How effective is it for online privacy? I have been using it for some time and it tends to break some sites like banking websites and twitch. I haven’t messed around a lot with the config except allowing DRM and setting up a start page.

I am wondering if using arkenfox/user.js is making my browsing fingerprint unique and whether there are better alternatives for privacy focused browsers.

    • br3ad@infosec.pubOP
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      1 year ago

      I have kept the ResistFingerprinting enabled for now. It doesn’t impact 90% of my browsing experience.

      Do you need to regularly check for updates on the GitHub for the user.js or should I not bother once I have configured it to my liking?

      I appreciate the info. Thanks!

  • BigRedSparrow@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    I’ve used arkenfox’s firefox user profile for a good amount of time now and you’re right to have some doubts about it.

    No mitigation measures are foolproof and in actuality may result in you becoming more identifiable if you apply it improperly. The irony is that you’re less likely to be identifiable using default settings on a default firefox instance than say enabling fingerprint resisting + ublock etc.

    Privacy in the context of online browsing is achieved through obscurity. It uses techniques applied by browsers like TOR to become effective. In the case of TOR a wide adoption and it’s careful implementation has made it one if not the only browser I would say offers decent privacy by default. In our case this template’s usage is just a pretty insignificant fraction of the internet.

    Browser fingerprinting technology is constantly evolving and uses many metrics that you may be unable to address if you’re one to seek privacy. Just take it with a grain of salt. Although things may not look good for browsers nowadays. I’d say some privacy is better than no privacy at all.

    • br3ad@infosec.pubOP
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      1 year ago

      I was using librewolf prior to arkenfox but found it tedious. The updates are always lagging behind the official releases which makes it inherently less secure. You also need to manually check for updates and reinstall the browser every time.

      • Lamy@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Interesting and good points.

        The main reason I librewolf is there are a lot of settings in arkenfox that are unprivate in my opinion, and some things are blocked that don’t need to be, and the .js file makes it hard to edit settings.

        That said arkenfox is still far superior to Firefox or any chromium derivative, and probably a better option for the average user than librewolf

        Oh and there is a librewolf auto update extension if folks are interested

    • FarLine99
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      1 year ago

      I prefer BetterFox user.js Requiees less tweaking, better defaults for everyday use.