How to block myspace trackers

This blog is geared more around the subject of viewing myspace private profiles and viewing facebook private profiles, but no discussion on myspace can lack an important factor...trackers.

Many people think that myspace trackers are not real, but they are. True, some tracker websites are designed maliciously to get personal info from you or to hack and hijack your account..But there are some actual legit myspace trackers out there that show the ip and info of who is visiting a profile on myspace. Many people are using them so it's best to find out how to block trackers on myspace. Most people want to know how to see who visits a myspace profile. If a tracker website actually asks you for your myspace email and password, then it is likely a scam.

The quickest and better way to block myspace image trackers is to use firefox and go to tools/options/content tab/uncheck box for load images automatically. This will disable the images on the myspace page so that your ip address is not tracked by an image tracker. They still get a hit on their myspace profile view counter, but no hit on their tracker. note: keep in mind that not all trackers use images, so this isn't full proof.

Some people want to view someone's profile and see the images, which is prevented by not allowing images to load. This is where firefox and adblock plus become handy. Simply add the filter list to your ablock plus and you are protected from being tracked from the many trackers listed in the filter list. Of course there are new trackers that have come out and are not on that filter list yet so don't be fooled into thinking you are 100% safe from getting tracked just because you are using adblock plus and the filter list.



I have another post on this blog that describes more in detail about trackers. You can read it here.. http://patrickscodes.blogspot.com/2009/06/few-faqs-about-myspace-trackers.html


The most full proof way to hide your ip address is to USE A PROXY. Not that difficult to do. One of the only ways you can still be identified while using a proxy, is if someone is using a tracker that collects your cookies (only a few people still have that cookie tracker since myspace broke that tracker). The way it works is, if you check the "remember me" box on myspace login page and you hit this type of tracker on someone's page, it will tell them what email address you used to sign in and will also tell the friend ID's of any other profiles that have signed in under that IP address. Not good news if you have multiple profiles or fake profiles. This is why it's good to always clear your cookies when coming to and leaving websites. Cookies follow you around. And it's never wise on the internet to have websites remember your password.

The first time you read full instructions on how to block trackers, you may begin to feel overwhelmed and it may sound like a foreign language at first. But it is worth it to take the time to learn, and once you do learn--you will ask yourself why you waited so long to do it. It will become easier after a few times.

note: trackers usually tell what browser the visitor is using and the OS and other computer details such as screen resolution. So if you have unique details (such as a rarely used browser) the person with the tracker can pinpoint you by just looking at this info. So even using a proxy cannot save you from being identified in this rare case.

Another tip:
There is a way to make sure almost 100% that you are not gonna get tracked by an image ip tracker, remember not all trackers are image ip trackers but this will keep you as safe as it gets. You can view the source of a myspace page, scan it for trackers, add any new trackers to your filter list before actually hitting the profile..
Here's how:
This is for public profiles or private profiles that you are friends with. This tip allows you to check a page for trackers before you visit it. Most people like to see what a full page looks like, so before you take a peek, use this to make sure you are blocking all trackers that are on that particular myspace profile.


In addition to a filter list for adblock and the firefox option to prevent adblock from loading any images on a webpage, here is an additional way to take a peek at a page and not get tracked..

The following url needs to be put in the address bar and hit enter after inserting the friend ID in place of x's and it will produce a page containing the "source code" of that page:

view-source:http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=xxxx

You can do this with blog pages and to check picture captions that could contain trackers but you will need to adjust the above url accordingly. Common sense will help you find the appropriate url for each area you want to scan for trackers.

note: The above url will add a hit to their profile view counter.
Once you view the source, copy and paste it into a word pad so you can take a closer look.
Exit the webpage that contains their view source--because there are 'live links' in that view source page--and one accidental click on one of those links could take you to a part of their page that has trackers. Also, there may be a malicious link in there that you dont want to click on. So, get in, get the info, and get out.

note: some areas on myspace require you to be logged in to view those areas.

This is how I choose to do it most of the time.. I use firefox along with adblock plus. I uncheck the box for loading images automatically in tools/options/content tab/uncheck the box. I then hit the profile. No images are displayed but I can still see the image urls by next clicking on the "stop sign" (adblock plus) at top right of my browser. Then I scan the list of image in the box that pops up and look for images urls that contain domains that are not from myspace or other well known websites. Keep in mind that an avid tracker type of person will make an image using a domain similar to myspace. I don't know anyone that desperate to track people, but I'm sure there are people that are.

After you read up on this, if it is still not making sense, just keep at it until you learn how to block myspace trackers so you don't get tracked.