#i personally use firefox as my browser and duckduckgo as my search engine

[reinanova]

false. duckduckgo is an independently owned company (x)

duckduckgo can be used in web browsers like chrome, firefox, and edge bcuz duckduckgo is a search engine that offers browser extensions for the different web browsers (x)

web browser = the application on your computer that allows you to access the internet (ie chrome, firefox, edge, safari, etc)

search engine = the thing that compiles websites based on your search and returns the links in a list (ie google, bing, duckduckgo, yahoo, etc)

(x)

the search engine google (not google the company) is the default search engine on most web browsers, including firefox. you have to manually go into settings and switch your default search engine by adding an extension.

so even if you use firefox instead of chrome, google can still access your data if you’re using google to search the web

duckduckgo was literally designed to be an alternative to google and it is part of their mission statement to NOT track their users data. duckduckgo protects your privacy. google doesn’t. (x)

Let’s see how Google’s AI is getting on!

[para-dweller]

Privacy is in a terrible situation right now.

Especially on the internet. You know, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter(X), Apple, and even Tumblr all collect information about you to show you scarily accurate advertisements among other things.

Why does this matter?

This isn't about hiding information, it's about protecting information. You wouldn't let me know your entire life, your diary, all your photos and text messages, so why do you let random companies do the same?

Privacy Guides - Why Privacy Matters

So how do you stop this?

You can't. But you can lessen this. So I'm going to show you a non-exhaustive list of what I've used and what I know of that may help your privacy. I would recommend you go to privacyguides.org after if you want a better explanation. I'm just here to show you cool things.

Disclaimer

I am not a library on this sort of information and this is what I choose to use. I may be incorrect and you may have differing opinions. Also, this may be too extreme for everybody. Use what works for you. Again, I would recommend you go to privacyguides.org after you read this for a more in-depth and better explanation.

VPNs

You know what a VPN is. You've seen the sponsorships. VPNs are one of the most popular privacy tools, but know that they are not the only tool that you'd need. This list is evidence of that.

I would recommend Proton VPN, Mullvad, and IVPN for most users, as they provide a far better amount of privacy and features than VPNs such as Nord VPN, Surfshark, and Express VPN. If you really want unlimited devices go with Windscribe.

I personally use Proton VPN due to the fact that I use their other services.

Browsers

You should probably know that Google Chrome is basically spyware at this point. The issue here is, almost all Chromium-based browsers are. These include, Edge, Opera, and Vivaldi. The only real exception would be Brave, but they've got leadership issues, which may not be a deal breaker for you.

So what do you use? A Firefox-based browser. This obviously includes Firefox, but most Firefox-based browsers are privacy-focused. The browsers that I recommend are Firefox, Librewolf, the Mullvad Browser, Waterfox, and Brave.

There is also the Tor Browser, but that is a whole 'nother can of worms that I will not go into. All I will say is that if you are in a high-risk environment(such as an oppressive regime) or you need absolutely no one to know that you searched that one thing, you may want to use the browser for anonymity.

I use Firefox as my main browser, with Brave as the browser that I use if something doesn't work on Firefox. I also use Tor if it is a high-risk situation.

Search Engines

Google, Bing, and Yahoo! all log your searches, you need alternatives. This is relatively straight-forward.

I recommend, Qwant, DuckDuckGo, SearXNG, Brave Search, and Startpage. Both Qwant and DuckDuckGo are fairly similar as they both use Bing search results and say that they don't track you. SearXNG is more complex, and I will not go into detail here. If you really want Google search results, use Startpage. And if you don't want your search to rely on Bing or Google, use Brave Search.

I use Qwant, mainly just cause its European.

Passwords

Passwords are the keys to your digital life. And most of the time they're not that great. You know the drill here, make passwords like this- XmaE7PEj2hq9ed$w - but you can't really remember them. For that you need a password manager.

I recommend Bitwarden, Proton Pass, and KeepassXC. Bitwarden and Proton Pass are more convenient, but you are trusting a single entity, reputable ones, but still. KeepassXC isn't as convienent, but you have near full control over what happens to it.

I use Proton Pass, as I use other Proton services.

Email

Email is identity, you almost always use your email in order to register for sites like Tumblr, and sites that aren't anything like Tumblr. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! all use your email inbox in order to gain more information about you for their companies. There are quite a few email providers, but I've only used and recommend two.

I recommend Proton Mail and Tuta Mail. Both are good email providers, although Proton would be better if you use other Proton services, like I do.

I use both Proton Mail and Tuta Mail for separate email addresses.

Aliases

Email Aliases are also very important for private email. Your email is your name, if you want to private, you'd go under pseudonyms. That's what email aliases are.

I recommend and have used Simplelogin and Firefox Relay. Email providers like Proton and Tuta also give you aliases when you pay. I don't know how well these work, but I assume that they work the Same as Simplelogin and Firefox Relay.

I use Simplelogin.

Devices/OSes

Phones

Now let's turn up the extremity to 11 as we look at your devices. Phone-wise, avoid Apple, they say that they care about your privacy, but they don't. Apple is better than Google, but I'd only recommend using an iPhone if you already have one, and it still has support left. If that's the case, then follow privacy guides like this one by Techlore(His channel is also really great for privacy guides). You should probably use a Google Pixel. Sounds weird as it's owned by GOOGLE, one of the companies that we don't want to be tracked by, but if we go with the Pixels we can use custom ROMs.

Most ROMs exist for your privacy, they are based on the Android Open Source Project(AOSP) which means they can run most of your favourite Android apps without messing them up with Google. In order to run most of your apps however, you're going to need some way of running Google Play Services. This is a backbone black-box that Google forces most of your apps to use in order to function. CalyxOS and LineageOS with MicroG both have MicroG, an open source implementation of Google Play Services. GrapheneOS just straight up uses Google Play Services but sandboxes it so that it can't get its tentacles all up in your phone.

I recommend going like this:

You have a modern-ish Google Pixel phone, go with GrapheneOS.

You don't have a Google Pixel, but your phone is still supported by CalyxOS, go with CalyxOS.

Your phone isn't supported by either of these but still is supported by LineageOS with MicroG, go with LineageOS.

Your phone isn't supported by any of these, you can do as much degoogling as you can.

Techlore also has a fantastic guide on Android Privacy.

Desktops/Laptops

Apple isn't actually that bad here, its better than Windows at least. But Linux is KING when it comes to privacy and security. There is definitely a learning curve here. Pin the terminal, you're going to use it a LOT. Also be aware that on Linux you won't have every single app that you're used to. If you don't really want that hassle, just go with Mac.

Linux distros that I recommend(for beginners) are: Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, and Elementary OS.

I use Ubuntu as it's the only one that I could get working on my computer.

Other Pieces of Advice

Use an Ad-blocker! Ads are terrible for privacy as companies can get their trackers in completely unrelated sites via their ads. I use and recommend uBlock Origin.

Don't use any personally identifying information online. Don't use your real name, a picture of you, your voice. The less you give to the internet, the more private you are.

Mix and Match! Explore what works for you. You might be okay with changing OSes but you might be a bit too reliant on GMail. That's fine! Just use what works.

Again, please go to privacyguides.org after this. This did not even scratch the surface but I hope this was useful to you in some way.

[qipsir]

Please read all the way through. Important things in bold

Now's a good time to remember that any Chromium or Microsoft-based browser - yes including Brave and Opera - are NOT. SAFE.

Switch your browser to Firefox, set DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, or Oceanhero as your default search engine. Add extensions like Ghostery and Ad Nauseum and Facebook Container to block ads and trackers and mess with the information they're getting from you. > If anyone is curious, I have an image of all my extensions attached at the bottom. Also PLEASE let me know if you find an alternative to YouTube

Switch your google drive account to Proton - you can have it forward the gmails you get from that point forward if you want

Get everything off Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Photos. Use WPS, use LibreOffice, use a thumbdrive I don't care but not Google. Not Microsoft.

YOU CAN OPT OUT OF FACIAL RECOGNITION WHEN TRAVELING. It's not about 'we already have everything on you'. Doesn't matter. It's about normalizing consent in the collection of data.

Delete all period tracking apps you have. I used to think Stardust was safe because of end to end encryption but they've added an option to log in with google so take that with a tablespoon of salt.

Discord and DMs on any social media platform are not safe. I don't know the safety level of dms on here but I can't imagine it's much higher. Discord I know for a fact has handed over chat history to law enforcement before and they will do so again. Use an end to end encypted messaging app AND DO NOT USE SIGNAL. - My personal reccommendation is Cwtch. it runs on Tor Browser and unless you turn the settings off it will not provide notifications of messages and it will delete the message history when the app is closed. it is password protected as well.

On that note, if you need to look something up for things like reproductive care, use Tor/the Onion Browser. It's about as safe as it can get and yes it takes a bit to load but that's because it's got built-in VPNs.

This bit may be on the more extreme side but as soon as I have the energy to I'm seeing if I can't reprogram my laptop to run on Linux.

Anyone with a uterus, switch to something reuseable like a cup, disc, or period underwear. If needed, I have a discount link to SAALT Co that gets you 20% off (WINTER67078). They've got cups, cup cleaners, and a variety of period underwear. If not, you can make reuseable pads yourself. I also just saw someone made 'petals' which is the fabric equivalent of making a sort of toilet paper cup.

I am aware this is not a substitute for medication, however Emerald Coast Alternatives does have a tea blend that went viral for being 'herbal adderal' and I use their PTSD blend daily. there is also a panic attack blend that knocked my nervous system on its ass the first time I tried it. I do not have an affiliate link with them myself, but they did just start an affiliate program. I'm going to reblog this with all the codes/links I find for that.

There's a group called the trans housing project and through Alliance Defending Liberty, there is a list of resources for aid with all sorts of things

Learn what you can make at home. Adapt recipes. Propagate. Grow your own food. Find more sustainable alternatives to things you'll need replacements of - Oak & Willow is a good one for household cleaning supplies, and I've seen Who Gives A Crap pop up several times. They have toilet paper made from recycled paper, and apparently is cheaper per roll than other brands? Companies like Misfits Market sell produce rejected from stores over imperfections for a cheaper price. I highly recommend getting a portable solar panel or something if you can. It's not much but it's something.

And if worst comes to pass, look at me. Look me in the eyes - now that you think about it, you have never met anyone who is neurodivergent or queer. Anyone you think is an immigrant, they were born and raised here. You have no clue if anyone you know is on birth control or has had an abortion. Someone tries talking to you about politics? "Who has time to talk about that" or "Sorry, I'm not political."

[ueberdemnebelmeer]

i've been thinking about this post

ever since i came across it because it bugs me so much ghjdfgd so many of the extensions listed there are redundant, either because they do each other's job or their functions have been implemented natively in firefox + the less extensions, the better! it's less surface area available for "attack"

i recommend the electronic frontier foundation's cover your tracks tool to check how well you're protected against web trackers (as for fingerprinting, i know brave combats canvas fingerprinting via filter lists - like firefox - and by randomizing a user's fingerprint, but it's a chromium browser. canvas blockers tend to impact usability. for day-to-day use you might just want to reduce data available to fingerprints, because to avoid that altogether i'm afraid you're better off using tor)

i'm going through the list above after the read more; i'm no expert, i've just spent a lot of my free time looking into how to improve my privacy and security habits and this is what my brain retained + don't believe me because i say so + feel free to point out any mistakes of mine.

🟩 keep

ublock origin. filter lists you should consider adding:

check Privacy > AdGuard URL Tracking Protection

add Actually Legitimate URL Shortener Tool (explained how here)

check out the arkenfox project's github page too!

🟨 optional

sponsorblock (1) & unhook (2) for yt. i personally don't use either because (1) i'm good with the good old dragging the current time indicator past sponsorship sections and (2) i'm also good at ignoring page elements i don't care about, but that's me obvs.

facebook container (& not listed above but multi-account containers too; differences between the two: x, x): total cookie protection (enabled by setting firefox's privacy protection to "strict") already partitions third parties, but these extensions could provide a further layer of isolation. container tabs + "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" + "Manage Exceptions" is excellent cookie management with no other extensions necessary

🟥 don't bother

total cookie protection makes ghostery, privacy badger & privacy possum redundant

you've got ublock origin so adblocker ultimate, ad nauseam & adblocker for youtube are also redundant. if you still see yt ads, remove all custom filters related to youtube on ublock origin and force update your lists

https-only mode has been introduced to all the main browsers so https everywhere is also redundant

trackmenot. it's unverified and indeed i've never seen it recommended in any of the multiple firefox hardening videos and guides i've checked, it's kinda useless unless you're a regular google or bing user. prefer a privacy-focused search engine instead

(e.g. duckduckgo [advanced search tricks here and here] which cleans up bing results and has a lite version too! i've also seen startpage [which cleans up google results] recommended but it's had some controversies. for further info, i recommend checking this)

duckduckgo privacy essentials. i suppose (but i can't be sure) this was installed because when you try to add a search engine in firefox's settings you're redirected to the addons page WHICH IS STUPID OF THEM because you can add them via search bar (i did this with e.g. letterboxd)

don't track me google. for those random google searches you still might need, if you added all the filter lists above to ublock origin you should be fine, and if you aren't you're better off using skip redirect

jury's out on blue blocker because it's unverified. i'm not a twitter user either so i haven't checked it out

[go-learn-esperanto]

So, I've been wanting to switch over to Firefox but I haven't because I'm just straight up kinda lazy, but with all this talk of KOSA and with Firefox apparently being one of the KOSA-safe browsers, (I have no way of confirming this, just what I've heard) I wanna switch over just to be safe.

The thing is, how much new stuff to I have to download in order to replace Chrome with Firefox? Ik it's not owned by Google, and I've got stuff like Google-owned apps like Maps on my phone so do I have to make a thousand different changes in order to effectively switch to Firefox? Or just download Firefox, make the switch and I'm good?

Hello!

Well, Firefox is just a browser. What that means is that if you want you can still use the Google apps on your phone. They aren't connected to chrome so if you remove chrome they won't stop working. You can also, if you really want, delete those apps but sign in on the browser, in your case Firefox, and you'll be able to use your Gmail and Google Maps but on your browser instead of having a specific app for that. You decide what's most convenient to you. I personally still use those apps, but if want to be extra secure and don't want to have Google tracking too much stuff about you you can choose to only use the browser.

Firefox will, by the way, give you the option to migrate all of your passwords from Chrome to Firefox. This means you have way less work. You just need to download Firefox, tell it to migrate your passwords from your Chrome (it means you have login with your Google account if I remember correctly), and it will do that for you, meaning you don't have to go and put your passwords to whatever site you use one by one. It's honestly really easy to migrate.

What do you have to understand: a browser is just an app that allows you to use various search tools. You can still use the Google search on Firefox if you want! I usually have DuckDuckGo as my primary search engine but sometimes I switch to Google (the search engine not the company) because I want to have a specific kind of search that DuckDuckGo isn't really managing to do. DuckDuckGo by the way is the search engine that tracks you less. That's why it's usually preferable if you want to not have all your search history being shared with third parties.

These are the standard search engines but you can add more if you want. You can use Yahoo or Wikipedia for example.

What Firefox allows you to do that chrome, on the mobile app, doesn't is to have add-ons, more commonly known as browser extensions. The normal Firefox app doesn't have many add-ons available but it has at least some and the ones that are available are very useful.

They're great for adding extra security protection, or just to have a better experience using the browser.

These are all 17 mobile compatible add-ons. Highly recommended UBlock Origin, Clear URLs and Privacy Badger.

You can technically have more but that will make it so you need to use the Firefox Nightly app instead of the standard Firefox. Firefox Nightly is a developer app and you need a lot of extra hoops if you wanna have extra Add-ons on your phone. To me it's worth it because it means I can have XKit Rewritten, Tumblr's saviour at this point, on my phone which almost makes me want to delete the Tumblr app. However you want to keep things simple so just Firefox will do just fine. No need to complicate things.

In conclusion:

Migrating is easy because you can migrate passwords from a browser to the other, you can still use your Google services on Firefox, add-ons are cool.

[despite-everything]

I wrote out this list of instructions/recommendations for making Firefox your default browser, and setting up some extensions I recommend. This is all my personal preference - I’m no expert, but I made these instructions for some friends and family, so I figured I’d share here, too! All the extensions are linked for convenience.

1. Download Firefox, pin to dock of computer, set as default browser 

Why Firefox? Mozilla is a non-profit organization, so unlike Google, they aren’t looking to continually turn a profit, and is an open-source project, meaning you can check the code at any time. Firefox and Safari are independent browsers, but others like Chrome, Brave, and Microsoft Edge all run on Chromium - meaning they’re essentially all Google. The downside to using them is that if your entire internet access is connected to Google, then Google is going to collect data on everything (and then turn around and sell it all over the place).

2. Add DuckDuckGo, set as default search engine for Firefox

Why DuckDuckGo? Unlike Google, DuckDuckGo doesn't collect data from users, and allows IP addresses to remain hidden/protected. Doesn’t use cookies to track activity. Doesn’t share IP address, search terms, etc. with sites you visit (Google, Yahoo, and Bing all share this data). I find that the search results are more “clean” and I usually find what I’m looking for faster, and with fewer “listicles”/bullshit SEO-filled nonsense.

Downsides: Some complex searches may not work (niche content can be missed, but pretty much everything else is good) - so if searching for academic sources, I recommend using Google Scholar instead. Also uses Apple Maps instead of Google, which I don’t like as much, but isn’t a huge problem on the desktop. I have some privacy-centric extensions listed below, which help protect me when I do need to turn to Google.

3. Import browser data from old browser.

4. Set homepage/new tab defaults → Settings.

5. Download Firefox on phone, follow instructions to sync to computer desktop.

6. Install extensions! Improve internet browsing experience! Check out my list of recommendations below.

7. When installing extensions, take a look at the “themes” and customize the look of your browser.

Ad Blockers

Adblocker Ultimate (blocks ads)

uBlock Origin (also blocks ads)

AdGuard Adblocker (guess what this is.)

AdBlock for Firefox (I just really hate ads and want to cover my bases)

Privacy extensions

Privacy Possum (interferes with data collection by sites, helps prevent tracking)

Don’t track me Google (speeds up search results, removes Google tracking feature)

I still don’t care about cookies (allows cookies for sites/prevents pop ups - use with cookie auto delete for privacy)

Cookie autodelete (automatically deletes cookie info from sites, pairs well with above)

Youtube extensions

Return Youtube Dislike (shows the number of dislikes on Youtube - Youtube removed this feature in 2021 for no good reason)

DeRound Youtube (personal preference - makes Youtube thumbnails “sharp”. I think it looks nicer like this.)

Youtube NonStop (prevents “are you still watching” prompts)

SponsorBlock (removes embedded sponsor promotions within Youtube videos)

Other helpful stuff

Unpaywall (checks database of 16 million legal, open-access articles when you view a paywalled scholarly article to see if there’s an open version available)

Don’t Accept image/webp (lets Firefox tell sites webp formats don’t work - enables easier access to downloadable jpeg/png formats on search results)

Absolute Enable Right Click and Copy (some sites block the right click copy/paste option, this extension restores that ability - this seemed to interfere with my use of Google Docs so I disabled it for the site, but it may be coincidental. Need to investigate - this extension is newer to me.)

Facebook Container (prevents Facebook/Meta from tracking all your web activity)

LeechBlock NG (can be enabled to prevent you from using certain sites in a certain timeframe - good for productivity)

Recommended extensions for Tumblr users

Shinigami Eyes (works on other sites too, but highlights trans-friendly people/orgs/etcs green, highlights anti-trans in red. Very useful for Tumblr - makes identifying and blocking hateful users easier)

XKit Rewritten (Tumblr XKit! OG XKit doesn’t work anymore, but I’ve had success with this one. Helps customize the site, sometimes can be used to get rid of/override stupid UI updates)

My personal XKit recommendations:

Toggle on: 

Anti-Capitalism (hides ads)

Mutual Checker (notes who your mutuals are, useful if you follow a lot of people/have a lot of followers and want to know who your “friends” are - especially helpful if you have friends who often change icons/urls)

No Recommended (gets rid of recommended stuff - I clicked “hide” for all the options - I only want to see things posted/reblogged by the people I follow, or things I search for specifically. Clears up the homepage, too.)

Quick Reblog (I personally love this feature - I have it set up “above the reblog button” and checked “yes” for showing the blog selector (useful if you have multiple blogs on the same account), and the “show tags” field. With Quick Reblog, when you hover over the “reblog” button, it pops up a little box that lets me quickly select what blog (defaults to main), add tags, then reblog, queue, or save the post as a draft. I don’t usually add a comment, and never using Quick Reblog, so I didn’t enable that field. You can add more settings, but this is how I like to use it!)

Tweaks (I clicked “Restore links to individual posts in the post header”, “Remove the coloured shadow from focused posts”, “Hide the ‘blaze’ and ‘tip’ button labels”, “Hide my follower count where possible”, “Hide the ‘’Now, where were we?’ button”, and “Hide the Tumblr Live carousel” (I also “snooze” Tumblr Live weekly, but still). Again, these are all personal preferences! This is just how I like the site set up).

[therealmaeel]

Boycott Google!

Use a different browser than Google Chrome and use a different search engine than Google. You can change your default search engine on most web browsers. I personally use DuckDuckGo on Firefox for my pc and DuckDuckGo on mobile.

Use ad blocker(s) on YouTube. Stop paying for YouTube Premium and stop superchatting creators (they usually have paypals, Patreons, or external sites that you can donate to when doing charity livestreams). If you can, stop using YouTube all together. There are plenty of good sites to use to watching people's content. And there are plenty of shows that are great too. I, for one, have been binging One Piece and it's a wild ride! (Although Sailing the Seven Seas is a good show too 🏴‍☠️. Iykyk)

Don't let Google get away with aiding Israel's genocide on innocent people.

Don't let Google take Palestine's freedom with every ad they show to us.

Don't let Google stain our entertainment with the blood of others.

Don't let Google be free of consequences.

Let Palestine be free of genocide.

[youre-drinking-embalming-fluid]

For your reading pleasure

My response to Google's survey. I thought I should share it with more than just Big Tech

I am concerned about privacy, and the fact that new integrated products such as Google Labs may lead to theft of intellectual property. I love Google Drive - it's what I know, what I grew up using. But new policies and AI are killing many of the things I love, so what's one more drop in the barrel, right? If everyone else is screwing over their users, why not us, too? Why would I be the change I want to see in the world when I could just make money instead?

I just wish we had the tools to do what we love without constantly looking over our shoulders. I thought I had that with Google Drive. I thought I had the best. So I don't dislike anything about Google Drive this week. I'm just disappointed that my favourite productivity software isn't as great as I thought. Much as I hate to say it, I might be leaving Google behind altogether. I've already made the browser switch to Firefox and the search engine switch to DuckDuckGo. Now my last holdout, the amazing processing power of Google Drive, I'm finally leaving behind. And it feels like leaving a childhood home.

If you're reading this, random Google employee whose desktop this crossed, I love you. You're an amazing person, not just because you read all of this, but because you're a person. And that's the most amazing thing you could possibly be. Not an algorithmically generated voice, or a face complied from millions of faces across the globe.

A person.

Enjoy the little things. Like a perfect polygon drawn with the Google Drawings line tool. The clean text editing of a fresh Google Doc. The beautiful simplicity of Google Slides that can create so much more than just slideshows. The unlocked creativity of a child like me who's just been given a blank canvas and a world of limitless potential.

Or something even more real, something beyond the boundaries of this digital world. Anything. Something that brings you joy. Because life's too short for anything else.

So, this is goodbye. Chances are I'll never meet you. But you've met me now. At least, this little piece of me. And if you think you know something about me, just know that you've only scratched the surface. And if I can be a complex person beyond this essay text of a Google Drive review, imagine what you can be.

Goodbye. I love you.

-user

PS. Fuck Microsoft. I'm not switching to Word.

[daemonhxckergrrl]

Firefox Quick-setup (5 steps !)

for everyone considering the switch to Firefox: here's your 101. we're going for 'sweet spot' privacy/convenience* here. minimal steps, maximal result.

the steps:

download Firefox, install and run

disable data collection, verify Total Cookie Protection is on

(optional) import settings from your old browser

switch from Google to DuckDuckGo

install uBlock Origin and Privacy Possum

*aka "i hate targeted ads but i'm not Snowden"

details below the cut !! also, optional steps for more privacy d:

step 1: download Firefox, install and run

windows and mac: click the link to the download page linux: use your distribution's software manager/app store (or package manager) to install firefox if it doesn't already come with your installation

it should look something like this when you open it

step 2: disable data collection, verify Total Cookie Protection is on

type about:preferences into the address bar and press enter. there's a ton of settings here to explore at your leisure, but we want to head to the Privacy & Security tab and scroll down to Firefox Data Collection and Use

here we want to untick all the highlighted options - this stops Mozilla from collecting data about how you use your browser and from running studies (aka trying out new features on you if you "meet the criteria")

step 3 (optional): import settings from old browser

the exact method varies based on firefox version, but you can look here or use this general method: open the bookmark manager/library with the shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+O, click Import and Backup, then choose Import Data from Another Browser to grab your browsing history and bookmarks.

step 4: switch from Google to DuckDuckGo

there's little point avoiding Google's browser if they can still track you via your searches. go back to about:preferences, but this time choose the Search tab. change your Default Search Engine to DuckDuckGo

step 5: install uBlock Origin and Privacy Possum

it's extension time !! c: there's tons to choose from, but we're just focused on the basics. uBlock Origin will block ads and trackers, and works well with Firefox's TCP feature. Privacy Possum sends false data back to trackers (great for any that fall through the cracks).

just click on the links above, then click Add to Firefox and to the prompts that come up

that's it !! there's tons of addons and themes to explore over at addons.mozilla.org, from VPN integrations to tab management and much more.

You're done

happy browsing !! i'll include a companion post w/ more advanced features/tweaks and a collection of my personal favourite addons and links to other people's addons lists !! i'll also try to keep this post updated (and include a patch note reblog) should things change.

for anyone serious about privacy, it's worth mentioning that the more tools directly included in Firefox, the less privacy addons you need to run. uBlock Origin and Privacy Possum should go a long way now.

[theoriginalmarke]

MINIMAL EFFORT MONDAY

I’m taste testing a couple of different browsers to see how they do and overall they’re doing alright. They are Vivaldi and Brave, and both are similar to Chrome but a bit faster and promise to do a better job of blocking ads and trackers. 

So far I haven’t had much trouble with either one, except on one website it insisted that I turn off my adblocker and I had no idea how to do it because it was a part of Vivaldi’s infrastructure. I think. I don’t know for sure and decided I didn’t really want to visit that site after all. 

Vivaldi is the more customizable of the two and offers more extension options.

I’ve dabbled with Pale Moon a little too. It’s based on the Firefox architecture as where the other two are based on Chromium if that makes a difference to anyone. Pale Moon has a few quirks here and there and once in a while a site may not like it, but otherwise works fine.

Firefox is still fine. It was my first “alternative” browser way back when your only real choices were MS Explorer, Firefox, and Opera. I also used Firefox’s Thunderbird email. Once upon a time you needed a separate computer program for email, boys and girls. Honest. 

Google and Chrome first became popular because people were tired of Microsoft’s monopoly and they were much faster and more efficient. Now the rolls are almost reversed. 

MS Bing is an alternative to Google’s search engine. I prefer DuckDuckGo because it doesn’t collect and store personal information, but it does filter results just like Chrome sometimes. Even search engines can be “woke.”

There are plenty of others. Swisscows, StartPage, Search Encrypt, Gibiru, Verizon’s OneSearch, and even the Russian-based Yandex is popular. 

While it’s convenient to have browsers, calendars, email, phones, watches, and TVs all connected and automatically customizing things based on your preferences and interests it’s also a bit too much “Big Brother” to me. Giving one company that much control over our lives just doesn’t sit well. 

I’ll still use them, but I’m also leery and dabbling with alternatives. And so it goes.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my watch is telling me it’s time to get up to stretch my legs, and then I’ll ask it for permission to eat breakfast.

I love you, Kitten. Even though you’re one of those iPhone/Apple users. MWAH!

Y’all have a great day.

[google-searchhistory-official]

Search engines that actually make a difference and care about your privacy

As for your browser, I highly suggest FireFox. It is the easiest browser to ensure your privacy. Firefox focus is what i use on my mobile devices for quick searches that will be immediately erased when you close out of the app. It also autoblocks cookies and popups

If you want to go a step further and have the means and time to create a totally private experience in which you control all the data 3rd parties might see, look into the Tor browser. But only if you are willing to put in the legwork to make it fully secure, private, and safe. Don't visit the dark web or any site that has glaring virus issues.

refseek.com

www.worldcat.org/

link.springer.com

http://bioline.org.br/

repec.org

science.gov

pdfdrive.com

[harq]

ayo what’s your opinion on ecosia as a search engine?? i dont know shit about technology so im asking you lol

I love Ecosia!

The only thing I don’t like about Ecosia, Startpage and Duckduckgo is that they’re proprietary (to say, the code of their app is kept private and not available to the public), but well, lots of privacy-respecting services aren’t open source. For the most tech-savvy out here, who love their privacy, I do recommend Searx, which is what I use usually on Vivaldi (Android). Searx is open source and supported by Disroot, a wide platform of open-source, privacy-respecting services.

Ecosia is good for our planet, if my sources are right. So, in my opinion, go for it! For a browser, though, do not use Chrome. Firefox is the way to go if you’re not looking for anonymity, if you are, go with Tor! Personally I prefer the night version of Firefox, it’s simply cleaner, but there are lots of Firefox alternatives. If anyone is interested in a little list of what I use, send me a DM or ask!

[jewfrogs]

so you want to be a pirate: a guide to book acquisition

disclaimer: for legal purposes, everything i’m about to say is purely hypothetical. it would be terrible if anyone were to use the advice outlined in this post to commit any ill*gal activities.

i’ve seen a few posts on here about ways to pirate tv shows and movies, which are great, but getting books can be slightly more complicated and pose higher security risks. this guide is for people who want to get into book piracy but aren’t sure how to go about doing it. it’ll be broken down into three sections: (i) Staying Safe, (ii) Where? and (iii) How?.

i. STAYING SAFE

unlike streaming movies or shows, pirating books generally involves downloading files to your computer, which carries a higher level of risk for viruses and malware. it’s important to be mindful and keep yourself safe. one of the most important things to keep in mind is that no book will ever download as a .exe or .dmg. those are file formats for software on windows and mac respectively. if a file you download that isn’t specifically software ever comes in that format, delete it immediately, because there’s a good chance it’s a virus.

in terms of privacy and security, a vpn (virtual private network) isn’t strictly necessary for pirating, but it’s absolutely recommended. very basically, vpns protect you by encrypting your data and disguising your ip address, meaning that your activity cannot be traced to your machine or to you. there are hundreds of vpns out there; this guide by thatoneprivacysite is a great resource to help you choose one.

you’re also going to want a robust adblocker, because most file transfer sites are crawling with ads. i personally use ublock origin and find that it works super well for me; the other two most popular adblockers are adblock and adblock plus (two unconnected products). additionally, i recommend installing this anti-adblock killer script (stops most sites from asking you to disable your adblocker to continue) and adsbypasser (prevents popup windows and skips countdown ads).

finally, one of the best things you can do for your internet privacy in general is to stop using google chrome. switch to a browser that keeps your data safe and secure; you can visit this page on privacytools.io for more information. i recently switched to mozilla firefox, and i can’t recommend it enough. (as an extra step, consider not using google as your primary search engine and switching to duckduckgo instead.)

ii. WHERE?

there are a lot of websites where you can find free ebooks. the three that i use are:

forum.mobilism.org: a crowdsourced forum where users post a wide variety of ebooks, including audiobooks. two things to note: 1) you do have to make an account to search the site, but doing so is completely free, and 2) the files are hosted on outside file transfer sites and linked to on mobilism, which means you’ll occasionally find posts with dead links, which is super frustrating.

library genesis: possibly the BEST ebook website. genuinely unmatched. files are hosted on the site itself, so you never get dead links, and there are several mirrors for each file. the site occasionally goes down, but there are multiple alternate links you can use. it has sections for fiction, scientific articles, comics, and “sci-tech” (nonfiction—this is where you look if you want textbooks!)

zlibrary: i don’t use this one as often, and the search function can be a little janky, but it has an extensive library of books (mostly nonfiction or popular fiction)

i don’t personally use other ebook sites very often, but here’s a repository of piracy links made by reddit user (i know) u/Wiggly_Poop that has sections on ebooks and textbooks, in case you can’t find what you’re looking for with the three above.

iii. HOW?

understanding how ebooks work can be slightly daunting at first, so here’s a quick breakdown of the file types you’re likely to see on these sites:

.epub: “electronic publication”; this is, in my opinion, the platonic ideal of an ebook. epubs can be opened in ibooks or another e-reader app, they adjust to your screen size (and you can manually adjust font and font size), and i believe they’re compatible with screenreaders. i almost exclusively read epubs. i just think they’re neat!

.pdf: “portable document format”; i think most people have a general understanding of what a pdf is. pdfs can be viewed on pretty much any device you can think of, including in internet browsers and e-reading apps, without the use of additional software. pdfs don’t adjust to different screen sizes or allow you to change the font size, however, which can be difficult if you’re reading on a small screen. (textbooks and such are almost always pdfs.)

.azw/.azw3: the kindle file extension. to my understanding, these can only be read on kindles. i do not have a kindle, so i know very little about them.

.mobi: another ebook format similar to epubs, but you can’t open them in ibooks (where i do my reading) so i don’t use them or know much about them. they’re compatible with kindles, calibre, and other file readers specifically designed for mobis.

you’re probably going to want a file unpacker/decompressor as well. sometimes, especially when you’re using mobilism, the file you download will be compressed (typically in the .zip or .rar formats). this reduces the size of the file and allows you to upload multiple books as one file, but they can’t be accessed directly and have to be “unpacked” first to get the contents out. i believe that both windows and mac can unzip .zip files directly (with a double-click), but .rars require another program. for windows, i recommend 7zip, and for mac, i recommend keka, both of which are free and easy to use.

and there you have it! there’s a lot i haven’t touched on here, but this is pretty much all you need to know to get started finding books on your own. the bulk of this information comes from my own experiences pirating books, which i’ve been doing for a few years now and never had significant trouble with.

if you have any questions after reading this post, feel free to send them my way!

[bluescreening]

Internet Safety

Yeah, I know, you’ve all sat through the talks at school telling you never to tell strangers your credit card details or whatever. But it has come to my attention that there are a worrying number of people who don’t know the actual practical things you can do to stay safe and secure while on the web. These tips cover invasions of privacy from anybody including big companies and hackers. It’s probably worthwhile to give ‘em a go.

Personal Safety

Password Safety - Use a different password for every website. I’m not kidding. If you think you’ll struggle to remember that many, you have two options. Firstly, you can use a password manager such as OnePassword, which is probably the safest option. If you’re like me and can’t quite bring yourself to trust one (there’s no reason not to, it just doesn’t sit right with me) you can use variations on a password for unimportant sites, and then come up with secure ones for sites you share more personal info with. 

Have I Been Pwned? - This is a website which tells you if your email has been involved in a data breach. Don’t worry if you have been pwned - you have different passwords for everything, remember! Just be aware of what data has been leaked, and change a password or two if necessary. Sign up for their email notifications to stay on top of recent breaches.

ProtonVPN - A VPN, if you don’t know, stands for virtual private network. Picture all the different connections between devices in a network, linked through WiFi or cables, as highways. VPNs section off a lane for your own private use, so nobody can see what you’re sending or receiving. It’s unlikely that anyone will be looking on your home network, but on public WiFi networks it’s important to prevent anyone seeing anything they shouldn’t - it’s not hard to packet sniff! You can also use them to bypass school and workplace website blocking, and access sites blocked in your country. Obviously ProtonVPN isn’t the only one, but I’d recommend em as they encrypt everything and have some pretty beefy systems in place to prevent tracking. It’s available on all devices for free.

ProtonMail - Yes, yes, more ProtonStuff, but this is a really good one. I’ll get onto why Google tracking you is a bad thing later, but if you want to break out of Google’s ecosystem, ProtonMail is a good alternative to GMail. It encrypts all your emails, which means nobody intercepting the email will know what it says. That means it’s great for private matters that you want to keep secret or avoid Google telling people about, like banking and stuff. It’s also a bit more customisable than GMail.

Social Media Checkup - Do you know exactly how much someone can find out about you, just by looking at your social media? Facebook is a special offender for that one (I don’t even have an account there anymore - and dear lord was deleting it a struggle) but Insta, Snapchat, Twitter and yes, even Tumblr, might provide a creep more info than you bargained for. Think about how much you want to make public, or how much the app has on you at all. There are plenty of tutorials on how to adjust your settings.

HTTPS Everywhere - A very handy extension that forces websites to encrypt all your data as you send it back and forth.

Avoiding Tracking

Why? - I know it might seem weird that a large company, or even the government, might want to keep track of little old you. Sure, they can target you with relevant ads, but whatever, you use an ad-blocker anyway. That is, until you realise that behind the scenes, on almost every website you visit, data-brokers are collecting info on you and what you do online, and building a profile of you. It’s not anonymous. And it can be used for anything from determining your creditworthiness and insurance premiums to detailed surveillance. Yeah. With all the protests going on lately, it would make sense to keep these people from learning about you for your own safety and your future.

DuckDuckGo - Start by using this search engine instead of Google, and installing the Privacy Essentials extension. It’s a good search engine, for one thing. For another, it prevents tracking and lets you know whose schemes you’ve foiled, you meddling kid. It gives each site you visit a privacy rating, and lets you know how much it’s increased that by. For example, Tumblr usually receives a D, but DuckDuckGo has blocked some trackers and improved it to a B. It has also informed me that trackers have been found and dealt with on over 50% of the websites I visit. Google is unsurprisingly the main culprit.

Alternative Browsers - There are lots of things you can use instead of Chrome, and many of them work really well! I recommend Firefox, since it’s almost exactly like Chrome but open-source, and it also protects you from trackers and has lots of fun extensions. There are some other good PC ones too like Opera and Vivaldi, but I haven’t used them before so I wouldn’t know how good they are. DuckDuckGo has its own mobile browser which is currently my main one.

Adblockers - You can’t get targeted ads if you don’t get ads! You can choose who to show ads for too, so if you want to support a certain site you can whitelist them. Try UBlock Origin, or Adblock Plus. Install ‘em as extensions for whatever browser you’re using.

Privacy Checkup - Go through your Google account with a fine-toothed comb and check what is being tracked about you. Pause your YouTube history, your Maps history, your Google Assistant history. Clear what you can. Check Amazon too. Also, never ever use Cortana or Siri or Alexa or anything like that. Ever. No matter how cool having a robot assistant is.

And that should be that! I’ll try to keep updating this post with new tips as I find them, but this is everything I do for the minute to ensure I’m protected online. 

UPDATE #1 (9/8/20): I started using Vivaldi and goddammit is it brilliant!!! Extreme customisation, it's chromium-based so you have all your fancy Chrome extensions and it has a lovely mobile app too. My current browser setup on both desktop and mobile is Vivaldi with Firefox as a backup, both with DuckDuckGo and adblockers.

[nvara-of-mortains-own]

Privacy Badger is a project from the Electronic Freedom Foundation, and will 'learn' from websites visited which links are trackers or not

Facebook Container (and Container Tabs) keep facebook in its own bubble, unable to track you accross your other tabs. It also disables the tracking in the 'share to FB' links

Container Tabs are all around userfull--have 5-6 individual profiles on firefox which don't share information with each other! they're labeled work/shopping/bank/personal etc. It's private window, but useful

DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials -- don't bother with the browser imo, but the search engine+extention are legit. if you sign in, they offer email masking; for lower effort, it's still a decent filter

and not firefox, but holyshit i love it:

Blockada--you know how one of the worst parts of doing stuff on your phone vs a desktop is how you cant add adblock extensions to an app? or how you always put your phone in airplane mode to play games, to avoid ads? This is the(a) solution, and it's so easy. it acts like a VPN or pihole, if you're familiar, and filters the internet requests based on adlists you can curate. ad- and tracker-free internet, across the board, including shitty mobile games my phone is so much faster, and it took so little effort compared to a pihole

The Chrome browser exists to show you ads and track where you go so that Google can show you more ads. Please stop using Chrome. Firefox is open source, and while Mozilla is not perfect, it isn’t actively fucking evil the way Google is. It has a bazillion plugins, including various (FREE!) ad block plugins (I recommend uBlock Origins, which will even block YouTube ads – you can watch videos without interruptions again!). It will also function very effectively with a lot more tabs open than Chrome. I’ve got around 800 tabs open right now (not loaded, of course, except for maybe 2 dozen; it’s been a heavy browsing day), and my wife has between 2k and 3k at any time.

We are in the New Browser Wars. This time there’s a helluva lot of money up for grabs, because a lot of it is about running those ads. Monopolies are bad for consumers.

Just go download Firefox.

[transrightsjimin]

hey, can followers / mutuals (preferrably from the US and the Netherlands) look up ‘buy crafts‘, ‘crafts kopen‘ en ‘handgemaakt‘ on your search engine and report back to me how at what rank a link to Etsy appears in the search results for each search? and what web browser and search engine you used?

i want to address a point about how one will easily find etsy when looking for buying / selling handcrafted goods online. i personally use firefox and duckduckgo and have turned off cookies for practically everything, but i still want to avoid a bias from my browser history or maybe some cookies influencing search results and want to see if the same shows up for others. also i will ofc back my claim up with statistics on the amount / percentage of users of the site / app for the US, NL and possibly other countries, but i am hesitant bc those statistics are partially behind a paywall and it does appear that you're more likely to stumble upon Etsy in the US than in the Netherlands.