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Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

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Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#101

This is a bug, have you guys seen a software bug before? What is it with the appetite for outrage? Using brave on Android devices and not planning to switch

> What is it with the appetite for outrage?

It pretty obviously has a lot to do with Brendan Eich.

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best way to wipe an SSD is to have full disk encryption and then wipe the key off the ssd. Even if you do manage to recover the key which is a big if, you still need the key in your brain. Combined with writing random data over the ssd you will be lucky to pull anything out of it.

Or fill it with some AAA Steam games shouldnt take long to fill the whole thing.

I found random source to be slow, so, I made Perl script (in the 90s) - basically writing the same random blob over and over. Two passes with different blobs seemed to do the trick

http://edoceo.com/creo/drive-shred

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#103
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Internet Explorer maybe, but Chrome? I don't think "Chrome" screams web browser to me. "Safari" seems more trivial than Chrome.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=browser%20ch...

Apparently the main reason Chrome has the name is that the dev team leads like fast cars and that was the initial project code name. The reference to "UI Chrome" was largely an accident.

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/google-chrome-reason-revealed...

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#104
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it is a well known fact that it is trivially easy for a resourced attacker to retrieve data from a storage medium well after your computer claims it is deleted.

Not if it is securely wiped multiple times. At that point they'll go looking at your DNS provider and ISP, or local fusion center.

Right, but my browser isn't doing that. Therefore the original point still stands.

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#105

If you need an alternative to Brave, then see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23708688 . This comment also shares the auto-suggestions-for-profit which is another reason I'm not using it. Since I cannot use DDG nor Brave, the only alternative (besides the currently bloated Firefox -- in my biased opinion) is ungoogled-chromium.

Yeah, using software you have to build yourself is a much better alternative. Especially when it's not available for Android at all..

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've disliked Brave from the beginning. As have I. The entire money making scheme behind it, while innovative, is a privacy nightmare. > Seriously, if you want a browser that gives you control over your data and privacy, use Firefox. It doesn't do any of this shady nonsense. Agreed, with the caveat that Firefox does have its own, completely different privacy issues[1][2]. Still, it's probably the best choice for a…

Your first link is about Firefox studies. I had never heard of these before, but when I go to about:studies, I see that I have never participated in any studies, and when I click the link from that page to "Firefox data collection and use" setting, I see that I am opted out from everything. Pretty sure I didn't do that manually. Your second link is to a page called "Firefox health report". I have no idea what conclus…

> but when I go to about:studies, I see that I have never participated in any studies

Are you in the US? I also have not participated in any studies but in the preferences it is marked as active. My guess would be that they either run very few of them or are restricted to the US.

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can definitely see the reasoning. I suppose I'm still debating whether it's good to have all my personal information with only one company or spread around a bit more. If I was going to plump for one company, Microsoft might not be the worst choice simply because their business model doesn't revolve around monetizing my personal information.

> Microsoft might not be the worst choice simply because their business model doesn't revolve around monetizing my personal information. Yet they seem intent on collecting as much data as possible.

I know right. I don't get it. I would expect a company like Microsoft that makes most of their money selling to businesses would take privacy and security more seriously.

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#108
post #4

well, compared to undisclosed affiliate marketing for trading sites[1], soliciting of donations without consent[2] or the recent redirection through affiliate links[3], this seems pretty tame. [1]: https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/8793 [2]: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2019/01/13/brave-web-br... [3]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23442027

About [1], read the reply from the devs, seems reasonable and it was announced on their blog, it was temporary and could be turned off at anytime. Besides eToro is a well established site in Europe to buy stocks (no affiliations here), the reporter seems to really hate them for some reasons. [2] was fixed a while ago as mentioned in your link. [3] was also fixed quickly. I don't know if you've ever run a company but…

I did run a company and I feared making mistakes. In principle the best way to avoid making kinds of mistakes your users will hate you for is to put user interest first. By looking at Brave's profile I can not say they are living by that principle 100%.

For example, the decision to hijack links to insert their own affiliate links is not a mistake, it was a decision. These kind of decisions are not made by a developer in the team, it is a leadership level decision, coming from principles those leaders live by, and also one that does not put users first. On the contrary, it takes advantage of the users.

The principle of 'forgiving mistakes' applies only to honest mistakes. Otherwise we would all be browsing with Chrome/posting on Facebook/[insert currently hated company on HN here] and forgiving them all their 'mistakes'.

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#109
post #4

well, compared to undisclosed affiliate marketing for trading sites[1], soliciting of donations without consent[2] or the recent redirection through affiliate links[3], this seems pretty tame. [1]: https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/8793 [2]: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2019/01/13/brave-web-br... [3]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23442027

About [1], read the reply from the devs, seems reasonable and it was announced on their blog, it was temporary and could be turned off at anytime. Besides eToro is a well established site in Europe to buy stocks (no affiliations here), the reporter seems to really hate them for some reasons. [2] was fixed a while ago as mentioned in your link. [3] was also fixed quickly. I don't know if you've ever run a company but…

> mistakes

These aren't mistakes, though, at least not in the sense of accidents. They were bad ideas, but it certainly wasn't a case of "oops, I accidentally added affiliate hijacking, silly me".

I mean, I suppose you could interpret them as severe naiveté and/or incompetence? That's probably the most charitable way to look at them, but still wouldn't exactly encourage me to use the product.

Re: Brave Browser, wiping history still leaves trace of visited sites

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've disliked Brave from the beginning. Initially because of the pretentious - and frankly appropriated - name, but now for the much more substantive reasons you've cited. Seriously, if you want a browser that gives you control over your data and privacy, use Firefox. It doesn't do any of this shady nonsense.

> I've disliked Brave from the beginning. As have I. The entire money making scheme behind it, while innovative, is a privacy nightmare. > Seriously, if you want a browser that gives you control over your data and privacy, use Firefox. It doesn't do any of this shady nonsense. Agreed, with the caveat that Firefox does have its own, completely different privacy issues[1][2]. Still, it's probably the best choice for a…

There are many other questionable privacy policies from Firefox. Here's one (mobile):

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1265029

But there are many others, just search "firefox privacy concerns" or similar keywords. Telemetry data -- Pocket suggestions -- etc.

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