Browser Recommendation

General The Pub
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Hi guys. In a thread a short time back the subject of web browsers came up. I had mentioned that I use primarily Opera. This is true, but while I certainly got started with Opera a few years ago in an effort to get away from the highly targeted IE and Firefox (hijacker magnets), at some point Opera ceased to be Opera. Right now it is just a rebranded version of Chrome - at minimum it seems based on Chrome architecture. I don’t know when this happened because I use it mainly for work, and subtlety can slip in unawares.

So I started looking and found another browser I’ve been using for maybe 3 weeks. It’s called Vivaldi. https://vivaldi.com

I can’t elaborate much on it. And I’ve not really used it for my work as I rely heavily on my password manager which does not have a supported plugin - yet. But I do use it here and for all other things vaping. It’s my vaping browser…yes. As for Flash or Java - I don’t know. YouTube works flawlessly, as does this site. In fact I’ve yet to land on a site where it wouldn’t at least display properly.

If you’re like me and conscious of the attacks that loom with the big name browsers, this could be a good way to not stress it. The hijackers tend to lean toward where the schools of fish like to swim, and that’s the most popular browsers out there.

Ok, plug complete. If you try it and run into issues please pop in here so we all can know of it. I will do the same but so far smooth sailing.

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Looks good. Just downloaded - I’ll give it a run.

A couple of weeks ago my browser (FF) got hijacked by scammers… you kno… the “we have locked your internet. Give us $100 within 48 hrs & we will un-lock. if not within 48hrs we dump a heap of kiddie porn on your HD & inform the authorities…Bs,Bs,Bs,…” one?
Yep, sure enough, they locked up my internet! Couldnt do anything with the browser …except read their ever-so eloquently crafted “love letter”.
After a couple of rather concerning minutes :cold_sweat:, I managed to quit FF by using the task manager (really would’ve thought they’d cover that one!..Dickheads!!). A vigorous & thorough dis-infect obviously ensued, revealing no issues …phew!.. & I have not yet heard from the Law.
But it just goes to show how susceptible the commonly used browsers are.
I originally started using FF to avoid this kind of thing …but, oh dear… how many years ago was that?? So, thanks @SthrnMixer for the timely “heads-up”!

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Firefox is still my favorite Browser. I use it with Bluhell Firewall addon and uBlock Origin and have very little problems if any with scammers, spammers, and the like. Case you would like to stick with FF…

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I would also recommend getting Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit

Even if you have Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro as I do, this is a great and free companion, The Anti-Exploit works to block and prevent hijacking and things that result in you losing control of your browsing experience. @vonTrueso I firmly believe this would have prevented your recent hijack.

It does NOT protect Vivaldi, but Vivaldi gets you away from the major targets out there so if you have safe browsing habits, it is a great choice. The free version of Malwarebytes doesn’t sew up your media players or office products, nor Acrobat or other readers, but you can get the paid version which does if you like.

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