privacy [Tutorial] Firefox: Privacy Related "about:config" Tweak

[PrivacyRoad]

This is a collection of privacy related about:config tweaks. We'll show you how to enhance the privacy of your Firefox browser.

 

 

Preparation:

1. Enter "about:config" in the firefox address bar and press enter.
2. Press the button "I'll be careful, I promise!"
3. Follow the instructions below...

Getting started:

1. privacy.trackingprotection.enabled = true
   • This is Mozilla’s new built in tracking protection.
2. geo.enabled = false
   • Disables geolocation.
3. browser.safebrowsing.enabled = false
   • Disable Google Safe Browsing and phishing protection. Security risk, but privacy improvement.
4. browser.safebrowsing.malware.enabled = false
   • Disable Google Safe Browsing malware checks. Security risk, but privacy improvement.
5. dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled = false
   • Disable that websites can get notifications if you copy, paste, or cut something from a web page, and it lets them know which part of the page had been selected.
6. network.cookie.cookieBehavior = 1
   • Disable cookies
   • 0 = Accept all cookies by default
   • 1 = Only accept from the originating site (block third party cookies)
   • 2 = Block all cookies by default
7. network.cookie.lifetimePolicy = 2
   • cookies are deleted at the end of the session
   • 0 = Accept cookies normally
   • 1 = Prompt for each cookie
   • 2 = Accept for current session only
   • 3 = Accept for N days
8. browser.cache.offline.enable = false
   • Disables offline cache.
9. browser.send_pings = false
   • The attribute would be useful for letting websites track visitors’ clicks.
10. webgl.disabled = true
    • WebGL is a potential security risk. Source
11. dom.battery.enabled = false
    • Website owners can track the battery status of your device. Source
12. browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo = 0

Even with Firefox set to not remember history, your closed tabs are stored temporarily at Menu -> History -> Recently Closed Tabs

 

 

WebRTC IP Leak:

WebRTC is a new communication protocol that relies on JavaScript that can leak your actual IP address from behind your VPN.

 

How to disable WebRTC in Firefox?

In short: Set "media.peerconnection.enabled" to "false" in "about:config".

Explained:

1. Enter "about:config" in the firefox address bar and press enter.
2. Press the button "I'll be careful, I promise!"
3. Search for "media.peerconnection.enabled"
4. Double click the entry, the column "Value" should now be "false"
5. Done. Do the WebRTC leak test again.

If you want to make sure every single WebRTC related setting is really disabled change these settings:

1. media.peerconnection.turn.disable = true
2. media.peerconnection.use_document_iceservers = false
3. media.peerconnection.video.enabled = false
4. media.peerconnection.identity.timeout = 1

Now you can be 100% sure WebRTC is disabled.

 

Now remember, these are just but a few of the setting that can be applied to your Firefox settings to help keep you safer while exploring the vast internet. To truly stay safe you must continue to stay vigilante in your privacy concerns by always reading the latest news on web vulnerabilities and apply them!

Stay Safe...