Browser Privacy Settings

A cookie is a small piece of data a site stores in your browser. First-party cookies are set by the site you intentionally visited. They often keep you logged in, remember a language preference, or hold a shopping cart. They can still be abused, but their primary job is making that site work. Third-party cookies are set by other domains embedded in the page — ad networks, analytics beacons, social widgets. Those parties see you on Site A in the morning and Site B at night and try to join the timeline into one interest graph.

Browsers have been reducing classic third-party cookies, but tracking did not vanish. Alternatives include first-party tracking pixels that bounce through redirects, link decoration, local storage, and fingerprinting. Blocking third-party cookies / enabling strict tracking protection is still a high-value default because it cuts a large, well-understood class of cross-site surveillance. Expect some sites to ask you to log in more often — that friction is often the privacy trade.

Trackers are scripts and pixels whose job is measurement and profiling: which pages you saw, for how long, what you clicked, and sometimes what you bought. Fingerprinting goes further by measuring your browser itself — fonts, canvas/WebGL behavior, screen size, timezone, language, installed extensions, audio stack quirks — to recognize you even after cookies are cleared. Perfect uniqueness is rare; "unique enough" among millions of users is enough for ad tech.

Malvertising is malicious advertising: hostile creatives or redirected ad chains that deliver drive-by downloads, fake update prompts, or phishing overlays. A reputable content blocker (installed only from the official extension store) reduces both annoyance and attack surface by refusing many tracker and ad scripts before they run. That is security hygiene, not just "clean looking pages." It does not replace HTTPS, updates, or phishing caution.

Consider separating contexts on YOUR machine: a daily browsing profile with strict tracking protection, and a tighter banking profile or container with fewer extensions. Set a privacy-respecting default search engine if you prefer less query logging. Periodically clear cached junk you do not need. Disable unnecessary access to location, camera, and mic at the browser permission layer — same least-privilege idea as phone apps. Autofill for cards is convenient; on shared family PCs, treat it as a risk surface.

Extensions are powerful: they can read every page you visit. Install few, from official stores, with known publishers. Remove the ones you forgot. A random "Free VPN + Adblock Mega" extension is often worse than the ads it claims to stop. Your Module 5 theme continues: defend YOUR browser — never use extensions to spy on other people's sessions.

# Chrome / Edge (names vary slightly by version)
Settings → Privacy and security
1. Cookies → Block third-party cookies (or equivalent)
2. Tracking prevention / Privacy → Strict or Balanced+ (prefer stricter)
3. Site settings → Location / Camera / Mic → Ask or Block by default
4. Clear browsing data periodically (cached files + cookies you do not need)
5. Extensions → remove anything you do not recognize

# Firefox
Settings → Privacy & Security → Enhanced Tracking Protection → Strict
Optional: containers for banking vs general browsing

# Safari (macOS/iOS)
Settings → Privacy → prevent cross-site tracking (enable)
Review Website settings for camera/mic/location

# Extra win
Install a reputable open-source blocker (e.g. uBlock Origin)
ONLY from the official extension store — never a random .exe / APK

# Optional search privacy
Default search → DuckDuckGo / Brave Search / similar privacy-focused option

# Fingerprint humility
Clearing cookies ≠ invisible forever
Combine: tracker blocking + fewer extensions + separate profiles

# NEVER
- Install spy extensions to monitor someone else
- Click "Allow all cookies" just to silence a banner on every site
- Trust "Do Not Track" alone as a complete defense (signal only)

Your browser is now less helpful to trackers and a smaller malvertising surface. Next — Public WiFi Security — we take VPN and browser habits into cafés, airports, and lookalike access points, teaching recognition and avoidance without any attack how-to.