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Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

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Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#61

Post by zagrebian »

Barrin92 wrote: post #16
Flankk wrote: post #2

Chrome also syncs your browser history and passwords with their servers. They have your search history. They have your private email. They have your YouTube history. They have your private documents and photos. They run your phone. They possibly run your laptop. I guess my point is it goes far beyond Chrome. Google is running the Borg hive mind.

tbf they're fairly competent with it, I don't think I've ever had anything Google related compromised. I'm honestly not sure what the better solution is. There's a lot of security theater around this where people will de-google their software and then run random binaries compiled by unknown people on the internet instead

> I'm honestly not sure what the better solution is.

How about a browser company that syncs your data on their servers but doesn’t examine it. Even better, they couldn’t do that even if they wanted to, because your data is encrypted on their servers. That company has also never been compromised. Does that sound better?

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#62

Post by ghostcluster »

marderfarker2 wrote: post #10
Flankk wrote: post #2

Chrome also syncs your browser history and passwords with their servers. They have your search history. They have your private email. They have your YouTube history. They have your private documents and photos. They run your phone. They possibly run your laptop. I guess my point is it goes far beyond Chrome. Google is running the Borg hive mind.

This is why China bans these companies long ago. Imagine handing your population’s intel on a silver platter to your adversary.

Chrome is still the most popular desktop browser in China by far, and has a significant chunk of the mobile market.

https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/all/china

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#64

Post by Thorrez »

Flankk wrote: post #2

Chrome also syncs your browser history and passwords with their servers. They have your search history. They have your private email. They have your YouTube history. They have your private documents and photos. They run your phone. They possibly run your laptop. I guess my point is it goes far beyond Chrome. Google is running the Borg hive mind.

>Chrome also syncs your browser history and passwords with their servers.

Only if you enable it, right? And I don't think it's enabled by default, I think it prompts you asking whether you want to or not.

Full disclosure I work at Google, but not on anything related to this.

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#65

Post by Thorrez »

marderfarker2 wrote: post #10
Flankk wrote: post #2

Chrome also syncs your browser history and passwords with their servers. They have your search history. They have your private email. They have your YouTube history. They have your private documents and photos. They run your phone. They possibly run your laptop. I guess my point is it goes far beyond Chrome. Google is running the Borg hive mind.

This is why China bans these companies long ago. Imagine handing your population’s intel on a silver platter to your adversary.

Does China ban any non-LinkedIn Microsoft services or Apple services? I though they didn't.

Signal is blocked in China, and I'm pretty sure it isn't handing the population's intel over to anyone.

Full disclosure I work at Google.

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#66

Post by throwawayboise »

davemtl wrote: post #43
throwawayboise wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Firefox. Haven't noticed any recent issues such as not rendering certain sites, but if I did, I'd just move on from that site. Webdevs, if your product won't at least render something passable/readable on a browser other than Chrome, you're not trying hard enough.

That's a tough thing to do when said sites are server IPMIs that never get up to date firmware.

OK, fair enough, you may need to keep IE6 in a VM somwhere for that.

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#67

Post by pjmlp »

userbinator wrote: post #51

It's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a truly "neutral" browser anymore, if you count only the ones that can run the JS-required app-sites which are an increasing percentage of sites that people need to use. Big Tech has made it effectively impossible for other independent browsers by making the "standards" extremely complex and continuously churning them, since only they have the resources to effect such co…

The neutral browser were networking protocols and each one would use whatever was available on their OS.

Then a bunch of people decided browsers should be a platform on its own instead of displaying interactive documents.

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#68

Post by tech234a »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #54
c0nducktr wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can addons remove these headers? Like say I'm using uBlock Origin, does that do anything?

Possibly with Manifest V2. While it lasts.

Manifest V2 will last about 1 more year[1].

[1]: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/mv3/mv2-sunset/

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#69

Post by [deleted] »

userbinator wrote: post #51

It's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a truly "neutral" browser anymore, if you count only the ones that can run the JS-required app-sites which are an increasing percentage of sites that people need to use. Big Tech has made it effectively impossible for other independent browsers by making the "standards" extremely complex and continuously churning them, since only they have the resources to effect such co…

[deleted]

Re: Chrome client “variations” can be used to identify you (2020)

#70

Post by wruza »

userbinator wrote: post #51

It's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a truly "neutral" browser anymore, if you count only the ones that can run the JS-required app-sites which are an increasing percentage of sites that people need to use. Big Tech has made it effectively impossible for other independent browsers by making the "standards" extremely complex and continuously churning them, since only they have the resources to effect such co…

I don’t think that web standards were done too complex with such a long goal in mind. It was an organic growth from the deplorable state it was born in. Now web owners realize it of course, but our peer developers still insist on “enhancements” as if 30 years weren’t enough to fix or uproot all of the bs web has. Bigcorps not only own the internet, they raised an entire generation which yells “amazing awesome” at the things that don’t even remotely deserve it. Who might think in the '90s that a program which shows downloaded text, pictures, videos and some simple controls would be impossible to create nowadays.

We were angry at different browsers and standards (formats, behaviors) at some point. Now this is fixed and only few chosen control the entire “market”, doing whatever they want. Time to learn the lesson?

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