Comments on: Google Analytics Opt-Out Snake Oil http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/ Giorgio Maone's answers to the Web, the Universe, and Everything Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:09:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 By: cypressdude http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23633 cypressdude Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:37:11 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23633 Can you believe I have no idea what could be bad about GA? Can someone tell me? Can you believe I have no idea what could be bad about GA? Can someone tell me?

]]> By: Giorgio http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23218 Giorgio Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:13:22 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23218 @<a href="http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23211" rel="nofollow">mh2</a>: Unfortunately if a site requires a script from googleapis.com, replacing it is not that simple because it likely provides real functionality, e.g. a shared copy of the jQuery JavaScript library. Of course you can grab the script, examine/modify it and save an acceptable copy on your hard disk, than use a file:// URL pointing at it as a surrogate replacement. However(unless you've got almost paranoid tracking issues) this is not probably worth the effort, because as I said googleapis.com is mostly used by websites to download common-place libraries from a central place and save themselves and you some bandwidth thanks to caching. @mh2:
Unfortunately if a site requires a script from googleapis.com, replacing it is not that simple because it likely provides real functionality, e.g. a shared copy of the jQuery JavaScript library. Of course you can grab the script, examine/modify it and save an acceptable copy on your hard disk, than use a file:// URL pointing at it as a surrogate replacement. However(unless you’ve got almost paranoid tracking issues) this is not probably worth the effort, because as I said googleapis.com is mostly used by websites to download common-place libraries from a central place and save themselves and you some bandwidth thanks to caching.

]]> By: mh2 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23211 mh2 Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:18:42 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23211 I'm intrigued with how this could be used on sights that "require" googleapis.com I followed some links and found examples that imply that I could create: # noscript.surrogate.gapi.sources: *.googleapis.com # noscript.surrogate.gapi.replacement: var _0=function(){};with(window)urchinTracker=_0,_gat={_getTracker:function(){return {__noSuchMethod__:_0}}} Would that work? The website that I noticed this on is www.wowhead.com for World of Warcraft help. It has worked fine with googleapis blocked until recent months... Twould be nice to block them again... I’m intrigued with how this could be used on sights that "require" googleapis.com
I followed some links and found examples that imply that I could create:
# noscript.surrogate.gapi.sources: *.googleapis.com
# noscript.surrogate.gapi.replacement: var _0=function(){};with(window)urchinTracker=_0,_gat={_getTracker:function(){return {__noSuchMethod__:_0}}}

Would that work?
The website that I noticed this on is www.wowhead.com for World of Warcraft help. It has worked fine with googleapis blocked until recent months… Twould be nice to block them again…

]]> By: Me http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23193 Me Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:27:08 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23193 The Dutch professor B. Jacobs always replies when someone states on the privacy discussion 'I've got nothing to hide' with the question "When did you masturbate and how did you do it?" The Dutch professor B. Jacobs always replies when someone states on the privacy
discussion ‘I’ve got nothing to hide’ with the question "When did you masturbate
and how did you do it?"

]]> By: avalanch http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23167 avalanch Mon, 05 Jul 2010 22:21:17 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23167 Why should we NOT want the google analytics code to execute? Seriously... what is all the fuss about? Is this a legitimate gripe about it allowing malicious code through or what? Personally I don't care if it runs or not and the way I see it, analytics is one of the best seo tools out there. Why should we NOT want the google analytics code to execute? Seriously… what is all the fuss about? Is this a legitimate gripe about it allowing malicious code through or what? Personally I don’t care if it runs or not and the way I see it, analytics is one of the best seo tools out there.

]]> By: Anonymous http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23137 Anonymous Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:52:03 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23137 CloudLiam, actually Ghostery tracks you as far as I know, you're better off with NoScript. CloudLiam, actually Ghostery tracks you as far as I know, you’re better off with NoScript.

]]> By: CloudLiam http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23054 CloudLiam Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:48:09 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23054 The Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on installs the Google Updater which is far worse than the Google Analytics bug IMO. The Ghostery Extension in Firefox blocks Google Analytics plus over 240 other tracking scripts at present and doesn't break any websites that I visit. The Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on installs the Google Updater which is far worse than the Google Analytics bug IMO.

The Ghostery Extension in Firefox blocks Google Analytics plus over 240 other tracking scripts at present and doesn’t break any websites that I visit.

]]> By: cirrus http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23053 cirrus Mon, 31 May 2010 22:23:17 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23053 As said above, what can be easily done is replace all the functions provided by the ga.js and urchin.js scripts with dummy functions. What I've done can be found here: http://blog.0x0lab.org/2010/03/how-to-stop-google-analytics/ As said above, what can be easily done is replace all the functions provided by the ga.js and urchin.js scripts with dummy functions. What I’ve done can be found here:
http://blog.0×0lab.org/2010/03/how-to-stop-google-analytics/

]]> By: anonymous http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23044 anonymous Thu, 27 May 2010 17:50:03 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23044 can you give a few examples of sites that break with google analytics disabled ? can you give a few examples of sites that break with google analytics disabled ?

]]> By: Acidus http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23043 Acidus Thu, 27 May 2010 16:53:57 +0000 http://hackademix.net/2010/05/26/google-analytics-opt-out-snake-oil/#comment-23043 This is a really easy fix. The problem is that the website might call function that GA has which results in runtime errors. Instead the plugin should just block requests to ga.js and create their own empty GA functions and variables in the window scope. No runtime errors because the functions exist, but you don't get tracked because they do nothing, and because ga.js is never touch in any way, nothing clobbers the stub functions or variables. This is a really easy fix.

The problem is that the website might call function that GA has which results in runtime errors. Instead the plugin should just block requests to ga.js and create their own empty GA functions and variables in the window scope. No runtime errors because the functions exist, but you don’t get tracked because they do nothing, and because ga.js is never touch in any way, nothing clobbers the stub functions or variables.

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