How do I install TrackMeNot?

Click the 'Install TrackMeNot' link and then click 'Allow' or 'Install' in the dialog for your browser.

To adjust TMN's display, enable/disable specific features, view the query log, or adjust other options, click the TMN icon and select 'Options' in the menu.

How do I upgrade to the current version of TrackMeNot?

The browser's extension manager should alert you when TrackMeNot is updated, and prompt you to install the upgrade.

If you've disabled this function or want to do a manual upgrade, simply follow the install instructions above.



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Can I control the rate at which TMN sends queries?



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Can I choose the search engines that TMN queries?



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Can I control the search terms that TMN uses?



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Isn't it easy for search companies (or 3rd-parties) to filter out TMN queries?

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Can TMN effectively hide my identity?



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Isn't it a good thing that search companies keep track of my search history?



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Why is TMN so concerned with keeping control in the hands of individual users; as opposed to other strategies which use 3rd party servers/proxies?



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Won't software like this make it harder for the government to catch real criminals (or terrorists) who might be using the web for nefarious purposes?



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Will widespread deployment of TMN eventually 'clog' the search engines it queries?



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Does TMN ever simulate click-throughs on links that come up from "fake" searches?



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What kind of guarantees can TMN make regarding privacy protection?



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If one of the search engines were to come up with a new technical mechanism that could defeat TMN, how would you even know?



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How random is TMN's random timing mechanism. Isn't it likely that a search engine (using the massive amount of user data they've already collected) could distinguish any randomomized mechanism from real user search behavior?



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How is this different than a (Distributed) Denial of Service attack or spamware?

"a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. Typically the targets are high-profile web servers, and the attack attempts to make the hosted web pages unavailable on the Internet." (Wikipedia, March 29 2007)

"Spamming is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages, which are generally undesired." (Wikipedia, March 29 2007)

"Spamdexing is any of various methods to manipulate the relevancy or prominence of resources indexed by a search engine, usually in a manner inconsistent with the purpose of the indexing system." (Wikipedia, March 29 2007)



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How have the search engine companies responded to this project?



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I read Bruce Schneier's review that said TrackMeNot doesn't work; is he right?



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I would love to use TrackMeNot; why doesn't it work with browser X?



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I would love to use TrackMeNot in my language; is it supported?



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There are several projects that claim to protect privacy in web search (e.g., Tor, Anonymizer, etc.) Which is most effective? Should I use TMN instead of these others?



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Google sends me to a 'sorry' page and tells me that it suspects my machine of being infected with spyware or a virus, and even prompts me for a captcha when I try to search. Did the search engine detect TrackMeNot?



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What is the difference between 'stealth' and 'tab' modes?



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What is 'burst mode'?



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How does the query set 'evolve' over time?



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How do I add a new search engine?

To add a search engine, go to the website of the search engine you want add.

Then search "TrackMeNot" in the search box.

When the search is loaded, copy the link that in your browser.

Then go back to the TrackMeNot option's page find the "Search Engines" section.

Click the "+" icon

And, paste in the URL you have copied from your preferred search engine and TMN will validate it.



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What does 'keywords monitored by DHS' mean?



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What if I don't want certain words to ever be searched? What is TMN's 'blacklist' ?

To add to the blacklist, simply add a comma separating every word or phrase you want in the list.



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Can you explain the various options/features that TMN provides?

Dynamic Queries TMN's employs a dynamic query mechanism which 'evolves' each client (uniquely) over time, parsing the results of its searches for 'logical' future query terms with which to replace those already used. Note: since the query list is continually evolving according to TMN algorithms, changes made by hand-editing this file will be overwritten.

TMN's employs a dynamic query mechanism which 'evolves' each client (uniquely) over time, parsing the results of its searches for 'logical' future query terms with which to replace those already used. Click-through TMN now 'clicks-through' on some percentage of its searches by selecting and navigating to links received in the search result to further simulate user behavior.

TMN now 'clicks-through' on some percentage of its searches by selecting and navigating to links received in the search result to further simulate user behavior. RSS-feeds TMN parses RSS feeds in two cases: a) to generate some portion of its initial query set and, b) to occasionally make substitutions in this list with new RSS data. While a default set of RSS feeds is provided (for each supported language), TMN users can edit and/or add new feeds in the options panel. To do so, change the text in the RSS text field (in the options panel), then click the 'Validate' button. To revert back to the default set of feeds, click the 'Use Defaults' button in the options panel.

TMN parses RSS feeds in two cases: a) to generate some portion of its initial query set and, b) to occasionally make substitutions in this list with new RSS data. While a default set of RSS feeds is provided (for each supported language), TMN users can edit and/or add new feeds in the options panel. To do so, change the text in the RSS text field (in the options panel), then click the 'Validate' button. To revert back to the default set of feeds, click the 'Use Defaults' button in the options panel. Current-queries This button allows the user to view the current state of TMN's evolving query-list (see below for description).

This button allows the user to view the current state of TMN's evolving query-list (see below for description). Logging Options TMN offers 3 modes for logging: 1) 'disabled' - no logs are written, 2) 'normal' (no options checked) - logs are kept for each session and then deleted when the browser is closed, and 3) 'persistent' - each session is appended to the log which remains indefinately (Note: although TMN logs are not large, the user might want to occasionally clear them (via te 'Clear Log' button when using this mode).

TMN offers 3 modes for logging: 1) 'disabled' - no logs are written, 2) 'normal' (no options checked) - logs are kept for each session and then deleted when the browser is closed, and 3) 'persistent' - each session is appended to the log which remains indefinately (Note: although TMN logs are not large, the user might want to occasionally clear them (via te 'Clear Log' button when using this mode). Show/Clear Log The 'Show Log' button allows the user to view a snapshot of TMN's log state (refreshing the browser window will keep this view current); The 'Clear Log' button, will (as expected) clear and re-initialize TMN's log.

The 'Show Log' button allows the user to view a snapshot of TMN's log state (refreshing the browser window will keep this view current); The 'Clear Log' button, will (as expected) clear and re-initialize TMN's log. Logging Options TMN offers 3 modes for logging: 1) 'disabled' - no logs are written, 2) 'normal' (no options checked) - logs are kept for each session and then deleted when the browser is closed, and 3) 'persistent' - each session is appended to the log which remains indefinately (Note: although TMN logs are not large, the user is responsible for occasionally clearing them in this mode).

TMN offers 3 modes for logging: 1) 'disabled' - no logs are written, 2) 'normal' (no options checked) - logs are kept for each session and then deleted when the browser is closed, and 3) 'persistent' - each session is appended to the log which remains indefinately (Note: although TMN logs are not large, the user is responsible for occasionally clearing them in this mode). Show Status/Queries These checkboxes control TMN's status bar -- if 'Show Queries' is unchecked, TMN queries are not displayed as they are sent; if 'Show Status' is unchecked, no messages are displayed in the status bar at all.

These checkboxes control TMN's status bar -- if 'Show Queries' is unchecked, TMN queries are not displayed as they are sent; if 'Show Status' is unchecked, no messages are displayed in the status bar at all. Burst Mode Rather than sending queries only at randomized intervals, TMN (in burst-mode) recognizes when the user performs a search, then sends a 'burst' of queries over the next few moments to simulate actual user behavior. As of version 0.6.x, burst-mode further mimics user behavior by selecting longer queries and permuting them to form a number of smaller "thematic" queries.

Rather than sending queries only at randomized intervals, TMN (in burst-mode) recognizes when the user performs a search, then sends a 'burst' of queries over the next few moments to simulate actual user behavior. As of version 0.6.x, burst-mode further mimics user behavior by selecting longer queries and permuting them to form a number of smaller "thematic" queries. Search Awareness TMN recognizes when a 'real' search is being performed by a user and acts on this information in a variety of ways (see below).

TMN recognizes when a 'real' search is being performed by a user and acts on this information in a variety of ways (see below). Dynamic URLs/Header Matching TMN now keeps track of where (for each search engine) you've last searched and uses that URL to send its queries (for example, if you start using the Google toolbar rather than Google's webpage, TMN will update itself to do the same). Similarly, TMN stores the header information your browser is sending out (browser type, version, OS, etc.) and mimics these in its own queries.



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