiting the access that Javascript has to the UA state or spoofing the state. A combination of both approaches may also be explored. Javascript is not the only issue, there are other leaks that also need to be addressed. Unfortunately it does not appear possible to solve the problems without breaking something, but I do not accept that this is a good reason not to fix the problems. The damage just gets worse as new standards are developed ignoring the issue and building upon functionality that is not salvageable. User Agents already allow Javscript to be completely disabling and a good range of website are still quite functional, and I am confident we can do a lot better the this.
Privacy

Submission + - W3C Community Group proposed to tackle covert sharing of user agent state. (w3.org)

FredAndrews writes: "A W3C Community Group (Private User Agent PUA) has been proposed to tackle the privacy of the web browser by developing technical solutions to close the leaks. Current Javascript APIs are capable of leaking a lot of information as we browse the Internet, such as details of our browser that can be used to identify and track our online presence, and the content on the page including any private customizations and the effects of extensions, and can monitor and leak our usage on the page such a mouse movements and interactions on the page. This problem is compounded by the increased use of the web browser as a platform for delivering softare, and also by yet more leak standards are being developed which is often justifying by their authors by pointing to the current leaky infrastructure. While the community ignores the issue, solutions are being developed commercially and patented — we run the risk of ending up unable to have privacy because the solutions are patented. The proposed W3C PUA CG proposes to address the problem with technical solutions at the web browser, such as restricting the back channels available to Javascript, and also by proposing HTML extensions to mitigate lost functionality. Note this work can not address the privacy of information that we overty share, and there are other current W3C innitiatives working on this such as DNT."
EU

Submission + - Google Faces Heavy Antitrust Fines in the EU (networkworld.com)

SquarePixel writes: Europe's competition watchdog is considering formal proceedings against Google over antitrust complaints about the way it promotes its own services in search results, potentially exposing the company to a fine of 10 percent of its global turnover. Google is accused of using its search service to direct users to its own services and to reduce the visibility of competing websites and services. If the Commission found Google guilty of breaking E.U. competition rules, it could restrict Google's business activities in Europe and fine the company up to 10 percent of its annual global revenue (US$37.9 billion last year).
Iphone

Submission + - WOZ in OZ (4bc.com.au)

An anonymous reader writes: Apple co-founder and longtime iPhone enthusiast Steve Wozniak surprised iPhone fans by joining the queue outside the Chermside Apple store this morning.

Wozniak tells Peter and Mary from 4BC Breakfast about his visit to the city and reveals his ambitions to become an Australian citizen.

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