Disable Geolocation in Firefox

26/05/2014

I came across this informative, dated, but still valid, article today, with simple instructions of how to disable geolocation when using Firefox

• Type ‘about:config’ in the address bar without the ‘ ’
• Discard the warning by hitting ‘yes’
•Scroll down until you reach ‘geo.enabled’ or you can simply search for ‘geo.enabled‘
• Doubleclick the item and it will change from its default value ‘True’ to ‘False’
• Scroll down until you reach ‘geo.wifi.uri’or you can simply search for ‘geo.wifi.uri‘
• Rightclick the Value of ‘geo.wifi.uri’ and click ‘Modify’
• Type in ‘localhost’ and hit ‘OK’

Extract from: Confidential Resource
Another cool article: How to fake location

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  1. about:config -> geo.enabled -> double click to false – what does this do? When this is enabled, websites will be able to identify your location based on your IP address.

    about:config -> browser.sessionhistory.max_entries -> change value to 2 – this increases your privacy.

    about:config -> dom.storage.enabled -> double click to false – this should always be set to false. Leaving this enabled lets the browser store data onto your computer.

    about:config -> browser.display.use_document_fonts -> change value to 0 – This limits the fonts it sends to websites you visit. The fonts on your computer can be very unique and it could identify your workplace.

    about:config -> browser.cache.offline.capacity -> change to 0 – without going into depth, this one is like the two below. It prevents the browser from storing local data.

    about:config -> browser.cache.offline.enable -> change to false – This prevents the browser from storing cache on your system.

    about:config -> browser.cache.memory.enable -> change to false – again this is better off left at false. It prevents the browser from storing cache memory on the computer.

    Privacy Protecting Add-Ons

    AdBlockPlus – Automatically blocks ads from being displayed. Unfortunately now allows “non-intrusive” ads by default, so set your filter to “Fanboy’s List”.

    Ghostery – Blocks analytical software (e.g. Google Analytics).

    HTTPS Everywhere – Automatically makes Firefox use HTTPS encryption when possible. Protects against people seeing what you’re doing on different websites.

    HTTPS Finder – Automatically detects and enforces HTTPS connections when available. It also provides one-click creation and in-browser editing for HTTPS Everywhere rules.

    NoScript – Blocks malicious scripts and provides firewall-like protection within Firefox.

    Collusion – Allows you to see all the third parties that are tracking your movements across the Web. It will show, in real time, how that data creates a spider-web of interaction between companies and other trackers.

    EXIF Viewer – Allows for easy viewing of EXIF data (which can contain personal info) in images with a right click.

    BetterPrivacy – Deletes flash cookies.

    MD5 Reborned Hasher – This extension allows to check the MD2, MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA384 or SHA512 sum of a downloaded file.

    Key Scrambler – Protect your Internet browsing from keyloggers.

    FireGloves – Impedes fingerprinting-based tracking.

    Redirect Cleaner – Redirect Cleaner cleans Redirects from Links

    Open IT Online – Open several types of documents directly in Firefox and Internet Explorer without needing any software to be installed.

    Ref Control – Control what gets sent as the HTTP Referer on a per-site basis.

    UAControl – Control what gets sent as the User-Agent on a per-site basis.

    Cookie Whitelist, With Buttons – Enables you to use a cookie whitelist with ease, through a set of toolbar buttons.

    CsFire – CsFire autonomously protects you against dangerous or malicious cross-domain requests, such as Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).

    Request Policy – Improves the privacy and security of your browsing by giving you control over when cross-site requests are allowed by webpages you visit. Protects against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

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