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Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

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Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#471
post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did try it. It even works from a different VT directly logged in as root if I also specify DISPLAY: sudo -u desktopuser XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 DISPLAY=:0.0 firefox --new-window If I now switch back to the VT running my desktop, a new Firefox window has opened. Maybe your root terminal has other environment variables set that break it? A different DBUS session maybe?

Oh wow, you were right! This solves it: sudo -u desktopuser XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 firefox Sorry for messing it up the first time I tried! Man, you solved it!! Thanks a 1000 times!

No problem! Glad it works now.

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#472

I have been a happy Firefox user for 15 years... maybe more. I have seen people use and complain Internet Explorer in my younger days, from version 6 to 7, etc. Even though I mention Firefox to them, they stay with IE. What amazes me is how quick they transitioned to Google Chrome when it released. This was around 2009. It amazes me how quick people jump to something especially when it has a big company behind advert…

Also FF long time user. Ime FF is pretty much fine nowadays. It used to have problems, but it got a huge leap in performance around 2017 when they improved multithreading support. Since then it is pretty much fine, aside from the occasional awkward unsupporting webpage.

What I do not understand is not why people do not use FF, it is why people use Chrome instead of Chromium, Brave or some other chromium-based browser that is not google or MS. Surely it is not that much more effort to install one of these than chrome.

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#473
post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>to get the EU digital markets update, which lets you uninstall Edge. Again — as a former anti-EU person — I am reminded why I am now pro-EU. While nowhere perfect it is much better than not having an EU and way, way better than the US.

I've come across many anti EU persons and there are some broad categories: - the uninformed, they have no idea about how the EU came about or what it does, but they're against it anyway - the people on the receiving end of the regulations (anti-trust, advertisers, marketeers, bankers, data sellers etc). They have a very good idea about what it does, but it interferes with their preferred way of getting to more cash.…

- People who are employed by "the people on the receiving end of the regulations" and therefore get lower wages than in the US

Switzerland is the outlier, after the US it's a pretty steep drop. this is adjusted for Purchasing Power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_w...

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#474

I keep seeing Edge mentioned as a worthy alternative, and I just don't get it. First, all Chromium-based browsers will eventually block uBlock Origin for the sole reason that they can't maintain Manifest v2 on their own, and they all rely on Chrome's Web Store anyway. This won't happen immediately because Manifest v2 will probably stick around for longer because of enterprise users, but the writing is on the wall. Th…

well i guess you can say spyware but piece of crap is probably not accurate. i mean its got the most features by far and seemingly has the most resources and manpower being dedicated for development and upgrade. crap is not so accurate.

also because a company uses a lot of tracking on their product doesnt make them an AD company lol.

but lets not get it twisted every browser is technically spyware thats the business of web browsers... i mean brave is to me the most deceitful. for one a VPN that installs background processes for windows users even if you dont want it. reinstalls on updates. and you know how much brave loves to force those background updaters on you. https://www.ghacks.net/2023/10/18/brave-is-installing-vpn-se... https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/33726

or how the most popular browser privacy test is run by a brave employee.. hmm guess which browser scores the highest and a favorable testing environment with the settings https://privacytests.org/ he eventually disclosed his employer in the back area of that website somewhere so thats better i guess.

another one is how certain settings on brave search always reverts back on. or just one the send analytics one. if you use search on a different browser not their own. and etc.

and firefox is funded in large part by google.. do you really think they dont share information?

honestly acting like your browser is superior because no tracking is so silly lol. just use whatever browser you want and tune settings to your liking. harden if you must and move on. is it that much of a hassel? would you rather pay subscription for no tracking? youll never not be tracked by ads on a free model its too much incentive and the internet is too controlled. you know when you use these product you pay with your privacy and ads its honestly a great deal. at least for me and probably most of the users. imagine paying monthly for edge having time limit package tiers, having to buy packs of google searches, websites have a entrance fee if they dont sell products.

btw im on thorium on linux i dont have a edge/microsoft bias. nor am i some shill for big companies i tend to use alternatives. but im not a sucker anymore for the illusion of privacy nor am i a big company fear monger.

oh ya also who said they are banning ubo?

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you need to set the DISPLAY env var? Maybe it tries to contact the app via dbus and fails for some reason? I'm quite sure this should work, and you just need to set some env var or so.

You can easily try jourself. 1) Have Firefox open 2) Start a root terminal (or a normal one and then "sudo su" 3) su normaluser firefox It will refuse to start.

Did you try what I said? I'm pretty sure you just need to set some env vars right. (Not exactly sure which though. But some Googling should help, e.g. maybe how to setup dbus this way.)

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#476
post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to feel icky for being a corpo simp, but how is asking for payment for a service an "extortion attempt"? Not asking as a YouTube premium subscriber or watcher of of ads (can't pay for Premium in my country and cannot bear to watch ads, so I use Firefox and an alternative client on my TV). I find it hard to frame it as an ad free but still subscription free service I am entitled to, and any attempt by Google…

Google only sells YouTube Premium bundled with a music subscription in my Spotify-dominated country, because they obviously want to use their large video platform to expand into music. Classic monopolistic behaviour.

I honestly don't see how that is relevant, unless your perceived value of just watching videos ad free is lower than whatever price they have set; you can ignore that feature, right?

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess because it seems a trivial reason to dismiss what could otherwise be a good bit of tech. Of course, if it really bugs you after using it for a while, then that's fine. I just think most software takes a bit of getting used to.

> I just think most software takes a bit of getting used to. I was using Firefox since version 1. First bomb was the removal of XUL -- Firefox has lost most of its appeal to me then. Then there was those changes to tabs. So it's not like I wasn't used to FF.

Guess you really don't like it now then!

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#478

I keep seeing Edge mentioned as a worthy alternative, and I just don't get it. First, all Chromium-based browsers will eventually block uBlock Origin for the sole reason that they can't maintain Manifest v2 on their own, and they all rely on Chrome's Web Store anyway. This won't happen immediately because Manifest v2 will probably stick around for longer because of enterprise users, but the writing is on the wall. Th…

> Or if you're on macOS, give Arc a try.

Tried it and immediately deleted the app again. Seriously, asking users to create an account which isn't skippable is just plain dumb?

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#479
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Firefox daily as my default, have roughly about 250 tabs open at this stage. I've not closed my browser in the last 6 or 7 months.. It's not crashed yet. Is it possible that it's some specific website your visiting?

Is your browser or system unpatched since then?

.... Let's not talk about that ;) But yes.

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've come across many anti EU persons and there are some broad categories: - the uninformed, they have no idea about how the EU came about or what it does, but they're against it anyway - the people on the receiving end of the regulations (anti-trust, advertisers, marketeers, bankers, data sellers etc). They have a very good idea about what it does, but it interferes with their preferred way of getting to more cash.…

- People who are employed by "the people on the receiving end of the regulations" and therefore get lower wages than in the US Switzerland is the outlier, after the US it's a pretty steep drop. this is adjusted for Purchasing Power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_w...

Average wage is a very narrow view of what ultimately translates into quality of life.

You couldn't pay me to live in the US. I've gotten very close to immigration, but after seeing up close what kind of predatory situation a new immigrant into the US lands in I figured it isn't for me. Though I totally understand why you would want to move there if you are from a country in Asia or Latin America. Then it is a huge step up. But from Europe (ok, one of the wealthier countries in Europe) it felt like a big step down.

50K in Sweden is like 100K in the US. And that's before we get to the distribution of that income, which in the US is extremely lopsided, far more so than in the EU.

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