Technology

59201 readers

3238 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

421

Your Computer Should Say What You Tell It To Say - Google is adding code to Chrome that will send tamper-proof information about your operating system and other software, and share it with websites (www.eff.org)

submitted 1 year ago by Elephant0991@lemmy.bleh.au to c/technology@lemmy.world

81 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Summary

Google's proposal, Web Environment Integrity (WEI), aims to send tamper-proof information about a user's operating system and software to websites.
The information sent would help reduce ad fraud and enhance security, but it also raises concerns about user autonomy and control over devices.
The authors argue that implementing WEI could lead to websites blocking access for users not on approved systems and browsers.
They express worries about companies gaining more control over users' devices and the potential for abuse.
The authors emphasize that users should have the final say over what information their devices share.
Remote attestation tools, like WEI, might have their place in specific contexts but should not be implemented on the open web due to potential negative consequences.
The authors advocate for preserving user autonomy and the openness of the web, emphasizing that users should be the ultimate decision-makers about their devices.

Joke:

Two pieces of string walk into a bar. The first piece of string asks for a drink. The bartender says, “Get lost. We don’t serve pieces of string.”

The second string ties a knot in his middle and messes up his ends. Then he orders a drink.

The bartender says, “Hey, you aren’t a piece of string, are you?” The piece of string says, “Not me! I'm a frayed knot.”

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Dirk@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I am not entirely sure about this.

I was always someone who used "an alternative". Back in the days I was an avid Netscape user, then I used the Mozilla suite, then Firefox when it still was named Phoenix, then Firefox actually named Firefox (😄) ... but it went downhill. The fast and sleek browser got slower and more outdated over time.

There were times when even Internet Explorer was more modern! Firefox had UI, core, and all tabs running in one single process, which meant, one website alone being able to not only crash the tab, but also all other tabs and the UI and the core - while IE started to implement having different processes for individual tabs.

At one point I switched to Chromium and eventually to Vivaldi because Chromium - in comparison to Vivaldi - is basically unconfigurable. Vivaldi also has a very good mobile version and I have full synchronization between a minimum of 5 devices (yes, I mean it! I really depend on synchronization, I have my Arch PC, an Ubuntu Laptop, an Arch laptop, my Android phone, and a Windows laptop - all of them are regularly used). This is something I need and is a deal-breaker.

Also extensions. There are two extensions I don't want to leave behind. Both use MV3, one can be triggered for the current tab, one is automatically activated on one specific site.

Maybe I should check out Firefox again, depending on what Vivaldi does regarding WEI.

[–] Pelicanen@sopuli.xyz 22 points 1 year ago

Firefox now has Firefox Sync which allows seamless switching between devices and the performance of Firefox is generally on par with Chrome, sometimes faster. It also has a pretty dang big library of extensions.

[–] SimplePhysics@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 year ago

Modern Firefox is more “modern” looking than Chrome in my opinion. Also, iirc each tab is now its own thread.

[–] whynotzoidberg@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I was there for the single process Firefox when everyone else went multiprocess. It was then that I also switched away from FF, too.

I’m back on it now though (for past 9 months or so, since I heard about Google’s intention with Chrome.)

Firefox and Safari are my daily drivers, and it’s pretty chill. Edge is my backup if I must.