ivpn.net VS uBlock

IVPN | Full-stack Web Developer | Remote (UTC-1 to UTC+3) | Full-time | https://www.ivpn.net

IVPN is a privacy-focused VPN service in operation since 2010. We have high ethical standards, regular security audits and a stellar reputation among security and privacy analysts.

We are looking for a Full-stack Web Developer to work on a new project for a privacy-friendly DNS solution.

Ideally you possess the following knowledge:

IVPN | Technical Writer, Privacy and Security | Remote (UTC-5 to UTC+7) | Part-time (20h) | https://www.ivpn.net

IVPN is a privacy-focused VPN service in operation since 2010. We have high ethical standards, regular security audits and a stellar reputation among security and privacy analysts.

We are looking for a Technical Writer to create in-depth guides about privacy, information security and VPN use. We prefer quality over quantity, and aim for providing real value to our technical audience as opposed to churning out surface level, keyword stuffed content marketing posts.

To qualify for this role, credentials and number of years of experience does not necessarily matter, given you have a deep interest in privacy, come equipped with technical skills, and have a knack for writing.

This is a remote, part-time (20 hours per week) position with a possibility of switch to full-time depending on the progress of projects and your goals.

You can email me directly to discuss the role: [email protected]

IVPN - Secure VPN for Privacy (version 2.10.3): Privacy focused VPN service with WireGuard

IVPN | Senior Infrastructure Engineer | Remote (UTC-1 to UTC+3) | Full-time | https://www.ivpn.net

IVPN is a privacy-focused VPN service in operation since 2010. We have high ethical standards, regular security audits and a stellar reputation among security and privacy analysts. We are planning to overhaul our VPN infrastructure with a new server build to radically improve the transparency of our service.

We are looking for an experienced infrastructure engineer to research and develop a new server architecture for our VPN gateways that is open, immutable, diskless and secure, using open-source software and multiple layers of security technologies. You will also be responsible for the initial provisioning of servers, from procurement to building and final distribution to data centers (travel might not be required).

If you have:

IVPN

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with Brave VPN too much. There are better ones out there for less or approximately the same price. IVPN is a good example. For the same monthly price, you get an ad and tracker blocker also.

"In front of us, we have CBDCs introduced, privacy rights eroded, our actions tracked and used against us. If you want to fight for a future free from surveillance: this is the place to be in 2023." - - Viktor Vecsei, COO of IVPN, an open-source, audited, privacy focused VPN service with WireGuard and ad+tracker blocking, one of the sponsors of Monero Konferenco 2022. https://www.ivpn.net

I was in the same boat. I moved to https://www.ivpn.net.

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...