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> Dropping it doesn't change the duplicity that existed for almost 2 decades. It was dropped in 2015, 17 years after Google's foundation. Are you saying they w

> Dropping it doesn't change the duplicity that existed for almost 2 decades. It was dropped in 2015, 17 years after Google's foundation. Are you saying they were evil from the beginning? I couldn't tell but at least for their first decade or so they seemed to be trying to do good. In any case, it's very different to be Google and evil vs. Mozilla/Firefox having a unique ID in some downloads. Why do I say some downloads? Because that ID is assigned when you click the link on their website's downloads page. If you get it from your package manager, which I suspect a very large portion of their user base does, you don't get uniquely identified. If you download from any mirror or otherwise free software download store, you don't get uniquely identified.

jqpabc123 4y ago
If you download from any mirror or otherwise free software download store, you don't get uniquely identified. What you are downloading in most cases is just an installer executable -- no software included. The installer pulls the actual software from Mozilla's server. Each copied served is given a unique ID and is unlike any other -- easily proven by hash or checksum (Mozilla calls this a "dltoken", see my reference above).
- cassianoleal 4y ago
  I've just sampled some mirror sites. - https://mozilla-firefox.fileplanet.com/ https://mozilla-firefox.fileplanet.com/ - Indeed it downloads a download manager. - https://download.cnet.com/Mozilla-Firefox/3000-2356_4-10208565.html https://download.cnet.com/Mozilla-Firefox/3000-2356_4-102085... - Downloads an installer. It's for an older version but shouldn't have the unique ID, and it should be able to update itself but I haven't tested. - https://techviral.net/firefox-offline-installer/ https://techviral.net/firefox-offline-installer/ - Also the installer, and for the latest version. That's 2 out of 3 without an unique ID. You have also conveniently glossed over the package manager angle, which I suspect is a pretty large slice of their user base.

jqpabc123 4y ago

If you download from any mirror or otherwise free software download store, you don't get uniquely identified. What you are downloading in most cases is just an installer executable -- no software included. The installer pulls the actual software from Mozilla's server. Each copied served is given a unique ID and is unlike any other -- easily proven by hash or checksum (Mozilla calls this a "dltoken", see my reference above).

cassianoleal 4y ago
I've just sampled some mirror sites. - https://mozilla-firefox.fileplanet.com/ https://mozilla-firefox.fileplanet.com/ - Indeed it downloads a download manager. - https://download.cnet.com/Mozilla-Firefox/3000-2356_4-10208565.html https://download.cnet.com/Mozilla-Firefox/3000-2356_4-102085... - Downloads an installer. It's for an older version but shouldn't have the unique ID, and it should be able to update itself but I haven't tested. - https://techviral.net/firefox-offline-installer/ https://techviral.net/firefox-offline-installer/ - Also the installer, and for the latest version. That's 2 out of 3 without an unique ID. You have also conveniently glossed over the package manager angle, which I suspect is a pretty large slice of their user base.