Best Browser to Replace Internet Explorer With?

woodbine said:

OK, thanks F22. I missed the vital info.

So, download Pale Moon browser, then select Classic Archive add-on and also select UAControl add-on - but change the code to the one you quoted? If I understand correctly.

I may be back with a few basic questions when I am starting the process of add-ons.

Exactly.

No. That's not code, that's a user agent sting. A UA is used with browsers, etc that says this is what type of OS and browser I have.

Make sure you keep that UA updated when new Firefox releases are announced. I gave a link on the releases directory so you can see, and here on this forum it's usually announced. So like I said, the current Firefox version is 73.

Also, some websites like YouTube will need a custom UA because it will say your browser isn't supported which is absolute garbage on Google's part.

The current UA you want for YouTube in Pale Moon is:

Code:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:62.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/62.0 (Pale Moon)

In the UAControl add-on you can set a UA for individual websites.

NoN said:

aha, made me laugh...indeed the plague is quite important now it has crossed the border. Ghostery made it somehow easier and one rule i got, is to get vaccine against pneumonia and others deseases of middle-ages that are appearing late years. Well, could be sniffed so that why they got the coronavirus? I use it without problems time to time. Of course there are plenty of browser chromium based like this one mentionned. But it is always a pain to find a good browser you feel alright with to handle.

If your interest is in Chromium-based browsers then check out Brave.

F22 Simpilot said:

Exactly.

No. That's not code, that's a user agent sting. A UA is used with browsers, etc that says this is what type of OS and browser I have.

Make sure you keep that UA updated when new Firefox releases are announced. I gave a link on the releases directory so you can see, and here on this forum it's usually announced. So like I said, the current Firefox version is 73.

Also, some websites like YouTube will need a custom UA because it will say your browser isn't supported which is absolute garbage on Google's part.

The current UA you want for YouTube in Pale Moon is:

Code:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:62.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/62.0 (Pale Moon)

In the UAControl add-on you can set a UA for individual websites.

Thanks Simpilot.


I'm getting a new external HD at end of week which I want to install before playing with anything. I'm a bit paranoid working on outdated and unsupported OS and browsers (currently Win7 and IE). No folders/files backed up at present so want to do that first.


When ext HD installed and all backed up, will download Pale Moon and poss be back to you with some questions about the improvements you have suggested.

Just keep in mind that like I already stated, Pale Moon is a niche browser and isn't Google's Chrome or Firefox and so websites may treat you differently. That's why changing the UA may help for those bastard UA sniffing websites, but not all. You will never be able to solve Google's Recaptcha with Pale Moon, and it's blatant browser discrimination. Especially since Pale Moon gets all the updates and security patches as well has defense in depth patches just like all the others.

Like now with Github. They told me they won't be supporting my browser anymore. I was using a UA that made it look like I was using Windows 10 and the latest Firefox. Yet if I make it look like I'm using the latest Chrome, no more nag screen. YouTube did the same crap and now there's this polymer thing and it's a PITA with Pale Moon.

Again, if you have any browser issues I advise you to go to the Pale Moon forums. Most of your Internet surfing with PM should be fine, but on occasion you have some idiot that coded a website like a potato and thus you may run into issues. Especially banking websites. They think they're increasing security or some damn thing, yet you hear about their database's getting jacked all the time.

If you don't want to futz with a niche browser that is really meant for a power user/dork like me, then look into Brave. It's Chromium based and they reportedly state it's security/privacy focused, but the use of Webextension-based add-ons blow that concept right out of the water.

F22 Simpilot said:

If you don't want to futz with a niche browser that is really meant for a power user/dork like me, then look into Brave. It's Chromium based and they reportedly state it's security/privacy focused, but the use of Webextension-based add-ons blow that concept right out of the water.

I have to start with an apology, Simpilot. I toyed with the idea of Pale Moon and felt it was a little involved for my basic pc skills. I had a go on Waterfox, but Youtube video playback wasn't quite there plus a few other annoyances. The supplementary bookmark menu seemed to be a pain as well.



Anyway, I tried Firefox 74/Quantum. I disabled telemetry and did a few other tweaks and it seems a reasonable replacement for IE. Doesn't seem quite as quick as Waterfox, but still a lot quicker than my old IE.


So, aplogies for wasting your time and ignoring your advice, but Firefox seems the best comprimise for me. Would have been happy to stay in my comfort zone with IE, but many sights now don't display properly or warn that soon they'll stop supporting it. Will see how I get on.


Thanks for your help, and anyone else who answered this thread.

Really impressed with the Firefox browser. Much faster than IE. Could be faster though, as I think my pc is slowing it down. Maybe pc needs some way of being made quicker, or even a second, dedicated GPU.

In addition to Brave that I mentioned, I discovered another browser called UnGoogled Chromium. This is a Chrome browser with Google crap striped out. Check it out here: Downloads for ungoogled-chromium

Project page is here: GitHub - Eloston/ungoogled-chromium: Google Chromium, sans integration with Google

woodbine said:

Really impressed with the Firefox browser. Much faster than IE. Could be faster though, as I think my pc is slowing it down. Maybe pc needs some way of being made quicker, or even a second, dedicated GPU.

If the specs for your computer here are correct, then it's probably due to that as it's really a slow machine with only an i3 CPU and not much RAM. You could probably build something a lot better for around $500/$600 using an AMD Ryzen CPU. Adding another GPU will more than likely not change anything. I think it's mostly a CPU issue.