8 ms·

I've disliked Brave from the beginning. Initially because of the pretentious - and frankly appropriated - name, but now for the much more substantive reasons yo

I've disliked Brave from the beginning. Initially because of the pretentious - and frankly appropriated - name, but now for the much more substantive reasons you've cited. Seriously, if you want a browser that gives you control over your data and privacy, use Firefox. It doesn't do any of this shady nonsense.

0xfffafaCrash 6y ago
Brave is trash, but to say Firefox hasn't done shady things is a bit of joke after the whole incident where they sent full site URLs and interaction data over to Cliqz's servers for a random sampling of users in Germany while being neither opt-in nor clear to the users about what data was being sent.
- lopis 6y ago
  Short sighted and terrible PR, yes, but to say that what Firefox was doing was shady, specially anything close to as shady as Brave, is being straight out disingenuous.
  - 0xfffafaCrash 6y ago
    I was pretty clear about my stance on Brave in the first three words of my comment, but I'm skeptical of any interpretation of user privacy which is so eager to excuse sending user browsing history without asking as not "shady" but simply "short sighted and bad PR" just because Mozilla's the one doing it
stevehawk 6y ago
appropriated name?
- bartread 6y ago
  Yes: the concept of browsing the web with your privacy preserved has literally zero to do with the concept of bravery. The name is clearly a statement but not one that's ever made any sense to me.
  - wmeredith 6y ago
    Not sure appropriated is the word you’re looking for.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - ilikehurdles 6y ago
      re-appropriated
  - gsich 6y ago
    The other browsers don't have "normal" names either.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
      Chrome and Internet Explorer are both trivially descriptive names.
      - Grimm665 6y ago
        Internet Explorer maybe, but Chrome? I don't think "Chrome" screams web browser to me. "Safari" seems more trivial than Chrome.
        sp332 6y ago
        https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=browser%20chrome https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=browser%20ch...
        esperent 6y ago
        Apparently the main reason Chrome has the name is that the dev team leads like fast cars and that was the initial project code name. The reference to "UI Chrome" was largely an accident. https://www.thewindowsclub.com/google-chrome-reason-revealed/ https://www.thewindowsclub.com/google-chrome-reason-revealed...
yaiNua9o 6y ago
Firefox prevents me from installing webextensions from sources and even forces me to send the code of my own extensions for my own usage to their webservices in order to use them. This is certainly not a browser that "gives you control over your data", when you're a hacker.
- paulryanrogers 6y ago
  You can load local extensions from about:debugging. They just won't be permanently installed. (Developer edition may be different.) And Chrome's local loading comes with a disable modal at every startup. So I'm curious what browser you consider worthy. Edit: forgot to mention you can install from 3p sources as I've done from my own site in the past. They just need to be signed by Mozilla first.
  - nix23 6y ago
    >They just need to be signed by Mozilla first No they don't, xpinstall.signatures.required to false
    - yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
      Doesn't work on "normal" Firefox, does it? Only dev builds or the unbranded version without automatic updates.
      - nix23 6y ago
        Sorry true, should have mentioned that, just works on dev build's and some version from distributions.
  - yaiNua9o 6y ago
    Yes, you can temporarily load extensions in firefox, but I certainly won't reload all my extensions manually at every startup :) I don't think there's really a good browser for both privacy and hacking. I use chromium when I have no choice (not sure what you're referring to concerning the disable modal ; if it's an issue with chromium too, I haven't hit it, and I have 11 extensions loaded from sources). But my "main browser until it's not enough" is elinks (slightly modified by me to fix ruby support and offer a few more api methods to extensions). I can write extensions as simple ruby scripts, doing things like adding native markdown support, allowing to edit local files, adding proper indentation to HN comments, etc. It's the perfect browser for me (and with cookies disabled and js, css and images not fetch nor executed, it's a good privacy browser as well). But of course, you won't be able to use that to buy something on the web. Still, it's surprising how much I can accomplish with just that.
bootcampwhere 6y ago
What a nonsensical comment. "I hate brave and what I hate most is that the stole the name"? Wtf?
morganvachon 6y ago
> I've disliked Brave from the beginning. As have I. The entire money making scheme behind it, while innovative, is a privacy nightmare. > Seriously, if you want a browser that gives you control over your data and privacy, use Firefox. It doesn't do any of this shady nonsense. Agreed, with the caveat that Firefox does have its own, completely different privacy issues[1][2]. Still, it's probably the best choice for a mainstream browser, and there are open source scripts out there[3] to plug up Firefox's few leaks. I used to use (and recommend) Waterfox as a more secure, private alternative to Firefox, but lately Firefox with Shawn's or a similar script applied is just as good. It's generally better to get FF from your operating system's repository and keep it updated that way rather than manually installing a fork. [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/shield?as=u&utm_source=inproduct https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/shield?as=u&utm_source=... [2] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/privacy/firefox/#health-report https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/privacy/firefox/#health-report [3] https://github.com/shawnanastasio/firefox-privacy-restorer https://github.com/shawnanastasio/firefox-privacy-restorer
- esperent 6y ago
  Your first link is about Firefox studies. I had never heard of these before, but when I go to about:studies, I see that I have never participated in any studies, and when I click the link from that page to "Firefox data collection and use" setting, I see that I am opted out from everything. Pretty sure I didn't do that manually. Your second link is to a page called "Firefox health report". I have no idea what conclusions I'm supposed to draw from that. Can you provide more info about the privacy violations you're referring to?
  - afiori 6y ago
    > but when I go to about:studies, I see that I have never participated in any studies Are you in the US? I also have not participated in any studies but in the preferences it is marked as active. My guess would be that they either run very few of them or are restricted to the US.
    - kop316 6y ago
hitpointdrew 6y ago
>I've disliked Brave from the beginning. Initially because of the pretentious - and frankly appropriated - name I always joked that if you were really Brave you wouldn't need their browser, it should be more aptly named "Wimp".
- Can_Not 6y ago
  I think a better joke would be how you would have to be brave to try a browser that vaguely uses cryptocurrency/blockchain in any way.
rattray 6y ago
How can I get these two features on Firefox: 1. Block scripts on certain domains 2. Block ads & tracking (including on Android) Those are my favorite Brave features. How do I get them on Firefox?
- rattray 6y ago
  Answering my own question, Firefox Android allows Add-Ons. So installing uBlock Origin for ad blocking and NoScript Security Suite for script blocking was trivial. So far so good, curious to see how it plays out...
  - rattray 6y ago
    And it turns out uBlock does allow you to block scripts on specific domains, so I don't even need NoScript. Nice.
- sozforex 6y ago
  Install "uBlock Origin" add-on, with "I am advanced user" enabled. And/or "uMatrix" for more fine-grained control.
- ciarannolan 6y ago
  On mobile: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fenix&hl=en_US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fe... + enable the extention "uBlock Origin" in the settings (not sure the exact steps while writing this, sorry) On desktop: regular Firefox + https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin... In uBlock Origin, there is a setting that disables Javascript by default (which I use). You can then enable it temporarily or permanently on a per-site basis.
  - rattray 6y ago
    Thank you! Was very easy. Liking this so far.
- pmoriarty 6y ago
BeniBoy 6y ago
I've met Johny Ryan and he seems like an honest and privacy-focused guy. He seems to really care about his work. I must admit that does not quite fit with a lot of the thing I've read about Brave over the years.

0xfffafaCrash 6y ago

Brave is trash, but to say Firefox hasn't done shady things is a bit of joke after the whole incident where they sent full site URLs and interaction data over to Cliqz's servers for a random sampling of users in Germany while being neither opt-in nor clear to the users about what data was being sent.

lopis 6y ago
Short sighted and terrible PR, yes, but to say that what Firefox was doing was shady, specially anything close to as shady as Brave, is being straight out disingenuous.
- 0xfffafaCrash 6y ago
  I was pretty clear about my stance on Brave in the first three words of my comment, but I'm skeptical of any interpretation of user privacy which is so eager to excuse sending user browsing history without asking as not "shady" but simply "short sighted and bad PR" just because Mozilla's the one doing it

stevehawk 6y ago

appropriated name?

bartread 6y ago
Yes: the concept of browsing the web with your privacy preserved has literally zero to do with the concept of bravery. The name is clearly a statement but not one that's ever made any sense to me.
- wmeredith 6y ago
  Not sure appropriated is the word you’re looking for.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - ilikehurdles 6y ago
    re-appropriated
- gsich 6y ago
  The other browsers don't have "normal" names either.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
    Chrome and Internet Explorer are both trivially descriptive names.
    - Grimm665 6y ago
      Internet Explorer maybe, but Chrome? I don't think "Chrome" screams web browser to me. "Safari" seems more trivial than Chrome.
      - sp332 6y ago
        https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=browser%20chrome https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=browser%20ch...
        esperent 6y ago
        Apparently the main reason Chrome has the name is that the dev team leads like fast cars and that was the initial project code name. The reference to "UI Chrome" was largely an accident. https://www.thewindowsclub.com/google-chrome-reason-revealed/ https://www.thewindowsclub.com/google-chrome-reason-revealed...

yaiNua9o 6y ago

Firefox prevents me from installing webextensions from sources and even forces me to send the code of my own extensions for my own usage to their webservices in order to use them. This is certainly not a browser that "gives you control over your data", when you're a hacker.

paulryanrogers 6y ago
You can load local extensions from about:debugging. They just won't be permanently installed. (Developer edition may be different.) And Chrome's local loading comes with a disable modal at every startup. So I'm curious what browser you consider worthy. Edit: forgot to mention you can install from 3p sources as I've done from my own site in the past. They just need to be signed by Mozilla first.
- nix23 6y ago
  >They just need to be signed by Mozilla first No they don't, xpinstall.signatures.required to false
  - yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
    Doesn't work on "normal" Firefox, does it? Only dev builds or the unbranded version without automatic updates.
    - nix23 6y ago
      Sorry true, should have mentioned that, just works on dev build's and some version from distributions.
- yaiNua9o 6y ago
  Yes, you can temporarily load extensions in firefox, but I certainly won't reload all my extensions manually at every startup :) I don't think there's really a good browser for both privacy and hacking. I use chromium when I have no choice (not sure what you're referring to concerning the disable modal ; if it's an issue with chromium too, I haven't hit it, and I have 11 extensions loaded from sources). But my "main browser until it's not enough" is elinks (slightly modified by me to fix ruby support and offer a few more api methods to extensions). I can write extensions as simple ruby scripts, doing things like adding native markdown support, allowing to edit local files, adding proper indentation to HN comments, etc. It's the perfect browser for me (and with cookies disabled and js, css and images not fetch nor executed, it's a good privacy browser as well). But of course, you won't be able to use that to buy something on the web. Still, it's surprising how much I can accomplish with just that.

bootcampwhere 6y ago

What a nonsensical comment. "I hate brave and what I hate most is that the stole the name"? Wtf?

morganvachon 6y ago

> I've disliked Brave from the beginning. As have I. The entire money making scheme behind it, while innovative, is a privacy nightmare. > Seriously, if you want a browser that gives you control over your data and privacy, use Firefox. It doesn't do any of this shady nonsense. Agreed, with the caveat that Firefox does have its own, completely different privacy issues[1][2]. Still, it's probably the best choice for a mainstream browser, and there are open source scripts out there[3] to plug up Firefox's few leaks. I used to use (and recommend) Waterfox as a more secure, private alternative to Firefox, but lately Firefox with Shawn's or a similar script applied is just as good. It's generally better to get FF from your operating system's repository and keep it updated that way rather than manually installing a fork. [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/shield?as=u&utm_source=inproduct https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/shield?as=u&utm_source=... [2] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/privacy/firefox/#health-report https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/privacy/firefox/#health-report [3] https://github.com/shawnanastasio/firefox-privacy-restorer https://github.com/shawnanastasio/firefox-privacy-restorer

esperent 6y ago
Your first link is about Firefox studies. I had never heard of these before, but when I go to about:studies, I see that I have never participated in any studies, and when I click the link from that page to "Firefox data collection and use" setting, I see that I am opted out from everything. Pretty sure I didn't do that manually. Your second link is to a page called "Firefox health report". I have no idea what conclusions I'm supposed to draw from that. Can you provide more info about the privacy violations you're referring to?
- afiori 6y ago
  > but when I go to about:studies, I see that I have never participated in any studies Are you in the US? I also have not participated in any studies but in the preferences it is marked as active. My guess would be that they either run very few of them or are restricted to the US.
  - kop316 6y ago

hitpointdrew 6y ago

>I've disliked Brave from the beginning. Initially because of the pretentious - and frankly appropriated - name I always joked that if you were really Brave you wouldn't need their browser, it should be more aptly named "Wimp".

Can_Not 6y ago
I think a better joke would be how you would have to be brave to try a browser that vaguely uses cryptocurrency/blockchain in any way.

rattray 6y ago

How can I get these two features on Firefox: 1. Block scripts on certain domains 2. Block ads & tracking (including on Android) Those are my favorite Brave features. How do I get them on Firefox?

rattray 6y ago
Answering my own question, Firefox Android allows Add-Ons. So installing uBlock Origin for ad blocking and NoScript Security Suite for script blocking was trivial. So far so good, curious to see how it plays out...
- rattray 6y ago
  And it turns out uBlock does allow you to block scripts on specific domains, so I don't even need NoScript. Nice.
sozforex 6y ago
Install "uBlock Origin" add-on, with "I am advanced user" enabled. And/or "uMatrix" for more fine-grained control.
ciarannolan 6y ago
On mobile: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fenix&hl=en_US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fe... + enable the extention "uBlock Origin" in the settings (not sure the exact steps while writing this, sorry) On desktop: regular Firefox + https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin... In uBlock Origin, there is a setting that disables Javascript by default (which I use). You can then enable it temporarily or permanently on a per-site basis.
- rattray 6y ago
  Thank you! Was very easy. Liking this so far.
pmoriarty 6y ago

BeniBoy 6y ago

I've met Johny Ryan and he seems like an honest and privacy-focused guy. He seems to really care about his work. I must admit that does not quite fit with a lot of the thing I've read about Brave over the years.