Pale Moon forum

What do you use as a home page, the one that opens when you load your browser? Do you use just the one, or several pages, or perhaps you just save the last session to reload when you open your browser?

I use Google with a background, plus GMail and Reader set as app tabs.

If I'm testing Pale Moon pre-releases and running comparisons across a variety of Mozilla-based browsers, I set them all to about:home.

For my normal usage, it's mostly the previous session.

A clean browser start up goes to DuckDuckGo: https://duckduckgo.com/ - except for Pale Moon, that has http://start.palemoon.org/ set.

<I often have a lot of browsers/builds/versions installed - I counted the old ones as I removed them one month = 33>

I won't have anything to do with anything Google,it sets Trackers and cookies and invades my privacy!! I use http://www.startingpage.com which sets No Trackers and NO cookies as my main search engine.With whatever browser I'm using at the time,I load up 15-25 of my favourite sites (uTube,Google News w/DNT+blocking all cookies,MSNBC,Yahoo,CNN,Google NewsReader,Facebook,Four of my Weather sites/radars,SOMA Radio,Another Forum and this one etc.) and I am good to go to my favouurite topic:News,Weather,Forums and Security!

-Cowboy

I use the Pale Moon Start page: http://start.palemoon.org/ anyway all the search stuff ends in google nowadays.

I use my My Way personalized home start page. It's similar to one having a personalized page on Yahoo.

http://www.my.myway.com/

As privacy and tracking concerns have been brought up, studying the privacy policies may help you:
https://startpage.com/eng/privacy-policy.html
https://duckduckgo.com/privacy.html
https://ixquick.com/eng/protect-privacy.html

Similarly, you may be somewhat surprised when you compare the privacy policies of software suppliers; Iobit, for instance, markets software competing with those from Malwarebytes and Piriform:
http://www.iobit.com/privacy.html
http://www.malwarebytes.org/privacy_policy
http://www.piriform.com/about/privacy-policy

My Pale Moon open the last session and my startpage is http://www.palemoon.org/

@privacy: Just using the CS Lite and NoScript Addon

Not true Lobo!
...Have a look at http://www.startingpage.com and read carefully.NO Trackers and NO cookies are set! I absolutely hate google and block them at every opportunity with DNT+ and Ghostery. I try my best to protect my privacy...

Kind regards
-Cowboy

EDIT: DuckDuckGo is another good one but doesn't give all the results that Start Page does.

lobocursor wrote:I use the Pale Moon Start page: http://start.palemoon.org/ anyway all the search stuff ends in google nowadays.

dv8cowboy wrote:Not true Lobo!
...Have a look at http://www.startingpage.com and read carefully.NO Trackers and NO cookies are set! I absolutely hate google and block them at every opportunity with DNT+ and Ghostery. I try my best to protect my privacy...

You are still served Google search results. If you understand how Google works, then you know that search results from the engine depend on who and wherefrom the search was made, so your results will be biased depending on where the forwarding is made from (startingpage in this case), you would be in their "bubble"
https://startpage.com/eng/aboutstartpage/

Startpage offers you Web search results from Google - the world's most popular search engine
When you search with Startpage the Web results are generated by Google.

If you really want unbiased results without tracking, and also sent over SSL, tap the search bar drop-down on the top right in Pale Moon and select "DuckDuckGo"
They don't track and they don't bubble.

dv8cowboy wrote:
EDIT: DuckDuckGo is another good one but doesn't give all the results that Start Page does.

It does, but your startingpage results have different results at the top (see my previous post about bubbling )

Hey guys, you are making me paranoid with all this stuff.

I have happily used Google since I started on the net and haven't really noticed anything "untoward", and my searches always find what I am looking for. I put DuckDuckGo back in the search bar drop down (I had nixed it along with other sites I didn't use) so I will give it a comparison.

*slinks off nervously looking over shoulder*

No worries about Google - I use it all the time myself and I really, really don't care about tracking when it comes down to it. Aggragate search results are collected anyway, no matter how you search. And no, they aren't used in a malicious way, either. In fact, you may actually find that getting more related and relevant search results for what you are searching for prevents you from having to dig deeper than you otherwise would.

In the end, it's all about being specific in what you search for and you will find what you need to find when you do that!
The discussion is not labeling Google bad, it's giving some reasons for other search engines to use for people who want to be as anonymous as possible and get as unbiased results as possible in their searches. Drawback? They may have to page through a few more pages of results if they go from scratch.
Bias isn't always a bad thing.

No need to be paranoid about Google -- if they were bad I wouldn't use them as the main, center-stage search box on the default start page presented by Pale Moon.

Thanks Moonchild - I was joking about being paranoid. I have a set up that works with no obvious downsides for me.

@Moonchild...

Start Page filters Google results but they use a proxy,so NO Trackers or cookies are set!Check using DNT+ and Ghostery and you will see that.
...I do use DuckDuckGo on occasion,just not as mush as http://startingpage.com....

Best regards
-Cowboy

When it come to Google results: I frequently search for files, drivers etc. and Google results are usually over-populated with scam/crap-ware affiliated sites, sometimes to the second or third page of results, completely masking the real data I'm seeking. I have no real issue with their privacy policy (unlike one policy I linked to earlier).

DudckDuckGo saves me time on most searches.

dv8cowboy wrote:Start Page filters Google results but they use a proxy,so NO Trackers or cookies are set!Check using DNT+ and Ghostery and you will see that.

They don't pass any of it on to the end user, no, but, consider this:
Google uses geolocation as part of its search engine to show relevant local results on top.
Say, their proxy is located in the USA. You search through their proxy, USA results will show up prioritized.

Next thing: Google will see search queries from the proxy location and profile those. This means that your search results through it will become biased by what people before you have searched for. If they are adamant about being untraceable, I bet a large portion of the searches will be for.. *ahem* "adult entertainment", so, if that gets profiled, you are more likely to receive similar results when you search.

Do you see the problem with proxying now?

Rohugh wrote:Hey guys, you are making me paranoid with all this stuff.

I have happily used Google since I started on the net and haven't really noticed anything "untoward", and my searches always find what I am looking for. I put DuckDuckGo back in the search bar drop down (I had nixed it along with other sites I didn't use) so I will give it a comparison.

*slinks off nervously looking over shoulder*

The ads from google are useless unless you have an international/USA credit card. For me the internet is just a huge window shop seen from the street. But.. some ads are really annoying!

@Moonchild...
It just comes down to personal preferences,I just HATE Google! LOL!!

-Cowboy

dv8cowboy wrote:It just comes down to personal preferences,I just HATE Google! LOL!!

Then you shouldn't use a replacement page that uses Google search results.

I don't directly Moonchild....http://www.startingpage.com doesn't set any cookies (verified by DNT+ and Ghostery).It even blocks the Tracker and Google Analytics used by this Forum. In any event,I am happy with it.Sometimes I use DuckDuckGo too also...I just want to control my privacy as much as I can.I even use Ad-aware as well as some other security programs (Malwarebytes,Anti-spyware etc.) And here is another little tool: http://abine.com/googlesharing/ I hope it interests you!

Kind regards,
-Cowboy

Moonchild wrote:

dv8cowboy wrote:It just comes down to personal preferences,I just HATE Google! LOL!!

Then you shouldn't use a replacement page that uses Google search results.