Browser Experimentation

[Hermitkrab]

Out of curiosity, I’ve been experimenting with various browsers. My usual browser is Edge, which I find quite satisfactory I’ve also tried Opera, Vivaldi, Brave, Comodo Dragon, Firefox Quantum, Yandex, and others, but I always come back to Edge...after all. It doesn’t give me a problem. As an exception, I also use Chrome on occasion. I find I need Chrome when using my Bank of America website. Interestingly. neither Edge nor Firefox works on the ‘Shop Safe’ section of that website. It just doesn’t load properly. Only Chrome works. Don’t know why? At any rate, with the exception of that one website, I’ll continue with Edge. I won’t experiment with other browsers, at least for now, unless something really radically new comes along. Perhaps some of you would like to comment on your browser’s qualities.

 

[Axel PC]

Cool I dig me some nerd lip, especially about web browsers.

I posted a thread about my Tor Browser week long experiment and it was no bueno in the end. https://windowsforum.com/threads/tor-browser-experiment.230837/ I think it's great for ultimate privacy and security but not for casual browsing and going to the most popular sites on the internet. If I was a journalist or fighting government tyranny I'd be a Linux machine and then running Tails via usb with Tor Browser on it but not for daily driver.

I've been checking out Brave Brave Browser and I think it definitely has a shot at being a contender with Chrome and Firefox. It's just not well known right now. I love that things like HTTPS Everywhere, Ad blocking and Fingerprinting protection are baked into it. Here's a great interview with a rep from Brave. I especially enjoy how it shows how much time it's saved you when loading pages and ads it's blocked. I also like it's Basic Attention Token idea. I haven't tried it but I think it definitely has a future. The interface is minimal and I like that as well. What I don't like is there's not bookmark sidebar I use that feature on Firefox a lot. Syncing between phone, tablets and PCs isn't available yet. I also use that feature in Firefox, sending articles I come across during the day to my laptop and tablet to read at home. But I'll definitely keep Brave installed on my laptop as a secondary browser. I would switch completely if those 2 previous issue get resolved and some other extensions I use or similar ones become available for it; Pay by Privacy.com Firefox Multi-Account Containers Cookie AutoDelete
Lastpass and Pocket are already available for it.

I've been trying to break away from Google as much as I can because I had all my eggs in one basket with them. I used Chrome a lot but Firefox has always been tried and true for me. Plus I know it well and am very comfortable using it. And it works for all the sites I go to.

I too would like to read other's thoughts on our posts and what else you have to contribute to the thread!

 

[Hermitkrab]

Hello again, Axel. I just couldn't resist, but I'm using the new Firefox quantum (version 58) now. I like it, but always ready to return to Edge if I have problems. Since I installed Adobe Flash, I got Firefox to load my BofA website properly. The new Firefox has excellent security features, although I still use a VPN anyway. Another browser I played with recently is Comodo Ice Dragon, which also sports some good security. There are so many browser choices available that it bogs the mind. Each of them has some feature(s) to recommend it

 

[Neemobeer]

Chrome is still the most secure. Won't know much about FF Quantum until the next P2O contest. Edge hasn't faired well in the contest.

P2O (Pwn To Own) Hacking software contest.
Pwn2Own 2017: Chrome Remains the Winner in Browser Security | Security Zap

 

[Axel PC]

What's up @Hermitkrab ! Hey like I say go with what you're most comfortable with and trust. I will say I like that Edge has extensions now and a lot of the major ones so that's a big plus for it. Sometimes I'll run with Edge for a few days to see what it's like and it's actually very good. I do think it loads pages fast and I like the bookmarking features of it. I would like to be able to remove that note taking icon the pen because I don't have a touch screen. This way I'd have a more minimal look. I think more customization like in Firefox would lure more people to Edge. I've heard of Comodo's browser and how it was supposed to be secure but then a new's article broke that it actually had a big vulnerability, something to do with certificates I believe? Yeah I'm glad there's lots of choices so it can push the main 3 to be better, competition has to stay in this market.

What's up @Neemobeer ! I don't know if Chrome is "most" secure? Maybe out of the box? But even then compared to Brave out of the box it's not the most secure nor most private. Now I'll say it's probably the most stable and reliable because they probably have the biggest team working on it and they have the most market share of users to gather data on to improve the browser. I did use Chrome a lot when it first came out because it was new and got WAY better than Firefox and IE at the time. I do like the minimal interface, a lot! I just can't get over their data scraping of it's users. And I completely understand the give and take for software to be free, something has to be given in exchange for it being free. I don't think it'll lose it's king of the browser hill for a long time, unless something dramatic happens. Oh yeah, I've not heard of P20, that's very interesting. I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for it.

 

[Axel PC]

@Hermitkrab oh yeah I always try and have my VPN going regardless of what browser I'm using.

@Neemobeer dang it this Chrome talk has me checking out what's new with it and tempting me to download it tonight lol.

 

[Hermitkrab]

Since using Edge browser plus Tunnel Bear VPN, I've never gotten an infection of any sort, and I scan with both Windows Defender and Malwarebytes. I'm not going to argue against success.

 

[Axel PC]

Yeah I think I'm learning that what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another when it comes to computer security and privacy. For example someone might surf nefarious websites and download torrents etc and another doesn't do those things so their security needs aren't as needy.

However! I will say today's cyber world isn't the AOL cyber world anymore. You have to pay attention to cyber (saying as a catch all term) threats and vulnerabilities. Which why I think it's a very good idea to have a back up browser installed and threads like this are great to hear information from others. It helps to gives a better perspective.

 

[Neemobeer]

The malicous site blocking of Nord vpn is only as good as their site list. New malware hosting platforms pop-up all the time and they also have served them in ad sites as well. WD's detection is ok but it's still quite a bit lower than other paid suites, and just because your software hasn't detected something doesn't mean you aren't infected. It just means there may be malware it doesn't know about. There are very stealthy malware payloads running around.

 

[Hermitkrab]

I've tried Nord VPN, Neemo, but found that it blocked my Internet connection unnecessarily. I got rid of it immediately and went back to Tunnel Bear, which never blocks my connection. Nord VPN, along with Express VPN, are both highly rated in reviews. I had the same problem with Express, also. I think it may have been something I was doing wrong, otherwise there wouldn't be such good reviews.

 

[Axel PC]

Yeah I've always read great reviews about Nord VPN.

What are some of your favorite browser extensions?