Replacing Firefox to improve user privacy...

vimanuelt

When using Ungoogled-Chromium, users must manually configure their preferred search engine, as no default is provided. I understand how that could be inconvenient. Is privacy worth the inconvenience?

Giskard

vimanuelt my main concern with UG mainly for the add-on store. I'm used to install ublock origin, cookie autodelete, privacy badger, proton pass. With LW I can do it immediately, doing the same things that I'm used to do with Firefox, while with UG I have to follow instructions to be able to do that. Also, in chromium based browsers, now is no more possible so use the plain ublock due to the new manifest for addons: I have to use the light version or AdGuard, which are far more powerful.

I think that UG as default, would be a hard choice for a common user. Firefox is still the most easy to use from scratch and I place LW in between.

vimanuelt

Giskard
I understand. The key point is that the discussion is not about which browser you personally prefer, but rather which should be set as the default. These are two separate matters. We have already examined the available browsers and considered their respective strengths and weaknesses. At present, Ungoogled-Chromium and LibreWolf remain the leading candidates. This debate arose a few years ago as well, but browsers evolve over time, and it would be reasonable to reassess our choice in light of those changes.

That said, I do not believe it would be appropriate to override Eric’s decision. However, if he is open to the idea, we could suggest holding a poll to give the community an opportunity to provide input. It is worth remembering that Eric is the project owner, and ultimately, all decisions rest with him. What we offer are simply recommendations. :-)

Giskard

vimanuelt a reconfigured UG could be a good choice, as @Robin said. What I wrote in the comment was not to promote my preference (which would be waterfox 😉 ), but my experience while trying to use both LW and UG while thinking about what it would be like if I were a novice.

Robin

Is it possible to re-mix ungoogled-chromium so that it includes all that "grandmother-friendly" stuff from the start? I added my own (Startpage search engine, cutomized this'n'that, added a /hosts file) and thought it was simple and quick. But if you're really looking to make GhostBSD "friendly" enough for a total computer novice, and you really don't want to use Firefox (and believe me, I completely understand why), then offer a customized default browser. Lots of OSes offer a cutomized, preconfigued desktop environment aimed at simplicity and "grandmother-friendliness" - perhaps the same can be done for ungoogled-chromium in GhostBSD.

vimanuelt

Robin
Yes, that is a good suggestion. Nice lateral thinking. :-) It is possible. Here is an proof of concept script. However, it would need to be refactored into a python script and introduced into gbi. When you enter your user name, it could use that variable to setup the browser setting towards the end of the install.

#!/bin/sh
# Seed Chromium user profile for ungoogled-chromium on GhostBSD
# Sets a custom search engine as the default for new users
# Author: Vester Thacker

set -eu

# Variables
SOURCE_USER="vester"  # Change this to the user you staged the profile with
PROFILE_PATH="/home/${SOURCE_USER}/.config/chromium/Default"
SKELETON_PATH="/usr/share/skel/.config/chromium/Default"

# Check if source profile exists
if [ ! -d "$PROFILE_PATH" ]; then
  echo "Error: Profile directory not found at ${PROFILE_PATH}"
  exit 1
fi

# Create skeleton directory
echo "Creating skeleton path: ${SKELETON_PATH}"
mkdir -p "${SKELETON_PATH}"

# Copy relevant files
echo "Copying Preferences and Web Data..."
cp "${PROFILE_PATH}/Preferences" "${SKELETON_PATH}/"
cp "${PROFILE_PATH}/Web Data" "${SKELETON_PATH}/"

# Optional: copy 'Local State' for broader settings
LOCAL_STATE_SRC="/home/${SOURCE_USER}/.config/chromium/Local State"
LOCAL_STATE_DEST="/usr/share/skel/.config/chromium/Local State"
if [ -f "${LOCAL_STATE_SRC}" ]; then
  echo "Copying Local State..."
  mkdir -p "$(dirname "${LOCAL_STATE_DEST}")"
  cp "${LOCAL_STATE_SRC}" "${LOCAL_STATE_DEST}"
fi

# Set safe permissions
echo "Setting permissions..."
chmod -R 755 /usr/share/skel/.config/chromium
chown -R root:wheel /usr/share/skel/.config/chromium

echo "Done. New users will now have a preconfigured search engine in ungoogled-chromium."

Thank you for the suggestion.

vimanuelt

Giskard
I see. Thank you. I misinterpreted the meaning. Thank you for the correction. :-)

ericbsd

Giskard before shipping UG or other solution, we will ensure it is still easy to use. I have not tried UG Chromium and Waterfox yet.

ericbsd

grahamperrin the change is not even done in the code yet.

grahamperrin

ericbsd thanks, I understand that it's not in code.

vimanuelt Eric approved the move from firefox to ungoogle-chromium as the default browser. …

That seems decisive. I gained the impression that you had approved ungoogled-chromium as the replacement for Firefox.

ericbsd … I have not tried UG Chromium …

Was the move, to something that you have not tried, approved by you, or not?

vimanuelt

ericbsd
Yes, it is necessary to launch the browser once and manually set the preferred search engine. This action creates the relevant configuration file. Once that file has been generated, we can add logic to copy it into the .config/chromium directory. I kept the original post concise rather than writing an extended explanation.

ericbsd

@grahamperrin, regarding transparency, if you refer to @vimanuelt saying that I am onboard with the change, it is not on the forums. I discuss most of the devs/contributors-related issues on https://t.me/ghostbsd_dev. It is not private.

grahamperrin

grahamperrin lack of transparency.

grahamperrin Why did you omit Telegram?

vimanuelt … faster interaction. …

Faster is not necessarily better.

ericbsd … It is not private.

Neither is it transparent.

Non-public use of Telegram is opaque.

If it's not already clear: I quit the app after writing about the instant turn-off; I have not returned.

ericbsd

That video makes a good point about Firefox and is derivative. Brave is not in ports, and using it without a Linux layer is impossible. That said, we do know that Chromium-based browsers are not going anywhere.

grahamperrin

ericbsd That video makes a good point

First impression: anti-Mozilla propaganda.

Speculation.

Biased.

Stirring things up, fanning the flames – instead of being calm, logical, and rational. The poop-stirring is good for clicks, and clicks = money.

grahamperrin

grahamperrin I gained the impression that you had approved

For clarity: "you" meant @ericbsd

ericbsd

grahamperrin As I said in the dev Telegram group, I am not against the change to UG Chromium. That said, it was kind of my seal of approval. I stand with @vimanuelt message. Vic started this topic on the Forum, but I started it in the Telegram user group. Vic added this discussion to the forum so that users who only use the forum know what's going on.

This change might not happen in the next release, but Firefox must be removed if Mozilla does not stop abusing user privacy. I have made my position clear on Telegram that I am unhappy with its current state, and that is also why I started that conversation on Telegram.

Brave would be my first pick, but it does not support FreeBSD. I have not investigated too deeply what would be the best choice, but ultimately, it is up to the community to come up with a solution.

There is another thing that Mozilla is doing that I will not start to talk about, because it is unrelated to privacy.

@grahamperrin, one thing you have not yet addressed with me is what transparency issue you are referring to.

grahamperrin

vimanuelt … Users can still access the Chrome Web Store, including … uBlock Origin, …

It's truer to say that users of ungoogled-chromium can not install uBlock Origin.

{Screenshot: uBlock Origin is not usable with ungoogled-chromium}

vimanuelt

grahamperrin
Faster interaction is not inherently better, but it is a consequential benefit.

ericbsd

grahamperrin Neither is it transparent.

Non-public use of Telegram is opaque.

If it's not already clear: I quit the app after writing about the instant turn-off; I have not returned.

So, because you do not like Telegram, we have to stop using Telegram?

ericbsd

grahamperrin That's the only video that took, but I have been following Mozilla's work for a long while. I have been disappointed for a couple of years already, but lately, they have been playing a game that I am tired of.

grahamperrin

vimanuelt … Users can still access the Chrome Web Store, …

ungoogled-chromium prevents installation through the Chrome Webstore interface.

grahamperrin

A quick, simple question … what's wrong with the picture below? 😺

{Screenshot: Pastebin.com on GhostBSD}

vimanuelt

grahamperrin
I reckon that you are referring to enhanced tracking protection.

Practical ways to add that are through extensions or for us to load pre-configured profiles.

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