4 ms·
Browser De-Slop
- crassus_ed 1mo agoOr just use LibreWolf. I've been using it for quite a while now and it has been great.
- RunSet 1mo agoLibrewolf is Firefox with user-respecting default settings. It even includes and enables uBlock Origin. Presumably the Google money is what keeps Firefox from doing the same.
- scarylooking 1mo ago“I wouldn’t know, since I use a real operating system.” aaaand stop reading there. No thanks.
- xnx 1mo agoOne man's bloat is another man's feature. (Sidenote: Over/misuse of the word "slop")
- blkhawk 1mo agoI concur with the misuse of the word "slop". But this is almost exactly how i setup my browser anyway and since I only do that on once i am nor sure how useful this is actually... maybe for setting up systems for others?
- cullumsmith 1mo agoI find it most useful for a shared family computer with multiple users, but I also appreciate any type of config-as-code where possible
- coldpie 1mo agoYeah, I was gonna say. These are reasonable defaults for a technical user and I do much of the same, but it's also reasonable for many users to want the features that are being disabled here. It's not slop just because the author personally does not want them.
- duskdozer 1mo agoMultiple machines, multiple instances or profiles
- purpleflame1257 1mo ago"Allegedly, these policies are also supported on Windows via Group Policy and MacOS using plist files. I wouldn’t know, since I use a real operating system." Real 2006 Slashdot energy here. Very rare to see in the wild these days.
- cullumsmith 1mo agoThere are some wandering sages who still practice the old ways.
- coldpie 1mo agoIf you go from using Linux for years to having to use an OS like macOS or especially Windows, it really does feel like using a computer with padded walls and safety scissors so you don't hurt yourself. You do get used to the limitations eventually, but for technical users it's a pretty noticeable step down in terms of how you may use and configure your own system. Calling them "not real operating systems" is definitely a little cheeky, but it resonates, and isn't out of character for a blog post about configuring your browser with JSON overrides.
- bayesnet 1mo ago> … for technical users it's a pretty noticeable step down in terms of how you may use and configure your own system It’s such a frustrating experience on both ends—I use macOS for most of my work because I like the hardware it ships on, but it is so annoying to not be able to, like, use a different window manager (hacky accessibility API systems notwithstanding). On the other hand I’ve probably burnt weeks troubleshooting and configuring different compositors/window managers on Arch (and STILL don’t have the setup of my dreams), so it’s frustrating on that end too.
- coldpie 1mo agoI have to use macOS for work. The window manager is so bad it makes me feel like a crazy person. They actually ship it like this on purpose?
- gampleman 1mo agoAnyone know where to put the policy file on MacOS? And can you do this even on a corporate machine?
- cullumsmith 1mo agoI think most people use an enterprise MDM like JAMF or Intune, but manually creating the file at /Library/Managed Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist might also work.
- thesuitonym 1mo agoIf you have write permission to the folder, you can do this on a corporate machine, but your IT department probably has a preferred configuration that will overwrite your changes. In short: Ask your system administrator.
- alance 1mo agoThe firefox bit has these: > Disables native privacy and anti-tracking features > Disables DNS-over-HTTPS Why?
- cullumsmith 1mo agoI prefer to let uBlock handle all the blocking. Also I run my own DNS server where I have my own blocklists and internal records etc.
- coldpie 1mo agoWith DNS-over-HTTPS, your DNS queries are sent to Cloudflare (by default; it is configurable). Without it, your DNS queries are sent to your ISP. The question is which company you trust more with your DNS queries. Given how often ISPs and/or countries do stupid things with DNS, I think DNS-over-HTTPS is a reasonable default. But some people don't trust Cloudflare with that info, so they use the ISP option instead. Both are reasonable choices.
- MadameMinty 1mo agoWith DNS-over-HTTPS, that is only for Firefox. Chrome doesn't do that.
- coldpie 1mo agoInteresting! More reading here: https://blog.chromium.org/2020/05/a-safer-and-more-private-browsing-DoH.html https://blog.chromium.org/2020/05/a-safer-and-more-private-b... Looks like they try to choose a D-o-H provider that is associated with your plain DNS provider, instead of just jumping straight to Cloudflare.
- MadameMinty 1mo agoYup, iirc Mozilla made a deal with Cloudflare to... not do that.
- protoster 1mo ago
- OroPla 1mo ago> Disables all extra functionality (Pocket Wasn't Pocket discontinued and no longer exists?
- VCFundedGenYer 1mo agoDon't use regular Firefox. Use Waterfox or LibreWolf which rip all this out with prejudice. Not worth the endless rat chase of disabling settings. As for Chromium browsers, none of them are safe.
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- mechazawa 1mo ago> Disables DNS-over-HTTPS Why though?
- rapatel0 1mo agoWhy DNS over HTTPS? Not sure if i'm missing something, but i don't consider privacy protection slopware.
- cullumsmith 1mo agoI run a local DNS server that has its own blocklists, internal DNS records, etc. I imagine most people who might bother to deploy an enterprise browser policy do something similar.
- thesuitonym 1mo agoUnless you're running your own local DoH server, it's just privacy theater, and not even good theater. It's the same bogus argument made in favor of retail VPNs. "Encrypt your traffic so your ISP can't spy on you!" Meanwhile failing to recognize that you're just moving the spying agency to some free service owned by--oh, let's look at the top providers... Cloudflare (not great), Brave (advertising company), Google (Bad)... Need I go on? Perhaps you've forgotten that old adage: if you're not the customer, you're the product.
- sandcat_ 1mo agoSecurity theatre is far too strong. It’s not perfect but it does solve real world, actively exploited privacy flaws, such as ISPs monitoring and selling insights from DNS, NXDOMAIN hijacking, etc. Your internet traffic is all MITMd by Cloudflare anyway. Using their DNS barely moves the needle.
- theturtle 1mo ago[dead]
- rafram 1mo agoMost of these are not good choices for most people. And "I use a real operating system" alongside a list of seven different non-obvious and seemingly arbitrary config locations is pretty funny.
- hmokiguess 1mo agoI have been using https://helium.computer/ https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot
- MadameMinty 1mo agoSlop. "I use a real operating system" but lists Chrome, as if that was any better in its own category; mentioning policies that are long dead (Cloud Print? Pocket? Really?) or harmless (DoH). Ironic.
- Throwthrowbob 1mo agoI use user.js to harden the browser settings but this is local to the user's account. It's good that someone is describing using policies. I ended up a bunch of trial and error while looking at copies of the prefs.js file in the browser profile folder to determine what settings correlate to settings in the browser, when I couldn't search for the feature.