Browser Fingerprinting by Digital Ocean - Good or Bad?

[adesh]

Recently I decided to try cloud computing for my personal adventures and and I went with DO as it seemed to be a good option. But I was annoyed by their website - script heavy, slow and trying to look too cool and shiny. On top of that, every time I login to their website, I am asked to enter a secret code which they send me via email. So, I asked them what's with this secrect code. They told me that something in my browser is interfering with their fingerprinting technique and they are not able to determine if this was the exact browser I used for my previous login. They also told me that it was with good intention to provide account security.
Now, their explanation seems fair, but if we go by that then every website should implement fingerprinting to prevent "unauthorized" access to users' accounts. And if security is main agenda, then this can be done for all login attempts without needing fingerprinting at all (slight convenience tradeoff). I have used AWS in the past without such annoyance. Also, I did not come across a single website that follows this practice.

I think this may be a legitimate case for fingerprinting. What do you think? I can understand the security point, but why is this practice uncommon then? Who wants to make their users feel less secure (especially when users buy anything for security b******t)!

Also, if anyone can recommend me a good provider for could computing stuff, that would be great. But please only do so if you have had personal experinece with the service. I just need the metal with any modern Linux distro, I can do my own setup.

[Moonchild]

They told me that something in my browser is interfering with their fingerprinting technique and they are not able to determine if this was the exact browser I used for my previous login.

Sounds to me like Pale Moon (or one/some of your add-ons if you use any for privacy) is doing its job, unfortunately it interferes with the setup they have to verify that "it's really you".

Also, if anyone can recommend me a good provider for could computing stuff, that would be great. But please only do so if you have had personal experinece with the service. I just need the metal with any modern Linux distro, I can do my own setup.

If you just want a VPS with choice of distro, then I wholly recommend Afterburst. Unmetered (yes, real unmetered), great SLA, no overselling, top-notch support if you need it. https://afterburst.com/

[adesh]

Thank you! Afterbusrt looks promising, being in Germany is also a plus. I am definitely going to give it a try.
But it is a little unfortunate that searching web for VPS alternatives does not return any result having a mention of Afterburst.

BTW, testimonial from Moonchild is the first, right on the home page.

[Moonchild]

But it is a little unfortunate that searching web for VPS alternatives does not return any result having a mention of Afterburst.

There are many out there. Afterburst is not a very large company, and that allows them to focus on quality. It's those gems you want to find when looking for on-line services these days, because most of the really large ones selling services like this are all about quantity and marketing, not about providing the best service.