I was wondering, though, and I think computer savvy people would know the answer to my question.
How could a website know if someone accessed it through a search engine like google? I am a member of a forum and got an achievement for accessing it through google. Its the kind of site you need to be very careful with, and I just want to make sure I am not being hacked.
∀x (∃e (e ∈ x ∧ ∀x ¬(x ∈ e)) ∨ ∃y ¬∃e (e ∈ x ∧ ¬∃z (z ∈ y ∧ z ∈ e ∧ ∀x ¬((x ∈ y ∧ x ∈ e) ∧ ¬(x = z)))))
They could be checking the HTTP_REFERER flag in the HTTP request to see if it came from Google, or they could be using one of Google's APIs to determine that (essentially quering Google's servers to find out if a view came from a Google search.) The latter is more likely as HTTP_REFERER is not trustworthy and can easily be spoofed (or removed entirely.)
At 7/14/18 12:42 PM, sharpnova wrote: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/history
The History object does not expose the pages previously viewed; it only gives the ability to add or remove from the browser's history or move back/forward in said history. Exposing the previously viewed pages would be a huge security risk, which is why that is not implemented (with the possible exception of very old browsers.)
