Chromium Browser Recommendations Solicited

[van p]

For some time I've been using the Chromium-variant browser UR. It was abandoned about a year-and-a-half ago. Now it's becoming a problem, and I need to find a replacement.

I'm not a computer expert, so I can't use something where I have to jump through a lot of hoops just to download the thing and set it up. Ungoogled Chromium might fall into this category.

I also want something with staying power so I don't have to replace it in a year or two. I also don't want an ad blocker/cookie blocker/VPN unless these things can be turned off.

Thanks for any and all thoughts on the matter.

[moonbat]

I have Brave as a backup browser. No complaints. And the fearmongering about it mining crypto or the BAT token stuff is bullshit - those features are disabled by default and you have to explicitly turn them on for them to be active (Mozilla could learn a big lesson from these guys if not Pale Moon itself when it comes to respecting user preferences and asking them first )

If you're on Windows, Edge is fine too, well integrated with Windows and runs fast. All you do is trade Google for Microsoft as to who gets your browsing data

[suzyne]

I use Edge because it is already installed on both my laptops, and it works fine. It is only a backup browser and I have it set to auto clear all site data when exiting, (except for a handful of url's that I have put on the allowed exception list).

[somdcomputerguy]

Try Vivaldi. Sometimes I use that when I just have to use a site or service that's important enough to me to actually use a browser besides Pale Moon. Floorp is another alternative that sometimes comes in play.

[van p]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I'm surprised to see Edge recommended. It's from The Evil One (in addition to Google being evil, of course). avoidthehack! has nothing good to say about it (https://avoidthehack.com/tools/privacy-browsers), particularly, "Put very simply: Edge phones home (to Microsoft) about your device and your browsing habits. A lot," and "As you can see from this overview, Microsoft Edge is a nightmare for privacy."

Also, these 2 comments from RestorePrivacy about Brave (https://restoreprivacy.com/browser/secure/#comments):

"https://popzazzle.blogspot.com/2021/07/why-i-uninstalled-brave-browser.html

Brave browser is a load of CRAP. It shouldn’t be on this list at all.
Nobody thought it was strange for a so-called privacy browser to have it’s own AD program? All the scandals this browser had and it’s still considered a private browser? Brave’s privacy is as fake as a $99 bill.
At least Google admits its spyware. Brave is the same garbage, just a different logo."

and

"'The clear implication is that all of the connections are internal, and this is absolutely not the case. This determination to trick users is far worse than the data transfer itself. If Brave are covering up connections to third party servers by rebranding them with their own domain names, what else are they covering up?'
Brave is a fools browser. A browser that puts an AD on it’s homepage, while saying it “blocks ads”. I’m sure this joke of a browser is not done with scandals and backlash. Brave needs to go under Chrome in this list, for browsers NOT to use."

A positive comment about Brave on RestorePrivacy:

"I agree with Brave #1 on here. I’ve tried different browsers over the years but Brave has the best of everything. Speed, privacy, security, and features. I also like it’s private news feed right on the homepage.
I keep up with it’s changelog to see what’s new, or what changes have been made. I think Brandon Eich made the perfect browser for people trying to escape “Big Tech”."

Vivaldi is on my radar. I've seen Floorp mentioned somewhere. I'll look into it, but I want to make sure I'm getting something that's going to stick around. Floorp sounds like a candidate for disappearance at some point.

[Giraffe]

I've Slimjet and it's lighter on resources than Chrome itself and the download is about 77MB - Chrome is 117MB.
https://win.softpedia.com/dyn-search.ph ... rm=slimjet

[van p]

I've heard about Slimjet; I'll look into it.

For anybody interested, a browser comparison tool: https://avoidthehack.com/how-to-bct.

[back2themoon]

Also have Brave as a rarely used Chromium backup. You do have to fiddle with some settings but its manageable.

I use Edge because it is already installed on both my laptops, and it works fine. It is only a backup browser and I have it set to auto clear all site data when exiting.

Also used Edge with auto-clear until recently, but Microsoft kept adding useless features and changing the UI so the official uninstall process was unavoidable. Got fed up reverting all that.

[Massacre]

Using Vivaldi feels like using alpha-version software, something always breaks there. You can try Supermium instead, looks promising. Or Ungoogled Chromium if you are on Win10+ and don't need Manifest V2 support. I'm currently using modified 360chrome (360 Extreme Explorer) but I don't recommend it for non-computer experts.

[suzyne]

I'm surprised to see Edge recommended.

I guess you are surprised because you equate a Pale Moon user with privacy fanatic? I don't belong to that category and have a relaxed attitude to what information is shared about me on the websites I visit, or the browser I am using.

That being said, when I use a new browser, I do enjoy reading the tips online about how to increase the privacy of my browser by turning off settings and changing options. There are several guides that explain how to do this with Edge, and the amount of data leaving the browser can be significantly reduced.  To me it is a fun game discovering what can be turned off.

But I am not going to get worried or upset when there is still telemetry or phoning home. Being consumed by ways to avoid trackers, ads, or whatnot, just doesn't interest me. Edge does the job for the sites that don't work fully with Pale Moon, and I am happy to leave the task of sweating over what is the best, most privacy-focussed browser to others.

[van p]

Thanks again to those who have replied so far.

I realize now that Slimjet is not Chromium, so that's out. Again, I'm looking for a Chromium browser that will work where non-Chromium browsers won't.

I guess you are surprised because you equate a Pale Moon user with privacy fanatic?

I appreciate the assistance, but I said precisely Z-RO about that. I use Pale Moon, and I'm not a privacy fanatic. I'm surprised because I hear almost nothing good about Edge (or M$, for that matter). Some of us understand that M$ and Google are evil and want as little to do with them as possible. If I can get a non-Chrome Chromium browser that will work where non-Chromium browsers won't, that's what I'm after. I won't be giving any business to M$ or Google that I don't absolutely have to give. No reason for anybody to read between the lines. I said (and meant) what I said (and meant)--nuthin' else.

[suzyne]

I guess you are surprised because you equate a Pale Moon user with privacy fanatic?

I appreciate the assistance, but I said precisely Z-RO about that.

If I see someone quoting privacy websites and talking about browsers phoning home I think privacy must be important for them, but sure, fanatic was obviously too strong a word. My mistake.

When you say:

If I can get a non-Chrome Chromium browser that will work where non-Chromium browsers won't, that's what I'm after.

It totally depends on what those sites are that you need your non-Chrome Chromium browser to work on? The answer that works for me may not be suitable for you.

For example, Spotify is my essential site (I am not interested in installing the player from the Windows Store). If a non-Chrome Chromium browser doesn't work there, no matter what its credentials are in other areas, then I am not interested in it. And sadly, I have found that several non-Chrome Chromium browsers do have trouble playing tracks on Spotify. Something about DRM and licensing or something?

Without details about the sites that interest you, can I suggest that maybe SRWare Iron might be a good fit for you?

[van p]

Massacre (or anybody else who knows), do you have any actual experience with Supermium? Since it has support for several older versions of Windows, would this make it somewhat bloated with lots of code that I wouldn't need? Thanks.

EDIT: I tried to contact Supermium by email at admin@win32subsystem.live. It seems not to be a valid address. I probably won't be using the product.

[Moonchild]

As far as Chromium-based browsers is concerned: On Mobile I use Brave, on Desktop I use Edge.

I haven't found Edge to be annoying, and I simply don't have the time to audit Chromium rebuilds of various independent devs, with the risk of running into a support brick wall for using a non-mainstream browser while the whole point of it is using a mainstream browser for those sites that strictly limit themselves to mainstream browsers...
To be fair, I'm happy with Microsoft working as a check and balance on top of Chromium, and not dealing with Google's shenanigans directly where a lot of stuff gets changed without letting users know; especially since Edge is only being used for sites that don't work in Pale Moon (so a very limited subset of my browsing). Of note, I configured it to not save passwords or financial info (I use an external tool for that) and dialled down the telemetry. Sure, they try to push new "AI" features but that's easily ignored.

[Giraffe]

Thanks again to those who have replied so far.

I realize now that Slimjet is not Chromium, so that's out. Again, I'm looking for a Chromium browser that will work where non-Chromium browsers won't.

I've probably misunderstood:
"Slimjet is a browser that attempts to create the perfect online accessing mix. It does this by basing itself on the already classic Chromium formula and adding a bit of its ideas to the recipe."
I decided to try it because of that sentence, but haven't used it seriously enough to know if it is Chromium.

[van p]

Not sure where I got the idea that Slimjet is not Chromium; apparently it is. Probably I was looking at Wikepedia's page for SlimBrowser. Apparently a company called FlashPeak makes both browsers.

Hopefully all the stuff added on top of the core browser doesn't impair Slimjet's Chromium-ness. I'll put it on my list of Chromium options.

[fatboy]

If you are looking for a swiss army knife browser: Vivaldi is your best bet

If you use Microsoft services: Edge (Pretty sure your browsing habits get mined like crazy)

Brave is good, but their motives are questionable

Use Vanilla Chromium is better, Ungoogled-Chromium is in theory the best option, but the builds are not official, so I wouldn't go there.

Opera: Don't even go there

[van p]

fatboy, is "Vanilla Chromium" a product or a characterization of a Chromium browser? I'm a little confused here.

Also, I notice nobody has mentioned Iridium yet. Any comments about that browser?

[suzyne]

Also, I notice nobody has mentioned Iridium yet. Any comments about that browser?

I read somewhere that Iridium is not updated regularly and so is well behind Chrome in terms of security updates, which I am told is a bad thing.

[Moonchild]

well behind Chrome in terms of security updates, which I am told is a bad thing.

If you are going to base yourself on the market leader then you are also going to be using something which has the most attack volume against it. Remember the last time a 0day was found in Chromium? Cue mad scramble because hackers were on top of exploiting it within hours. So if something bases on Chromium and falls well behind, you can be pretty certain it is an actively exploited set of risks you're exposing yourself to.