My Experience with Disconnect
I recently went online on Google Chrome and downloaded Mozilla Firefox and a Firefox extension called Disconnect. On this extension, the user can visualize every site they interact with as they continue to surf the web. In my case, I navigated through random sites for about ten minutes, and these were the results sown below.
The first website that I surfed through when I finished installing Disconnect was Facebook. I spent some time scrolling through my wall, looking on friend’s profiles, and viewing funny memes. Unfortunately, I thought I did not come across any third-party sites while I was scrolling through Facebook. However, as I was using it, Disconnect picked up three sites that I did not recognize tracking me.
The second website that I visited was the RAMSS Website. I spent my time looking at teacher’s announcements, viewing my tasks, and checking for any assignments and tests that came up. I found on Disconnect that numerous third-party applications were there, two of which I recognized.
The third to sixth websites were Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, and
Bloomberg respectfully. Instagram, Reddit and Twitter did not have many third-party applications compared to those on the RAMSS website. However, when I went on Bloomberg, that amount increased exponentially. Out of the Bloomberg third-party websites, I only recognized Google.
Throughout this experience, I learned a whole new concept about the Internet that I have never experienced beforehand. Through the use of Disconnect, the user can view blocked and other party websites. On Disconnect, it also allows you to block those same sites and have increased privacy measures to protect yourself.