Defeating Facebook's Tracking
The web is so abuzz with the news that facebook tracks which websites you visit even if you log out that even some of my facebook-loving friends are a bit worried.
So here’s how I stop them doing so personally: By using firebox and Add Block Plus.
First, Install Adblock Plus. It’ll make you restart your browser to activate it and then ask you to pick a subscription to a constantly-updated list of advertising servers to block. I pick “Fanboy’s” list, mostly coz he also includes Google’s tracking things to stop Google Analytics following you all over the web too.
Next we want to add some rules to specifically stop your computer talking to Facebook when it isn’t actually looking at a facebook page.
Click the ADP icon on your browser (sometimes in the bottom status bar, sometimes near the URL bar, depends on how you’ve customized your browser) and select “Preferences” then “Add Filter” and paste in the following, one line at a time, so you’ve added four filters by the end.
||facebook.com^$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbcdn.net
||facebook.net^$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbcdn.net
||fbcdn.com^$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbcdn.net
||fbcdn.net^$domain=~facebook.com|~facebook.net|~fbcdn.com|~fbcdn.net
There. Now facebook isn’t tracking you anymore. And better yet, it’s also not showing you adverts, and nor is half the rest of the web. (Those adverts all track you too)
It will remove those facebook “Like” buttons from every page, so I guess if you ever use those buttons then you might wanna figure out another solution.
You may also wish to subscribe to other blocking lists of course, spiralX suggests this one from Adversity, espeically their “Antisocial” list.