Internet Access on the Road

Goodbye, Chrome: Google’s web browser has become spy software

First post and replies | Last post by RV_, 5 years ago

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I was a diehard Internet Explorer (IE) user and tried Firefox (FF) for a few months back around 2008 but it was slow from memory hogging so I went back to IE. Then they abandoned IE and forced us to go to Edge. I hated Edge and went back to FF as the Mozilla Foundation, the parent organization behind FF, has fixed the bulk of the memory use issues and now is actively promoting user privacy. Then they came out with FF Quantum, now I'm a diehard FF Quantum fan with all their tweaking over the past few years. Here's why: Excerpt: "You open your browser to look at the Web. Do you know who is looking back at you? Over a recent week of Web surfing, I peered under the hood of Google Chrome and found it brought along a few thousand friends. Shopping, news and even government sites quietly tagged my browser to let ad and data companies ride shotgun while I clicked around the Web. This was made possible by the Web’s biggest snoop of all: Google. Seen from the inside, its Chrome browser looks a lot like surveillance software. Lately I’ve been investigating the secret life of my data, running experiments to see what technology really gets up to under the cover of privacy policies that nobody reads. It turns out, having the world’s biggest advertising company make the most popular Web browser was about as smart as letting kids run a candy shop. It made me decide to ditch Chrome for a new version of nonprofit Mozilla’s Firefox, which has default privacy protections. Switching involved less inconvenience than you might imagine." This article is very good and even includes a video of how Chrome follows us, which is worth a look for the non techies here: Many folks have given up and just go all Google Chrome. Others, like my wife who does not do anything but surf with Edge love/s Edge? Microsoft has decided to use the Chrome engine for Edge, and it is getting better too, but the full implementation of the Chrome engine in Microsoft Edge is not fully implemented yet and AFAIK still in beta. If it is as intrusive then my wife will transition to FF. We both use Nord VPN daily. YouTube actually comes on with a message that I can't watch videos anonymously (when the VPN is switched on) and that I will be tracked from that point on. They complain that they don't know who I am - Great! There goes another time waster no more YouTube except when I need it. I've more content than I can ever watch anyway with Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and HBO, Netflix, Pluto TV, and a few other streaming free services, as well as a rooftop antenna with the best consumer usable whole house amplifier, the Electroline which is in use at both our old home, and which I ordered and came in at my new home awaiting my return to Colorado Springs. It gives more than 22 channels here. Our new house has an antenna and three outputs with no amp - fixed as soon as I get back. Anyway, YouTube is no loss, and my default search engine on FF Quantum is Duck Duck Go. Excerpt: "Microsoft is announcing some significant changes to its Edge browser today. The software giant is beginning to rebuild Microsoft Edge to run on Chromium, the same open-source web rendering engine that powers Google’s Chrome browser. This means Edge will soon be powered by Blink and the V8 JavaScript engines. It’s a big move that means Microsoft is joining the open-source community in a much bigger way for the web. “Ultimately, we want to make the web-experience better for many different audiences,” explains Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president of Windows. “People using Microsoft Edge (and potentially other browsers) will experience improved compatibility with all web sites, while getting the best-possible battery life and hardware integration on all kinds of Windows devices.” Microsoft Edge isn’t going away, nor is the brand name. If you already use Edge on Windows, then that won’t change. All you’ll ultimately notice is that websites will render more consistently once Microsoft makes this under-the-hood change." Source: Here's an article written in March 2019 just as FF was tweaking their then just released Firefox Quantum. The author puts Chrome ahead of FF, but just barely, here's why: Excerpt:, "Firefox comes in a close second — a very close second. Mozilla has been taking real strides in making its browser a truly modern way to surf from site to site, thanks to efforts like its recent upgrade to Firefox Quantum and the VR-focused alternative, Firefox Reality. The latest version of Mozilla’s familiar old standby rebuilds the browser’s UI from the ground up, offering a cleaner, more modern take on what a web browser should be, and even introducing a password-free browsing experience. The changes aren’t just skin deep, though. There’s some impressive engineering going on behind the scenes. Firefox Quantum is designed to leverage multicore processors in ways that its competitors just aren’t doing. It’s not going to make a huge difference in your day-to-day browsing, but the Mozilla Corporation hopes it’s going to give it an edge moving forward. By engineering for the future now, Firefox Quantum is in a better position to take advantage of quicker and quicker processors as they come out year after year. Beneath those changes, it’s still the same Firefox we all know and love. It’s a capable browser, with a deep catalog of extensions and user interface customization. The new Firefox Mobile app also received the Quantum treatment, so it’s quicker and more streamlined than ever before. Grab the mobile Firefox app and you’ll be able to share bookmarks between devices, but you’ll have to sign up for a separate Firefox account. Unfortunately, managing settings across platforms isn’t as seamless as it is in Chrome. Even with the recent overhaul, Firefox is a comfortable, familiar standby. There’s a bit of a fringe benefit, too. Because it’s been around longer than Chrome, some older web apps — the likes of which you might encounter at your university or workplace — work better on Firefox than they do on Chrome. For that reason, it never hurts to keep it around. As a primary browser, Firefox doesn’t offer much that Chrome doesn’t, but its latest update is making it a very compelling alternative if you’re in the mood for something a little different." Source: So we choose FFQuantum, and DuckDuckGo for searches, your choices may be different, or some might not care, regardless, choices are good. Edited June 23 by RV_

By RV_ 5 years ago
I don't see a lot of adds. Now if I go on a forum and not be signed in I see them.

By GlennWest 5 years ago
I down loaded Brave from the Play store a few months ago on my phone, tablet and Chromebook and it block all adds and trackers. Denny

By D&J 5 years ago
By RV_ 5 years ago
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U.S. Government Announces 'Critical' Warning For Microsoft Windows Users

First post and replies | Last post by RV_, 5 years ago

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The bad news: BlueKeep is poised to attack any Windows machine, except those running Windows 8 and 10, that are not updated. The good news: It's fixed by the latest Windows update. Microsoft even made an update for XP systems. Excerpt: " The United States Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has gone public with a warning to Microsoft Windows users regarding a critical security vulnerability. By issuing the "update now" warning, CISA has joined the likes of Microsoft itself and the National Security Agency (NSA) in warning Windows users of the danger from the BlueKeep vulnerability. While Windows 8 and Windows 10 users are not impacted by this vulnerability, Windows 2003, Windows XP and Windows Vista all are and the news that an exploit has been confirmed justifies the unusual step of the U.S. Government and its agencies getting involved in issuing these "update now" warnings. " That full article is here: I strongly recommend you read and heed and pass it along. Edited June 18 by RV_

By RV_ 5 years ago

Why SpaceX is Making Starink

First post and replies | Last post by Zulu, 5 years ago

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It’s the middle of the night. Do you know who your iPhone is talking to?

First post and replies | Last post by RV_, 5 years ago

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Winegard Connect

First post and replies | Last post by dewilso, 5 years ago

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Old Phones -- What To Do With Them?

First post and replies | Last post by LindaH, 5 years ago

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Best RV Internet for Dummies

First post and replies | Last post by Zulu, 6 years ago

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Amazon plans satellite internet system

First post and replies | Last post by docj, 6 years ago

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WiFi Camp Pro 2 review

First post and replies | Last post by sushidog, 6 years ago

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Verizon's $40 unlimited Visible service now on Android

First post and replies | Last post by Dutch_12078, 6 years ago

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