“It Has Become Spy Software”: Google Chrome Loves Tracking Cookies

Tsing

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A tech columnist with The Washington Post is urging everyone to switch to Firefox after discovering that Chrome accepts a ton of tracking cookies. Being that Google's main business is ads, that isn't much of a surprise, but the number of cookies collected in a single week may to surprising to users.

My tests of Chrome vs. Firefox unearthed a personal data caper of absurd proportions. In a week of Web surfing on my desktop, I discovered 11,189 requests for tracker “cookies” that Chrome would have ushered right onto my computer but were automatically blocked by Firefox. These little files are the hooks that data firms, including Google itself, use to follow what websites you visit so they can build profiles of your interests, income and personality.

The author admits that Firefox isn't a perfect alternative, but Mozilla has definitely been working hard to give users their privacy back. The company has proven that with options such as Enhanced Tracking Protection, which block cookies and storage access from third-party trackers.
 
Never used chrome, never will, nor the MS bastardised version.
 
I always figured that I should have switched away from chrome when they changed the text on their incognito window. But I haven't.

What is everyone using nowadays? There's gotta be better than edge and Firefox
 
I guess I don't care if "they" track me .. being poor white trash and all makes you not care about a lot of stuff :cautious:
 
Why is this different than any other company? They go where the money is. Information is money
 
Well, it is a Google product. It did not become spy software it was designed as spy software from the beginning.
 
chockomonkey said:
I always figured that I should have switched away from chrome when they changed the text on their incognito window. But I haven't.

What is everyone using nowadays? There's gotta be better than edge and Firefox
Click to expand...

Same boat. I can't get into Firefox for some reason, but maybe I just need to bite the bullet and use it for a month, see if it doesn't grow on me.

I still use Safari on OSX, it's not better than chrome, but I like it better than FF.
 
blkt said:
Firefox is no saint either; you will be spending a lot of time in about:config disabling a long list of entries if you want to have peace of mind.

These two browsers are my daily drivers: Waterfox and Pale Moon.
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I've used pale moon. Waterfox is new to me. I'll give it a shot. Ty
 
blkt said:
Firefox is no saint either; you will be spending a lot of time in about:config disabling a long list of entries if you want to have peace of mind.

These two browsers are my daily drivers: Waterfox and Pale Moon.
Click to expand...

I use Firefox myself but may try one of these. Thanks.
 
blkt said:
Firefox is no saint either; you will be spending a lot of time in about:config disabling a long list of entries if you want to have peace of mind.

These two browsers are my daily drivers: Waterfox and Pale Moon.
Click to expand...

Waterfox is just a repackaged older version of Firefox that maintains legacy plugin support, and changes some default settings to be more privacy minded than they are in Firefox.

There was a reason Mozilla got rid of legacy plugin support. It was a very insecure system. I wouldn't run with it.

Because it is built on older Firefox code it also misses out on many of the more recent optimizations and performance enhancements in the latest builds of Firefox.

If you google it is easy to find a list of default settings to change in Firefox to make it more secure. Only takes a few minutes, and then you can have your cake and eat it too.
 
Zarathustra said:
Waterfox is just a repackaged older version of Firefox that maintains legacy plugin support, and changes some default settings to be more privacy minded than they are in Firefox.
Click to expand...
You are wrong; really you need to do more research. Feel free to read Waterfox blog entries, their comments with answers and links to github (and its wiki) going back to November 2017 if you want to know more.

Zarathustra said:
There was a reason Mozilla got rid of legacy plugin support. It was a very insecure system. I wouldn't run with it.
Click to expand...
Please don't turn this into yet another discussion about what people shouldn't be using based on your opinions. This thread isn't about add-ons, extensions or plugins. Someone asked about alternatives and what's currently in use and I provided mine, each with their own merits. Maybe you can provide your suggested browser(s)?

Zarathustra said:
Because it is built on older Firefox code it also misses out on many of the more recent optimizations and performance enhancements in the latest builds of Firefox.
Click to expand...
As examples Rust, Quantum, Photon, Stylo and JavaScript optimizations have all been built or implemented in Waterfox for well over a year now. Alex Kontos has consistently, and frequently, brought in code from newer builds of Firefox (including the endless amount of security fixes). You cannot directly compare the version numbers between Firefox and Waterfox, especially for 56.x as a result of all this back porting. The current alpha is a different branch altogether.

Zarathustra said:
If you google it is easy to find a list of default settings to change in Firefox to make it more secure. Only takes a few minutes, and then you can have your cake and eat it too.
Click to expand...
I've done this as well; maybe we are not looking at the same lists or maybe our goals are not the same. It certainly did not take a just few minutes to lock down my brother's Firefox on his computer when he asked for help to end all telemetry, data collection, various privacy and security concerns. Firefox is great; configure it however you want.

In my experience Waterfox is faster, smoother with less things to worry about disabling (as they are completely missing from the executable). Alex didn't just run through different compiler options, change the defaults and slap a new logo on it. It's very far from that.

Pale Moon is great too and under heavy development. See Basilisk browser for the experimental branch.
 
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