darkreader VS uBlock

change to light mode, and try out https://darkreader.org/

I was able to reproduce and reported this to Dark Reader https://github.com/darkreader/darkreader/issues/11952

I highly recommend utilizing a dark reader.

I totally forgot about the atrocious default HN theme. Yeah that's unreasonable, unreadable. A low-contrast light theme is literally equivalent to shining a flashlight in your eyes. Only unreasonable people do that to others (e.g. the police).

If you use Firefox, I recommend the Dark Reader[1] extension for taking care of all the websites that insist on destroying your eyes.

[1]: https://darkreader.org

i use https://darkreader.org/ for chrome and don't see flies 99% of the time

- very efficient to navigate(shortcuts, quick tab navigation, etc.) - Shortcuts - Terminal for easy to type commands - Tab Management - Quick Tab Navigation - Search Bar Integration - Bookmark Management - History Management - Smart Address Bar - Speed Dial - Back and forward Navigation - WM like behaviour for tabs - Floating search bar for quick searches - Powerful autocomplete in address bar(stored in-browser to avoid privacy issues) - privacy focus - Use of Duck Duck Go when privacy-focus is on - Built in Powerful Adblocker - Avoids the use of trackers - Possibility to block Trackers - Possibility to search with TOR - Option to enable or disable JS fully - Option to Disable Cookies - Encrypted DNS - Auto HTTPS upgrade - DNT(Do Not Track) by default - Adoption of G-Hacks - Built in Temp-mail for not frequently visited addresses - A slider for the amount of privacy-conviniency - Whilst doing so it selects and unselects some packages - History as a Module - Don't log certain websites to History - Creation of fake entries on History - Delete History tabs easily - By name - By category - open source - decentralized - compatible all OS - consumes low resources - minimalist - highly customizable - Dark Mode by Default - Characteristics of [Dark Reader](https://darkreader.org/) - Predefined Themes - Community Themes - Support for Wallpapers - Also the ability to configure it via .config files that can be edite - Ability to make the tabs semitransparent and either show the background or a custom wallpaper - fast - Modules - Written in almighty RUST - light - easy to use - Unbloated - Modern UI - advanced users characteristics -The option to cache websites so you can access them when you don't have internet connection, they would be stored locally (might not work on all websites) -Reader Mode: Selects only the text and offers the ability to speed read(maybe through the integration of Swift read) - Vertical Tabs Option - Using commands for faster navigation - Ability to open multiple tabs at once using a shortcut - Workspace Switching - Heavy Local Focus - Modular - Rename Downloads to something meaningful - Download folder differentiation

Check out uBlock Origin's per site switches [1]

[1]: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Per-site-switches#no-...

If ads, in particular on YouTube, are the problem, anything Chromium-based is probably only going to get worse and worse (see [1] and [2]). So that basically leaves you with Firefox and Safari.

I work for Mozilla (speaking for myself, of course), so I'll leave you to guess which I'd recommend :P

[1] https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-b...

[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/googles-widely-oppos...

https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock

Or if on mobile, it is well worth it to look up adblock options for the browser you use.

What are the compelling advantages of Chrome nowadays?

Chrome is working to limit the capabilities of ad blockers:

https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2023/11/chrome-pushes...

Whereas a compelling advantage of Firefox is that uBlock Origin works best in Firefox:

https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-b...

Advertising networks have often been vectors for malware. Using an ad blocker is an important security measure. Even the FBI recommends ad blockers:

https://www.malwarebytes.com/malvertising

https://theconversation.com/spyware-can-infect-your-phone-or...

https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2022/PSA221221?=8324278624

> It allows for 30,000 dynamic rules

That is not what we mean by dynamic filters. From https://developer.chrome.com/blog/improvements-to-content-fi...

> However, to support more frequent updates and user-defined rules, extensions can add rules dynamically too, without their developers having to upload a new version of the extension to the Chrome Web Store.

What Chrome is talking about is the ability to specify rules at runtime. What critics of Manifest V3 are talking about is not the ability to dynamically add rules (although that can be an issue), it is the ability to add dynamic rules -- ie rules that analyze and rewrite requests in the style of the blockingWebRequest permission.

It's a little deceptive to claim that the concerns here are outdated and to point to vague terminology that sounds like it's correcting the problem, but on actual inspection turns out to be entirely separate functionality from what the GP was talking about.

> Giving this ability to extensions can slow down the browser for the user. These ads can still be blocked through other means.

This is the debate; most of the adblocking community disagrees with this assertion. uBO maintains a list of some common features that are already not possible to support in Chrome ( https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-b... ) and has written about features that are not able to be supported via Chrome's current V3 API ( https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/wiki/Frequently-as... ). Of particular note are filtering for large media elements (I use this a lot on mobile Firefox, it's great for reducing page size), and top-level filtering of domains/fonts.

> "Its happened before"

> That's not an argument

It's a subheading to "2. Browser engine monopoly". The subsection's purpose is describing how bad things were during the IE monopoly to reinforce that it's something to be avoided.

> in fact you could counter-argue that IE left a lot of technical debt

That would be agreeing with the article, unless I understand what you mean.

> On top of that, the internet was very different back then.

In a way that now makes it harder for truly new competing engines to pop up due to increased complexity of the web.

> I'm still not convinced, why would I change my browser?

The points made in the article are:

* Increased privacy, opposed to willingly giving your data to an ad-tech company

* Helps avoid a browser engine monopoly which would effectively let Google dictate web standards

* It’s fast and has a nice user interface

Onto which I'd add:

* Content blockers work best on Firefox (https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-b...), doubly so when Manifest V3 rolls out

* Allows more customization of interface and home page

* UX improvements, like the clutter-free reader mode, aren't vetoed to protect search revenue as with Chrome (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37675467)

Advertising networks are vectors for malware:

https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/malvertising

https://www.malwarebytes.com/malvertising

https://theconversation.com/spyware-can-infect-your-phone-or...

So if you're concerned about security then you want the browser with the best ad blocker.

uBlock Origin works best in Firefox:

https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/uBlock-Origin-works-b...