Yes. There is a method that attempts to fingerprint a browser based on plugins installed and other available info. It's useful for wanting to make sure, e.g., that someone only rates something once. It's not 100% , but good enough for govt work.
Brett Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 15, 2014, at 1:08 PM, Zakariyya Mughal via Houston <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> On 2014-11-15 at 13:01:24 -0600, G. Wade Johnson via Houston wrote: >> On Sat, 15 Nov 2014 12:18:22 -0600 >> Fraser Baker via Houston <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hi Y'all: >>> >>> >>> >>> Is there a way to get the Client's computer name or any other >>> identifying term? I can get the server's name, but that doesn't help >>> me. I have searched for this, without avail. >> >> I assume you are talking about a web request? >> >> Advertisers (and some three letter agencies) would love this. You only >> have access to what's in the request (including headers) and any >> information needed for the TCP/IP communication itself. Without doing >> something interesting client side, you have: >> >> * IP address (possibly machine or NAT router) >> * Referrer header >> * User Agent string >> * Cookies that you have sent >> * Request parameters >> * The URL itself >> * Some other protocol details that are probably not useful >> >> People with more JavaScript experience might be able to suggest some >> cool JavaScript tricks to grab some kind of identifying information. >> >> I'm not really sure what use the Client's computer name would be, in >> the general case. Out on the wide internet, you cannot guarantee the >> computer name is unique or adheres to any particular scheme. >> >> Inside a given company or subset, the IP address might be good enough >> to identify a user. But, it's hard to know without a better >> understanding of your goal. >> >> This is why most login systems use Cookies to track the user. > > Interestingly enough, it is very possible to identify a unique browser > without cookies. That's what the Panopticlick experiment > <https://panopticlick.eff.org/> tried to test. *dons tinfoil hat* > > Regards, > - Zaki Mughal > >> >> (I realize that you probably know at least some of this. But, some >> background might help to eliminate the obvious stuff you've already >> tried.) >> >> Anyone else have an idea for Fraser? >> >> G. Wade >> -- >> There will always be things we wish to say in our programs that in all >> known languages can only be said poorly. -- Alan Perlis >> _______________________________________________ >> Houston mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/houston >> Website: http://houston.pm.org/ > _______________________________________________ > Houston mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/houston > Website: http://houston.pm.org/ _______________________________________________ Houston mailing list [email protected] http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/houston Website: http://houston.pm.org/
