Hardware Tech Sites - Yikes on HTTPS and Cookies

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MiniKnight

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2012
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Since checking disk writes with browsers is the new rage I've been doing some testing. I'm using the new Chrome version where you can see cookie counts by clicking on the icon to the left of the address bar. I also know that cookies depend on the ads being shown and I do not use ad blockers for these sites because I like them and try to support. There's going to be variance here for sure but I'm just taking notes:

-----Format-----
Site - HTTPS/ HTTP - Site Cookies - External Cookies

-----Data (ranked by fewest total cookies) -----
Yahoo Tech - HTTPS - 22 - 11
TheNextPlatform - HTTP - 5 - 33
[H] (main not forum) - HTTP - 5 - 60
STH - HTTPS - 23 - 46
TechReport - HTTP** - 12 - 62
TheInquirer - HTTP - 16 - 63
Pcper - HTTP** - 14 - 71
TheRegister - HTTP - 12 - 105
Engadget - HTTPS* - 22 - 142
TechCrunch - HTTPS* - 23 - 152
Bjorn3d - HTTPS* - 8 - 192
Wired - HTTPS - 51 - 223
Anandtech - HTTP** - 19 - 304
CNET - HTTP - 54 - 318
BGR - HTTP - 14 - 379
Tomshardware - HTTP - 52 - 417
Tweaktown - HTTP - 16 - 586 ***
Androidcentral - HTTP - 54 - 632

*HTTPS but loading external java script so Chrome switches from green secure to marking as insecure
** HTTP with username and password logins (seriously on the HTTP sites)
*** Tweaktown may be a great one to test. It has over 600 cookies loaded AND that number keeps growing since it has some auto-refresh thing. That auto-refresh after a few minutes means I've seen loading the home page hit almost 900 cookies


-----Comments-----
This isn't scientific and these were just one page load of just front pages.

HTTP/S - My eyebrow raised that so few tech sites have HTTPS enabled but I'd suspect that will change now that they are being marked as not private. I was shocked that there are technology sites who regularly cover security and have HTTP pages with login forms.

I don't know if HTTPS changes how much data is stored in recovery.js but that information is in the same spot with Chrome so I just noted. I might have missed others with HTTP login forms. Sites like CNET and Tomshardware are HTTP but when you click on login you're taken to a HTTPS site.

Cookies - Tweaktown may bee the second lowest but it does surpass Androidcentral after a few minutes because the site auto-refreshes. Six sites got under 100 cookies so I'd consider those lower priority for browser cookie storage testing. Maybe those cookies are bigger but there are less. Yahoo Tech and TheNextPlatform both are low total number of cookies.

I'm not saying more cookies is necessarily bad simply noting my findings as of September 25, 2016.

@Patrick - you still have a long way to go if you want to be least cookies.

updated w/TechReport as someone pointed out there's a HTTP link to logon with username and password in HTTP. Low cookies.
 
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