Milestone 5: Internet Tracking
For this milestone, you will review the Internet Tracking OER materials and complete a worksheet covering the concepts. You will also use the Pantopticlick application from the Electronic Frontier Foundation to fingerprint your primary web browser.
Milestone Worksheet
Please download the following worksheet for Milestone 5. To be sure your browser downloads the file instead of trying to open it, right-click the following link and choose “Save As,” “Save Link As,” or similar language from the menu. (Each browser is a little different in what wording it uses.)
Reading Material
To complete this worksheet, you will read through the following Open Educational Resource (OER) materials I’ve created. The answers to all the questions in the worksheet may be found in the reading material, though you may need to think about some of them for a few minutes. For this Milestone, please read the following:
- Internet Tracking - Read all sections
EFF Panopticlick
Once you have completed the top part of the worksheet, use whichever web browser you normally use on a day-to-day basis. Go to Cover Your Tracks to run the Panopticlick application developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Leave the “Test with a real tracking company” box checked, and click the Test Your Browser button. The test will take a few moments to complete, and you will see the browser page refresh a few times.
Once you reach the results page, you will be informed about the strength of your protection against Web tracking and information about your browser’s fingerprint. Take a screenshot of the top part of this result page. Replace the placeholder screenshot in the worksheet with your screenshot. Refer to Taking a Screenshot if you need assistance.
After you have collected your screenshot, read through your results to get a better understanding of your individual exposure to Internet tracking technologies. Everyone will have a slightly different result due to the uniqueness of browser configurations.
Hints and Tips
The questions in the worksheet are in the same order as the sections of the OER linked above. For efficient use of time, I suggest downloading and opening the worksheet first. As you read through the material, fill in the answers to the worksheet. You can increase your efficiency even further if you have access to a second monitor or TV to which you can connect your computer, allowing your browser window and word processor window to be displayed side-by-side.
Do not try to rush through the worksheet! If you rush, you’re likely going to need to go back and make revisions. Please note that the reflection process at the end of the course will require you to document your revisions. Leaving incorrect answers in unrevised worksheets at the end of the Discovery Phase may prove detrimental at the end of the course. Take your time and work steadily and diligently.
As a reminder, here are the instructions for editing the worksheet in either LibreOffice or Word Online:
Submitting the Milestone
After you’ve finished editing the Milestone Worksheet, save your work, and then export the completed worksheet to a PDF file. Instructions for exporting to PDF are provided under Hints and Tips above. Upload the PDF file as the submission to the Moodle assignment activity for Milestone 5.
To stay on track in this course, be sure that you submit your work before the published due date for Milestone 5. Use the extra time available before the end of the Discovery Phase to make any revisions you need to make after I give you feedback.
ABET Assessment
This activity supports the following ABET performance indicators:
- 2.3 - Evaluate a solution against requirements.
- IT 6.1 - Analyze user needs to determine requirements of a computer-based system.