1
$\begingroup$

Most of websites put some restrictions on how to use their services; the following paragraphs are taken from “Terms of Service” of such website:

  • Only one account per computer is allowed to view ads. If more than one account in a single computer view ads, all of those accounts will be permanently suspended.

  • User can only use a maximum of 3 distinct computers in a 10 days period to view ads. Any attempt to use more than that in that defined period will cause an account suspension.

Question:

No problem with such rules, they must be respected. But I want to know how can servers recognize a specific computer! Is there a computer fingerprint that would be transferred through HTTP connection and can identify each computer?

|cite|improve this question
$\endgroup$
  • $\begingroup$ The latter could be done with ordinary cookies (assuming users do not take the effort to copy cookies between computers, use a shared file system, or otherwise share the data). While the browser information (user agent string) and IP address provides some information, I suspect scripting would be needed to get CPU info, MAC address, etc. Forging such an identity is not especially difficult. See also: How do I uniquely identify computers visiting my web site? $\endgroup$ – Paul A. Clayton Apr 25 '16 at 16:42

Your Answer

By clicking "Post Your Answer", you acknowledge that you have read our updated terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy, and that your continued use of the website is subject to these policies.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.