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configuration/w3m.md
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@ -5,28 +5,35 @@ permalink: /doc/w3m/
redirect_from:
- /en/doc/mutt/
- /doc/W3m/
- /wiki/W3m/
- /wiki/W3m/t
---
Reducing the fingerprint of the text-based web browser w3m
====
TL;DR: You can reduce the amount w3m tells about itself and the environment it is running in (and, by extension, you). **It will not make you anonymous; your fingerprint will still be unique.** But it may improve your privacy.
[w3m](http://w3m.sourceforge.net/) 'is a text-based web browser as well as a pager like `more` or `less`. With w3m you can browse web pages through a terminal emulator window (xterm, rxvt or something like that). Moreover, w3m can be used as a text formatting tool which typesets HTML into plain text.'
You can reduce the [fingerprint](https://panopticlick.eff.org/about#browser-fingerprinting) of w3m by adjusting some settings to those of the Tor Browser Bunde (TBB) with JavaScript disabled.
You can reduce the browser [fingerprint](https://panopticlick.eff.org/about#browser-fingerprinting) of w3m by adjusting some settings to those of the Tor Browser Bunde (TBB) with JavaScript disabled.
**BEWARE: As very few people use w3m for browsing chances are high that you will still be the only person with this fingerprint on your adversary's radar. Also, I am nothing but a wannabe security expert, so do not rely on my advise for anything critical.**
Apply the following changes to `~/.w3m/config` in any AppVM you want to use w3m in. If you have not run w3m yet, you might need to copy the config file from elsewhere. You can also apply the same changes to `/etc/w3m/config` in the relevant TempVM(s) to have them apply to multiple AppVMs; but make sure they are not reversed by the contents of `~/.w3m/config` in any of the AppVMs. (w3m reads `~/.w3m/config` after `/etc/w3m/config`).
Apply the following changes to `~/.w3m/config` in any AppVM you want to use w3m in. If you have not run w3m yet, you might need to copy the config file from elsewhere. You can also apply the same changes to `/etc/w3m/config` in the relevant TemplateVM(s) to have them apply to multiple AppVMs; but make sure they are not reversed by the contents of `~/.w3m/config` in any of the AppVMs. (w3m reads `~/.w3m/config` after `/etc/w3m/config`).
* Set `user_agent` to `user_agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:45.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/45.0`.
(By default w3m identifies itself as `w3m/` + version number. The user agent `Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:45.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/45.0` is the most common and the one used by the TBB. One in fourteen browsers finderprinted by Panopticlick have this value.)
* Make w3m use the same HTTP_ACCEPT headers the TBB by adding the following lines at the end of the file:
accept_language en-US,en;q=0.5
accept_encoding gzip, deflate
accept_media text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8
Testing the settings on <https://browserprint.info> (<https://panopticlick.eff.org> does not work) returns a fingerprint that is destinguishable from that of the TBB (with JavaScript disabled) only by 'Screen Size (CSS)' and 'Browser supports HSTS?'.* Thus by using these settings (and browsing through a torified connection) you will be distinguishable from TBB users, but, if my assumptions are correct, not from me. That is, whoever uses these settings will have the same fingerprint as anyone else using w3m with the same configuration, but for the time being I am probably the only one. (According to Browserprint.info only I have this fingerprint.)
(These changes will hide your computer's locale and some other information that may or may not be unique to the VM in which it is running. With the modifications above the w3m will have the same headers as about one in fifteen browsers fingerprinted by Panopticlick.)
Testing these settings on <https://browserprint.info> returns a fingerprint that is destinguishable from that of the TBB (with JavaScript disabled) only by 'Screen Size (CSS)' and 'Browser supports HSTS?'.\* (<https://panopticlick.eff.org> does not work with w3m.) Due to the low number of w3m users it is highly likely that you will have an unique browser fingerprint among the visitors of a website using somewhat sofisticated browser fingerprinting technology. But at least your browser fingerprint will not reveal your computer's language settings or other specifics about it that could be contained in the HTTP_ACCEPT headers. And even if the browser you use may well be *inferred* from your fingerprint, it will not be explicitly stated in the User-Agent header.
**Reminder: Do not rely on these settings for anonymity. Using w3m is all but guaranteed to make you stand out in the crowd.**
PS: You still need to delete cookies manually (`~/.w3m/cookie`) if you are not running w3m in a DispVM anyway. If you set w3m to not accept cookies, its fingerprint will change. (You can configure w3m to not use store cookies or accept new ones (or both), but the setting `use_cookie` seems to really mean `accept_cookie` and vice-versa, so maybe it is best to delete them manually for now.)