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June 22, 2019

Google Chrome Has Become Surveillance Software, It's Time to Switch


Chrome has become like spyware for Google, allowing more tracker cookies than any other browser.



You open your browser to look at the web. Do you know who is looking back at you?

Over a recent week of web surfing, I peered under the hood of Google Chrome and found it brought along a few thousand friends. Shopping, news and even government sites quietly tagged my browser to let ad and data companies ride shotgun while I clicked around the web.

This was made possible by the web's biggest snoop of all: Google. Seen from the inside, its Chrome browser looks a lot like surveillance software.

Lately I've been investigating the secret life of my data, running experiments to see what technology really is up to under the cover of privacy policies that nobody reads. It turns out, having the world's biggest advertising company make the most-popular web browser was about as smart as letting kids run a candy shop.

It made me decide to ditch Chrome for a new version of nonprofit Mozilla's Firefox, which has default privacy protections. Switching involved less inconvenience than you might imagine.

My tests of Chrome versus Firefox unearthed a personal data caper of absurd proportions. In a week of web surfing on my desktop, I discovered 11,189 requests for tracker "cookies" that Chrome would have ushered right onto my computer, but were automatically blocked by Firefox. These little files are the hooks that data firms, including Google itself, use to follow what websites you visit so they can build profiles of your interests, income and personality.

Chrome welcomed trackers even at websites you'd think would be private. I watched Aetna and the Federal Student Aid website set cookies for Facebook and Google. They surreptitiously told the data giants every time I pulled up the insurance and loan service's log-in pages.

And that's not the half of it.

Look in the upper right corner of your Chrome browser. See a picture or a name in the circle? If so, you're logged in to the browser, and Google might be tapping into your web activity to target ads. Don't recall signing in? I didn't, either. Chrome recently started doing that automatically when you use Gmail.

Chrome is even sneakier on your phone. If you use Android, Chrome sends Google your location every time you conduct a search. (If you turn off location sharing it still sends your coordinates out, just with less accuracy.)

Firefox isn't perfect - it still defaults searches to Google and permits some other tracking. But it doesn't share browsing data with Mozilla, which isn't in the data-collection business.

At a minimum, web snooping can be annoying. Cookies are how a pair of pants you look at in one site end up following you around in ads elsewhere. More fundamentally, your web history - like the color of your underpants - ain't nobody's business but your own. Letting anyone collect that data leaves it ripe for abuse by bullies, spies and hackers.

Google's product managers told me in an interview that Chrome prioritises privacy choices and controls, and they're working on new ones for cookies. But they also said they have to get the right balance with a "healthy web ecosystem" (read: ad business).

Firefox's product managers told me they don't see privacy as an "option" relegated to controls. They've launched a war on surveillance, starting this month with "enhanced tracking protection" that blocks nosy cookies by default on new Firefox installations. But to succeed, first Firefox has to convince people to care enough to overcome the inertia of switching.

It's a tale of two browsers - and the diverging interests of the companies that make them.

A decade ago, Chrome and Firefox were taking on Microsoft's lumbering giant Internet Explorer. The upstart Chrome solved real problems for consumers, making the web safer and faster. Today it dominates more than half the market.

Lately, however, many of us have realized that our privacy is also a major concern on the web - and Chrome's interests no longer always seem aligned with our own.

That's most visible in the fight over cookies. These code snippets can do some helpful things, like remembering the contents of your shopping cart. But now many cookies belong to data companies, which use them to tag your browser so they can follow your path like crumbs in the proverbial forest.

They're everywhere - one study found third-party tracking cookies on 92 percent of websites. The Washington Post website has about 40 tracker cookies, average for a news site, which the company said in a statement are used to deliver better-targeted ads and track ad performance.

You'll also find them on sites without ads: Both Aetna and the FSA service said the cookies on their sites help measure their own external marketing campaigns.

The blame for this mess belongs to the entire advertising, publishing and tech industries. But what responsibility does a browser have in protecting us from code that isn't doing much more than spying?

In 2015, Mozilla debuted a version of Firefox that included anti-tracking tech, turned on only in its "private" browsing mode. After years of testing and tweaking, that's what it activated this month on all websites. This isn't about blocking ads - those still come through. Rather, Firefox is parsing cookies to decide which ones to keep for critical site functions and which ones to block for spying.

Apple's Safari browser, used on iPhones, also began applying "intelligent tracking protection" to cookies in 2017, using an algorithm to decide which ones were bad.

Chrome, so far, remains open to all cookies by default. Last month, Google announced a new effort to force third-party cookies to better self-identify, and said we can expect new controls for them after it rolls out. But it wouldn't offer a timeline or say whether it would default to stopping trackers.

I'm not holding my breath. Google itself, through its Doubleclick and other ad businesses, is the No. 1 cookie maker - the Mrs. Fields of the web. It's hard to imagine Chrome ever cutting off Google's moneymaker.

"Cookies play a role in user privacy, but a narrow focus on cookies obscures the broader privacy discussion because it's just one way in which users can be tracked across sites," said Ben Galbraith, Chrome's director of product management. "This is a complex problem, and simple, blunt cookie blocking solutions force tracking into more opaque practices."

There are other tracking techniques - and the privacy arms race will get harder. But saying things are too complicated is also a way of not doing anything.

"Our viewpoint is to deal with the biggest problem first, but anticipate where the ecosystem will shift and work on protecting against those things as well," said Peter Dolanjski, Firefox's product lead.

Both Google and Mozilla said they're working on fighting "fingerprinting," a way to sniff out other markers in your computer. Firefox is already testing its capabilities, and plans to activate them soon.

Choosing a browser is no longer just about speed and convenience - it's also about data defaults.

It's true that Google usually obtains consent before gathering data, and offers a lot of knobs you can adjust to opt out of tracking and targeted advertising. But its controls often feel like a shell game that results in us sharing more personal data.

I felt hoodwinked when Google quietly began signing Gmail users into Chrome last fall. Google says the Chrome shift didn't cause anybody's browsing history to be "synced" unless they specifically opted in - but I found mine was being sent Google, and don't recall ever asking for extra surveillance. (You can turn off the Gmail auto-login by searching "Gmail" in Chrome settings and switching off "Allow Chrome sign-in.")

After the sign-in shift, Johns Hopkins professor Matthew Green made waves in the computer science world when he blogged he was done with Chrome. "I lost faith," he told me. "It only takes a few tiny changes to make it very privacy unfriendly."

There are ways to defang Chrome, which is much more complicated than just using "Incognito Mode." But it's much easier to switch to a browser not owned by an advertising company.

Like Green, I've chosen Firefox, which works across phones, tablets, PCs and Macs. Apple's Safari is also a good option on Macs, iPhones and iPads, and the niche Brave browser goes even further in trying to jam the ad-tech industry.

What does switching to Firefox cost you? It's free, and downloading a different browser is much simpler than changing phones.

In 2017, Mozilla launched a new version of Firefox called Quantum that made it considerably faster. In my tests, it has felt almost as fast as Chrome, though benchmark tests have found it can be slower in some contexts. Firefox says it's better about managing memory if you use lots and lots of tabs.

Switching means you'll have to move your bookmarks, and Firefox offers tools to help. Shifting passwords is easy if you use a password manager. And most browser add-ons are available, though it's possible you won't find your favourite.

Mozilla has challenges to overcome. Among privacy advocates, the nonprofit is known for caution. It took a year longer than Apple to make cookie blocking a default.

And as a nonprofit, it earns money when people make searches in the browser and click on ads - which means its biggest source of income is Google. Mozilla's CEO says the company is exploring new paid privacy services to diversify its income.

Its biggest risk is that Firefox might someday run out of steam in its battle with the Chrome behemoth. Even though it's the No. 2 desktop browser, with about 10 percent of the market, major sites could decide to drop support, leaving Firefox scrambling.

If you care about privacy, let's hope for another David and Goliath outcome.

Source: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/reviews/google-chrome-review-spy-software-firefox-privacy-concerns-2057504

© The Washington Post 2019

June 21, 2019

Microsoft’s Chromium Edge browser now available on Windows 7 and Windows 8


Microsoft is making its Chromium-powered Edge browser available on both Windows 7 and Windows 8 for testing today. The release comes two months after Chromium Edge first debuted on Windows 10, and a month after it appeared on macOS. Microsoft is releasing the daily Canary builds initially, and plans to support the weekly Dev channel “soon.” You can download the installer over at Microsoft’s Edge Insider site.






“You will find the experience and feature set on previous versions of Windows to be largely the same as on Windows 10, including forthcoming support for Internet Explorer mode for our enterprise customers,” explains a Microsoft Edge team blog post. While most features will be the same, dark mode is missing and Microsoft says there is no support for AAD sign-in.
EDGE IS COMING TO WINDOWS 7 BEFORE ITS END OF SUPPORT

Microsoft is still testing its Chromium Edge browser across Windows 10, macOS, and now older versions of Windows, and it’s still not clear when the company will start to release it more broadly. Edge will be available for Windows 7, despite the fact Microsoft is planning to end support for the operating system next January.

Edge Chromium will include an IE mode for businesses, and a new Collections feature that’s designed for web users to be able to more easily collect text, images, and information from the internet into a note. We got a closer look at the new Microsoft Edge earlier this year.


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Microsoft Edge, when it was originally launched with Windows 10, was not available for earlier versions of Windows operating system. Because of this, Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 had to rely on third-party web browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox as the built-in Internet Explorer browser was outdated.

A few months ago, Microsoft announced the Chromium-based Edge browser. The new Chromium-based Edge was initially made available for Windows 10, and later it was released for macOS as well.

Now, Microsoft has made available the Chromium-based Edge for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 as well. With this, Windows 7/8/8.1 users will finally be able to install and use the Edge browser without upgrading their installation to Windows 10.

Although this will certainly help PC users who are still running Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1, it’s surprising that Microsoft released a new browser for Windows 7 at this time as Windows 7 support will end in just six months (January 2020).

For starters, the new Edge is super-fast like the Chrome browser and looks very similar to Chrome. Since the new Edge is based on Chromium, it offers most of the features and options offered in Chrome. Besides that, it supports Chrome extensions as well.

After installing the Edge browser, you can import browser data (including passwords) from other browsers into the Edge.

Visit the following link to download the latest version of Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser for Windows 7/8/8.1. The new Edge is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7/8/8.1 systems.
Download Edge for Windows 7/8/8.1

June 14, 2019

13 Cool Chrome Extensions You've Never Heard Of!

10 Reasons Why Chrome is Better Than All Other Browsers

Google chrome is one of the best things to have happened to the internet. It made sense to come up with the chrome browser as Google already controls a good amount of the web that can be accessed by normal users. What could be better than having a dedicated browser to browse pages that Google itself will show. The browser was launched in 2008.

Initially, the browser was made available for the windows platform but it was later ported to other platforms such as Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. There are many other internet browsers but all of them seem to have some or the other problem which annoys users. Chrome has always been supportive and comes up with features that are worth mentioning. Let us see what are the reasons that make chrome a favorable browser despite so much competition.
Why Chrome is Better Than All Other Browsers
1. Simplicity






Chances are high that you must be reading this post on a chrome browser itself. The google chrome browser has a very clean and minimal design. It has almost no fluff and instantly you get a feeling that you are into something that helps you search the web very easily. When it comes to other browsers, they have not taken the user in mind and instead focus on making money via showing useless ads. While chrome has an interface that appeals to people of all age group.
2. Speed


Most of the browsers can open pages very quickly but what matters the most is when you open heavy pages that contains stuff which has too much graphics and flash ads or a video. Google chrome opens such pages very quickly, almost in a blink. You won’t find this speed of opening pages in any other browser. Opera is a good competitor but it has ruined the user experience in the long run. So when it comes to speed and optimization, nothing comes close to google chrome.
3. Security


Google has a lot of web-based products and they have the best engineers by their side to control the internet and its services who ensure that the updates to google chrome always carry security patches and bug fixes so that no malicious attempt is made to hamper the working of the browser. Other browsers have had a very poor record when it comes to updating the browser to tackle web attacks. Just in case you get stuck at an error like Error404 or any other error then you may refer to this Errorcodes guide which will help you resolve the issue.
4. Appealing Apps





Google Chrome was one of the first browsers to have a dedicated store for buying stuff that could enrich the user experience. The chrome web store has tons of interesting things that are set to make things easy for you. There are loads of epic extensions and many other things as per your needs. Some to track your usage, some to block ads and what not. Any web-based developer would want to launch his app first at the google chrome store. It has apps that attract users.
5. Platform Independent


Just like internet explorer or edge is available exclusively for windows system. Chrome is not bound by anything like that. You can find chrome for almost all the devices where you can browse the internet. Chrome browser can be downloaded for Android smartphones, Linux based systems, windows systems and also on Mac OS systems. It is platform independent. It has a wider reach because of which people love it.
6. Market Share


Market share does not ever lie. If you look at the recent stats, you will find that chrome is leading the market with 60% of the share followed by other web browsers such as opera, safari, and firefox. The reason behind this could well be the trust that Google has instilled among the people and also genuinely their product is way much better than the other browsers. Chrome has been there on the market since 2008 and any other web browser is yet to dethrone it from the title.



7. Quick Updates






With websites being made on new technologies and also sites carrying data that is only increasing, it becomes important for web browsers to have a better compatibility. Google chrome is very nice in those terms. They roll out updates before anyone else does and it helps users to have a butter smooth experience of browsing the web. In other browsers, the updates do come but they arrive too late while in chrome they come first.
8. Easy Migration


Google Chrome has a great property of synchronization which means if you are just migrating from an old browser like internet explorer then you can migrate the important stuff like your bookmarks. Also, the latest feature that has come is signing in your chrome browser which has made accessibility even easier. Now you can carry your credentials like bookmarks and most visited sites with you. It is a more of personalized experience now.


9. Extensions and Add-ons







Google Chrome was one of the first to support extensions. It later became like a marketplace where you could make extensions and then sell them. Other browsers do not have this facility because they have just one forte which is to let the users browse the web. Chrome was among the first to make extensions that made the world know what all as an extra we can do with our browsers. There are tons of epic facilities such as Momentum and other exciting extensions.






Personally, we use extensions like Pocket to save links for offline reading, Alexa to check Alexa rank, Grammarly for writing, AdBlock Plus to block pop-ups/ads, GMass for managing and tracking email campaigns, Google Hangouts for chatting and many more.
10. Reboot Free Installation


In some browsers when you install a particular extension or any other service than to make it run on the browser, you often need to reboot the whole browser or even sometimes the entire system. In chrome, there is no such thing as a reboot for completing the installation. All you have to do is simply install and without you having to get off the browser, you can begin using the web browser. It is very robust and has great compatibility.
Conclusion


There are tons of different browsers and almost every browser has some of the other features that makes it unique but when you combine all the stuff that is important while browsing the web then Google Chrome is a clear winner. Go ahead and browse the web with chrome for the best experience.





About Author: Shaira Williams




Source: https://www.techrrival.com/reasons-chrome-better-browser/