All geek questions in one place

How can I identify unique users on my website, even the IP address has changed, or have the browser data been cleared?

I am developing a website for streaming video. I want to count unique views on each video. I mentioned some sites on the Internet and even asked some other programmers. They say they use cookies or a session or IP address. But over time, this all changes. Also, if possible, can we do this using the MAC address of the user machine? Also I came across a similar question here → http://bit.ly/Qh1KNR . It is said that there is something like a fingerprint of a browser that uses a MAC address. So can you tell me which method is the best?

+6
source share
5 answers

You can use the Evercookie concept, which stores cookie data in different storage locations. If a user clears your browsing history or cookies, he will restore cookies from different storage locations. There is one drawback of the javascript user for creating evercookie.

+1
source

Yes, all of these attributes can change, and there is no specific way to determine if the same video was watched twice. Someone can watch it once at school and at another time at home with different browsers and IP addresses.

Best of all, probably with IP addresses, counting some people twice and missing some people (due to NAT routers).

Another way is to allow registered users to watch videos and record what they saw.

+2
source

You cannot track a user with a fingerprint. What the fingerprint does is to collect some information about the operating system, time zone, installed fonts, plugins ... In some cases, this may work, but not 100% true. In some examples (for example, schools, universities, etc.), the operating system, browsers, and almost the entire configuration may be the same, and you cannot track the user.

+2
source

You can go deeper than just an IP address.

If it's just to track usage, not authentication, you can save the initial fingerprint of a custom browser based on:

Using a plugin like: https://github.com/carlo/jquery-browser-fingerprint

  • Installed plugins and their versions
  • Screen size
  • Operating System (Version)

You understand. Since the likelihood that two users have the same resolution, plugins (including versions), the operating system (fixes, etc.) are relatively thin.

+1
source

Why don't you store the GUID along with some other parameter in cookies along with some fingerprint MAC address that will give you some control over the data to find out the uniqueness

+1
source

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/927732/

More articles:


All Articles