v27: Alternative add-ons / 3rd party add-ons

[techX]

Hello,

i have couple of questions about add-on compatibility/alternatives. With new v27 many things changed. I was kind of surprised that many of them stopped to work because i did not expected it (usually i do not go to Forum until some issue occurs, so i have no informartions about upcomming changes). Anyway, i believe that this new direction is right thing - to keep PM modern and up to date;)

aleternatives
for many SDK extension i found adequate alternatives but for some of them i still did not find replacements:
Disable WebRTC > ?
Location Guard > ?
SoundCloud Downloader > ?
Can you recommend me the alternatives?

external add-ons
And i would like to ask if there is any way to allow these 3rd party add-ons on my PM:
- Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF
- Logitech SetPoint
(both they work under FF and never worked in PM)

ported Decentraleyes
And also i would like to report a bug with ported version of Decentraleyes https://github.com/JustOff/pm27-sdk-addons - it causes that the browser freeze out at several situations.

[half-moon]

for many SDK extension i found adequate alternatives but for some of them i still did not find replacements:
Disable WebRTC > ?

You can disable WebRTC in uBlock Origin.

[Nigaikaze]

My understanding is that WebRTC is not even included/supported in Pale Moon, so (theoretically, at least) there should be no real need to disable it.

[half-moon]

My understanding is that WebRTC is not even included/supported in Pale Moon, so (theoretically, at least) there should be no real need to disable it.

I think they added it back in with Pale Moon 27.

[Nigaikaze]

I think they added it back in with Pale Moon 27.

That's ... news to me. Especially considering Moonchild said as recently as October that "We don't have WebRTC in the browser" here:

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=13362#p94660

[half-moon]

I think they added it back in with Pale Moon 27.

That's ... news to me. Especially considering Moonchild said as recently as October that "We don't have WebRTC in the browser" here:

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=13362#p94660

Again I don't know, so that's why I said "I think" before.

[dark_moon]

Pale Moon doesn't have WebRTC included. So no addon need for that.

[trava90]

Enabling WebRTC in Pale Moon 27 was considered for a while, but it was ultimately decided against.

[Fred-internet]

Keep deciding against WebRTC will make this great browser another dinosaur.

[half-moon]

Keep deciding against WebRTC will make this great browser another dinosaur.

How? It's not like most of the web relies on WebRTC.

[HaleSun]

Hello,

i have couple of questions about add-on compatibility/alternatives. With new v27 many things changed. I was kind of surprised that many of them stopped to work because i did not expected it (usually i do not go to Forum until some issue occurs, so i have no informartions about upcomming changes). Anyway, i believe that this new direction is right thing - to keep PM modern and up to date;)

aleternatives
for many SDK extension i found adequate alternatives but for some of them i still did not find replacements:
Disable WebRTC > ?
Location Guard > ?
SoundCloud Downloader > ?
Can you recommend me the alternatives?

external add-ons
And i would like to ask if there is any way to allow these 3rd party add-ons on my PM:
- Adobe Acrobat - Create PDF
- Logitech SetPoint
(both they work under FF and never worked in PM)

ported Decentraleyes
And also i would like to report a bug with ported version of Decentraleyes https://github.com/JustOff/pm27-sdk-addons - it causes that the browser freeze out at several situations.

As others have said, Pale Moon does not have WebRTC by design, but for future reference, you do not have to wait for a dev to confirm, you can check this yourself by going to: https://www.webrtc-experiment.com/DetectRTC/
You can also try to use a site that relies on WebRTC like: https://www.sharefest.me/
If it doesn't work, then you don't have WebRTC.

As for Location Guard, my understanding is that this addon blocks sites from knowing your location? This addon should not be necessary with Pale Moon, as Pale Moon will not share your location by default and will instead ask you to confirm whether you want to share your location with any site that requests your whereabouts. You can test this with a site like:
https://ctrlq.org/maps/where/
However this is only what the browser itself can reveal about where you are. Another way to determine your approximate location is by IP address, and this can only be blocked by using a VPN or a secure tunnel to mask your IP address. There are a few free VPNs which I can recommend:
VPNBook: https://www.vpnbook.com/
Betternet: https://www.betternet.co/
Itshidden (Free PPTP VPN for Europe): http://www.itshidden.eu/index.php?optio ... &Itemid=27

SoundCloud Downloader: If the addon doesn't work, try the userscript: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/19650 ... downloader

As for Adobe Acrobat, if you want to view PDFs in browser, try the SumatraPDF NPAPI plugin: https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/sum ... ser-plugin
64-bit version of the plugin also exists: viewtopic.php?f=47&t=13800
Now, if you want to create PDFs, this can be done with any application with a print interface via a virtual PDF printer like doPDF:
http://www.dopdf.com/
Many alternatives also exist: http://alternativeto.net/software/dopdf/
These are great when used in conjunction with an addon like Print Edit: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... rint-edit/

Logitech SetPoint: If I recall this is the software to control Logitech mice and keyboards? What functions does this have when integrated into the browser? Perhaps similar functionality can be replicated by other means. For example, my computing experience just wouldn't be the same without X-Mouse Button Control (XMBC):
http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMou ... ontrol.htm
Using XMBC I've mapped my mouse's "forward" thumb button to [Alt + F4] for regular applications and windows, but I made a separate profile so that when Pale Moon is the active window, instead of [Alt + F4] the thumb button now sends [Ctrl + W]. This little tweak is so essential to my browsing habits that I can never go back to hunting those tiny little "x"s next to a tab. I close tens or maybe hundreds of tabs a day so this saves me an immense amount of time.

Regarding Decentraleyes, I too use this patched addon for PM27 and so far have not encountered any issues. However this is not the place to report issues regarding a specific addon. I suggest getting in touch with JustOff by posting on the main Pale Moon thread here: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=13745
or open a ticket on github: https://github.com/JustOff/pm27-sdk-addons/issues

Hope this helps you a bit.

[techX]

Thank you all for your comments, informations and tips especially to HaleSun

1. SECURITY: WebRTC
Yes, the website https://www.sharefest.me is not functional (the prime window "is loading..."), and the website https://www.webrtc-experiment.com/DetectRTC telling me an "ERROR". So it is resolved as v27 does not include WebRTC. Hope that it is exactly just like that.

2. SECURITY: Location Guard
Ok, the test website https://ctrlq.org/maps/where/ did not show me the location but i found that it was caused by uMatrix add-on by blocking some website content. After i allowed all components and refreshed the website the localization window poped up in left corner asking me 'to allow my location'.
Well, there are certain situations when websites deserve location but Location Guard substitutes real location for choosed one (fictional) - this is the principle of Location Guard. Any replacement for this?

3. SECURITY: Hide IP add-ons
And also i was looking for something to hide my IP. I know there are some solutions based on VPN or Proxy but there are many comments about claiming that in fact it is not save or at least 100% functional as one should consider. And also there is a serious leak in transfer speed (naturally). But for example this add-on Hide My IP https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/addon/hide-my-ip/ claiming that there is no drop of speed with this add-on. Any experiences, any comments about the solutions for Hide IP on PM esp. about those add-ons (transfer speed, security, reliability)? I am looking for some workable solid add-on.

VPNBook: https://www.vpnbook.com/ (it offers on add-on..)
Betternet: https://www.betternet.co/ (it has not good reputation by users)
Itshidden (Free PPTP VPN for Europe): http://www.itshidden.eu/index.php?optio ... Itemid=27/
Hide My IP: https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/addon/hide-my-ip/ (not compatible with v27)

4. offline PDF add-on converter
Yes, i know about the alternatives for converting websites to PDF but none of them is good enough (for me) as native Adobe - Create PDF add-on. It works with FF but not with PM. Any possibility to run this native Adobe add-on in PM??
I definitely do not want any 'website service converters' and also i am not looking for external .exe programmes as DoPDF, i am looking just for stand alone (offline) add-ons convertes. I have to say that Print Edit is very skilled add-on but i was never sucessfull with saving complete webpage with all backgrounds etc..

My alternatives i actually use:
Print Edit: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... rint-edit/
PDFit: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/pdfit/
Print Pages to PDF: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/print-page ... pdf-files/

5. Logitech SetPoint
This original native add-on comming with Logitech driver (same as Adobe PDF add-on with Adobe Acrobat) and is supposed for better scrolling on webpages. Again, i just asked if it is possible to implement 3rd party add-ons in PM somehow.

6. SoundCloud downloader
Thanks for the tip https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/19650 ... downloader, but Greasyfork addon is not compatible with v27. So where in PM installation folder i have to upload this script and under what name?

7. SECURITY: Decentraleyes
Yes, i already wrote to JustOff inform him about some issues of ported version.

8. SECURITY: PrivaConf & TotalSpoof / Random Agent Spoofer
I also find those interesting add-ons:
- PrivaConf https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/addon/privaconf/ & Total Spoof https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/addon/totalspoof/
- or Random Agent Spoofer https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/a ... t-spoofer/
I think they DO REALLY GOOD job! The job list of PrivaConf or Random Agent Spoofer is really BIG!! BUT they are not compatible with v27.......
I believe that many of their features could be implemented in PM (v27).
Any comments about that from dev. PM team, please???
Probably it will be good to get in touch with both PrivaConf (http://fonk.wz.cz; there is an email add too) and Random Agent Spoofer teams!!

[Lootyhoof]

6. SoundCloud downloader
Thanks for the tip https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/19650 ... downloader, but Greasyfork addon is not compatible with v27. So where in PM installation folder i have to upload this script and under what name?

There is a fork of Greasemonkey for Pale Moon.

https://github.com/janekptacijarabaci/g ... y/releases

8. SECURITY: PrivaConf & TotalSpoof / Random Agent Spoofer
I also find those interesting add-ons:
- PrivaConf https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/addon/privaconf/ & Total Spoof https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/addon/totalspoof/
- or Random Agent Spoofer https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/a ... t-spoofer/
I think they DO REALLY GOOD job! The job list of PrivaConf or Random Agent Spoofer is really BIG!! BUT they are not compatible with v27.......
I believe that many of their features could be implemented in PM (v27).
Any comments about that from dev. PM team, please???
Probably it will be good to get in touch with both PrivaConf (http://fonk.wz.cz; there is an email add too) and Random Agent Spoofer teams!!

This version of Total Spoof works for Pale Moon:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... rsion-1.10

The others are either Jetpack/SDK add-ons or post-Australis, so were never compatible.

[kizo07]

uMatrix have a nice Random Agent Spoofer, and you can add your own list of user agent strings.
Here you can check how it's works https://panopticlick.eff.org/

[HaleSun]

Well, there are certain situations when websites deserve location but Location Guard substitutes real location for choosed one (fictional) - this is the principle of Location Guard. Any replacement for this?

If you want to appear like you're from another location that's exactly what VPNs are for. Addons like Location Guard which spoof browser data are only half-measures and do not provide any real security or privacy. For more on what actually happens with geolocation and Pale Moon specifically, see this thread: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3658
In short, any good VPN provider will have multiple locations to choose from all over the world.

And also i was looking for something to hide my IP. I know there are some solutions based on VPN or Proxy but there are many comments about claiming that in fact it is not save or at least 100% functional as one should consider. And also there is a serious leak in transfer speed (naturally). But for example this add-on Hide My IP https://addons.mozilla.org/cs/firefox/addon/hide-my-ip/ claiming that there is no drop of speed with this add-on. Any experiences, any comments about the solutions for Hide IP on PM esp. about those add-ons (transfer speed, security, reliability)? I am looking for some workable solid add-on.

I generally do not trust "hide IP" addons and programs especially if they are free. They are generally just intermediaries for questionable proxy sources. Better to go directly to a reputable proxy provider (all of which are not free). There are public proxy lists but public proxies are insecure and should never be used for anything important e.g. never login to your email, bank account or social media accounts, etc with a public proxy. Public proxies also have varying speeds and come and go on a regular basis; they are not to be depended upon for reliable, stable service.
Here is a public proxy list that is updated regularly:
http://proxylist.hidemyass.com/
These are commercial proxy providers I can recommend:
https://www.sslprivateproxy.com/
https://www.myprivateproxy.net/
If you need an addon to manage proxies, the best I can recommend is FoxyProxy Standard:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... -standard/

Yes, i know about the alternatives for converting websites to PDF but none of them is good enough (for me) as native Adobe - Create PDF add-on. It works with FF but not with PM. Any possibility to run this native Adobe add-on in PM??
I definitely do not want any 'website service converters' and also i am not looking for external .exe programmes as DoPDF, i am looking just for stand alone (offline) add-ons convertes. I have to say that Print Edit is very skilled add-on but i was never sucessfull with saving complete webpage with all backgrounds etc..

If it is your primary intention to save webpages for offline viewing, PDF conversion is a very bad idea (and unnecessary). A much better option is to save pages as MHT using the MozArchiver addon: https://addons.palemoon.org/extensions/mozarchiver/
Use Print Edit if you're actually going to print to paper, otherwise save as MHT.
If you absolutely must have PDF for whatever reason there are probably no addons that can do this for Pale Moon (to your standards). PDF conversion is complicated especially HTML to PDF. You can always save pages as HTML and then batch convert them to PDF using Acrobat.

This original native add-on comming with Logitech driver (same as Adobe PDF add-on with Adobe Acrobat) and is supposed for better scrolling on webpages. Again, i just asked if it is possible to implement 3rd party add-ons in PM somehow.

If Pale Moon's built-in options for tweaking scrolling behavior is not satisfactory, try the addon Yet Another Smooth Scrolling:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... scrolling/

Greasyfork addon is not compatible with v27.

You mean Greasemonkey? I'm currently using the latest Greasemonkey (v3.9) on PM27 right now and all my scripts work fine:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... asemonkey/
If it tells you it's not compatible just click "install anyway".

...
One last note about privacy options. If you're very (and I mean VERY) serious about privacy while web browsing, you need to use custom user.js config files. This post will get you started: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/03/compre ... x-user-js/
There is no "one size fits all" configuration. You need to go over every option and decide if you need it or not (some options will break some sites). It may take a while to create your own custom user.js file tailored to your exact needs, but once you're done you can copy your settings over to any profile you want. There is not an exact 1:1 set of options between Firefox and Pale Moon but there is little risk involved. If you use a Firefox setting that does not exist in Pale Moon no harm will occur. Just nothing will happen.

P.S. If you're already using uMatrix you do not need any other addon that spoofs the user agent since uMatrix has its own built-in option for user agent spoofing. (Click the icon directly to the right of the "power" icon in uMatrix settings panel)
...

[dark_moon]

One last note about privacy options. If you're very (and I mean VERY) serious about privacy while web browsing, you need to use custom user.js config files. This post will get you started: http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/03/compre ... x-user-js/

I use that site and others too in the past, see viewtopic.php?p=95629#p95629
But then Moonchild open my eyes and i revert those settings.

[HarmonicResonance]

6. SoundCloud downloader
Thanks for the tip https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/19650 ... downloader, but Greasyfork addon is not compatible with v27. So where in PM installation folder i have to upload this script and under what name?

There is a fork of Greasemonkey for Pale Moon.

https://github.com/janekptacijarabaci/g ... y/releases

AWESOME. Thank you! I had installed Greasemonkey straight from Mozilla's extensions, but although it installed and provided the toolbar icon, I actually could not edit any scripts and they one I did shoehorn in there didn't run - Socialfixer. However, this forked version made everything work again. Whoo hoo!

[glocal]

If it is your primary intention to save webpages for offline viewing, PDF conversion is a very bad idea (and unnecessary). A much better option is to save pages as MHT using the MozArchiver addon: https://addons.palemoon.org/extensions/mozarchiver/

There are many reasons to convert web pages to PDF. I save as MHT sometimes but the files are significantly bigger than the respective PDFs and PDFs are much better for annotating and highlighting, and for handling with tools like Zotero for archiving and academic work.

I have been looking for many years (literally) for a converter that preserves the clickable words. As far as I know, only the Adobe addon for IE does that well. Virtual printers 'flatten' the links and you get blue words that are not clickable. Also, I won't send potentially sensitive files to a cloud service for conversion.

So far, I have found only the wkhtmltopdf libraries can do this, not very well. Print pages to PDF https://addons.palemoon.org/extensions/ ... es-to-pdf/ is supposed to use wkhtmltopdf but it doesn't work here (it never completes the conversion which goes on forever, plus the interface is counterintuitive).

Any pointers will be much appreciated.

[0strodamus]

AWESOME. Thank you! I had installed Greasemonkey straight from Mozilla's extensions, but although it installed and provided the toolbar icon, I actually could not edit any scripts and they one I did shoehorn in there didn't run - Socialfixer. However, this forked version made everything work again. Whoo hoo!

Are you able to get the Greasemonkey fork to edit scripts using scratchpad? I can only use an external editor with PM27.

[GMforker]

Are you able to get the Greasemonkey fork to edit scripts using scratchpad? I can only use an external editor with PM27.

Fixed (v3.9.2). Thanks for the feedback