How to Protect Privacy: How to isolate browsers (1)

After reading "how to protect privacy-related software and service selection" and "how to protect privacy-related browsers to cause privacy leaks" and "how to prevent browser cookies, in the face of security risks in browsers, how can we isolate browsers?

★How to isolate browsers?

◇ Why isolate browsers?

Example 1:

You often use Gmail and rely on Gmail's Automatic Logon function. In this case, you cannot disable the cookie corresponding to the google.com domain name and cannot log on automatically ). However, if you do not disable the cookie corresponding to the google.com domain name, Google will know your search preferences when you use the Google search function. This involves privacy ).

Example 2:

Although browser plug-ins will cause privacy issues as mentioned in previous blog posts in this series), you have to install some browser plug-ins. For example, if you want to watch online videos, You have to install Flash plug-ins. For example, if you use online banking, You have to install some logon controls.

If you have learned the tricks of "browser isolation", you can solve the above problems. Below, I will introduce several different isolation methods.

◇ Multiple browsers

This is the simplest isolation method-using different types of browsers, such as both Firefox and Chrome ).

For the first example just now. You can log on to Gmail in "A Browser", and use settings to allow "A Browser" to store cookies for the google.com domain name. Then, you can use "B Browser" to search Google.

As long as you make sure that you never log on to Gmail in "B Browser", the "B Browser" cookie will not have your user ID. So when you use "B Browser" for Google search, Google does not know who you are.

◇ Multi-instance

However, some users prefer a browser rather than a mix of browsers. Then you can consider the "Multi-instance" feature. Among the three browsers currently, Firefox and Chrome support multiple instances, but IE does not. What is multi-instance pinch? A little explanation.

The so-called Browser multi-instance is called "Multiple Profiles ".

Either Firefox or Chrome, only one instance Profile is installed by default ). Various information related to browsers, including plug-ins, extensions, and appearance skins, page caching, cookies, and so on, are stored in this instance.

If multiple instances are used, each instance has an independent plug-in, independent extension, and independent appearance skin), Independent page cache, independent cookie, and so on. Different instances are relatively isolated and will not affect each other.

For Chrome, please note:

Chrome supports both "Multiple Profiles" and "Multiple Accounts ". But don't confuse the two. Even if you have configured multiple Accounts, if you are still interested in the same instance, you can refer to the introduction on the chromium official website)

When I wrote the "how to prevent hacker intrusion" series about multi-instance configuration a year ago, I have already introduced the series. Please refer to "here"), so today we will not waste any effort.

◇ Multiple users

What if your browser is IE and IE does not support "Multi-instance? There are still some moves, that is, "multiple users ".

You can create multiple operating system users and run the same browser on different operating system users. All mainstream operating systems isolate system user resources. Therefore, browsers running on different operating system users are isolated from each other, including plug-ins, extensions, cookies, and caches ).

When you run a browser in a multi-user mode, you can use the "quick User Switch" function to switch between desktops of different users. But there is one drawback: you can only see the software running by one user at a time, but not the software running by other users. In fact, there is a trick to run software for multiple users on the same desktop. For details, refer to the "Tips for sharing the same desktop with multiple browsers" in this blog ".

◇ Multiple virtual machines

In most cases, the above three tactics are basically enough. However, sometimes you may encounter some abnormal online banking controls, which must be installed by the system administrator. Some controls even achieve "Driver-level ". For this abnormal control, the "multi-user" isolation solution does not work. Only "multiple virtual machines" can be used for isolation.

The "Multi-Virtual Machine" solution is simple to say: Install Multiple Operating System virtual machines and install the browser into the virtual machine. Using virtual machines for isolation, each virtual machine is like a single computer. This isolation is more thorough than the previous three solutions. If you are not familiar with operating system virtual machines, read the blog series of "Literacy operating system virtual machines.