In the light of the fact that most browsers don’t only send referrers when you click a real link in a page and are transfered to another site but even send the referrer when you click one of your bookmarks or even enter the new URL manually, referrers aren’t really referrers but more like the browser history. And people concerned with privacy will want to have a word with their browsers about wether referrers are sent or not.
And there are other situations where one would like to not send out referrers, even if it is a link in a page. Think of hidden websites that provide links but where you don’t want people trying to play with the originating site. If you just click, your site will be announced to someone else. Might even be someone who you don’t want to be smacked over the head with the URL to your hidden site …
An avid fan of business, education, technology and finance. I lead a lean, highly focussed and capable team of Java Back End developers and Front End developers through a maze of complex software wizardry to fulfill the web maintenance needs of a large chemical manufacturer. As per Myers-Briggs Personality Types, I am an ESTJ. I pride in a project completed on time and according to plan. My hobbies include all kinds of technology, anything that I can taste and anything that goes fast or flies in the air. I like to read business books and comics in my spare time.
In the light of the fact that most browsers don’t only send referrers when you click a real link in a page and are transfered to another site but even send the referrer when you click one of your bookmarks or even enter the new URL manually, referrers aren’t really referrers but more like the browser history. And people concerned with privacy will want to have a word with their browsers about wether referrers are sent or not.
And there are other situations where one would like to not send out referrers, even if it is a link in a page. Think of hidden websites that provide links but where you don’t want people trying to play with the originating site. If you just click, your site will be announced to someone else. Might even be someone who you don’t want to be smacked over the head with the URL to your hidden site …
Excellent tool to check if my .htaccess protection against referer spam is working.
“I have no idea why a normal user would find browser referer spoofing useful or even need to be so covert”
Because it’s no ones damn business where I surfed in from.