Browsers

[Atruepatriot]

Thanks @Atruepatriot for the NoScript tip.

Found out Brave can do this by default and selectively through the Brave Shields icon (lion head to the right of the address bar). It's been helping a lot.

Another note about Brave: they introduced a "Copy Text From Image" function when right clicking an image, which autodetects the text and copies it for you. To demonstrate, check out the following image:


When using "Copy Text From Image," you get the following:

Matt Taibbi Retweeted
Matt Walsh
@MattWalshBlog
Is "misgendering" against the rules or not? You bought the company and
reinstated the Babylon Bee after a "misgendering" violation. Now you're
telling us that our film will be suppressed on those same grounds. This
makes no sense.
Elon Muske @elonmusk • 38m
Replying to @robbystarbuck @realDailyWire and 3 others
We're updating the system tomorrow so that those who follow @realDailyWire
will see this in their feed, but it won't be recommended to non-followers (nor
will any advertising be associated with it)
7:54 PM Jun 1, 2023 253.9K
Views

It's not perfect, but it's very useful for documenting/archiving screenshots.

Thank you for sharing! Yes, someone had told me that Brave now does similar to NoScript. But I have been locked in with NoScript for quite a few years now. I have it set to autoblock everything everywhere. Which adds inconvenience and extra work because many of the sites are broken right off the bat or will not load at all. Which is OK, this means it is actually working as it should. I can usually go and turn on the top "domain" script and most elements will load and work without having to whitelist all the others that were blocked. And if it wants to load up 40 new trackers after allowing that then I move on and find the info elsewhere, screw them.

But if Brave loads most sites without breaking them then it is allowing scripts that NoScript will not. And that alone would be a concern. Like here at TA, Even though we have no 3rd party APIs sourced from us directly my NoScript breaks the Javascript menu buttons. And it would break more except that phpBB is 99% php language with just a few minor JS elements such as menu icons sourced from the industry standard favicon. Until I allow the top "domain" listing here which allows the minimal JS to render.

I think the "Copy Text From Image," sounds like a great feature!!! I could have used that many many times! And it could be a great security feature. Reason being that one would not have to embed a 3rd party API image link. You could share what it says without making that direct connection back to the board! The two security issues I cannot cure here are the embedded image connections and the embedded Video connections. I have No Follow applied to external linked URLs so "most" of those are covered and hides us as referrers...

But as long as we want the embed features then we are stuck with those API connections. The sources will not allow you to use their embed feature without a two way connection.

[Macaque Mentality]

Thank you for sharing! Yes, someone had told me that Brave now does similar to NoScript. But I have been locked in with NoScript for quite a few years now. I have it set to autoblock everything everywhere. Which adds inconvenience and extra work because many of the sites are broken right off the bat or will not load at all. Which is OK, this means it is actually working as it should. I can usually go and turn on the top "domain" script and most elements will load and work without having to whitelist all the others that were blocked. And if it wants to load up 40 new trackers after allowing that then I move on and find the info elsewhere, screw them.

But if Brave loads most sites without breaking them then it is allowing scripts that NoScript will not. And that alone would be a concern. Like here at TA, Even though we have no 3rd party APIs sourced from us directly my NoScript breaks the Javascript menu buttons. And it would break more except that phpBB is 99% php language with just a few minor JS elements such as menu icons sourced from the industry standard favicon. Until I allow the top "domain" listing here which allows the minimal JS to render.

From my minimal testing I think that Brave's block scripts does break sites, which I saw as a good sign.

I think the "Copy Text From Image," sounds like a great feature!!! I could have used that many many times! And it could be a great security feature. Reason being that one would not have to embed a 3rd party API image link. You could share what it says without making that direct connection back to the board! The two security issues I cannot cure here are the embedded image connections and the embedded Video connections. I have No Follow applied to external linked URLs so "most" of those are covered and hides us as referrers...

But as long as we want the embed features then we are stuck with those API connections. The sources will not allow you to use their embed feature without a two way connection.

I hear you. I think @Swordsmyth will like this feature very much, actually, because so many people are turning to screenshots for many reasons.

Honestly, Brendan Eich really knows how to make a top-notch product. But he needs actual marketers on his team.

[Swordsmyth]

Brave Search just prioritized Infogalactic (Vox Day's fork) over Wikipedia. Brendan Eich might be starting to deliver...

Good news.

[Atruepatriot]

OK, guys... What exactly is this addon supposed to do? I'm actually not sure because of the "about" message. It is preventing the browser from data gathering when utilizing it for ZeroNet and others? Man... First thing ZeroNet really needs is to make it a self contained client like qTox so that a 3rd party browser is not needed anymore.

"Are you concerned about websites exposing your IP address on alternative networks? This add-on grants you an additional security measure with ease of use. You can now change what networks are allowed to load on a whim."

Screenshot from 2023-08-01 09-27-08.png

[Atruepatriot]

OK, guys... What exactly is this addon supposed to do? I'm actually not sure because of the "about" message. It is preventing the browser from data gathering when utilizing it for ZeroNet and others? Man... First thing ZeroNet really needs is to make it a self contained client like qTox so that a 3rd party browser is not needed anymore.

"Are you concerned about websites exposing your IP address on alternative networks? This add-on grants you an additional security measure with ease of use. You can now change what networks are allowed to load on a whim."

Screenshot from 2023-08-01 09-27-08.png

I got more:

"What it does is it lets you allow/deny alternative network and/or clearnet resources from loading in your browser. You can choose any combination. However, for some of these networks to be browse-able in your browser of choice, you'll have to use a file called wpad.dat. My ZeroMe post covers that. I should put the instructions elsewhere so it can't be missed.

The supported networks are: ZeroNet, Yggdrasil, IPFS, Tor, Lokinet, Freenet, Tahoe-LAFS, GNUnet, I2P and Clearnet.

I'm not certain all of them are usable in a web browser, but they have options to block or allow. I don't know much about Tahoe-LAFS and GNUnet.

However, it would be of no consequence to use the add-on anyway, as all of its functionality is locally loaded and executed. If you want to see what's in the XPI file, all you have to do is extract it. XPI files are in zip format."

[Swordsmyth]

Floorp Browser: Is It The Most Advanced Cross-Platform Firefox Derivative?

https://news.itsfoss.com/floorp-firefox/

[Machine Trooper]

https://searx.space

Bookmark this on your browser bar

To select an instance, type "US" in the countries box, pick a URL and bookmark it. I would rotate regularly, maybe bookmark several and choose one randomly. Sadly, this is the "best" solution I've found for after Brave becomes fully captured and unusable (we're 90% there).

The Bug-Eaters have targeted Web search, their fingerprints are all over this.

Yes, I think Clayton is absolutely correct about options. SearX is the way to go. I have been using a Searx instance in Belgium and getting better results for the US than I have ever gotten from other engines.

Even with a cursory test of SearX, what a breath of fresh air! It looks like it actually works!

OK so check this out. Prince Valiant and I both have been using the LibreWolf browser and I like it so far. It comes with Searx as the default engine but you can go pick which instance you would like to use. I am really liking the combination along with "NoScript" addon to stop all the hidden fingerprinting and tracking scripts. I think the combination is about as private and secure as we are going to get with what is available. From what I see so far it is a much more secure and private FireFox. I am hoping Clayton goes and gives it a try to see how he likes it. It may already be configured default as he likes it with holes plugged.

I've been trying to install LibreWolf on a Linux Mint laptop. First I had to get AppImageLauncher. I did, and installed it. I downloaded LibreWolf, but can't get it to install via the launcher. It's like the computer doesn't even acknowledge that the Launcher is installed. Can't find it on the dropdown of programs. Tried doing it from the terminal but no luck there, either. (From the terminal that installed the launcher, I typed "open" followed by the path and filename but it says "no such file or directory."

[Atruepatriot]

https://searx.space

Bookmark this on your browser bar

To select an instance, type "US" in the countries box, pick a URL and bookmark it. I would rotate regularly, maybe bookmark several and choose one randomly. Sadly, this is the "best" solution I've found for after Brave becomes fully captured and unusable (we're 90% there).

The Bug-Eaters have targeted Web search, their fingerprints are all over this.

Yes, I think Clayton is absolutely correct about options. SearX is the way to go. I have been using a Searx instance in Belgium and getting better results for the US than I have ever gotten from other engines.

Even with a cursory test of SearX, what a breath of fresh air! It looks like it actually works!

OK so check this out. Prince Valiant and I both have been using the LibreWolf browser and I like it so far. It comes with Searx as the default engine but you can go pick which instance you would like to use. I am really liking the combination along with "NoScript" addon to stop all the hidden fingerprinting and tracking scripts. I think the combination is about as private and secure as we are going to get with what is available. From what I see so far it is a much more secure and private FireFox. I am hoping Clayton goes and gives it a try to see how he likes it. It may already be configured default as he likes it with holes plugged.

I've been trying to install LibreWolf on a Linux Mint laptop. First I had to get AppImageLauncher. I did, and installed it. I downloaded LibreWolf, but can't get it to install via the launcher. It's like the computer doesn't even acknowledge that the Launcher is installed. Can't find it on the dropdown of programs. Tried doing it from the terminal but no luck there, either. (From the terminal that installed the launcher, I typed "open" followed by the path and filename but it says "no such file or directory."

Well you might want to hold off anyhow. I don't know about PV but I am finding it has a few problems I am not happy with. It slows down a LOT because it is heavy to begin with. And I think it is locking up my system. And... I think it does not like it if I use a different browser other than Librewolf and punishes me. lol

I have just now been trying to investigate it to see if it is truly Librewolf causing these problems or not. I have had nothing but bad luck lately with computers. I am now resorting to running a USB Mint install stick to even get online. Trying to fit repairs in my currently very busy move.

I should have made note here my friend, sorry about that, life is extremely hectic for me right now. As soon as I get a working computer again I will do some more testing and share more about how to install it, I don't exactly remember how I did it...

[Machine Trooper]

Well you might want to hold off anyhow. I don't know about PV but I am finding it has a few problems I am not happy with. It slows down a LOT because it is heavy to begin with. And I think it is locking up my system. And... I think it does not like it if I use a different browser other than Librewolf and punishes me. lol

I have just now been trying to investigate it to see if it is truly Librewolf causing these problems or not. I have had nothing but bad luck lately with computers. I am now resorting to running a USB Mint install stick to even get online. Trying to fit repairs in my currently very busy move.

I should have made note here my friend, sorry about that, life is extremely hectic for me right now. As soon as I get a working computer again I will do some more testing and share more about how to install it, I don't exactly remember how I did it...

Thanks, ATP. I will hold off. Is there anything better than Brave I should try in the meantime?

[Prince Valiant]

OK so check this out. Prince Valiant and I both have been using the LibreWolf browser and I like it so far. It comes with Searx as the default engine but you can go pick which instance you would like to use. I am really liking the combination along with "NoScript" addon to stop all the hidden fingerprinting and tracking scripts. I think the combination is about as private and secure as we are going to get with what is available. From what I see so far it is a much more secure and private FireFox. I am hoping Clayton goes and gives it a try to see how he likes it. It may already be configured default as he likes it with holes plugged.

I've been trying to install LibreWolf on a Linux Mint laptop. First I had to get AppImageLauncher. I did, and installed it. I downloaded LibreWolf, but can't get it to install via the launcher. It's like the computer doesn't even acknowledge that the Launcher is installed. Can't find it on the dropdown of programs. Tried doing it from the terminal but no luck there, either. (From the terminal that installed the launcher, I typed "open" followed by the path and filename but it says "no such file or directory."

Well you might want to hold off anyhow. I don't know about PV but I am finding it has a few problems I am not happy with. It slows down a LOT because it is heavy to begin with. And I think it is locking up my system. And... I think it does not like it if I use a different browser other than Librewolf and punishes me. lol

I have just now been trying to investigate it to see if it is truly Librewolf causing these problems or not. I have had nothing but bad luck lately with computers. I am now resorting to running a USB Mint install stick to even get online. Trying to fit repairs in my currently very busy move.

I should have made note here my friend, sorry about that, life is extremely hectic for me right now. As soon as I get a working computer again I will do some more testing and share more about how to install it, I don't exactly remember how I did it...

@Machine Trooper

Mine is working great. No problems. I do keep Firefox around just in case, but I use LibreWolf almost exclusively.
It is in the repositories. Mint will install and update it for you automatically.
If you have Linux Mint installed, just open the Software Manager (Menu button/All Applications/scroll down to Software Manager). Type LibreWolf into the search bar for the Software Manager. It should come up. Click on it. Tell it to install.

That should be it!

If it doesn't have any Searx instances already in it, you can go to these and add them:

https://searx.be/ (Belgium)

https://searx.thegpm.org/

You might also want to add these for a different spin on your searches:

Yandex.com: https://yandex.com/search?lr=20991

Yandex.ru: https://yandex.ru/search?lr=20991


I figure any spin the Russians have on searches won't be in total lockstep with our censorship.

[Atruepatriot]

Well you might want to hold off anyhow. I don't know about PV but I am finding it has a few problems I am not happy with. It slows down a LOT because it is heavy to begin with. And I think it is locking up my system. And... I think it does not like it if I use a different browser other than Librewolf and punishes me. lol

I have just now been trying to investigate it to see if it is truly Librewolf causing these problems or not. I have had nothing but bad luck lately with computers. I am now resorting to running a USB Mint install stick to even get online. Trying to fit repairs in my currently very busy move.

I should have made note here my friend, sorry about that, life is extremely hectic for me right now. As soon as I get a working computer again I will do some more testing and share more about how to install it, I don't exactly remember how I did it...

Thanks, ATP. I will hold off. Is there anything better than Brave I should try in the meantime?

I am back in the saddle with a ten year old back up laptop. But still have to run all my security settings. lol

Honestly I am in the same position myself with browsers, I think are all having the same problem finding a good one that can be trusted.. There isn't much out there available that can truly be trusted. Clayton and I have talked about this universal problem. EVERYONE is collecting and selling, even Brave. So I have realized Firefox isn't any worse than all the rest. But... At least with a little work it does let you make some very fine personal security adjustments that will protect you from pretty much all of the third parties you browse. Those settings and the NoScript Suite extension make it pretty tight.

The thing I didn't like about Brave was the default "take it as is" bundle lacking a lot of personal detailed security settings. It pretty much puts you in their hands and you have to trust them. At least with FF it will let you get right down to the detailed nitty gritty like Clayton has shared in the past. And the NoScript blocks EVERYTHING by default when you hit a page, not just ads. But it has a mild learning curve to get used to the minimal scripts that do need to be turned on to have the site load or have the media play. Needing to "allow" one or two is common to make a page, images, or media work at minimal state, but at least it is blocking the sometimes 75 other trackers and fingerprinters.

Nothing is "easy" anymore when it comes to true security on browsers as a default package.

[Prince Valiant]

Well you might want to hold off anyhow. I don't know about PV but I am finding it has a few problems I am not happy with. It slows down a LOT because it is heavy to begin with. And I think it is locking up my system. And... I think it does not like it if I use a different browser other than Librewolf and punishes me. lol

I have just now been trying to investigate it to see if it is truly Librewolf causing these problems or not. I have had nothing but bad luck lately with computers. I am now resorting to running a USB Mint install stick to even get online. Trying to fit repairs in my currently very busy move.

I should have made note here my friend, sorry about that, life is extremely hectic for me right now. As soon as I get a working computer again I will do some more testing and share more about how to install it, I don't exactly remember how I did it...

Thanks, ATP. I will hold off. Is there anything better than Brave I should try in the meantime?

Sorry for the double post guys, but I did the first one in a way @Machine Trooper wouldn't get notified, so here it is again:


Mine is working great. No problems. I do keep Firefox around just in case, but I use LibreWolf almost exclusively.
It is in the repositories. Mint will install and update it for you automatically.
If you have Linux Mint installed, just open the Software Manager (Menu button/All Applications/scroll down to Software Manager). Type LibreWolf into the search bar for the Software Manager. It should come up. Click on it. Tell it to install.

That should be it!

If it doesn't have any Searx instances already in it, you can go to these and add them:

https://searx.be/ (Belgium)

https://searx.thegpm.org/

You might also want to add these for a different spin on your searches:

Yandex.com: https://yandex.com/search?lr=20991

Yandex.ru: https://yandex.ru/search?lr=20991


I figure any spin the Russians have on searches won't be in total lockstep with our censorship.

[Atruepatriot]

OK so check this out. Prince Valiant and I both have been using the LibreWolf browser and I like it so far. It comes with Searx as the default engine but you can go pick which instance you would like to use. I am really liking the combination along with "NoScript" addon to stop all the hidden fingerprinting and tracking scripts. I think the combination is about as private and secure as we are going to get with what is available. From what I see so far it is a much more secure and private FireFox. I am hoping Clayton goes and gives it a try to see how he likes it. It may already be configured default as he likes it with holes plugged.

I've been trying to install LibreWolf on a Linux Mint laptop. First I had to get AppImageLauncher. I did, and installed it. I downloaded LibreWolf, but can't get it to install via the launcher. It's like the computer doesn't even acknowledge that the Launcher is installed. Can't find it on the dropdown of programs. Tried doing it from the terminal but no luck there, either. (From the terminal that installed the launcher, I typed "open" followed by the path and filename but it says "no such file or directory."

Well you might want to hold off anyhow. I don't know about PV but I am finding it has a few problems I am not happy with. It slows down a LOT because it is heavy to begin with. And I think it is locking up my system. And... I think it does not like it if I use a different browser other than Librewolf and punishes me. lol

I have just now been trying to investigate it to see if it is truly Librewolf causing these problems or not. I have had nothing but bad luck lately with computers. I am now resorting to running a USB Mint install stick to even get online. Trying to fit repairs in my currently very busy move.

I should have made note here my friend, sorry about that, life is extremely hectic for me right now. As soon as I get a working computer again I will do some more testing and share more about how to install it, I don't exactly remember how I did it...

@Machine Trooper

Mine is working great. No problems. I do keep Firefox around just in case, but I use LibreWolf almost exclusively.
It is in the repositories. Mint will install and update it for you automatically.
If you have Linux Mint installed, just open the Software Manager (Menu button/All Applications/scroll down to Software Manager). Type LibreWolf into the search bar for the Software Manager. It should come up. Click on it. Tell it to install.

That should be it!

If it doesn't have any Searx instances already in it, you can go to these and add them:

https://searx.be/ (Belgium)

https://searx.thegpm.org/

You might also want to add these for a different spin on your searches:

Yandex.com: https://yandex.com/search?lr=20991

Yandex.ru: https://yandex.ru/search?lr=20991


I figure any spin the Russians have on searches won't be in total lockstep with our censorship.

Yes, that is where I got it! And it makes it easy to also uninstall it using the software manager if you don't like it!

It was causing my system to drag, I think they have too much running in the background all the time. But I liked it.

It might be fine. After thinking about it I think my problems came from something Starlink gave me, not Librewolf.

[Atruepatriot]

Well you might want to hold off anyhow. I don't know about PV but I am finding it has a few problems I am not happy with. It slows down a LOT because it is heavy to begin with. And I think it is locking up my system. And... I think it does not like it if I use a different browser other than Librewolf and punishes me. lol

I have just now been trying to investigate it to see if it is truly Librewolf causing these problems or not. I have had nothing but bad luck lately with computers. I am now resorting to running a USB Mint install stick to even get online. Trying to fit repairs in my currently very busy move.

I should have made note here my friend, sorry about that, life is extremely hectic for me right now. As soon as I get a working computer again I will do some more testing and share more about how to install it, I don't exactly remember how I did it...

Thanks, ATP. I will hold off. Is there anything better than Brave I should try in the meantime?

Sorry for the double post guys, but I did the first one in a way @Machine Trooper wouldn't get notified, so here it is again:


Mine is working great. No problems. I do keep Firefox around just in case, but I use LibreWolf almost exclusively.
It is in the repositories. Mint will install and update it for you automatically.
If you have Linux Mint installed, just open the Software Manager (Menu button/All Applications/scroll down to Software Manager). Type LibreWolf into the search bar for the Software Manager. It should come up. Click on it. Tell it to install.

That should be it!

If it doesn't have any Searx instances already in it, you can go to these and add them:

https://searx.be/ (Belgium)

https://searx.thegpm.org/

You might also want to add these for a different spin on your searches:

Yandex.com: https://yandex.com/search?lr=20991

Yandex.ru: https://yandex.ru/search?lr=20991


I figure any spin the Russians have on searches won't be in total lockstep with our censorship.

I think it comes default with a Belgium Searx instance. Have you noticed though that the U.S. results are starting to fade away from that one? I need to add a different one.

[Prince Valiant]

@Machine Trooper

Mine is working great. No problems. I do keep Firefox around just in case, but I use LibreWolf almost exclusively.
It is in the repositories. Mint will install and update it for you automatically.
If you have Linux Mint installed, just open the Software Manager (Menu button/All Applications/scroll down to Software Manager). Type LibreWolf into the search bar for the Software Manager. It should come up. Click on it. Tell it to install.

That should be it!

If it doesn't have any Searx instances already in it, you can go to these and add them:

https://searx.be/ (Belgium)

https://searx.thegpm.org/

You might also want to add these for a different spin on your searches:

Yandex.com: https://yandex.com/search?lr=20991

Yandex.ru: https://yandex.ru/search?lr=20991


I figure any spin the Russians have on searches won't be in total lockstep with our censorship.

Yes, that is where I got it! And it makes it easy to also uninstall it using the software manager if you don't like it!

It was causing my system to drag, I think they have too much running in the background all the time. But I liked it.

It might be fine. After thinking about it I think my problems came from something Starlink gave me, not Librewolf.

[Prince Valiant]

I think it comes default with a Belgium Searx instance. Have you noticed though that the U.S. results are starting to fade away from that one? I need to add a different one.

I hadn't noticed particularly, but you could be right. I like having the two I posted.


I don't know how recent this is, but this link has a list with a number of Searx instances:

https://searx.space/

[Atruepatriot]

I think it comes default with a Belgium Searx instance. Have you noticed though that the U.S. results are starting to fade away from that one? I need to add a different one.

I hadn't noticed particularly, but you could be right. I like having the two I posted.


I don't know how recent this is, but this link has a list with a number of Searx instances:

https://searx.space/

The problem is finding time to go try them all out to find the best...

[Prince Valiant]

The problem is finding time to go try them all out to find the best...

Lol! That's for sure!

Got to go ATP. Goodnight my friend!

[Atruepatriot]

The problem is finding time to go try them all out to find the best...

Lol! That's for sure!

Got to go ATP. Goodnight my friend!

Back at you! Thank you for the input!

[Prince Valiant]

Mine is working great. No problems. I do keep Firefox around just in case, but I use LibreWolf almost exclusively.
It is in the repositories. Mint will install and update it for you automatically.
If you have Linux Mint installed, just open the Software Manager (Menu button/All Applications/scroll down to Software Manager). Type LibreWolf into the search bar for the Software Manager. It should come up. Click on it. Tell it to install.

That should be it!

If it doesn't have any Searx instances already in it, you can go to these and add them:

https://searx.be/ (Belgium)

https://searx.thegpm.org/

You might also want to add these for a different spin on your searches:

Yandex.com: https://yandex.com/search?lr=20991

Yandex.ru: https://yandex.ru/search?lr=20991


I figure any spin the Russians have on searches won't be in total lockstep with our censorship.

Were you able to get it to work Machine Trooper?