Bournemouth — May 15th 2018
Having explained the various component parts of a web address or URL, John went on to describe what happens when you hit return. In response to the request from your browser, the website replies with an HTML file for the page and, more often than not, a cookie to be stored in your browser.
The HTML file will contain links to other files needed to display the page. Your browser then requests these files, which may include images, CSS files or Javascript files and may come from servers other than the one you initially went to.
Javascript (not to be confused with Java, which is definitely not recommended!) is a scripting language that can do a number of things to enhance the functioning of the web page and, although it can be disabled, many websites, such as Google Maps, won’t work without it. On some sites, turning off Javascript may bring up an alternative, simpler, version of the page. Javascript can also access some information on your computer, such as location, but only when permitted by the browser so, although it can be used to write malware and viruses, these shouldn’t be able to function unless there is a vulnerability in the browser - so keep installing those security updates!
The last part of John’s talk focussed on cookies which are small files, initially invented to keep track of shopping carts but now used much more extensively, for example to keep track of the sites you visit and to target advertising. Third party cookies, which are placed on your computer by sites other than the ones you visit are particularly used by advertising networks.
John explained the various privacy settings relating to cookies for both MacOS and iOS. He wisely stopped his talk at this point by which time several phones and iPads around the table were already having their Settings adjusted!
After a few questions about Private Browsing and Reader View, John was thanked for his informative and helpful talk and a coffee break was called.
The subsequent Q&A session continued the focus on security matters, with Mick demonstrating the whatismybrowser.com website that shows what information your browser is giving out to the world at large. GRC.com/shieldsup was also demonstrated. This site mounts a benign attack on your computer, trying to gain access via various ports and reports on its findings. The good news is that, based on Mick’s tests, the firewall in the router seems to do a pretty good job of keeping things secure at home. When out and about though, it might be wise to turn on the firewall in macOS (there’s no facility to do this in iOS, hopefully because it is effectively built in!)
Before the meeting closed, John put up one more slide, raising the question of how we pay for content on the web. The message being that, at least for infrequently used sites, adverts were probably a more acceptable means of funding than having to pay by subscription so, even if we don’t find them particularly helpful, perhaps it’s worth remembering that the alternative might be even less desirable!
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