Solved Chrome Browser

[bej]

I went to my banking site to pay a bill. Bill pay said they only accept certain browsers and Pale Moon was not one of them. So, having two laptops and a desktop I downloaded Chrome and dedicated one laptop to the bank site. I do nothing else with the laptop except pay bills. I dislike Google and Chrome because of security concerns but, am i being paranoid and silly for these concerns ?

 

[Snick]

bej

In my opinion I don't like Chrome. I do use Google.

I use Firefox Quantum x64.
Addons: Disconnect, uBlock Origin, Cookie AutoDelete, Disable HTML AutoPlay, Privacy Badger, and Facebook Container (you have to enable this in one of the add-ons I believe it is Cookie AutoDelete)

August 20, 2020 article 7 Most Secure Browsers - Secure & Private Browsing

AVs Avast Free, Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware (MAR) Stand-Alone, Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit (MAE) Stand-Alone.
If you opt for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium (paid for), MAR & MAE are included.

Snick

 

[file3456]

Grab your self the great Chrome alternative for your bank. It's called UnGoogled Chromium. This is a Chromium based browser but completely striped of all Google crap. Just don't add any extensions to it, etc and keep it as is and update it as you go and it'll suffice.

I use Pale Moon myself and for the most part I can get by tricking websites into thinking I'm using Chrome of Firefox with an addon called UAControl. But sometimes that doesn't work. There's like other metrics websites are seeing that I'm still trying to figure out so that I can spoof them. Even so, Pale Moon may not function right on that website that was designed for the masses of Firefox/Chrome/Edge users. Really a shame how some websites feel us niche browser users are inferior. And trying to solve Recaptcha in Pale Moon? Forgetabouit. Google blatantly discriminates on browser choice. That's why I like Hcaptcha. It's not the best, but at least I can still solve the stupid thing.

Downloads for ungoogled-chromium

GitHub - Eloston/ungoogled-chromium: Google Chromium, sans integration with Google

Note, Github (now owned by Microsoft. What a metaphor) does not like Pale Moon either. Scan all downloads at Virus Total. If you see four or more hits, report it. Since Virus Total uses so many anti-virus engines, false positives are likely to occur. And do note that Virus Total gets malware samples from the U.S. Cyber Command.

See that wording there called a SHA256 hash? After you submit the file to Virus Total it'll give the file's SHA256 hash. If the first and last three characters don't match what the download page says, then the download has been tampered with. Don't use it. YOU can also check files hashes with the program HashCalc. Just thought you should know that in the sense of security.

 

[file3456]

I do use Google.

Check out SwissCows. You should be able to go to your search engine bar and add the SwissCows search engine. Swisscows die alternative, datensichere Suchmaschine.

On my Android phone I use the DuckDuckGo browser for what ever that's worth. As it is, using a "smart" phone is a privacy nightmare. But I control what I use it for.

Edit-

The fact that article lists Firefox as number one is a joke! There's all kinds of forced telemetry emanating out of the core code in that thing. It really should be Pale Moon, really. I sniff my network and if the about start page is set to blank there is no BS at all. Now adding add-ons is another matter...

 

[Snick]

F22 Simpilot

 

[RolandJS]

Snick, can you email Facebook Container url for Chromebook or Google Chrome? At school, I can't find FC anywhere.

 

[Snick]

Snick, can you email Facebook Container url for Chromebook or Google Chrome? At school, I can't find FC anywhere.

There's no official Chrome Facebook Container Add-on like Firefox. I did find this purported workaround at quora.com. Another reason I prefer Firefox over Chrome. I like all the about:config tweaks and the add-ons
Does Chrome have a feature similar to Firefox 'container' tabs ...

Snick

 

[bej]

Original Post

Lots of suggestions but, is anyone going to answer the Originaly question ?

 

[z3r010]

Lots of suggestions but, is anyone going to answer the Originaly question ?

Ok

I dislike Google and Chrome because of security concerns but, am i being paranoid and silly for these concerns ?

Yes, at the end of the day Google is a well regulated company based in a country where you can be held accountable, can you same the same for one of these unblundled browsers made by a teams of random folks on the internet or some company based in China?


I'd stick with Chrome.

 

[Snick]

I went to my banking site to pay a bill. Bill pay said they only accept certain browsers and Pale Moon was not one of them. So, having two laptops and a desktop I downloaded Chrome and dedicated one laptop to the bank site. I do nothing else with the laptop except pay bills. I dislike Google and Chrome because of security concerns but, am i being paranoid and silly for these concerns ?

You can read a plethora of opinions on the best, or most secure browser, each one has it's good and bad points, pretty much a personal choice in my opinion. I believe you may be on the paranoid side using only one computer for banking and paying bills. Your connections to those sites should be HTTPS. HTTP vs HTTPS: What's the Difference? Being that responses to your original post have no definitive choice, well, that speaks for itself.

As I said I use Firefox Quantum. I have Add-ons to FF, and Anti-Virus, Anti-Ransomware, & Anti-exploit installed & am comfortable with it. I do have a smartphone but never do banking or credit card purchases with it.

Several suggestions, opinions, and recommendations have been provided. If you don't like Google for your search engine you can use others such as Duck Duck Go which has been around for a long time & is included on Firefox as a default search engine choice.

Best suggestion I can make is it is a personal choice. Do your homework, in whatever search engine you use, do several search term queries and click on the links, read what they have to say and don't decide by using a single website. Read several and then, based upon your research, make your decision/choice. You will find that everyone has a different opinion & a somewhat different list. Use a cumulative approach, that is, if a particular Browser or Search Engine appears at or near the top, then, well, you get my drift. Read the good and the bad reviews to give you well rounded data for your decision-making.

Probably the most important browser security concern is keeping it updated.

Hope this helps answer your question.

Snick

 

[Snick]

I agree with every word you posted z3r010!



Snick

 

[RolandJS]

"...I dislike Google and Chrome because of security concerns but, am I being paranoid and silly for these concerns?"
You are not being silly, however, there are many ways to restrict telemetry. I use Spybot Anti-Beacon 1.xx [I think that is the version], it's the one that came out with SpyBot S&D 1.62. I think even Hitman.Alert Pro includes some telemetry shields.
Almost all Swiss-Army-Knife anti-virus/anti-malware/anti-spyware package brag about including anti-telemetry.
I vote with z3r010 -- stick with Google and Chrome, and secondarily with Firefox, Explorer, Edge for those sites which work best with MS. Independent School Districts all over the USA use Google and Chrome -- with proper router/firewall/hardware and software, they use Google and Chrome just fine.

 

[RolandJS]

"...Anti-Virus, Anti-Ransomware, & Anti-exploit..." Snick -- is that within Malwarebytes Premium?

 

[bej]

My Question

Thank you all for your responses... I feel a little safer now using my singele use laptop. I'll still use
Pale Moon but, little concern about Chrome...Thanks again...

 

[Snick]

"...Anti-Virus, Anti-Ransomware, & Anti-exploit..." Snick -- is that within Malwarebytes Premium?

No Roland, Anti-Virus is Avast Free, the others are stand-alone-versions from Malwarebytes. I do use Malwarebytes for on demand scans, older version, as the newer versions delete the stand-alone MAR and MAE.
SuperAntiSpyware free, ADWCleaner, HitmanPro, & TDSSKiller for on demand scans too. Also occasionally run cleanmgr /verylowdisk from Admin CMD.

Snick