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{{Move||This page should be moved to [[Web browsers]] to differentiate from other types of browsers like file browsers.}}
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A ''Web browser'' is a type of [[World Wide Web|Web client]] that enables a user to select, retrieve, and perceive resources on the Web. In particular, Web browsers provide a way for a user to view [[Hypertext|hypertext]] documents and follow the hyperlinks that connect them, typically by moving the cursor over a link and depressing the mouse button. [https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-fact source]
  
Personal needs and viewing preferences vary wildly, so one should ideally test several major Web browsers before making a decision. No one choice is going to be perfect for everyone.
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==What does /g/ use?==
  
__TOC__
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* [https://github.com/ungoogled-software/ungoogled-chromium#downloads Ungoogled-Chromium] - chromium with less botnet. Not fully audited
 +
* [https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/ Firefox] and it's forks:
 +
** [https://www.palemoon.org/ Pale Moon] - Legacy Firefox being updated by infamous furry known as Moonchild. Dubbed "Pale Meme" by some users, due to some controversies with auto updates and add-ons as there is a blacklist set by default and classic add-ons do not work as of 29.3.0.
 +
** [https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnuzilla.git GNU IceCat] - Firefox but by GNU. The best firefox fork for privacy, default add-ons are autistic and break majority of sites, doesn't provide binaries for new versions.
 +
** [https://librewolf.net/ Librewolf] - Continuation of Librefox. Documentation contains a [https://librewolf.net/docs/addons/ list] of much-needed firefox addons. Pretty much equivalent to Firefox+ArkenFox config in terms of unsolicited telemetry requests.
 +
** [https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/ Arkenfox] - Configuration file to harden Firefox, best template configuration for schizos.
 +
* [https://brave.com/ Brave] - Chromium but directed by the same guy who directed the good versions of firefox. Also you can earn <s>money</s> (the company's crypto token). There are a [https://gitlab.com/prism-break/prism-break/-/issues/1566 number] [https://spyware.neocities.org/articles/brave.html of] [https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/9929 controversies].
  
== Major Web Browsers ==
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==[[Freedom|Free]] web browsers==
  
=== [[Freedom|Free Software]] ===
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===Mozilla Firefox based===
  
==== Mozilla Firefox ====
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[[File:Firefox.png|80px|thumb|right|Good ole' Firefox]]
 +
[[File:Icecat.png|80px|thumb|right|The Best Firefox fork{{CN}}]]
  
''This browser is one of the two usually recommended on /g/ for general use.''
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'''[[Firefox|Mozilla Firefox]]''' is a free and open source web browser descended from the Netscape Communicator. It is known for its championing of the open web during Internet Explorer's reign of terror and its extensive customisability via add-ons and settings. Nowadays, Mozilla spends more effort on [https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/08/08/mozilla-information-trust-initiative-building-movement-fight-misinformation-online/ combatting fake news] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPgyTzqDJhM funding antifa] than maintaining the browser. Firefox's recent move to WebExtensions has deprecated many legacy add-ons, but remains more customizable than most other browsers.
  
'''[[Firefox]]''' is a free and open-source Web browser descended from the Netscape Communicator. It is known for its championing of the open Web during Internet Explorer's reign of terror and its extensive customisability via add-ons and settings. Although many other browsers have adopted the practise of allowing third-party extensions in the browser, Firefox's add-ons still tend to be a cut above the rest.
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Numerous forks and spin-offs of Firefox exist and are a common sight on /g/ and /tech/ given Firefox's perceived transition into a Chrome-imitating memory whore, for example [http://www.palemoon.org Pale Moon], its sibling [https://www.basilisk-browser.org/ Basilisk], and [https://archive.is/tMhgi advertiser-bought][http://ww.waterfoxproject.org/ Waterfox]. The most "free" fork would be '''[[IceCat|GNU Icecat]]''', a fully free, libre, open-source (FLOSS) fork of Firefox without its built-in DRM support and Firefox Hello. Icecat comes with LibreJS, an add-on which blocks out any non-free javascript on webpages.
  
==== Chromium ====
 
  
''This browser is one of the two usually recommended on /g/ for general use.''
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===Chromium based===
  
'''[[Chromium]]''' is a free and open-source Web browser known for its extremely fast JavaScript execution and multiprocess security model. Upon its initial release, Chromium was ahead of the competition by leaps and bounds in terms of raw performance. In the years that followed though, Firefox and Opera largely equalled and in some cases surpassed its performance advantage.{{CN}} Chromium still tends to maintain a slight edge in UI responsiveness and JavaScript execution.
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[[File:Software_Chromium.png|80px|thumb|right|Google, de-botneted (a lie)]]
  
=== <span style="color:#ff0000">Non-Free</span> Software ===
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'''[[Chromium]]''' is a free and open-source <strike>web browser</strike> botnet known for its extremely fast JavaScript execution and multiprocess security model. Upon release, Chromium was ahead of the competition by leaps and bounds in terms of raw performance. In the years that followed though, Firefox and Opera largely equalled and in some cases surpassed its performance advantage, although Chromium still tends to maintain a slight edge in UI responsiveness and JavaScript execution. While usually recommended for use, many users stay away from this browser as it has not been audited as much as Firefox has, and in protest of its (easy to disable) tracking features.
 +
 
 +
If you're thinking of switching to Chromium (Google's open source version of Chrome) instead, think again.
 +
For some time, [https://archive.is/4VijY Chromium snuck in a binary blob for voice recognition whenever you started it up]. This has been [https://archive.is/2C86X removed] by the project maintainers, but it should raise some concern over what else could be lurking in the code.
 +
 
 +
The [https://brave.com/ Brave] browser is a privacy-focused open source browser based on Chromium created by [[Wikipedia:Brendan Eich|Brendan Eich]], punished Mozilla CEO, with built in adblock, HTTPS protection and TOR web browsing. (although using TOR with this runs the risk of fingerprinting your browser) It's shilled throughout the web for being the best option in "Big Tech" society. (hence the nickname "Le shill lion") See above for its issues. Also pays out basic attention tokens (BAT) as a form of crypto for turning on brave ads on supported websites, however these can only be redeemed by making an account on Uphold, a known botnet exchange.
 +
 
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[https://iridiumbrowser.de/download.html Iridium] is a FLOSS fork of Chromium stripped of as many botnet features as possible. It [https://archive.is/VQ2I9 used to phone home to Iridium's servers] for development purposes, but [https://github.com/iridium-browser/iridium-browser/issues/55 it no longer does that]. This is not where it ends, though. If you go to their homepage, and read what they have to say about the privacy of their browser, it reads: "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'''.". Smells like botnet.
 +
 
 +
If you want a completely botnet-free and telemetry-free chromium experience, this is what you do:
 +
# Download [https://ungoogled-software.github.io/ungoogled-chromium-binaries/ Ungoogled-Chromium], ignore any warnings that you might get
 +
# Go to ''chrome://flags'' and change the setting "Handling of Extension MIME Type Requests" to "Always prompt for install".
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# Install [https://github.com/NeverDecaf/chromium-web-store/releases/tag/v1.5.3 NeverDecaf chromium-web-store]
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# Install [https://decentraleyes.org/ Decentraleyes]
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# Install [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm Ublock Origin]
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# ???
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# PROFIT!!!
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 +
==<span style="color:#ff0000">Non-free</span> web browsers==
  
 
[[File:Inori-tan.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Superior waifu browser not available on Freedom™ systems]]
 
[[File:Inori-tan.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Superior waifu browser not available on Freedom™ systems]]
  
==== Google Chrome ====
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===Google Chrome===
 +
 
 +
'''[[Google Chrome]]''' is a [[botnet]] <strike>proprietary fork</strike> of the free and open source Chromium project. While effectively offering the same browsing experience as Chromium, it integrates Google's "Pepper" Flash plugin, a Foxit-based PDF reader and controversial user-tracking capabilities. If you value your privacy or reputation on /g/ and /tech/, it's best to avoid this one.
 +
 
 +
===Opera===
 +
 
 +
'''[[Opera]]''' is one of the oldest web browsers that is still under active development. Up to version 12.16, Opera was based on its in-house Presto layout engine and characterised by its customisability, innovation, broad out-of-the-box feature set (including a torrent client, email, IRC and FTP support) and respect for web standards. Several now ubiquitous features like tabbed browsing and speed dial made their débuts in Opera.
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 +
With the release of version 15, Opera development radically changed direction. Presto was discontinued in favour of Chromium's Blink layout engine and numerous features were excised, with the email client becoming a standalone program and GNU/Linux support and native 64-bit builds both being suspended (although the former has made a recent comeback). As a result, "Chropera" is often derided as a shadow of its former self, and a small minority of /g/ and /tech/ users fervently stick to the archaic old version.
 +
 
 +
{{note|It was bought by chinks a bit ago, treat carefully if you do want to use the newest Opera.}}
 +
 
 +
===Vivaldi===
 +
 
 +
[http://www.vivaldi.com/ Vivaldi] is made by the developers of classic Opera, who were apparently as frustrated with its change in direction as /g/ and /tech/, and attempts to bring back the feel and features of Opera 12.
 +
 
 +
===Edge===
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 +
'''Edge''' is the default web browser in [[Microsoft]]'s Windows operating systems, previously known as Internet Explorer and based on Microsoft's Trident layout engine. Before IE version 9, Internet Explorer was infamous for its myriad security vulnerabilities, poor performance, disregard for most web standards and perversion of the few that it bothered to acknowledge. Since then, however, Microsoft had actively developed Internet Explorer into a tolerable web browser, and had even discontinued the brand name to distance themselves from its notoriety. Basically, Edge became Internet Explorer version 12. Has a new user interface somewhat optimized for tablets. Tons of new features were promised before Windows 10 was released, most were not implemented. <s>It is the first browser to implement the very promising Chakra JavaScript engine.</s> Microsoft has had enough of it. No more baking a browser. We went where all the market is at, Chromium.
 +
 
 +
===Safari===
  
'''[[Google Chrome]]''' is a proprietary fork of the free and open source Chromium project. It integrates Google's 'Pepper' Flash plug-in, a Foxit-based PDF reader, and controversial user-tracking capabilities in addition to the usual Chromium feature set. If you value your privacy or reputation on /g/ it is best to avoid this one.
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'''Safari''' is the default web browser in [[Apple]]'s Mac OS X. It is based on Apple's Webkit layout engine, a KHTML fork. Compared to Chromium and Firefox, Safari has a slow development cycle and is lacking in features.
  
==== Opera ====
 
  
'''[[Opera]]''' is one of the oldest Web browsers that is still under active development. For most of its existence, Opera has been characterised by its customisability, innovation, broad out-of-the-box feature set, and respect for Web standards. Several now ubiquitous features like tabbed browsing and speed dial made their débuts in Opera. Until recently, it was based upon Opera Software ASA's own Presto layout engine and offered to its users as an Internet suite, complete with Email, IRC, and FTP support. The last stable release of the traditional Opera browser was version 12.16.  
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==Obscure hipster browsers==
 +
The chance that all websites will work with these browsers is low. Its just the way things are now.
  
With the release of version 15, Opera development departed radically from that of previous versions. Opera's email client was re-released as standalone software, support for GNU/Linux was suspended, native 64-bit builds were suspended, and many other features were simply removed. Even the Presto layout engine itself was discontinued permanently in favour of Google's new Blink layout engine, a Webkit fork. The result of these changes is a browser that resembles Chromium in most respects with a few popular features from old Opera like speed dial. It is fully compatible with Chrome extensions.
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===Gecko===
  
==== Internet Explorer ====
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*[http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/ K-Meleon] is a free and open-source Firefox-like browser for Windows. It uses the Gecko rendering engine just like Firefox, but sports a native Windows UI and is absurdly configurable. It also runs very, very well on Pentium M era hardware and below.
  
'''[[Internet Explorer]]''' or IE is the default Web browser in [[Microsoft]]'s Windows series of [[operating systems]]. It is based on Microsoft's Trident layout engine. Before version 9, Internet Explorer was infamous for its myriad security vulnerabilities, poor performance, disregard for Web standards, and perversion of the few Web standards that it bothered to acknowledge. Since version 9, Microsoft has been actively developing Internet Explorer into something resembling an actual Web browser in an attempt to check Google's rise in the browser market.
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*[https://librewolf.net/ LibreWolf] A hardened security-focused fork of Firefox with uBlock Origin preinstalled.
  
==== Safari ====
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*[http://www.seamonkey-project.org/ SeaMonkey] is a continuation of the Mozilla suite and descendant of Netscape Navigator. Unlike most modern web browsers, it is an Internet suite, completely bundled with an email client, newsreader, IRC, and web designer. Legacy Firefox Add-ons work with this, just don't use the add-on store. Has old internet written all over it. It's the only functional choice on early to mid 2000's computers, as Chromium based browsers won't work at all due to requiring an specific instruction set that older CPUs don't have. Could be worth considering on any extremelly resource-deprived system, moreso than broken browsers like PaleMoon.
  
'''[[Safari]]''' is the default Web browser in [[Apple]]'s Mac OS X. It is based on Apple's Webkit layout engine, a KHTML fork. Compared to Chromium and Firefox, Safari has a slow development cycle and is lacking in features.
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===WebKit===
  
== Other Browsers by Layout Engine ==
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{{warning|Some WebKit ports are considered insecure and a security risk. Before using a WebKit browser, make sure that it is not using a WebKit port that is insecure. Read more [https://blogs.gnome.org/mcatanzaro/2016/02/01/on-webkit-security-updates/ here]}}
  
=== Gecko ===
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*[https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Web GNOME Web] a.k.a Ephiphany is GNOME's WekKit based browser. It's adding support for WebExtensions but it's still rather limited.
  
* [http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/ K-Meleon] is a free and open-source Web browser for Windows. The original goal of the project was to produce a Firefox-like browser with a truly Windows-native UI. It is old and unmaintained, but it could potentially be useful to users of older Windows operating systems.
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*[http://www.fenrir-inc.com/us/sleipnir/ Sleipnir] is a proprietary <s>Japanese</s> weeaboo Chromium fork with a superior, proprietary font rendering engine. However, it is only available on OS X and Windows.
  
*[http://www.seamonkey-project.org/ Seamonkey] is a continuation of the Mozilla suite. Unlike most modern Web browsers, it is an Internet suite, complete with bundled programs for Email, IRC, and Web design. It is compatible with most Firefox add-ons.
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*[http://midori-browser.org/ Midori] is a lightweight web browser with a GTK+ interface. It is a component of the XFCE Goodies package.
  
=== WebKit ===
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*[https://github.com/KDE/falkon Falkon] (formerly [http://www.qupzilla.com/ QupZilla]) is similar to rekonq by being lightweight and using Qt except it has more features.
  
* [http://midori-browser.org/ Midori] is a lightweight Web browser with a GTK+ interface. It is a component of the XFCE Goodies package.
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*[http://otter-browser.org/ Otter Browser] is a project that aims to recreate and improve upon the features of classic Opera using the Qt5 toolkit. It is in development at the time of writing, and is thus unsuited for general use.
  
* [http://rekonq.kde.org/ rekonq] is a lightweight Web browser with a Qt interface. It is a core component of the K desktop environment.
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*[https://luakit.github.io/ Luakit], [http://www.uzbl.org/ Uzbl] and [http://qutebrowser.org/ qutebrowser] are all minimalistic browsers with a keyboard-driven, Vim-inspired interface. Most are based on archaic versions of WebKit, although qutebrowser uses QtWebEngine in more recent builds.
  
* [http://otter-browser.org/ Otter Browser] is a project that aims to recreate and improve upon the features of classic Opera using the Qt5 tool-kit. It is in the early stages of development at the time of this writing, and is thus unsuited for general use.
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*[http://surf.suckless.org/ Surf] is a browser developed according to the [http://suckless.org/philosophy Suckless philosophy], which means it's effectively a WebKit frontend.
  
* [http://mason-larobina.github.io/luakit/ Luakit] is a minimalistic GTK+ Web browser targeted at users who desire fine-grained control over their browser's behaviour and interface.
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*[https://textbrowser.github.io/dooble/ Dooble] is a web browser focused on security and privacy with many integrated features like support for advanced options and cookie management, Gopher support, a FTP browser, a file manager, a download manager, and many others.
  
* [http://portix.bitbucket.org/dwb/ Dwb] is a keyboard-driven GTK+ Web browser inspired by Firefox's Vimperator add-on.
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===KHTML===
  
* [http://www.uzbl.org/ Uzbl] is a minimalistic GTK+ browser that is developed according to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy Unix Philosophy].
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*[http://www.konqueror.org/ Konqueror] is a Web browser and file manager that was once a core component of the K desktop environment. Webkit and Blink are both descendants of its KHTML layout engine.
  
* [http://surf.suckless.org/ Surf] is a minimalistic WebKit browser developed according to the [http://suckless.org/philosophy Suckless philosophy].
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===Terminal===
  
=== KHTML ===
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*[http://links.twibright.com/ Links] is a text-based browser that can display images.
  
* [http://www.konqueror.org/ Konqueror] is a Web browser and file manager that was once a core component of the K desktop environment. Webkit and Blink are both descendants of its KHTML layout engine.
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*[http://w3m.sourceforge.net/ w3m] is another text-based browser that can display images.
  
=== Terminal ===
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*[http://www.elinks.cz/ ELinks] is a text-based based web browser that runs from the terminal.
  
* [http://links.twibright.com/ Links] is a text-based browser that can display images.
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*[https://lynx.invisible-island.net/ Lynx] is the oldest web browser still under active development. It strips pages of images, doesn't use javascript, and is great for just reading what is needed, like an article. It also utilizes other system programs, should you need to open an image file, for instance.
  
* [http://w3m.sourceforge.net/ w3m] is another text-based browser that can display images.
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===Keyboard Driven===
 +
*[https://nyxt.atlas.engineer/ Nyxt] - Uses webkit by default, but can be compiled for chromium or gecko. Ultra autistic for wannabe hackers that for some reason like configuring a browser with lisp.
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*[https://qutebrowser.org/ Qutebrowser] - Uses chromium, configured with python and is not as autistic as Nyxt.  
  
* [http://www.elinks.cz/ ELinks] is a text-based based web browser that runs from the terminal.
 
  
* [http://lynx.isc.org/ Lynx] is the oldest Web browser still under active development.
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===Other===
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* [http://www.netsurf-browser.org/ NetSurf] is a fast, lightweight browser running on GTK and using its own rendering engine with no JavaScript support.
 +
* [https://www.dillo.org/ Dillo] is an even faster, more lightweight browser running on [http://www.fltk.org/ FLTK] using its own rendering engine with limited (but improving) CSS support and no JavaScript support.
  
== Common Plug-Ins ==
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==Common Plug-Ins==
  
* [https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html Adobe Flash Player] is required to play the flash video incorporated into many modern Web pages. It is infamous for being bloated, slow, and exploitable. While it is being phased out in favour of HTML 5 video, Flash is unfortunately still required in many cases. Flash should not be used on GNU/Linux systems, due to the fact that it is no longer being updated for that platform.
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*[https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html Adobe Flash Player] is required to play the flash video incorporated into many modern Web pages. It is infamous for being bloated, slow, and exploitable. While it is being phased out in favour of HTML 5 video, Flash is unfortunately still required in many cases. Flash should not be used on GNU/Linux systems, due to the fact that it is no longer being updated for that platform. This does not apply to Chrom* based browsers, which can use the pepperflashplayer.
  
* [https://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/ The Silverlight Plug-In] is required to play Silverlight content. Silverlight was essentially Microsoft's answer to Flash, but it failed to gain any significant market share. Like Flash, it is being phased out in favour of HTML 5. Unlike Flash, it is not common enough to justify its use.
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::For a proper alternative to flash on browsers that don't support the Pepper Plugin API (PPAPI) like Firefox, look into [https://github.com/i-rinat/freshplayerplugin freshplayerplugin], a  ppapi2npapi compatibility layer that allows you to use Chrome's pepperflashplayer.
  
* [https://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp The Java and Java Deployment Toolkit Plug-Ins] are installed with the [http://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php?title=Questionable_Software#Java_Runtime_Environment Java Runtime Environment]. While the Runtime Environment itself is often necessary for the use of desktop Java software, these plug-ins are extremely vulnerable and rarely used. They should be disabled in all cases.
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*[https://mozilla.github.io/shumway/ Shumway] is an HTML5 technology experiment that explores building a faithful and efficient renderer for the SWF file format without native code assistance.
  
== Recommended User Scripts ==
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*[https://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/ The Silverlight Plug-In] is required to play Silverlight content. Silverlight was essentially Microsoft's answer to Flash, but it has failed to gain any significant market share. Like Flash, it is being phased out in favour of HTML5. Unlike Flash, it is not common enough to justify its use.
  
* [https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/155840 Anti-Adblock Killer] prevents various anti-adblock methods from being effective. For best results, it must be used in conjunction with its set of [http://jsbin.com/AhewOcox Adblock Plus filters].
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*[https://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp The Java and Java Deployment Toolkit Plug-Ins] are installed with the [http://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php?title=Questionable_software#Java_Runtime_Environment Java Runtime Environment]. While the Runtime Environment itself is often necessary for the use of desktop Java software, these plug-ins are extremely vulnerable and rarely used. They should be disabled in all cases.
  
* [https://4chan-x.just-believe.in/ MayhemYDG's 4Chan-X] is the ''official'' [citation needed] continuation of Aeosynth's popular 4chan X script.
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==Recommended User Scripts==
** [https://zixaphir.github.io/appchan-x/ Appchan X] is Zixaphir's fork of 4chan X. It combines the features of 4chan X with the rice of the discontinued Appchan and OneeChan style scripts.
 
** [http://seaweedchan.github.io/4chan-x/ Seaweedchan's 4chan X] was a popular fork of 4chan X offered several controversial features over Mayhem's. Due to its author's decision to leave 4chan, its development has ceased.
 
** [http://seaweedchan.github.io/OneeChan/ OneeChan] was another of Seaweedchan's abandoned projects. Unlike Appchan X, it packaged no 4chan X features.
 
** [https://github.com/Spittie/4chan-x/ Spittie's 4chan X] is another fork of 4chan X that is still in development.
 
  
* [https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/87750 4Chan Linkify] changes plain-text links on 4chan into hyper-links. It is redundant if either 4chan X or the official extension are used.
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===4chanX===
  
 +
*[https://github.com/loadletter/4chan-x loadletter's 4chan X] is a maintained version of MayhemYDG's v2. It lacks the controversial changes made by MayhemYDG in v3. It is a shorter script, and the only maintained fork that supports Opera 12.
 +
*[https://ccd0.github.io/4chan-x/ ccd0's 4chan X] is the continuation of Spittie's/Seaweed's 4chan X.
 +
*<del>[https://github.com/aeosynth/4chan-x Aeosynth's 4Chan-X]</del> was the original version of 4chan X.
 +
*[https://github.com/KevinParnell/OneeChan OneeChan] is a script for customizing the look of 4chan. Unlike Appchan X, it packaged no 4chan X features. Originally by Seaweedchan, its maintenance was continued by Spittie, then Nebukazar and now KevinParnell.
 +
*[https://zixaphir.github.io/appchan-x/ Appchan X] is Zixaphir's fork of 4chan X. It combines the features of 4chan X with the rice of the Appchan and OneeChan style scripts. Since January 2015, development is not very active, but pull requests are still accepted. Unsure if it still works
  
* [https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/114002 YouTube Center] seamlessly integrates many features like video downloading directly into YouTube.
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===Other===
  
* [https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/87011 ViewTube] forces HTML5 to be preferred over flash on a variety of popular video sites.
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*[https://github.com/reek/anti-adblock-killer Anti-Adblock Killer] prevents various anti-adblock methods from being effective. For best results, it must be used in conjunction with its set of [http://jsbin.com/AhewOcox Adblock Plus filters].
** [https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/159658 ViewTubePlus] is like ViewTube, but for pornographic sites.
+
*[https://github.com/bogachenko/fuckfuckadblock Fuck Fuckadblock] is a recent fork of Anti-Adblock Killer. Works with ublock origin.
 +
*[http://userscripts-mirror.org/scripts/show/87750 4Chan Linkify] changes plain-text links on 4chan into hyper-links. It is redundant if either 4chan X or the official extension are used.
 +
*[https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock uBlock Origin] is an adblocker that is very efficient on system resources. This is the original source, and works on Firefox and Chrome/Chromium.
 +
*[https://github.com/gorhill/uMatrix uMatrix] is to [https://noscript.net/ NoScript] and [https://www.requestpolicy.com/ RequestPolicy] what uBlock Origin is to Adblock Plus/Edge. Allows seamless blocking of local or cross-site scripts, images, cookies, and more in a slick, low-memory package. Generally recommended over uBlock for most things as it allows full control of what's blocked, although has trouble blocking ads from youtube by itself and will break many sites by default without tweaking them. Can be found on Pale Meme as eMatrix.
 +
*[https://github.com/ClearURLs/Addon] Removes tracking ids in URL while surfing the web.
 +
*[https://git.synz.io/Synzvato/decentraleyes] Improves the privacy of Content Delivery Networks.
 +
*[https://sponsor.ajay.app/ SponsorBlock] is an extension for both major web browsers, as well as kodi, mpv, youtube-dl, chromecast, android, etc. that blocks sponsored segments in videos (works on invidous as well).
  
 
[[Category:Browser]]
 
[[Category:Browser]]
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[[Category:Recommendations]]
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[[Category:What does /g/ use?]]

Latest revision as of 18:55, 25 December 2023

A Web browser is a type of Web client that enables a user to select, retrieve, and perceive resources on the Web. In particular, Web browsers provide a way for a user to view hypertext documents and follow the hyperlinks that connect them, typically by moving the cursor over a link and depressing the mouse button. source

What does /g/ use?

  • Ungoogled-Chromium - chromium with less botnet. Not fully audited
  • Firefox and it's forks:
    • Pale Moon - Legacy Firefox being updated by infamous furry known as Moonchild. Dubbed "Pale Meme" by some users, due to some controversies with auto updates and add-ons as there is a blacklist set by default and classic add-ons do not work as of 29.3.0.
    • GNU IceCat - Firefox but by GNU. The best firefox fork for privacy, default add-ons are autistic and break majority of sites, doesn't provide binaries for new versions.
    • Librewolf - Continuation of Librefox. Documentation contains a list of much-needed firefox addons. Pretty much equivalent to Firefox+ArkenFox config in terms of unsolicited telemetry requests.
    • Arkenfox - Configuration file to harden Firefox, best template configuration for schizos.
  • Brave - Chromium but directed by the same guy who directed the good versions of firefox. Also you can earn money (the company's crypto token). There are a number of controversies.

Free web browsers

Mozilla Firefox based

Good ole' Firefox
The Best Firefox fork [citation needed]

Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Netscape Communicator. It is known for its championing of the open web during Internet Explorer's reign of terror and its extensive customisability via add-ons and settings. Nowadays, Mozilla spends more effort on combatting fake news and funding antifa than maintaining the browser. Firefox's recent move to WebExtensions has deprecated many legacy add-ons, but remains more customizable than most other browsers.

Numerous forks and spin-offs of Firefox exist and are a common sight on /g/ and /tech/ given Firefox's perceived transition into a Chrome-imitating memory whore, for example Pale Moon, its sibling Basilisk, and advertiser-boughtWaterfox. The most "free" fork would be GNU Icecat, a fully free, libre, open-source (FLOSS) fork of Firefox without its built-in DRM support and Firefox Hello. Icecat comes with LibreJS, an add-on which blocks out any non-free javascript on webpages.


Chromium based

Google, de-botneted (a lie)

Chromium is a free and open-source web browser botnet known for its extremely fast JavaScript execution and multiprocess security model. Upon release, Chromium was ahead of the competition by leaps and bounds in terms of raw performance. In the years that followed though, Firefox and Opera largely equalled and in some cases surpassed its performance advantage, although Chromium still tends to maintain a slight edge in UI responsiveness and JavaScript execution. While usually recommended for use, many users stay away from this browser as it has not been audited as much as Firefox has, and in protest of its (easy to disable) tracking features.

If you're thinking of switching to Chromium (Google's open source version of Chrome) instead, think again. For some time, Chromium snuck in a binary blob for voice recognition whenever you started it up. This has been removed by the project maintainers, but it should raise some concern over what else could be lurking in the code.

The Brave browser is a privacy-focused open source browser based on Chromium created by Brendan Eich, punished Mozilla CEO, with built in adblock, HTTPS protection and TOR web browsing. (although using TOR with this runs the risk of fingerprinting your browser) It's shilled throughout the web for being the best option in "Big Tech" society. (hence the nickname "Le shill lion") See above for its issues. Also pays out basic attention tokens (BAT) as a form of crypto for turning on brave ads on supported websites, however these can only be redeemed by making an account on Uphold, a known botnet exchange.

Iridium is a FLOSS fork of Chromium stripped of as many botnet features as possible. It used to phone home to Iridium's servers for development purposes, but it no longer does that. This is not where it ends, though. If you go to their homepage, and read what they have to say about the privacy of their browser, it reads: "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.". Smells like botnet.

If you want a completely botnet-free and telemetry-free chromium experience, this is what you do:

  1. Download Ungoogled-Chromium, ignore any warnings that you might get
  2. Go to chrome://flags and change the setting "Handling of Extension MIME Type Requests" to "Always prompt for install".
  3. Install NeverDecaf chromium-web-store
  4. Install Decentraleyes
  5. Install Ublock Origin
  6.  ???
  7. PROFIT!!!

Non-free web browsers

Superior waifu browser not available on Freedom™ systems

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a botnet proprietary fork of the free and open source Chromium project. While effectively offering the same browsing experience as Chromium, it integrates Google's "Pepper" Flash plugin, a Foxit-based PDF reader and controversial user-tracking capabilities. If you value your privacy or reputation on /g/ and /tech/, it's best to avoid this one.

Opera

Opera is one of the oldest web browsers that is still under active development. Up to version 12.16, Opera was based on its in-house Presto layout engine and characterised by its customisability, innovation, broad out-of-the-box feature set (including a torrent client, email, IRC and FTP support) and respect for web standards. Several now ubiquitous features like tabbed browsing and speed dial made their débuts in Opera.

With the release of version 15, Opera development radically changed direction. Presto was discontinued in favour of Chromium's Blink layout engine and numerous features were excised, with the email client becoming a standalone program and GNU/Linux support and native 64-bit builds both being suspended (although the former has made a recent comeback). As a result, "Chropera" is often derided as a shadow of its former self, and a small minority of /g/ and /tech/ users fervently stick to the archaic old version.

Note: It was bought by chinks a bit ago, treat carefully if you do want to use the newest Opera.

Vivaldi

Vivaldi is made by the developers of classic Opera, who were apparently as frustrated with its change in direction as /g/ and /tech/, and attempts to bring back the feel and features of Opera 12.

Edge

Edge is the default web browser in Microsoft's Windows operating systems, previously known as Internet Explorer and based on Microsoft's Trident layout engine. Before IE version 9, Internet Explorer was infamous for its myriad security vulnerabilities, poor performance, disregard for most web standards and perversion of the few that it bothered to acknowledge. Since then, however, Microsoft had actively developed Internet Explorer into a tolerable web browser, and had even discontinued the brand name to distance themselves from its notoriety. Basically, Edge became Internet Explorer version 12. Has a new user interface somewhat optimized for tablets. Tons of new features were promised before Windows 10 was released, most were not implemented. It is the first browser to implement the very promising Chakra JavaScript engine. Microsoft has had enough of it. No more baking a browser. We went where all the market is at, Chromium.

Safari

Safari is the default web browser in Apple's Mac OS X. It is based on Apple's Webkit layout engine, a KHTML fork. Compared to Chromium and Firefox, Safari has a slow development cycle and is lacking in features.


Obscure hipster browsers

The chance that all websites will work with these browsers is low. Its just the way things are now.

Gecko

  • K-Meleon is a free and open-source Firefox-like browser for Windows. It uses the Gecko rendering engine just like Firefox, but sports a native Windows UI and is absurdly configurable. It also runs very, very well on Pentium M era hardware and below.
  • LibreWolf A hardened security-focused fork of Firefox with uBlock Origin preinstalled.
  • SeaMonkey is a continuation of the Mozilla suite and descendant of Netscape Navigator. Unlike most modern web browsers, it is an Internet suite, completely bundled with an email client, newsreader, IRC, and web designer. Legacy Firefox Add-ons work with this, just don't use the add-on store. Has old internet written all over it. It's the only functional choice on early to mid 2000's computers, as Chromium based browsers won't work at all due to requiring an specific instruction set that older CPUs don't have. Could be worth considering on any extremelly resource-deprived system, moreso than broken browsers like PaleMoon.

WebKit

Warning: Some WebKit ports are considered insecure and a security risk. Before using a WebKit browser, make sure that it is not using a WebKit port that is insecure. Read more here
  • GNOME Web a.k.a Ephiphany is GNOME's WekKit based browser. It's adding support for WebExtensions but it's still rather limited.
  • Sleipnir is a proprietary Japanese weeaboo Chromium fork with a superior, proprietary font rendering engine. However, it is only available on OS X and Windows.
  • Midori is a lightweight web browser with a GTK+ interface. It is a component of the XFCE Goodies package.
  • Falkon (formerly QupZilla) is similar to rekonq by being lightweight and using Qt except it has more features.
  • Otter Browser is a project that aims to recreate and improve upon the features of classic Opera using the Qt5 toolkit. It is in development at the time of writing, and is thus unsuited for general use.
  • Luakit, Uzbl and qutebrowser are all minimalistic browsers with a keyboard-driven, Vim-inspired interface. Most are based on archaic versions of WebKit, although qutebrowser uses QtWebEngine in more recent builds.
  • Dooble is a web browser focused on security and privacy with many integrated features like support for advanced options and cookie management, Gopher support, a FTP browser, a file manager, a download manager, and many others.

KHTML

  • Konqueror is a Web browser and file manager that was once a core component of the K desktop environment. Webkit and Blink are both descendants of its KHTML layout engine.

Terminal

  • Links is a text-based browser that can display images.
  • w3m is another text-based browser that can display images.
  • ELinks is a text-based based web browser that runs from the terminal.
  • Lynx is the oldest web browser still under active development. It strips pages of images, doesn't use javascript, and is great for just reading what is needed, like an article. It also utilizes other system programs, should you need to open an image file, for instance.

Keyboard Driven

  • Nyxt - Uses webkit by default, but can be compiled for chromium or gecko. Ultra autistic for wannabe hackers that for some reason like configuring a browser with lisp.
  • Qutebrowser - Uses chromium, configured with python and is not as autistic as Nyxt.


Other

  • NetSurf is a fast, lightweight browser running on GTK and using its own rendering engine with no JavaScript support.
  • Dillo is an even faster, more lightweight browser running on FLTK using its own rendering engine with limited (but improving) CSS support and no JavaScript support.

Common Plug-Ins

  • Adobe Flash Player is required to play the flash video incorporated into many modern Web pages. It is infamous for being bloated, slow, and exploitable. While it is being phased out in favour of HTML 5 video, Flash is unfortunately still required in many cases. Flash should not be used on GNU/Linux systems, due to the fact that it is no longer being updated for that platform. This does not apply to Chrom* based browsers, which can use the pepperflashplayer.
For a proper alternative to flash on browsers that don't support the Pepper Plugin API (PPAPI) like Firefox, look into freshplayerplugin, a ppapi2npapi compatibility layer that allows you to use Chrome's pepperflashplayer.
  • Shumway is an HTML5 technology experiment that explores building a faithful and efficient renderer for the SWF file format without native code assistance.
  • The Silverlight Plug-In is required to play Silverlight content. Silverlight was essentially Microsoft's answer to Flash, but it has failed to gain any significant market share. Like Flash, it is being phased out in favour of HTML5. Unlike Flash, it is not common enough to justify its use.

Recommended User Scripts

4chanX

  • loadletter's 4chan X is a maintained version of MayhemYDG's v2. It lacks the controversial changes made by MayhemYDG in v3. It is a shorter script, and the only maintained fork that supports Opera 12.
  • ccd0's 4chan X is the continuation of Spittie's/Seaweed's 4chan X.
  • Aeosynth's 4Chan-X was the original version of 4chan X.
  • OneeChan is a script for customizing the look of 4chan. Unlike Appchan X, it packaged no 4chan X features. Originally by Seaweedchan, its maintenance was continued by Spittie, then Nebukazar and now KevinParnell.
  • Appchan X is Zixaphir's fork of 4chan X. It combines the features of 4chan X with the rice of the Appchan and OneeChan style scripts. Since January 2015, development is not very active, but pull requests are still accepted. Unsure if it still works

Other

  • Anti-Adblock Killer prevents various anti-adblock methods from being effective. For best results, it must be used in conjunction with its set of Adblock Plus filters.
  • Fuck Fuckadblock is a recent fork of Anti-Adblock Killer. Works with ublock origin.
  • 4Chan Linkify changes plain-text links on 4chan into hyper-links. It is redundant if either 4chan X or the official extension are used.
  • uBlock Origin is an adblocker that is very efficient on system resources. This is the original source, and works on Firefox and Chrome/Chromium.
  • uMatrix is to NoScript and RequestPolicy what uBlock Origin is to Adblock Plus/Edge. Allows seamless blocking of local or cross-site scripts, images, cookies, and more in a slick, low-memory package. Generally recommended over uBlock for most things as it allows full control of what's blocked, although has trouble blocking ads from youtube by itself and will break many sites by default without tweaking them. Can be found on Pale Meme as eMatrix.
  • [1] Removes tracking ids in URL while surfing the web.
  • [2] Improves the privacy of Content Delivery Networks.
  • SponsorBlock is an extension for both major web browsers, as well as kodi, mpv, youtube-dl, chromecast, android, etc. that blocks sponsored segments in videos (works on invidous as well).