Gyroscopic Investing

A tech columnist's latest privacy experiment found Google Chrome ushered more than 11,000 tracker cookies into our browser — in a single week.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technolo ... me-switch/

Firefox is nice.

Yes, I use Firefox, Ad Block Plus, and set my default search engine to Duck Duck Go. However, I assume it’s only marginally better and nothing is going to be perfect. Occasionally a site won’t work and I’ll have to use Chrome in an incognito window.

MangoMan wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:19 am I have been using Opera for several years. Faster, lighter weight and based on Chromium so it feels similar to Chrome. You can even install Chrome extensions after installing an add-on. Also has a built-in, free VPN.

I was using opera on my tablet until I had issues with Opera Loading. Then I found out Opera had been sold.

https://restoreprivacy.com/secure-browser/

MangoMan wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:19 am I have been using Opera for several years. Faster, lighter weight and based on Chromium so it feels similar to Chrome. You can even install Chrome extensions after installing an add-on. Also has a built-in, free VPN.

I've had quite good success with Firefox, Safari and Nord VPN.

Yeah, Safari is better than it used to be.

One thing that helped is that the web changed. Fewer sites use Flash
{ I’m talking to you, Vanguard portfolio watch}
- wasn’t Apple among the first to deprecate it?
HTML5, or whatever they’re using, is good.

I do love adblock for chrome.

I've recently started using the Adblock Browser (not to be confused with any Adblock plugin) on my phone. I believe it's a barebones version of Firefox with DuckDuckGo as the default browser. I'm a light user of the web on my phone and it's been great so far.

For your phone there is also Firefox Focus, which is "a dedicated privacy browser with tracking protection and content blocking".

flyingpylon wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:24 pm For your phone there is also Firefox Focus, which is "a dedicated privacy browser with tracking protection and content blocking".

Just remember, all who use that, it’s *one* tab. I went nuts trying to figure out how to open a second.

Yes, Firefox is fantastic these days. I swapped awhile back myself because of security and performance reasons. Firefox is actually more performant than Chrome these days. It took me awhile to get used to the FF developer tools because I had been developing primarily against Chrome for so many years. But aside from that it was a very smooth transition.

Mountaineer wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:16 am I've had quite good success with Firefox, Safari and Nord VPN.

Nord's on sale right now.

If you get Firefox & use Duckduckgo as the default browser, is that sufficient for privacy purposes or is it worth also paying for Nord VPN?

Nord sounds like a bombproof solution, but it is $$ (and another login, account etc).

WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue Jul 30, 2019 12:18 pm If you get Firefox & use Duckduckgo as the default browser, is that sufficient for privacy purposes or is it worth also paying for Nord VPN?

Nord sounds like a bombproof solution, but it is $$ (and another login, account etc).

Browser tools can help prevent your browser from being tracked; VPNs can help prevent you from being tracked by your IP address. They're largely orthogonal.

WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue Jul 30, 2019 12:18 pm If you get Firefox & use Duckduckgo as the default browser, is that sufficient for privacy purposes or is it worth also paying for Nord VPN?

Nord sounds like a bombproof solution, but it is $$ (and another login, account etc).

For me, it's enough at home. However, I plan to use it (Nord) in areas if unsecured wifi away form home.
Honestly, though, I don't know if I'm going to keep the subscription.

WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue Jul 30, 2019 12:18 pm If you get Firefox & use Duckduckgo as the default browser, is that sufficient for privacy purposes or is it worth also paying for Nord VPN?

Nord sounds like a bombproof solution, but it is $$ (and another login, account etc).

It is a good start.
It depends on what you want to keep Private.
Operating system, browser, spyware, cookies, Location,spyware tracking, or a fakebook-twitter?
For surfing the internet I use a Linux based operating system on a USB drive.
So every time I boot my computer it is like a new system, Without my previous history and when I shut down everything goes away, (passwords, cookies,) all your browsing History.
Of course your ISP will know where you have been. That is were a VPN comes in.

shekels wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 8:35 am

WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue Jul 30, 2019 12:18 pm If you get Firefox & use Duckduckgo as the default browser, is that sufficient for privacy purposes or is it worth also paying for Nord VPN?

Nord sounds like a bombproof solution, but it is $$ (and another login, account etc).

It is a good start.
It depends on what you want to keep Private.
Operating system, browser, spyware, cookies, Location,spyware tracking, or a fakebook-twitter?
For surfing the internet I use a Linux based operating system on a USB drive.
So every time I boot my computer it is like a new system, Without my previous history and when I shut down everything goes away, (passwords, cookies,) all your browsing History.
Of course your ISP will know where you have been. That is were a VPN comes in.

Also any site (including sites with multi-site trackers like Facebook) can recognize you via your IP address and probably also your browser fingerprint.

Xan wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 9:13 am Also any site (including sites with multi-site trackers like Facebook) can recognize you via your IP address and probably also your browser fingerprint.

The VPN doesn't show a different, "virtual" IP address?

Sorry; I was addressing this part:

"Of course your ISP will know where you have been. That is were a VPN comes in."

by pointing out that a VPN fixes privacy issues above and beyond just your own ISP.

Ah, ok.
From what I read -- and I know a fraction what you know; I just have a casual interest in trying -- the free VPNs are not really worth exploring. Part of the reason for that is that while your ISP no longer knows where you're browsing, your VPN does. Therefore, choose a trustworthy VPN. Of course, any of them could unwittingly have a Paige Thompson type in their employ. Can't do much about that any more than you can stop holding credit cards.

Nord has a really good reputation and I believe that they don't log or pay attention to browsing, so no probelm there. And, in fact, I don't worry about an ISP knowing my surfing habits in the first place. The thrill of streaming Norwegian Netflix by faking an IP has dissipated.

I don't know why Mountaineer uses his, but for me, it would strictly be for using unfamiliar wi-fi hotspots.

In fact, on a Mac desktop, you are instructed to supply NordVPN with your keychain password which is p the login to the computer itself. Nord's great reputation notwithstanding, that feels like giving up a lot of privacy at home to gain a little extra safety at Starbucks. I'll stick to using it for mobile devices.

I haven't taken the VPS step myself, but I probably should. My ISP, horrifyingly, is Google.

Xan wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 12:27 pm I haven't taken the VPS step myself, but I probably should. My ISP, horrifyingly, is Google.

Oh my gosh, I would let Google put a big camera in my bathroom if they would be my ISP, provided Internet is on the house. Very happy with them as my cellular provider.

dualstow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 12:30 pm

Xan wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 12:27 pm I haven't taken the VPS step myself, but I probably should. My ISP, horrifyingly, is Google.

Oh my gosh, I would let Google put a big camera in my bathroom if they would be my ISP, provided Internet is on the house. Very happy with them as my cellular provider.

It's been really great. One of my concerns about a VPN (I've been saying VPS; that's not right) is what it would do to my network performance. This is really low latency, gigabit upstream and down. It'll be hard for a VPN to keep up!

Xan wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 12:38 pm

dualstow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 12:30 pm {Re: google is your ISP, wow}

It's been really great. One of my concerns about a VPN (I've been saying VPS; that's not right) is what it would do to my network performance. This is really low latency, gigabit upstream and down. It'll be hard for a VPN to keep up!

Perhaps you could just turn it on once in awhile when you feel you need it and then turn it back off for speed.

dualstow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 12:55 pm Perhaps you could just turn it on once in awhile when you feel you need it and then turn it back off for speed.

That's what I used to do when I used a VPN. Wasn't a big hassle!

drumminj wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 9:44 pm

dualstow wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2019 12:55 pm Perhaps you could just turn it on once in awhile when you feel you need it and then turn it back off for speed.

That's what I used to do when I used a VPN. Wasn't a big hassle!

I'd prefer to have the router do the VPN-ing, so that it would apply to all machines in the house without anybody having to think about it. It should be possible...