FYI Chrome

[trinidad]

What you might not know about Chrome in Linux Lite. Linux Lite uses the newest version of Chrome i/e security updates from the Chrome devs are immediate, while with some other distros like like Mint, RHEL, or even Debian, Chrome updates can lag for awhile. Chrome just dropped a security update yesterday which Linux Lite 7 received immediately. I haven't checked, but with MS Edge I'm not sure this is true unless you run the dev version. Many users support using other browser alternatives like Brave or Vivaldi because they believe they are more secure when in fact you can harden Chrome with privacy settings probably more than any other browser and those alternatives often lag behind with general security updates because they are usually discovered by the Chrome devs. I don't see any actual system security reason to use another browser. All TOR does is put you on the map for government security and privacy invasions. The ONLY reason I use Firefox is because I can run BASH scripts from html documents more easily which in fact is less secure.
TC         

[Şerban S.]

What you might not know about Chrome in Linux Lite. Linux Lite uses the newest version of Chrome i/e security updates from the Chrome devs are immediate, while with some other distros like like Mint, RHEL, or even Debian, Chrome updates can lag for awhile. Chrome just dropped a security update yesterday which Linux Lite 7 received immediately. I haven't checked, but with MS Edge I'm not sure this is true unless you run the dev version. Many users support using other browser alternatives like Brave or Vivaldi because they believe they are more secure when in fact you can harden Chrome with privacy settings probably more than any other browser and those alternatives often lag behind with general security updates because they are usually discovered by the Chrome devs. I don't see any actual system security reason to use another browser. All TOR does is put you on the map for government security and privacy invasions. The ONLY reason I use Firefox is because I can run BASH scripts from html documents more easily which in fact is less secure.
TC       

Thanks!
I agree with the above!

Șerban

[LL-user]

Thanks, TC, as usual for sharing your valuable insights!

Please allow me to add some information.

Most importantly, I do understand why Google Chrome has been chosen as the default browser by Jerry considering the target audience and purpose of Linux Lite.

Secondly, I fully agree with you in regard to security aspects.

Unfortunately there is the shortly mentioned privacy aspect.


As much as security and privacy have quite some overlap, in some important areas they are in diametrical opposition to each other! There is a reason textbooks on this topic strongly recommend that roles in organisations responsible for information/IT security and for privacy to be separated.

And when it comes to privacy Google has certainly transformed from a concerning data collecting advertising business to a privacy nightmare - and threat to free speech, open science and democratic processes.

For anyone interested why it's paramount to think twice whether using Google products is a good idea here some (almost random) starters. Websites and forums focusing on privacy (and security) are full with in depth information about this topic.


So, there might not be "any actual system security reason to use another browser", but there are many privacy reasons that call for it.

https://privacytests.org

https://lifehacker.com/tech/google-is-a-...-you-think

https://emilytvproducer.substack.com/p/googles-new-tos

https://www.ghacks.net/2024/05/31/google...ng-months/

FLoC (FLoC Federated Learning of Cohorts)
https://amifloced.org
• new tracking feature
• cookies are on their way out, and Google is trying to design a way for advertisers to keep targeting users based on their web browsing
• FLoC runs in your browser. It uses your browsing history from the past week to assign you to a group with other "similar" people around the world. Each group receives a label, called a FLoC ID, which is supposed to capture meaningful information about your habits and interests. FLoC then displays this label to everyone you interact with on the web. This makes it easier to identify you with browser fingerprinting, and it gives trackers a head start on profiling you.

CRX cache
https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/90152/fo...rx_cache/3
Folder Named "component_crx_cache", Google's sneaky attempt at overriding blocking of third-party cookies ...

[Valtam]

It somewhat amuses me when people are anti Google stating privacy as their main concern. As soon as you connect to the internet, you're tracked via your ISP. That's where the real power is.

[Şerban S.]

It somewhat amuses me when people are anti Google stating privacy as their main concern. As soon as you connect to the internet, you're tracked via your ISP. That's where the real power is.

In România, the law states that if you want to get the authorisation to perform ISP services, you have to log all IN/OUT operations of each client.
I am deeply convinced that "privacy", is just a myth. As long as you can write on a medium, you can also read from that medium. it is as simple as that. What you read, is a whole different story though.

[trinidad]

As soon as you connect to the internet, you're tracked via your ISP

And in fact creating a data footprint that can not only be tracked by your ISP but also easily obtained by law enforcement often without a warrant depending on the state where the ISP is operating in the US. No one is invisible who uses the Internet in the US, including all the ISP's themselves, unless of course you're Hilary Clinton. The cost in actual money of acheiving real Internet anonymity in the US is so exhorbitant, that any reports of it being possible are simply fiction. The good news is: that greed and AI will probably destroy the whole thing and we can go back to writing letters with paper and pen.

TC