HTTP Referrer
What is http referrer ? According to Wikipedia, HTTP Referrer — also known by the common misspelling referer that occurs as a HTTP header — identifies, from the point of view of an internet webpage or resource, the address of the webpage (commonly the URL, the more generic URI or the i18n updated IRI) of the resource which links to it. By checking the referrer, the new page can see where the request came from.
Referrer logging is used to allow websites and web servers to identify where people are visiting them from, for promotional or security purposes. Referrer is a popular tool to combat cross-site request forgery, but such security mechanisms do not work when the referrer is disabled. Referrer is widely used for statistical purposes.
Many web sites log referrers as part of their attempt to track their users. Most web log analysis software can process this information. As referrer information can violate privacy, some browsers allow the user to disable the sending of referrer information. If you want to stop Firefox Browser from sending the referrer, here is how to do it :
- In the address bar of your Firefox browser type:
about:configand hitEnter.- In the Filter input field type:
network.http.sendRefererHeader.- Double click on the preference name.
- Change the value from 2 to 0 and hit
OK.
The downside of http referrer if disabled on your browser is you can not logon to the site that using content based on referrer.
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January 15th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Nice intro to referrers. It’s particularly handy if a site you visit doesn’t support FireFox (yes, there are still some around). You can now make the website think you’re using IE etc. Disclaimer – I’m not to blame for any problems you might experience by attempting to access FF unfriendly sites!
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Thanks for the information on how to stop firefox sending referer information. I’d been wondering about this for a while. A client had asked how they might do this
April 4th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
I am always spelling this wrong. One problem with removing the referrer is that some web pages won’t work properly – forms in particular.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Great hint! Especially for privacu purposes. As mentioned above, it may cause some functionality issues though. For this reason, instead modyfying the config file, you might want to choose one of the firefox Privacy Plugins, where you can switch many options (http referrer included) by a single click.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:06 am
mantap nih mas..keep posting ya…