Outstanding. I had Adblock Plus and was tired with the constant messaging, but nothing to address any of the other concerns you raised.
I appreciate you including your personal recommendations. For us lower-tech folk, it’s invaluable, as I don’t necessarily even know which questions to ask to be sure something is a safe bet.
Lastly, it’s been in the back of my mind for longer than I care to admit, to get around to enlisting a password manager. Your posts have inspired me to finally cross it off my list! Here’s to a much safer setup. 💪🏽
Yet another valuable prompt. Wasn't aware of the new tab extensions being an issue. Despite me doing a monthly check on browser extensions, I'm now going to do a full audit.
Unless you’ve added them you wouldn’t find any most likely. Generally people use them for productivity or other reasons. If you don’t have any then that’s very good for you because it’s one less way to be exploited.
Hey Seth great question! OneTab works, but it’s not open-source and has privacy concerns around its “share as web page” feature, which uploads tab data to their servers. If you never use that feature, the risk is lower, but there’s still no way to audit what it’s doing. A better option is Better OneTab. it’s open-source, works locally, and doesn’t send data anywhere. Safer pick if privacy matters most to you. Hope that helps
I am currently running Firefox, and the only extensions I have are Grammarly (which I often turn off), Bitwarden, CleanURLs, PrivacyBadger, and DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials.
Probably actually duplicating privacy stuff, but it all works. Thinking of replacing Bitwarden with ProtonPass since I subscribe to Proton for VPN and Email. But there is something in the back of my head that wants to keep my passwords separate from the rest of my stuff.
Thanks for the great articles!! I have passed a number of them on to folks in my user base. That includes not only at work but also the friends and family I have to support.
Awesome to hear! thanks for the support. And nothing wrong with your thought process at all. I have a post coming up which actually discusses single point of failure and how it can lead to massive fallout. That sort of ties into what you’re thinking here. Good stuff.
Exactly. And keeping my recovery address/phone separate from my password service. I have seen people get caught in that cycle of the main email getting hacked and yet all resets are sent to that same email so it is hard, if possible, to really recover.
I’m reasonably IT security literate but every time you post there is something of value. I switched from Surfshark to core proton vpn. Got rid of extensions I thought were ok but feel it’s better to follow your recommendations and else only have the barebones stuff. What’s your take on grammarly? That Firefox extension was too nosey for me. I inactivated it but haven’t deleted the extension yet.
Thank you Jason! I had no idea. Which browser do you recommend? I've been reading that Brave is the most secure, but then I read somewhere else that this is overrated and Brave is actually not good. So, I'm confused. Any recommendation for a solid, safe browser that focuses on privacy is greatly appreciated!
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
If you really want to help people just say what the extensions are. Burying the lede makes your article look like clickbait. I see approximately 4000 links a day telling me something terrible will happen if I don't get rid of this or that whatever I can only learn about by clicking through, and I never click through.
Outstanding. I had Adblock Plus and was tired with the constant messaging, but nothing to address any of the other concerns you raised.
I appreciate you including your personal recommendations. For us lower-tech folk, it’s invaluable, as I don’t necessarily even know which questions to ask to be sure something is a safe bet.
Lastly, it’s been in the back of my mind for longer than I care to admit, to get around to enlisting a password manager. Your posts have inspired me to finally cross it off my list! Here’s to a much safer setup. 💪🏽
Love hearing stories like this. Thank you so much for sharing!
Yet another valuable prompt. Wasn't aware of the new tab extensions being an issue. Despite me doing a monthly check on browser extensions, I'm now going to do a full audit.
Good point on extensions/code getting sold to others. I hadn’t thought about it until now.
I didn't find any extensions on my Firefox. Is that normal? Thanks for all the valuable info, though!
Unless you’ve added them you wouldn’t find any most likely. Generally people use them for productivity or other reasons. If you don’t have any then that’s very good for you because it’s one less way to be exploited.
Is OneTab an extension that is ok or one that tracks?
Hey Seth great question! OneTab works, but it’s not open-source and has privacy concerns around its “share as web page” feature, which uploads tab data to their servers. If you never use that feature, the risk is lower, but there’s still no way to audit what it’s doing. A better option is Better OneTab. it’s open-source, works locally, and doesn’t send data anywhere. Safer pick if privacy matters most to you. Hope that helps
Thanks, Jason! That's super helpful.
Awesome glad to hear it
How about Duck Duck Go? I’m using that on my laptop at the moment until I get another one that can install Brave.
As always thank you for the excellent information!
Check in the settings should be able to search “extensions” and find the manager. Will be similar to Chrome directions.
Ok, thanks for the info!
Absolutely!
Easy fix. Stop using Chrome. Even if you think it makes your browsing easier, it also opens you to spyware and hacking. Not worth the “convenience”.
I can’t find the extension manager in DuckDuckGo…
DuckDuckGo does not allow the use extensions apparently. You won’t have any to worry about.
I actually do this review fairly often.
I am currently running Firefox, and the only extensions I have are Grammarly (which I often turn off), Bitwarden, CleanURLs, PrivacyBadger, and DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials.
Probably actually duplicating privacy stuff, but it all works. Thinking of replacing Bitwarden with ProtonPass since I subscribe to Proton for VPN and Email. But there is something in the back of my head that wants to keep my passwords separate from the rest of my stuff.
Thanks for the great articles!! I have passed a number of them on to folks in my user base. That includes not only at work but also the friends and family I have to support.
Awesome to hear! thanks for the support. And nothing wrong with your thought process at all. I have a post coming up which actually discusses single point of failure and how it can lead to massive fallout. That sort of ties into what you’re thinking here. Good stuff.
Exactly. And keeping my recovery address/phone separate from my password service. I have seen people get caught in that cycle of the main email getting hacked and yet all resets are sent to that same email so it is hard, if possible, to really recover.
I’m reasonably IT security literate but every time you post there is something of value. I switched from Surfshark to core proton vpn. Got rid of extensions I thought were ok but feel it’s better to follow your recommendations and else only have the barebones stuff. What’s your take on grammarly? That Firefox extension was too nosey for me. I inactivated it but haven’t deleted the extension yet.
Thank you Jason! I had no idea. Which browser do you recommend? I've been reading that Brave is the most secure, but then I read somewhere else that this is overrated and Brave is actually not good. So, I'm confused. Any recommendation for a solid, safe browser that focuses on privacy is greatly appreciated!
Brave or Vivaldi are the ones I use
Awesome, thank you for your quick response!
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
Thank you for your articles!
If you really want to help people just say what the extensions are. Burying the lede makes your article look like clickbait. I see approximately 4000 links a day telling me something terrible will happen if I don't get rid of this or that whatever I can only learn about by clicking through, and I never click through.
Ok thanks for letting me know lol
mind boggling
What about Duck Duck Go (though I hardly ever install extensions)