The one video I saw suggested running this betterfox.js file or some more elaborate ones. Is that really necessary?

Or are there just some settings that I should change?

(Already run ublock origin if that matters.)

  • glacier@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    It is FireFox that has hidden settings (about:config) adjusted for privacy. It refers to using a js file such as betterfox or arkenfox, or a pre-hardened fork of FireFox (Librewolf on desktop or Mull Browser on Android). You can improve your privacy by using a hardened FireFox, however you may also encounter more issues with website compatibility. It is a trade-off, and is usually only recommended for advanced users.

    • mac@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      When I was using Librewolf, it seemed to lag behind on updates, which is a non-negotiable for me.

      I now run FF with arkenfox user.js, so youget updates right as they are released

      • amanneedsamaid@sopuli.xyz
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        1 year ago

        +1, the minescule amount of extra work (moving some files to your firefox profile’s directory) is well worth it over just using Librewolf

  • Ilandar@aussie.zone
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    1 year ago

    People tend to speak about hardened Firefox as a separate entity because, unlike some other browsers that come with default privacy out of the box, Firefox requires you to change some settings beforehand. However it’s worth noting that a lot of this stuff is extremely quick and easy to do and you don’t have to make the advanced changes if they are too confusing. You don’t have to use a fork of Firefox either; the default browser is a very good option if you take 5 minutes to set it up and retains QoL features like sync that some forks remove.

  • AHEHE@unilem.org
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    1 year ago

    Trafotin made a good normie friendly intro video breaking it down. He uses arkenfox in his example but most importantly, touches on customizing/creating these scripts yourself. By the end you will have at least a basic understanding of removing features scripts miss and how to add back features you may want.

    https://vid.puffyan.us/watch?v=GVOcElOPs8E

    • Vexz@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I’ve watched half of the video and gotta say it all sounds very complicated. And since I don’t know exactly what changes are made or options set back to default with that cleaner-script I decided to just get through every entry in the user-overrides.js provided. In hindsight this was a good idea because I know some of these changes in the settings would have broken stuff for me. Actually I didn’t have to change a single option because my Firefox was already hardened enough. ;) At least I now know I’m good and have been good.

  • LemmyNameMyself@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    really necessary?

    no but there are some settings in about:config you might want to change

    this is a good video (easier to follow if you are on linux) that shows installation of a profile with all the settings already in it

  • jet@hackertalks.com
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    1 year ago

    Mullvad browser is what you want, it’s desktop only. Everything’s already done for you, All the reasonable choices have already been made. Just use it.

    If you want to roll your own you can start with base Firefox and then add Arkanfox but expect to spend a good afternoon configuring everything. And then a week tweaking it. Mullvad browser just saves you time.