Yet another reason to not use Chrome

[robkelk]

The Register: Wow, fancy that. Web ad giant Google to block ad-blockers in Chrome. For safety, apparently

Content blockers may be used to hide or black-hole ads, but they have broader applications. They're predicated on the notion that users, rather than anyone else, should be able to control how their browser presents and interacts with remote resources.

"The declarativeNetRequest API provides better privacy to users because extensions can't actually read the network requests made on the user's behalf," Google's API documentation explains.

But "better privacy" here means privacy as defined by Google rather than privacy defined by a third-party extension developer.

So much for using a Chromium-based browser in the future. Good thing Firefox still exists.

[hazard]

I note that by law in the Netherlands advertisements must declare they are an advertisement to the one receiving it, so adblockers would still be available.

Still, this is worrisome. I may need to reconsider my use of Chrome.

[Bob Schroeck]

As soon as Google purged their site of the "Don't Be Evil" credo I knew they'd already slipped to the Dark Side. And given how much of their income comes from advertising that they place, it was only a matter of time before the revenue became more important than the users.

[LynnInDenver]

Well, I do use Firefox as my "daily" (read: primary) driver, but anyone got a secondary "not Chromium" recommendation for me? I would like to maintain another browser for things like logins (sometimes I need a second account on sites like DeviantArt). I've been using Chrome for that, but I also run all the sorts of extensions that they're basically now saying they're going to deliberately break, and I can't deal with that from the security perspective.

[classicdrogn]

Well, there's also Waterfox, which is a fork that keeps the old extension interface that their main project did away with for "security." I know Konquerer is also popular, though I use Gnome-based desktops so I've never tried it.

[robkelk]

As netizens, devs scream bloody murder over Chrome ad-block block, Googlers insist: It's not set in stone (yet)

I'm seeing a lot of "feel the outrage" here, but precious little "pay attention to what the outrage is saying".

[Tennie]

Another option is Pale Moon, which is All The Tropes-style fork of Firefox (i.e. "Doing things VERY differently").  I use it, and like it a lot!

And if you have any questions, here's the FAQ on the main site, and also here's the forums if you still have other questions or whatever.

[Labster]

Well, I do use Firefox as my "daily" (read: primary) driver, but anyone got a secondary "not Chromium" recommendation for me? I would like to maintain another browser for things like logins (sometimes I need a second account on sites like DeviantArt). I've been using Chrome for that, but I also run all the sorts of extensions that they're basically now saying they're going to deliberately break, and I can't deal with that from the security perspective.

I'm running FirefoxDeveloperEdition right now too.  And, uh, Chrome, but that's only for work things where my FF code doesn't work in Chrome.  

Well, there's also Waterfox, which is a fork that keeps the old extension interface that their main project did away with for "security." I know Konquerer is also popular, though I use Gnome-based desktops so I've never tried it.

I support XUL deprecation 100%.  It was supporting an old technology that no other software used, and as a result they couldn't use all of the HTML optimizations apply to their own user interface.  They did it over several years, and almost all of the old, major extensions were ported over.  Tree-Style Tabs was the major omission as they didn't have all of the APIs worked out, but they offered a long-term support release until that one started working too.  Mozilla has made a commitment to adding more APIs so that they can support more extensions.

Does that mean I agree with Mozilla's management all the time?  Nope.  But this is a better model than "all extensions can do everything without telling the user".

But with MS Edge moving to run on Chromium, we're sure moving back to a monopoly in browsers, aren't we.

[Epsilon]

Ugh, and just when I switched to Chrome because Firefox actually finally stopped working on Vista.

(Yes, I still use Vista. Anachronism man is me.)

[LynnInDenver]

Well, I do use Firefox as my "daily" (read: primary) driver, but anyone got a secondary "not Chromium" recommendation for me? I would like to maintain another browser for things like logins (sometimes I need a second account on sites like DeviantArt). I've been using Chrome for that, but I also run all the sorts of extensions that they're basically now saying they're going to deliberately break, and I can't deal with that from the security perspective.

I'm running FirefoxDeveloperEdition right now too.  And, uh, Chrome, but that's only for work things where my FF code doesn't work in Chrome. 

This has actually been a big reason I've still been using Chrome on the side... there's a (small) number of websites that don't (want to) work correctly in Firefox, even if I disable all the blocking stuff.

I should recheck Wordpress, at the very least, that was a bit of a biggie when the watch feed stopped loading correctly. Edit: Nope, still not working in Firefox. Pale Moon has no issues, though. That's starting to point strongly towards "don't WANT to work in Firefox".

[nemonowan]

This has actually been a big reason I've still been using Chrome on the side... there's a (small) number of websites that don't (want to) work correctly in Firefox, even if I disable all the blocking stuff.

I should recheck Wordpress, at the very least, that was a bit of a biggie when the watch feed stopped loading correctly. Edit: Nope, still not working in Firefox. Pale Moon has no issues, though. That's starting to point strongly towards "don't WANT to work in Firefox".

A piece of advice: install the "User-Agent Switcher" addon in Firefox, use it to pretend to be some other browser and try again.

It has worked for me in many cases.

[LynnInDenver]

This has actually been a big reason I've still been using Chrome on the side... there's a (small) number of websites that don't (want to) work correctly in Firefox, even if I disable all the blocking stuff.

I should recheck Wordpress, at the very least, that was a bit of a biggie when the watch feed stopped loading correctly. Edit: Nope, still not working in Firefox. Pale Moon has no issues, though. That's starting to point strongly towards "don't WANT to work in Firefox".

A piece of advice: install the "User-Agent Switcher" addon in Firefox, use it to pretend to be some other browser and try again.

It has worked for me in many cases.

Tried a couple of different user agents with that. No change, so maybe it is actually an issue with Firefox.

Oh, and setting the user agent string to Chrome messes with YouTube, for the record. I'm betting they've got some special case code running that attempts to make Chrome appear faster than everyone else.

[Dartz]

That's been widely documented.

Firefox can get a bit rattly if there's a lot of addons going on. My install of chrome has none so it will tend to be faster - but it also has maybe three websites in its history rather than a folder going back to 2015 or so when I last cleared out FF.

The problem's uisually because Chrome's got a bit of embrace, extend, extinguish going on with web standards.

I've also, for a long time, just plain preferred how Firefox went about working - even back in the 1.5 days on Windows 98.

[LynnInDenver]

I do tend to prefer using Firefox instead of Chrome - as noted, it's my "daily driver". I did use Opera for a time, but here's a thing; I require a bookmarks menu. I can't stand the idea that I'm expected to use either history, the bookmarks "bar", or even keeping open dozens of tabs. History is imprecise. The bookmarks bar has limited space. Dozens to hundreds of tabs is asking for a memory crash.

Multiple plugins and increasing "rattle" is just a common problem with any sort of add-on mechanism in general. But right now, I use uMatrix for script blocking, uBlock for ad blocking, Decentraleyes for other aspects of privacy control, and Privacy Badger to deal specifically with trackers that uMatrix and uBlock don't touch. It's kind of a wash with regards to performance; I get a hit from running the four, and make it up with reduction in loaded resources. Sometimes I do have to fiddle with uMatrix's granular controls to get some sites to work correctly; I really miss the days where a given site would work with links to maybe a handful of SUBdomains, and now it feels almost like some of them are in a competition to see who can make it practically impossible to run something like uMatrix and still use the web. This is actually a bigger reason I've been running Chrome and am trying to switch; I do pay bills online, and it's easier for me to work using a browser that I'm not having to fiddle with to get the payment processing to work.

[robkelk]

If you must use Chrome...

The Register: Google: All your leaked passwords are belong to us – here's a Chrome extension to find them

[Black Aeronaut]

Hmmm... Nah. Still gonna go with FF here. That whole 'for the sake of your privacy' thing is bullshit. I use adblockers not only because they cut down on crap that gets loaded, but also because of that VERY unfortunate spate of bad advertisements that went around injecting malware into websites that were perfectly fine otherwise.

EDIT: For the record, if ANY website wants me to disable ad blocking, then I want to see - in writing - that they personally check each and every ad before they run on their website for malicious code, because going by the word of the ad provider is a bit like letting the fox guard your chicken coup.

[robkelk]

Google is backpedaling on this. Not calling it off completely, though.

[LynnInDenver]

Too late; I've already moved almost all of my stuff over to [redacted] that I was doing in Chrome. It's just the odd occasional bill payment management that I still need to move over.

They're an advertising company, it's really hard to shake the sense that this was meant to specifically kill ad blockers, it's only that other people have piped up regarding the other stuff it would just happen to kill alongside ad blockers.

[Labster]

By the way, if you're running Firefox, you may want to switch browsers immediately. The intermediate certificate expired, the one they used to sign extensions, so all of your extensions are disabled on launch. Given that this includes privacy and ad blocking, I'd consider it a critical security vulnerability -- it might be better to switch to Chrome for a day.

[nemonowan]

By the way, if you're running Firefox, you may want to switch browsers immediately. The intermediate certificate expired, the one they used to sign extensions, so all of your extensions are disabled on launch.  Given that this includes privacy and ad blocking, I'd consider it a critical security vulnerability -- it might be better to switch to Chrome for a day.

Was that fixed fast or something? I launched Firefox an hour ago and there wasn't any problem.

[classicdrogn]

Yeah, it's already fixed. (It did affect Waterfox too.) It caused me quite a bit of cussing last might, though, and now Losedows 10 doesn't see FIrefox anymore in its list of options to make it the default web browser. Eh, I only use Losedows for DIsgaea 5 anyway, literally everything else I do in Ubuntu, so All I need it to do is read Gamefaqs pages or SB/SV/FFn when I'm taking a break, and it's still in the strat meu and everything.

[LynnInDenver]

I literally JUST got hit with it here. And it means I won't be doing any real web surfing until it gets fixed.

Uh, Mozilla? No Screen Week is over now. You're a week late.

Update: Got it fixed via the Studies. Still, starting to think it's time to start going into the weeds here with regards to what browsers I use. Anyone got a good recommendation for a browser that disables all ads by default without an extension?

[classicdrogn]

Well, I know there's an actual AdBlockPlus branded browser for Android. Dunno about a desktop version, but it's what I have on my oft-neglected tablet.

[robkelk]

By the way, if you're running Firefox, you may want to switch browsers immediately. The intermediate certificate expired, the one they used to sign extensions, so all of your extensions are disabled on launch.  Given that this includes privacy and ad blocking, I'd consider it a critical security vulnerability -- it might be better to switch to Chrome for a day.

Was that fixed fast or something? I launched Firefox an hour ago and there wasn't any problem.

A patch was rolled out through "Studies", which appears to be a two-way channel. If "Firefox Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Allow Firefox to install and run studies" is checked, then you got the patch... and Firefox is getting data about you.

[Labster]

Yeah, if you have Normandy enabled in about:config, it allows Mozilla to invade your computer and fix things like an overlord. As I said recently in another thread, the world is becoming a little bit more like Bubblegum Crisis every day.