I Don't Use Twitter or Microsoft. My Logs Disagree
7 hours ago
- #dns_filtering
- #telemetry
- #privacy
- Author observed active background network traffic from seemingly idle devices like tablets and Alexa speakers, revealing telemetry and reporting requests without user interaction.
- Telemetry and data reporting originates from Microsoft (mobile.pipe.aria.microsoft.com on Samsung tablet), Amazon (Alexa endpoints), Netflix, eBay, Crashlytics, and other services, even when apps are not open or installed directly.
- DNS-level filtering with AdGuard Home blocks these requests, covering all devices without needing individual firewalls or user intervention, highlighting persistent background noise on a modern home network.
- The phenomenon extends beyond idle devices to include requests from embedded widgets (e.g., Twitter) and browsers (e.g., Brave's usage-ping.brave.com), even when not used directly by the user.
- The setup, which uses DNS blocking to create a quiet network, reveals otherwise invisible traffic, emphasizing normal households' constant background data exchanges without notifications or warnings.