A lot of people are talking about privacy versus security as two different things. Surely knowing more about someone makes the likely hood of guessing a password, or targeting phishing attacks more likely.
A lot of security is down to social engineering tricks, no?
Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
31–40 of 99 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#32I think chrome has better security model, sandboxing... But Firefox seems to have much better security when it comes to reviewing extensions. Some popular extensions go through approval and source code review on every release. Chrome Play store does not seems to have that. Google incentive even goes against something like UBlock. If extension gets sold, or developer account compromised, we may get widely distributed…
>I think chrome has better security model, sandboxing... It also worth to mention that Firefox is built with Rust, and Chrome mostly C/C++.
Isn't Firefox still mostly C++ as well?
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#33I will make a controversial comment: My experience is that security is a function of simplicity and individuals having a complete understanding of the code and implications of changes. Implications: - A smaller team will generally lead to more secure software than a larger team. - Many security layers are counterproductive. In studies, bugs per KLOC are relatively consistent. A 100-line program can be fully auditable…
not sure why you say it's a "controversial comment"...
What you say is well documented and you made a reasonable comment!
The bigger the software, the more likely it is to be exploited...
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#34Last month, there was a significant buzz among those involved with Google Search (which includes almost the entire modern internet and all its developers). "Erfan Azimi," the owner of an SEO firm, suddenly began sharing leaked documents revealing how Google's ranking system works. It's more complicated than just the search itself; it involves various APIs around it. Nonetheless, these APIs reveal a lot. The leak happened when a Google developer wrote a program to convert API calls into his preferred programming language but accidentally published everything (if you're interested, I've included a link to the commit with all these descriptions [1]).
Multiple confirmations from reputable sources, including former and current Googlers, have verified the authenticity of this leak. It's not a hoax or a joke but a genuine breach of information that has piqued the interest of all SEO researchers. Here's a reliable summary of the findings:
– Google has allowlists of manually optimized sites, at least for certain topics, such as the 2020 elections or COVID-19.
– Domain names and subdomains are significant factors (despite Google's previous claims).
– There's a sandbox for new sites, which Google has always denied.
– Google directly uses data from EWOK (a system where paid users rate the quality of search results).
– User behavior on sites is actively used for ranking.
– Click data is collected not only from Google Analytics but also directly from the Chrome browser.
– Sites are categorized based on click volume, affecting their quality ranking and PageRank contribution.
– Google considers the overall brand size, including mentions across the internet, not just links.
– Content and links are secondary to clicks and site navigation behavior.
– SEO is almost irrelevant for most small companies and sites without a brand, user base, and reputation.
This is a monumental event in the world of Google Search, marking the most significant leak in the past 10-15 years. It suggests a potential discrepancy between Google's public statements and its actual search practices [3]. The strategy has shifted towards clickbait and bot farms, challenging the long-standing belief that 'content is king.' Unsurprisingly, Google has chosen to remain silent [4]. I recommend reading this article on iPullRank [5] for a more comprehensive understanding.
If you want to stop giving all your data to Google, consider using a non-chrome browser like Firefox.
[1] https://github.com/googleapis/elixir-google-api/commit/078b4...
[2] https://sparktoro.com/blog/an-anonymous-source-shared-thousa...
[3] https://www.seroundtable.com/google-chrome-search-usage-1561...
[4] https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/28/24166177/google-search-ra...
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#35For Chrome, you have to deal with Google. For Firefox, you have to worry about the next "pocket", or the next "Mr. Robot"... Manifest v3 is looming as well. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. /shrug
It’s not really equal though is it? One’s the biggest advertising company the world has ever seen that hoovers up personal data like there’s no tomorrow, and the other is a one-time stupid mistake that they rolled back and apologised for.
"Mr. Robot", yes. Firefox still has pocket and a password manager.
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#36Let's not talk about privacy (because there is no point in talking about it: Firefox is eons more private than Chrome - or any of it's based browsers - can ever be) About security: Chrome has a biggest workforce, yes. but let's think about this a bit... First, let's not forget that chrome is also a bigger target. let's imagine this: Consider that 90% of the users worldwide use chromium-based browsers, and you are an…
> Firefox is eons more private than Chrome - or any of it's based browsers - can ever be Some progress is made though... Brave: https://brave.com Thorium: https://github.com/Alex313031/thorium
Going off the top comment’s simplicity is security paradigm, it’s hard to pitch Brave as a secure browser given its non-core complexity. (This would be as true if it were running a protein-folding simulation in the background as it is with its crypto bits.)
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#37Let's not talk about privacy (because there is no point in talking about it: Firefox is eons more private than Chrome - or any of it's based browsers - can ever be) About security: Chrome has a biggest workforce, yes. but let's think about this a bit... First, let's not forget that chrome is also a bigger target. let's imagine this: Consider that 90% of the users worldwide use chromium-based browsers, and you are an…
I find this to be a bit of a weak argument. What you make makes sense, but of for some reason a glaring security hole is noticed, people are going to take advantage of it.
naturally! There are always exceptions and there will always be people that will bother targeting those 10%.
Even more: if they could create something that targets both platforms that will be even better...
The question will always be of Work Vs Gain. Will your work result in gain. Does it justify targeting those 10%? (if it's an "easy thing to do" then we'll all get targeted)
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#38Let's not talk about privacy (because there is no point in talking about it: Firefox is eons more private than Chrome - or any of it's based browsers - can ever be) About security: Chrome has a biggest workforce, yes. but let's think about this a bit... First, let's not forget that chrome is also a bigger target. let's imagine this: Consider that 90% of the users worldwide use chromium-based browsers, and you are an…
> Let's not talk about privacy (because there is no point in talking about it: Firefox is eons more private than Chrome - or any of it's based browsers - can ever be)
Firefox with its default settings is both less private and less secure than Brave. On iOS, Firefox has refused for years to implement an adblocker.
It’s best to say nothing if you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, Specially Brave (within the Chromium-spectrum only) is probably one of the best choices (if we ignore some details, of course...) Still, i actually have more faith in servo: https://servo.org
> i actually have more faith in servo: https://servo.org Together with RedoxOS, COSMIC EPIC, and coreutils in Rust -- the future holds such great potential :)
RedoxOS, yes... I like that!!! :)
But i still prefer Genode/Sculpt + seL4 (https://genode.org)
they are doing amazing work there!!! If only they had a nice GUI (say... LXQt, for example)
Re: Ask HN: Is Firefox better than Chrome when it comes to user security?
#40It depends on what you mean by safety.
Chrome is much more secure against browser exploits than Firefox. It is perhaps the most advanced piece of security software in the world.
Firefox is a lot more private than Chrome, given that Chrome is chock full of Google surveillance.
Ungoogled Chromium is the best of both worlds, but only if you manually build and update on a near-daily basis.
Note that most people’s advice on this topic is a non-expert, non-informed opinion. Browser choice is a pretty tribalistic, identity-tied thing. It’s like asking people “which is more secure, android or ios?”. (The answer is iOS by a mile, but most “security” types won’t give that answer because they don’t like it. Same goes with Chrome/Firefox.)