Web User - UK (2019-07-10)

Brave is an impressively quick browser that
offers powerful built-in privacy options

Brave’s private mode goes further than

Chrome by letting you browse using Tor

Firefox won’t be affected by the changes

Google is planning to make to Chromium

Firefox protects your

privacy by blocking all

third-party tracking

cookies by default

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but, unlikeChrome,Bravedoesn’t

connecttoGoogleinthe backgroundor

use it for searchsuggestions, andhas

disabled Chromiumfeaturesthattrack

yourdata. It alsousesits own Sync

system, which works acrossWindows,

Linux,macOSandits appsfor Android

andiOS,althoughit’s currently limited

tosyncing bookmarks.

Bravekeeps featurestoa minimum,

but nootherbrowser comes close for

built-inprivacyand securityoptions,

which protect you fromthe momentyou

runit andsaveyou weighingit down

with third-partytools.The browser’s

‘shields’block ads (andwill continueto

dosoregardlessofManifestV3),

tracking cookies,social-mediabuttons,

harmfulscripts andfingerprinting

(whichletswebsitesidentifyyou), and

automatically redirect you tothe secure

HTTPS versionsofsites.Bestofall, you

can browsethe web anonymously by

opening sites inTor, encryptingyour

connection sonobody can see what

you’redoing – a farsuperioroptionto

standard private-browsingmodes.

Withanincrediblescore of 60 6.33,

Bravebeatevery otherbrowser inour

Basemark 3.0 tests,althoughwehadto

disableits shields toperformthe tests.

Why not?

Althoughyou can install Chrome

add-ons inBrave, mostdisplay a

securitywarning sayingthat“Brave

hasn’t reviewedthisextension yet – it

might bemalicious”. Thisisa

commendablycautiousapproach (and

you can ignore the warning if you wish),

but wewonderwhenBravewill get

round toreviewing suchpopular tools

asOneTab, Awesome Screenshotand

uBlockOrigin.

Also,the browser isn’t averse toads:

its optionalRewards schemeletsyou

earntokensbyviewing “privacy-

respectingads”fromits partners.

FIREFOX

http://www.getfirefox.com

Why use it?

The Firefox versusChromedebatehas

raged since the latterlaunched11 years

ago,but wethink Mozilla’s browser is

nowa betteroption. For a start, it’s built

using a Mozilla-developed engine called

Gecko ratherthanChromium. This

means it isn’t affectedbyManifestV3,

soall ad-blockingextensionswill

continuetoworkperfectly – andmore

are availablefor Firefox thanChrome.

We’re alsoimpressedbythe many

improvementsMozilla has made tothe

browser over the pastyear, suchas

blocking autoplaycontent, enhanced

tracking protectiontoblock third-party

cookies,a beefed-uppassword

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manager (previously one ofits weakest

tools), protectionagainst cryptomining

anda revampedadd-onsmanager.

AsMozilla isa non-profit organisation,

it doesn’t use Firefox toharvestyour

dataasGoogledoeswith Chrome,and

its privacycontrolsare enabled by

default. It’s a bit ofa memory hog, even

after its Quantumrevamp, but wefindit

lessresource-intensive thanChrome.

Why not?

Firefox’s Add-ons store ispackedwith

usefultools,but it’s hada bit oftrouble

recently. InMay,reports emerged that

malicious extensionswith namessimilar

togenuine oneshadinfiltratedthe site,

while a few

weeks earliera

bug disabled

manyusers’

add-onsfor not

being “verified”.

Mozilla fixed

bothproblems

quickly (and

Chromehas also

suffered its

share ofdodgy

extensions), but

two incidents in

a monthisdisconcerting.

Also,inour Basemark 3.0 test,

Firefox’s score of 33 8.02fell way behind

those ofChromeand Vivaldi.