Browser privacy test to see how many connections browsers make at startup

oldschool

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Mar 29, 2018
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I've tried FF a couple of times recently and I just gave up, finding it takes too much energy to configure the way I want it. There are aspects of the browser I really like besides potential privacy gains, e.g. its default dark grey/black theme, side bookmark fly-out reminiscent of old Edge, etc. but it's overall GUI is distracting and poorly designed. Brave and Edge Chromium are my two choices.
 

enaph

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Jun 14, 2011
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I've tried FF a couple of times recently and I just gave up, finding it takes too much energy to configure the way I want it. There are aspects of the browser I really like besides potential privacy gains, e.g. its default dark grey/black theme, side bookmark fly-out reminiscent of old Edge, etc. but it's overall GUI is distracting and poorly designed. Brave and Edge Chromium are my two choices.
Same here mate.
Firefox is just one big mess in terms of GUI.
It's extremely configurable and has a ton of useful, high quality addons however it takes too much effort to configure it for better privacy and browsing experience.
For most people (including myself because I am one lazy mf :)) Brave will be the first choice for more secure and private web browsing experience.
Chromium Edge is also very good mostly because of SmartScreen integration and great privacy controls.
 

SeriousHoax

Level 47
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Mar 16, 2019
3,630
Firefox is just one big mess in terms of GUI. It's extremely configurable and has a ton of useful, high quality addons however it takes too much effort to configure it for better privacy and browsing experience.
I don't understand what's so mess about the UI. I like it more but Chromium based browsers usually have a bit more cleaner interface. So it's all about personal preference. And about changes, probably the last time I made any changes anything related to settings, UI, about:config about 6 months ago and since then reinstalled Windows 4-5 times. Before reinstalling Windows I just copy my Firefox profile folder and after I paste it back and boom 🔥 everything is back exactly how it was before. My settings, addons, containers, even data like how many ads uBlock Origin blocked since it was installed, etc everything. You can use the same profile on other pc, other OS like linux, mac. I use the same method for Mozilla Thunderbird. If you know how then it's just a matter of changing everything once and be done with it. The same probably can be done for Chromium based browsers? So making your changes permanent is not difficult. There are other options like using a portable version of the browser. I use Brave portable from portapps as my second browser.
 

SeriousHoax

Level 47
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Mar 16, 2019
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@SeriousHoax maybe I wasn't clear enough - I was talking about "out of the box" experience as most people are not going to bother themselves with about:config etc.
And I guess my opinion about Firefox and Mozilla in general might be biased as I simply cannot stand their agenda.
Firefox is not just for privacy focused people but for everybody so that's why the out of the box experience is like that and I think it's fine.
 

RejZoR

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Nov 26, 2016
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Shocking news! The web browsers are using the internet! Reason why Firefox contacts these things are:

- Internal main program updating mechanism
- Addons updating mechanism
- Syncing mechanism
- Telemetry mechanisms
- Study mechanisms
- Crash reporting mechanisms
- Google SafeBrowsing as part of anti-phishing
- Search engine updating mechanism

Just listing domains is a stupid methodology if you don't tell what and why it is the way it is. Also seemingly showing like some obscure browser I've never heard of (Midori) is the best ##### just because it has absolutely no features at all. Also, where is Opera?

Majority of features listed above can be disabled in Firefox to a point where only internal main program updater remains active. Everything else can be disabled or just not being used. Good luck doing that with Chrome, the most popular browser in the world used by 80% of all internet users which is not even tested here. Btw, a lot of things Brave does is also used to further anonymize you. For example Brave acts like a proxy for SafeBrowsing requests from Google as well as for Spellchecking.
 

SeriousHoax

Level 47
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Mar 16, 2019
3,630
But now, due to the translation I'm using, Chrome instantly translates any language. It's what I see is missing in Firefox.
Firefox is working on built in translation but it's not likely to arrive soon. I usually don't need page translation but an extension gets the job done for me.

Shocking news! The web browsers are using the internet! Reason why Firefox contacts these things are:

- Internal main program updating mechanism
- Addons updating mechanism
- Syncing mechanism
- Telemetry mechanisms
- Study mechanisms
- Crash reporting mechanisms
- Google SafeBrowsing as part of anti-phishing
- Search engine updating mechanism
This is correct but not many people understand this which makes Firefox looks bad. But I think Firefox has room for improvements in this section that is they should stop loading their homepage at the very first start after installation. Most of those site requests are from their homepage. Loading their homepage is quite unnecessary. Instead a welcome screen showcasing features would be better.
And on the safebrowsing thing Firefox doesn't need to use proxy like Brave (I posted links multiple times explaining that in the forum before).
 
F

ForgottenSeer 58943

I've tried FF a couple of times recently and I just gave up, finding it takes too much energy to configure the way I want it. There are aspects of the browser I really like besides potential privacy gains, e.g. its default dark grey/black theme, side bookmark fly-out reminiscent of old Edge, etc. but it's overall GUI is distracting and poorly designed. Brave and Edge Chromium are my two choices.

Firefox is, and always has been a mess IMO. I could never get it to feel and work right. Also, somewhere in my post history here I believe I posted which sites a couple of browsers were accessing at startup and Firefox was pretty bad so I never looked back at it. Chromium is going to be the best bet for windows users IMO.

An important point: The more data a browser (or anything for that matter) sends, the more sites it connects to, the more data and user privacy is lost. This is a simple fact. When crash reports are sent they are often full system dumps. So you are basically sending full system dumps for each crash/hiccup. So the astute privacy oriented individual will choose products/services that have FEWER connections/sessions made AND will disable logging, error reporting, and other such things. Limiting sessions (connections) and limiting logging/error reporting are foundations of good security and privacy.

PS: Yandex? Don't go there. Trust me on that one. You'll eventually find out why.
 

SeriousHoax

Level 47
Well-known
Mar 16, 2019
3,630
@SeriousHoax @Bribon @RejZoR can anyone please post their about:config setup and any other tips? 🤔 I may give it one more shot with some help.
You're used to using Chromium based browser so it's normal not to feel at home with Firefox. You may just keep it as a backup and try out once in a while. I believe it's possible to make Firefox look like Chrome using css. I saw someone at FirefoxCSS made Firefox look exactly like Internet Explorer.
These are mostly my about:config changes excluding DoH + a change that makes it possible to use addons on Firefox domains. You need to put it inside the Firefox profile folder. Link: user.js
 

Paul.R

Level 17
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May 16, 2013
844
QUESTION

Guys you know the site who's calling watchdog or something, they test all the browsers and give them ratings like high, medium, extrem?


Thanks!
 

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