What is Reddit's opinion of
Iridium Browser?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
52 reviews of this app found across Reddit:
But both Chrome and Chromium have plenty of shady privacy-invading code, which led to it being removed from the die-hard FOSS repos (like Parabola) and replaced with Iridium.
Chrome is terrible for privacy, but Chromium's source is free, so a couple different groups of developers have made patchsets that remove all Google integration and other concerning functionality. I recommend Iridium, also check out UnGoogled Chromium and also Inox if any of you use Arch Linux.
Or just try Firefox.
Linux (GNU/Linux if you wish) is a whole OS and the browser is the only thing which will show adds because it's too complex to develop ? Forget about Linux.
Only the Linux kernel source code (zipped) is >130MB. That's almost only C code.
What about all the *BSDs?
For the Chromium based thing: I think that Iridium is the only alternative.
I think you meant Brave, which is a good browser made by one of the creators of FireFox, but it breaks a lot of sites for me. I'm using that and Iridium which is Chromium based but focuses on security.
Privacy with Google services and Chrome?!?
please Tell me you are jocking...
if you want to use chrome only for his extensions it's better if you use a Chromium based fork more privacy oriented like:
and stop to use any Google services substituting them with more secure ones...
> I prefer Chrome to Firefox because I use a couple great extensions that don't have good Firefox counterparts
Only for curiosity, what are these great extensions?!?
Chromium still includes a bunch of outgoing Google connections though. To get rig of that use Iridum or Inox-patchset. Or just use Firefox since it's not shit anymore.
There are indeed, such as the more privacy-focused Iridium browser. Still, it can't be understated how much work goes into maintaining a fork of a code base as huge as Chromium's. From a business perspective, forking over a single unpopular change would not make any sense (unless the alternative is users leaving, of course).
From my tests it doesn't connect that much to Google servers. But if we take look into Differences between Iridium and Chromium page we can see the following:
> Disable using system-provided plugins (i.e. Java, Flash, etc.)
Chromium doesn't support NPAPI so what is the point here?
> Always send "Do-Not-Track" header
Not Iridium fault directly but this will make you more unique.
> Iridium has Google Safe Browsing enabled by default.
Why just not to use local check or directly from Iridium servers? Safe Browsing isn't as private on Chromium than on Firefox.
Also from Iridium website:
> Currently, there are weeks between a new release of Iridium and Chromium. Please take this into consideration for your personal usage of the browser as you might be at risk when surfing unknown and potentially dangerous websites!
See: https://github.com/iridium-browser/tracker/issues/225#issuecomment-426529765
I personally don't see any reason why I should use Iridium over Brave for example.
> Now, considering Chromium (not chrome). At least, no illusions. I know Google is big brother. Have Pixel phone, most of stuff in Google ecosystem. No biggie. I know quirks and can work around. Chromium is open source and secure, don't log in account (or use separate account) and should be ok.
Have you tried looking at Iridium?
I wouldn't use Ghostery, it's a proprietary app and has ties with the online ad industry. Use Privacy Badger instead. Also, if you're concerned about privacy, ditch Chrome. Iridium is an open-source fork with increased security and with the Google stuff removed.
Resizing in Chrome on Linux and Windows looks OK to me on my systems, though, yes, a little less good than on Firefox. It's not going to replace Firefox as my primary browser, though! Also: for those needing a Chromium based browser, you might check out Iridium.
I think you're better off with Iridium, and the plugins uBlock Origin, Canvas Defender and HTTPS Everywhere.
Iridium has all the "calling home" parts stripped out and the plugins take care of the rest.
Most people can't avoid Chrome like me. some websites like my bank will break on Firefox. I use Iridium Browser just for those sites and Firefox for everything else. The key is to compartmentalize your online life. QubesOS (Recommended by Edward Snowden) does this for you, but the hardware support is lacking. For easy privacy I would recommend using multiple browsers and separating them based on work, social, personal, secret, etc. That way unique fingerprints (unavoidable) cannot link your work life with your personal and vice versa.
YouTube runs best on Chromium-based browsers, as Google both develops Chromium ad owns YouTube. Google Chrome is sketchy in terms of the data it collects. Privacy-respecting Chrome alternatives which are also based on Chromium are e.g. Brave and Iridium:
You forgot Chromium. My to-go Browser on Servers since it's ez af to install and actually works instead of IE etc. https://chromium.woolyss.com/
For less treacking with chromium i'd suggest the product Iridium. But it's not updated that much: https://iridiumbrowser.de/downloads/os-not-detected
No trouble here with FreeBSD-CURRENT. Waterfox 56.1.0_1 can import from:
- HTML that is exported from Waterfox (a different profile)
- HTML that is exported from Chromium-based Iridium 58.0_12.
> Script: chrome://browser/content/browser-places.js:2038
>And what are those issues?
Chromium may be open source, but it still phones home to google, like Chrome. The issues were severe enough that a bunch of people who actually write code felt the need to write a more secure fork: Iridium
>Stop spreading this FUD
I have personally stopped using Chromium and replaced it with Iridium... so nope. ;)
I use it on my RPI for performance reasons, just always used firefox on desktop/laptop and trust it 100%, no hate for chromium, just a preference I guess. I do remember reading that even though it's separate from google chrome, it still dials home to google like chrome does. Not entirely sure on how true it is. I actually think Iridium is a better alternative to chromium, but even that says on the website that it dials home to google.
According to their site, they're currently restructuring their internals and thus the current source isn't on GitHub atm. You can however get it here.
Chromium does send data to Google too but is minimally better than Chrome. Extensions don't change anything about Chrome/Chromium and only block tracking that originates from websites, not from the browser. I've heard Iridium Browser is a decent Chromium based browser but that's only what some have said. You also have some overlap in your choice of extensions. Run uBlock Origin in medium mode if you can handle it and get rid of the two other extensions. If you can't handle it you should keep Disconnect in my opinion. You also seem to be missing HTTPS Everywhere which is usually highly recommended.
Have anyone heard about Iridium Browser? https://iridiumbrowser.de/ It appears to be something like ungoogled chromium.
> Iridium Browser is based on the Chromium code base. All modifications enhance the privacy of the user and make sure that the latest and best secure technologies are used. Automatic transmission of partial queries, keywords and metrics to central services is prevented and only occurs with the approval of the user. In addition, all our builds are reproducible and modifications are auditable, setting the project ahead of other secure browser providers.
Iridium browser is known to be very slow when it comes to updates, you can even see it for yourself by going to the download page, the builds are based on old versions of Chromium (73, 85, 88).
GNU IceCat is out of date, the latest version dates back to 2019 and is based on an older version of Firefox (60).
Pale Moon is apparently owned by "scummy" developers.
> e iridium de los mejorcitos por ahora
He querido usarlos pero siempre manejaron los updates para el orto. Mirate no más https://iridiumbrowser.de/downloads/windows y vas a ver que siguen basados en Chromium 85.
Los de Brave me rompen las pelotas con varias cosas que hacen especialmente porque además del tema de sponsoreo y los referrals que han hecho que aunque no malo ha sido shady, mantengo un script para empaquetarlo en mi distro y les gusta romperme cosas al pedo. Pero, son un fork open source de Chromium que limpian bien el tracking de Google y mantienen el fork al día con upstream, eso no lo está haciendo nadie más.
> Well, it does not say it in the https://iridiumbrowser.de website.
Yes it does... Just take 1 min to read what's on the main page
> Chromium (which Iridium is based on) is a very secure browser, yes. But it does call home to Google and we did even more to enhance security to the maximum extent possible.
Have you tried running a ping command in terminal to see if it’s a browser issue or if it’s a network issue?
Also, if you want an actually ungoogled chromium I’d recommend the Iridium browser.
I was always wondering why TDR would prefer plain Chromium over a more privacy focus edition like <strong>Iridium Browser</strong>, unless he is using Google services anyway.
I just can not justify to use plain Chromium and I want to get away from Firefox.
Actually iridium is probably better. It's like chrome with all of the Google bullshit stripped out of it (except for sync) it does not phone home to Google unless you sign into the sync function, of course sync does defeat the purpose of a privacy browser so I would recommend against it. Unlike other forms of chrome this one is kept fairly up to date. Give it a quick look over. https://iridiumbrowser.de/faq.html
Below are some of the portable tools I like, which work on various file types such as txt/mobi/epub/mp3/wav/mkv/mp4/etc. I use a few more portable tools such as dnscrypt, PuTTY, Filezilla, etc but they are system type tools, not file type tools.
FileTools.......
HxD (binary file editor)
WinDiff
7-Zip
epub/mobi.......
Calibre
Text File Processing.......
TextPad
Sublime
Pandoc
svn
Image Processing.......
FSMaxView
FSResizer
FSViewer
Audio/Video.......
VLC
foobar2000
Audio/Video Processing.......
ffmpeg (among the most important av tools ever written)
mp3tag
waveshop Bit-perfect Editor (small but powerful)
For for the codec purist, certified great Audio/Video Processing tools.......
fdkaac
flac
lame
qaac (Requires a bit of effort to setup; allows apple's codec processing using refALAC)
a few of the above can be lifted from the encoderpack @ https://www.foobar2000.org/encoderpack
PS: Browsers can read many file formats and play many audio/video codecs. Surprisingly, the two major browsers are portable. Firefox, once installed, can be copied from the install dir and ran from any machine without actually installing it (I do this often).
chromium portable here: https://chromium.woolyss.com/download/
and, another solid portable chrome clone here:
https://iridiumbrowser.de
["Chromium is a Google-developed, free and open-source project whose source code can be compiled into a web browser."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_(web_browser)
So, basically anyone can take the code and do what they want with it. You can compile a browser that doesn't communicate with Google at all, which is what Bromite is, or Iridium for desktop.
Once you add the blocklists, that's done - maybe check for updated lists every few months. The browser you should check every month for a new version. Installing the new APK will overwrite the new one, but will keep your settings.
Firefox is probably the best option. If you want something similar to Chrome, check out Iridium, it's essentially Chrome (same Chromium source code) without the Google junk. Very easy to use and feels identical to Chrome.
It’s worth using but they started to introduce their own ads 😬! I uninstalled Brave and I am happy with Firefox and Iridium. I am using Firefox with Adguard Pro + OpenVPN. And other essential extensions.
You better have a look at Iridium
And there's no Long Term Support version of Chrome, to my knowledge. And if you just used an old version it would have security vulnerabilities. Still, you might try Iridium - a partially de-Googlified version of Chrome that lags behind Chrome - currently is is based on Chromium 71, but I don't know what version Chrome itself is up to and Iridium will catch up to the build you don' like. However: it is possible that Iridium will retain, for a long time, the setting you want.
I use Iridium for when I need a Chromium-based browser and it works pretty well.
Your friend could try Iridium Browser. I know I'm going off the Firefox path but Iridium uses the opensource chromium project, removes everything google and turns it into a privacy focused browser that looks like well.. chrome! There is much to read about it over at https://iridiumbrowser.de/. I really suggest you at least give it a go.
> If you simply cannot stomach leaving the Chrome ecosystem then install Chromium, which is the open source equivalent
I just mentioned this in another thread, but Iridium is based on Chromium and takes privacy protections yet a few steps further.
It's clearly written in the EULA of Vivaldi that it would "contact its home once a day", or so AFAIR, they are/were quite open about it - I wouldn't have had much trouble with that (and I have no clue what data is transferred during said contact), but running in the background all the time was the show-stopper for me. I kicked it from my system a few (2 or 3, idk) years ago, maybe they don't do it anymore - but they did once and now I'm suspicious.
To throw in something positive: How about Iridium
IKR, Chromium is composed of 5 million lines of code; then you fire it up and it starts sucking javascript off a known-to-be-hostile internet. What could possibly go wrong?
Thankfully we have OpenBSD features that tighten the ship. LibreSSL, unveil, and pledge. These are unique to our system, and used together with an already secure/private browser https://iridiumbrowser.de/ I think you have something that Linux/Windoze/Apple users might envy. Unveil is such a game-changer because it restricts your browsers access to ALL directories; even the $HOME folder. Mine currently can only access my ~/Downloads folder and ~/.config ( It has to access .config because that's where it stores the browser cache )
man unveil; man pledge
There are lightweight browser options, lynx, links, dillo, & netsurf. But they can't load a lot of modern websites, which we may need to access for work or other reasons. And no youtube, reddit kinda works.
Check out Iridium https://iridiumbrowser.de/. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR0nh-TdpVg is an amazing piece of software running on an ARC processor. It will not be developed just because it has objectively reduced capabilities compared to contemporary very common machines.
> Just like you "can" build your own OS based on android... no one does it.
Wut? There are plenty of custom ROMs, or do those not count?
> Or your own browser based on HTML5... no one does it.
Maybe not based on HTML5, but there are plenty of Chromium forks.
https://iridiumbrowser.de/
Does anybody know the best privacy-enhanced Chrome derivate for developing and making things work in Chrome?
Currently, I have Iridium installed. But in the past, they didn't update it for a couple of months.
When a browser, among other crimes, just imports your bookmarks from Firefox and sends it to Google, that's totally idiotic.
> I prefer a "Firefox" style browser though.
Me too.
When something Chrome-like is required I sometimes turn to Iridium Browser, which is ported to FreeBSD:
$ pkg search slimjet $ pkg rquery '%o %v %R' chromium iridium-browser www/chromium 68.0.3440.106_5 FreeBSD www/iridium 2018.5.67_5 FreeBSD $
– but I more often go for Chromium itself. No port of Google Chrome, unfortunately.
Err...there is Iridium Browser at least to mention :)
I am focusing on Android at the moment and I received very few donations so far (like 4USD/month) so I am not planning to expand the offer, the build roster would take longer (and/or need a bigger server) and there would likely be a lot more support needed.
Premise: since the beginning I have always cherry-picked patches from other projects (see the Credits in OP or official README) while developing myself patches for what I found was missing in terms of privacy invasion or lack of configuration options, but what I could benefit from other projects is still the larger part of the total. I have also always correctly attributed patches to whoever developed them and I can say that most of them nowadays come from Iridium browser.
> what was the hardest thing to remove?
I think what has given me most woes is the fact that options to control the extra features (webRTC and various new functionality) do not simply work when you disable them, as probably the Chromium devs never test building with these options off; additionally, options tend to disappear so there is even less control about it.
> Is every phoning-home part removed?
No, this is has never been a goal of Bromite and there is no strict process in place to verify it either. Some of the other projects mentioned in credits do go in that direction though (Inox patchset for example), and I welcome any patch that helps removing any phoning-home part. The reason I never made it an official goal is pretty simple: it is very hard to remove all the cloud integrations, and more are being added by the day. I really hope Chromium stays open source and that we are allowed to customize/rip out these parts.
Even so, I think that nowadays 99% of these connections are prevented in Bromite and you can find out the difference by comparing the outgoing traffic during an identical browsing session vs Chromium/Chrome. See also: https://github.com/bromite/bromite/issues/8
> Privacy with Google services and Chrome?!?
> please Tell me you are jocking...
Would you elaborate on exactly how my setup still compromises my privacy? Please be specific.
As far as I can tell, though Chrome's defaults are a privacy nightmare, they let you turn them all off. But if I'm wrong, I'd be happy to be corrected.
> if you want to use chrome only for his extensions it's better if you use a Chromium based fork more privacy oriented like:
I just finished trying a chromium-based browser, Opera, for a month. I like its features, but it's considerably slower than Chrome, so I switched back. After that, I'm reluctant to try another smaller chromium-based browser.
> Only for curiosity, what are these great extensions?!?
Session Buddy and The Great Suspender. I use a lot of tabs.
Everybody recommending Firefox, but if you're a webdev and you need Chrome/Chromium, because the developer tools are just infinitely better then you might want to give Iridium a try. It's a Chromium fork minus all the tracking.
It will still be a separate browser, just built on top of chromium (the same open-source browser that chrome is based on). Chromium is battle-tested and has a great community that continues to update it. I currently run Brave next to the Iridium Browser, which is also built on top of chromium and essentially behaves exactly like google chrome with added privacy features.
Google chrome extensions are actually chromium extensions, so they can be used in any browser that is chromium-based. I don't know if this is true for all extensions, but every single one I've tried on Iridium have worked.
I believe that some of those same addOns have Chrome versions. For those that do not, I do not know about equivalents. But it is somewhat contradictory to use Chrome together with such extensions, because Chrome itself is a privacy violator. (But perhaps you are using Chrome as a secondary browser. Well, in that case, I suggest using Chromium or Iridium instead.)
>No; the point was that it being free is no guarantee you aren’t getting fucked.
Only if you don't review your source... who doesn't? :P LOL
Sure, you are still being fucked if you use Chromium. But the privacy issues couldn't hide since the program is open-source. A fork called Iridium has already been made to replace the suspect code. Chromium has already been blacklisted at some distros. If you pay attention, you can easily avoid being fucked by an open-source program.
But with proprietary software? All we can know is that we are most likely being fucked.
> I can't stop other people in the house using Chrome.
You can at least replace Chrome with a stripped down version. Still horrible for privacy, but better than full blown Google Chrome that tracks account data.
Try Iridium. Use Bleachbit or CCleaner to purge all the existing Chrome cache.
On Windows, use a program like Total uninstaller to wipe all files that the built-in uninstaller would leave behind.
I've been using the ungoogled Iridium fork of Chromium for the last month or so, and it's working okay so far – if you're looking for a compromise between Firefox and Chrome.
Someone told me about Iridium Browser for chromium but I don't like this one thing they have listed under privacy "But it does call home to Google" I am wondering if this doesn't seem to be a feature than can be turn off in any chrome based browser?
You might like Iridium. It's a Chromium fork currently in the process of having all Google's phone-home aspects removed, and with much tighter default privacy and security settings.