this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2025
115 points (100.0% liked)

Linux

1267 readers
57 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Using firefox but concerned now

Read about some alternatives:

Edit 2/28: It seems there is no general consensus if we should switch and/or to what.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] sunred@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 hour ago

Currently on Firefox with Betterfox and Lepton. I might change it to Librewolf as a base for its better defaults. Ungoogled Chromium flatpak when I need a Chromium browser. Fennec on GrapheneOS for its extension support even if it might not be as secure compared to Vanadium.

[–] Patrik@lemm.ee 2 points 6 hours ago

Fennec on mobile, haven't gotten around to replacing FF on Desktop yet.

[–] HappyTimeHarry@lemm.ee 2 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

Vivaldi because:

If i had to choose something fully floss i would go with librewolf.

[–] Xed@lemm.ee 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I used to use variations of Firefox but I got tired of websites not being compatible so sometimes I use chrome 🤷

[–] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 1 points 6 hours ago

I’ve never had that happen. What sort of websites

[–] InvisibleRasta@lemmy.ml 1 points 17 hours ago

Waterfox is based on esr, so quite outdated. Just use librewolf and some css. You have firefox-one that will make it look pretty and similar to zen. Zen is no good if you care about privacy.

[–] kittenroar 6 points 1 day ago

Still using Firefox. They mean well. Wish I could say the same of chrome.

[–] Xanza@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've been using Zen for the past couple days and it's absolutely spectacular. I really really been enjoying it.

It claims to be a fork of Firefox but there's still Firefox under the hood and you can tell. But I find that it runs significantly faster than Firefox standard. So who knows. The author seems to be making it as ambiguous as possible so I would think that it's a soft fork that's basically stock Firefox with a few minor changes and a new look.

[–] InvisibleRasta@lemmy.ml 1 points 17 hours ago
[–] icogniito@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Zen, absolutely love the workflow and the fact that it is not chromium based.

Waiting excitedly for ladybird, it is already very impressive but still years left until it is daily drive able

[–] dino@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 6 hours ago

Basically a firefox skin, although they have a VPN as a sponsor, did somebody did a thorough check on that browser?

[–] Fluxxr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I like zen a lot but I’m struggling to drag a tab from one window to another. The sidebar always collapses on the target window before the tab gets there. Any tips?

[–] ___@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

Perhaps right click on the sidebar -> disable compact mode? I haven't had any issues moving tabs between windows, but then again I keep the sidebar persistent

[–] pfr@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 day ago

The Gnome browser (epiphany?) is actually quite good. But when I'm on windows I use Zen. On GrapheneOS I use IronFox.

I also recently tested Ladybird. It's still not usable for daily use, but I'm excited for it.

[–] jadsel@lemmy.wtf 2 points 1 day ago

I have found Mozilla's sync across devices handy, but now I'm in the process of moving over to using Vanadium on my GrapheneOS phone and FireDragon on desktop.

FireDragon started out as a Librewolf fork, but is more recently based on Floorp. They are still keeping in sync with Librewolf's privacy enhancements, with some of their own thrown in. I like that the default search engine is Garuda's instance of Searx, with Whoogle as another option if you don't want to self host. FireDragon will also sync your Firefox account off Garuda's server instance if you like (which would be more useful if I weren't going with a Chromium fork on mobile). The Garuda project is certainly looking more trustworthy than Mozilla these days.

[–] verdigris@lemmy.ml 31 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Still Firefox. Every time Mozilla does anything the entire privacy community goes insane. The terms of use they published seem entirely benign, and the only thing anyone can actually point to is the "direction being worrisome". Well, I'll get worried when they update the terms to be actually onerous. Everything even possibly annoying can be disabled, and it's still the only browser engine offering competition against Chrome ruling the web.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] trk@aussie.zone 9 points 1 day ago

Firefox. And Thunderbird. And donate to Mozilla.

Don't really see the point in using a fork that, by the time you boil it down, just takes Firefox's work and then releases it later.

I want a Google and Apple alternative and I'd rather support it at the top of the chain.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago

On pc I use both librewolf and firefox

On mobile I use mull, fennec, and vanadium if for some reason they want something chromium based

[–] cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I use Firefox and Chrome as I am not a woke vegan

[–] miracleorange 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I use Firefox and I literally am a woke vegan.

[–] cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)
[–] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

People that complain on little tiny thing

[–] Kanedias@lemmy.ml 5 points 23 hours ago (1 children)
[–] cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 8 hours ago

Yes, this tiny

[–] kyub@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I use several, depending on use case:

  • Tor Browser for general and anonymous web browsing (e.g. reading news, looking up stuff, and so on)
  • Mullvad Browser as a clear web alternative for general use
  • Librewolf for generally logging into sites with personally identifiable accounts (e.g. to buy stuff)
  • Ungoogled Chromium for those few sites which only work with a Chromium-based browser, or other specific cases
  • On Android (GrapheneOS): Tor Browser and Vanadium

All regular browsers have some hardening applied and uBlock Origin installed.

[–] huggingstars@programming.dev 2 points 1 day ago

Firefox on Desktop. Chrome or Vanadium on Mobile.

[–] Turturtley@aussie.zone 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My issue is that while i am concerned about privacy, i’m more concerned with security patching. And none of these smaller browsers have the resources to turn around security fixes as quickly as firefox or chrome.

Firefox is the least of the concerns as long as we have the config options to disable anything deemed not privacy-respecting.

[–] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is the only good critique in this entire thread (thank you) BUT librewolf is on the exact same version as Firefox. It appears their updates are pretty fast.

Would you have config recommendations beyond the obvious?

[–] Turturtley@aussie.zone 1 points 16 hours ago

I'm probably not the best person to talk to about Firefox hardening. Because... I don't. I only go as far as using firefox containers.

My threat model is to counter:-

  • ISP data logging
  • government filters
  • region blocking
  • hyper-personalised marketing

I use a VPN for the first three, and I use Ublock, and don't use google/meta/twitter/amazon/ebay for last.

I personally believe it is impossible to escape fingerprinting unless you're on Tor Browser, but using Tor paints you as a target in my country per the first item above.

I also work in financial services, and am a user of my company's product. We do significant 'device intelligence' and 'behavioral intelligence' on client devices, auth attempts, and actions taken in sessions. Log in too many times from too many different (seemingly) devices, user agents, IP addresses, regions, etc and it increases our customer risk assessment of you. Tick over a threshold and your account falls under enhanced customer due diligence. Tick over another threshold, and we'll set auto-blocks until we can investigate. I assume that any other financial services provider worth their salt would do the same to counter fraud, money laundering, and meeting sanctions.

I basically use a split tunnel VPN. VPN traffic for general browsing, email, etc. And looking as much as a regular user as possible when accessing financial services, government websites, etc.

And yeah, agree LibreWolf is great. Only downside for the average user is the lack of an auto-updater. So the only tweak i'd do with LibreWolf would be to set up a cron/systemd timer to update it nightly.

[–] lemminator@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago
[–] chrand@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

Still using Firefox but looking to move to LibreWolf

[–] tonytins@pawb.social 34 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Firefox. Equally concerned as well.

[–] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Looking into Librewolf and Waterfox now!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] beyond@linkage.ds8.zone 2 points 1 day ago

Librewolf mainly because that's the Firefox-type browser that comes with my distro (IceCat is there too, but it's based on ESR and not frequently updated).

[–] Arfman@aussie.zone 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I was thinking of switching to one of the Firefox forks but have only tried Waterfox so far and not super impressed. I guess Firefox is the best out of the bad bunch until I find an alternative I like.

[–] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 4 points 1 day ago

Librewolf looks exactly the same to me

[–] SunDevil@lemmy.ml 18 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

While I'm not sure dropping Firefox is necessary at this juncture, I've had a good experience using LibreFox. Hearing a lot about Zen, though.

Check out Mozilla's clarification: https://www.ghacks.net/2025/02/27/mozillas-new-terms-of-use-causes-confusion-among-firefox-users/

[–] savvywolf@pawb.social 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm a Firefox user and I'm not really that bothered about this tos changes. If they do mess things up I'll probably just switch to some fork that doesn't do the fuckery.

Wouldn't be surprised if Mint packages Firefox with it (whatever "it" is) disabled, since they build Thunderbird without telemetry.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] mexicancartel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I think there is a generaal consensus to say it's not ARC

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

I use firefox and am actively looking to change to something, potentially librewolf.

Edit: just installed librewolf. it's super clean and I'm glad I got it. replaced firefox almost instantly.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] jaypatelani@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

Check articFox

[–] bruhsoulz@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

As of late using konqueror, it quite bs-less

[–] xmanmonk@lemmy.sdf.org 15 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Recent news about Firefox finally got me to go with LibreWolf.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] SilentStorms@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 2 days ago

There was some sort of bullshit going on in like 2003 with Internet Explorer so my dad switched us to Firefox, I’ve been on it since. Never felt the need to go to Chrome when it cane around.

[–] fishsayhelo@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 days ago

librewolf for a while now. can reccomend 👍🏿

load more comments
view more: next ›