Ubuntu - Privacy. It's important.

posted Nov 14, 2013, 6:25 AM by Andrew Chadick   [ updated Jan 10, 2014, 7:26 AM ]
Copy code below. Open a terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T). Paste code, press enter. Type your password, press enter.

V=`/usr/bin/lsb_release -rs`; if [ $V \< 12.10 ]; then echo "Good news! Your version of Ubuntu doesn't invade your privacy."; else gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses remote-content-search none; if [ $V \< 13.10 ]; then sudo apt-get remove -y unity-lens-shopping; else gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses disabled-scopes "['more_suggestions-amazon.scope', 'more_suggestions-u1ms.scope', 'more_suggestions-populartracks.scope', 'music-musicstore.scope', 'more_suggestions-ebay.scope', 'more_suggestions-ubuntushop.scope', 'more_suggestions-skimlinks.scope']"; fi; if ! grep -q productsearch.ubuntu.com /etc/hosts; then echo -e "\n127.0.0.1 productsearch.ubuntu.com" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts >/dev/null; fi; echo "All done. Enjoy your privacy."; fi


So, Why do you need this?

"If you're an Ubuntu user and you're using the default settings, each time you start typing in Dash (to open an application or search for a file on your computer), your search terms get sent to a variety of third parties, some of which advertise to you."

Ubuntu should by default protect every user's privacy. Since the OS does not, you can use the code to above to disable the parts of Ubuntu which are invasive to your privacy.


#!/bin/bash
 
# Figure out the version of Ubuntu that you're running
V=`/usr/bin/lsb_release -rs`
 
# The privacy problems started with 12.10, so earlier versions should do nothing
if [ $V \< 12.10 ]; then
  echo "Good news! Your version of Ubuntu doesn't invade your privacy."
else
  # Turn off "Remote Search", so search terms in Dash don't get sent to the internet
  gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses remote-content-search none
 
  # If you're using earlier than 13.10, uninstall unity-lens-shopping
  if [ $V \< 13.10 ]; then
    sudo apt-get remove -y unity-lens-shopping
 
  # If you're using a later version, disable remote scopes
  else
    gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses disabled-scopes \
      "['more_suggestions-amazon.scope', 'more_suggestions-u1ms.scope',
      'more_suggestions-populartracks.scope', 'music-musicstore.scope',
      'more_suggestions-ebay.scope', 'more_suggestions-ubuntushop.scope',
      'more_suggestions-skimlinks.scope']"
  fi;
 
  # Block connections to Ubuntu's ad server, just in case
  if ! grep -q productsearch.ubuntu.com /etc/hosts; then
    echo -e "\n127.0.0.1 productsearch.ubuntu.com" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts >/dev/null
  fi
 
  echo "All done."
fi

Special Thank you to: micah.f.lee for posting this.
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