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Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

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Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#311

Post by bryanrasmussen »

sundarurfriend wrote: post #192
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and 11 year olds grab the computer when you're not there and use it, actually from the age of 8 I think. But yes, browser profiles and computer multi account support are tools that would solve this problem if they worked for the particular problem description - which fair to say they weren't really designed for that scenario so no reason to expect they would work.

You can have your child use the default profile, and have a shortcut whose target is `firefox -P --no-remote` somewhere out of her way. This way, she can just open the browser and use it (on the default profile), and you can click this shortcut to open your profile easily. Just an option to keep in mind in case you decide to get rid of Chrome in the future.

yeah but the scenario is really, dad is on computer, dad goes in kitchen to make food, child goes gets computer, opens new tab in running browser.

It's really a parenting issue, I could stop her doing it but I don't care enough to do so, and if I don't stop her via parenting there will always be ways she slips through the profile guards.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#312

Post by qwerty456127 »

oblio wrote: post #268
qwerty456127 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My guess? Better supported by many sites, No difference with real sites. A developer may notice some difference in latest features support (not always in favor of Chrome). > Faster for some things. If your PC is new and fast. Otherwise it's much faster for most of the things.

> No difference with real sites. A developer may notice some difference in latest features support (not always in favor of Chrome). I use Firefox (desktop and mobile/Android). You sound like a Firefox evangelist. There are real site where Firefox is buggy or slow. Youtube is one of them. I know it's not technically their fault, but the average user can't fix the site. They can (and do) change their browser. So they u…

> I use Firefox (desktop

So do I.

> and mobile/Android).

I found it unbearably slow on my Galaxy Note 3 with uBlock. The only reason I tried it was uBlock. So I rarely do. I've switched to Brave.

> You sound like a Firefox evangelist

Kind of, but an honest (if not say cruel) one - I always say Firefox is slow. I also use Chrome on slower machines.

> There are real site where Firefox is buggy or slow. Youtube is one of them

I don't know a single site where Firefox would be buggy but it indeed is slow - on all of them. On YouTube in particular yet still pretty much usable. On a modern PC the difference is easy to ignore. I watch a lot of YouTube in Firefox Every day and I enjoy the "picture in picture" mode. I have hardware decoding enabled and high-FPS and high-res (above 720p) modes disabled as I don't appreciate them.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#313

Post by fbelzile »

SamBam wrote: post #295
fbelzile wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't like the risk this poses, don't use the extension. Your ability to make informed decisions about risk vs reward keeps getting chipped away when Google pulls this kind of stuff off. Google should warn you about the security risks (edit: or just remove it from the public facing store and only keep the hard to guess URL active) but don't tell me what extensions I'm allowed to use or not. Even adding local e…

I disagree with this stance. Pulling extensions that have a large potential for abuse is absolutely in Google's prerogative, in my opinion. Suppose our single maintainer decided to finally sell the extension, and the person who bought it made it so that all those links hijacked information or exposed you to malware. This would happen in one day without warning. How many people would be saying that was Google's fault…

I agree, maybe removing the extension from the public facing web store is a better solution. But at the very least, allow the extension to be installed if you have the "hard to guess" URL. I do this with my app that requires a desktop app to be installed since it requires native app messaging.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#314

Post by stjohnswarts »

jimmaswell wrote: post #303
gogopuppygogo wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember back when adware, spyware, and viruses ran amuck on PC’s thanks to lax Windows XP security design and an open internet without any effort to protect users. It was bad. We do need to decentralize the decision making but the progress toward making the web safer for average folks is good.

Freedom isn't free. An open internet where users take reaponaibility for taking risks is preferable to a safe but locked down and centralized internet.

What is even scarier is one controlled by Google because it's the only browser in town. A company that wants to know everything about you and sell it to the highest bidder in order to maximize profits for their stock holders. Everything else is noise to them except for an occasional public outrage which the fix with a slight course correction.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#315

Post by benhurmarcel »

shilgapira wrote: post #13

Well it turns out that I just installed this addon on Firefox yesterday after hearing about it here or on Reddit. This move does well to reinforce my loyalty to Firefox as my main browser. Hopefully it has the same effect on others.

FYI, it breaks some websites, and doesn't have a whitelist. I removed it recently because of that.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#316

Post by wealthyyy »

sneak wrote: post #40
teekert wrote: post #35

Why are people still on Chrome? Just use a browser whose interests align with yours, like Firefox.

Chrome (aside from the ad company spying) has better security than any other browser, Firefox included, by a substantial margin.

Chrome indeed have better security in terms of exploit level. it's easier to find a FF exploit than a CH one.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#317

Post by stjohnswarts »

fbelzile wrote: post #287
dessant wrote: post #37

I'd love to use ClearURLs, though last I checked it had a major flaw: it allows arbitrary code execution by the provider of the filter list. Among other things, it can redirect script URLs to arbitrary sources, and the filter list is periodically updated from a GitLab page, which enables the filter list provider to perform a targeted attack by serving a malicious filter list to a specific device. The only filter list…

If you don't like the risk this poses, don't use the extension. Your ability to make informed decisions about risk vs reward keeps getting chipped away when Google pulls this kind of stuff off. Google should warn you about the security risks (edit: or just remove it from the public facing store and only keep the hard to guess URL active) but don't tell me what extensions I'm allowed to use or not. Even adding local e…

You're getting downvoted but I agree. It's one thing if the maintainer abuses his power as an extension provider. Quite another if they have a history of putting out a perfectly good extension and google acting like they're guilty before proven innocent.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#318

Post by stjohnswarts »

zepto wrote: post #310
jimmaswell wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google's perogative is to make as much money as possible, not make the web a better place.

You can level this charge at almost anyone. It might be true in certain ways, but it’s not an informative criticism.

With google it's especially true since their entire existence is centered around gathering intelligence on people and then selling ads with it (and also hoarding it for future use)

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#320

Post by stjohnswarts »

andrewinardeer wrote: post #187
varispeed wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need a regulation that will automatically deal with such monopolies by ordering companies to split after reaching certain thresholds. This way we would never get companies too big to fail.

Then what is the incentive to start a company, grow it within the legal and regulatory framework and when it gets to an arbitrary, non-defined size have the legal and regulatory bodies systematically dismantle it by forcing you to sell it off?

because the company is still intact but not it is split in two. It's obvious that there needs to be limits on capitalism when companies get too large that they can dictate what the internet/any market does on a whim because they're the only game in town. Amazon and Google are quickly approaching that if not already there. They can crush competitors on a whim.
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