The user has basic computer literacy, which is why having auto updates is something they’d like for the convenience. Addons are needed for uBlock Origins and such.

Having used Firefox for so many years, I honestly haven’t a clue. Should i go with just vanilla Chromium? Or are there better options? Thanks in advance, Lemmy.

  • ThreeHopsAhead
    12·
    3 years ago

    Afterall Chromium is overal a bad option for privacy, control and personal freedom as well as the freedom of the internet. The predominant use of Chromium puts web standards in Google’s hands and thereby threatens the open internet.

    I highly recommend against Edge as it is the same as Chrome with Google exchanged by Microsoft as the bad guy.

    Ungoogled Chromium does not have automatic updates for Windows as far as I know.

    There is always Brave despite its controversy.
    But you could also look into Iridium. Make sure to configure it according to your friend’s needs so no privacy feature like automatic cookie clearing bothers him and add uBlock Origin and HTTPS Everywhere. I have not used Iridium myself though and cannot vouche for it but it looks worth looking into.

    I would find it interesting to know what your friend bugs so much about Firefox. Firefox is much more customizable than Chrome so maybe that can be resolved. If it has been some time since your friend tried FireFox it might make sense to look back into it.

    • Helix
      6·
      3 years ago

      I would find it interesting to know what your friend bugs so much about Firefox. Firefox is much more customizable than Chrome so maybe that can be resolved. If it has been some time since your friend tried FireFox it might make sense to look back into it.

      Exactly my sentiment as well. First, get information about the real requirements. Then decide on a technology. Excluding firefox because years ago the colour of the highlighting function wasn’t to their liking or sone other weird non-reason would be silly.

    • zksmk
      3·
      3 years ago

      Iridium also doesn’t have automatic updates as far as I know.

      • ThreeHopsAhead
        4·
        3 years ago

        You are right.

        Iridium Browser does not download and install updates automatically as it would need to call home which is blocked for maximum privacy.

  • zksmk
    122·
    3 years ago

    If you need a Chromium-based browser with automatic updates and addons your only options are Vivaldi and Brave. Ungoogled Chromium is better but no automatic updates. Vanilla Chromium also doesn’t have automatic updates. Firefox is of course best, but it ain’t Chromium.

    • onlookerOP
      21·
      3 years ago

      Hm, will keep this in mind, thank you. To be perfectly honest, neither Vivaldi or Brave sound appealing. I was kind of hoping there was a noob and privacy friendly Chromium-based browser out there, since everyone I know seems to be in love with Chrome for whatever reason, but there always seem to be a gotcha no matter which you choose.

      There was the recent Brave fiasco and Vivaldi isn’t really open source, so that’s out too. I’ll probably just give my friend Firefox and hope they’ve since changed their mind.

  • Werwolf
    103·
    3 years ago

    The only decent option is Firefox with a few tweaks. I’d avoid chromium if you want privacy.

    Anyway, I guess that ungoogled chromium is the less horrible option if you totally need chromium.

  • reid
    21·
    3 years ago

    If proton is why you don’t want to use Firefox, it’s possible to disable in about:config

  • TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca
    33·
    3 years ago

    What about Edge? I don’t use it personally, but it’s Chromium based and I’ve heard it can use some Chrome extensions. It should also stay up to date with Windows updates, so it meets that requirement.

    Is there a particular reason it must be Chromium based? You mentioned Firefox, so I’m just curious why you wouldn’t choose it.

    • ThreeHopsAhead
      9·
      3 years ago

      I’d recommend against Edge. It is the same evil just with Microsoft as the devil rather than Google.

      It is at its core made to spy on the user, I think it connects to the user’s Microsoft account automatically and saves browsing history to the account, it is closed source and can therefore not be trusted, the security features of “smart screen” look fishy to me as well.

    • onlookerOP
      2·
      3 years ago

      Thanks, those are very good points. I’ll keep them in mind.

      I would very much choose Firefox. The user in question tried it in the past, but unfortunately didn’t like it.

      • Helix
        61·
        3 years ago

        The user in question should just try it again.

        • onlookerOP
          8·
          3 years ago

          I’m asking because they explicitly said they don’t want Firefox. I’m formatting their PC and if possible, would like to move them away from Chrome due to the privacy issues that come with it. Yes, I’m aware and agree that Firefox is the better option, but I’m trying to meet them half-way.

          • Helix
            6·
            3 years ago

            Most of the time, if people have no clue about tech and say they want or don’t want software X, they have no real reason for it.

            I bet they couldn’t even tell you what exactly they didn’t like. I worked as an IT consultant for years and the amount of people telling me to set up a specific software without even knowing what it does or what features it has is staggering.

            I once had a client request I ‘set up SAP’ without even specifying which of their products. They heard all successful companies used SAP. Turns out they didn’t need a year long expensive ERP migration but they used a totally outdated version of their existing ERP solution. After upgrading that and installing a plugin for QR code scanning and generation for easier inventory, their requirements were fulfilled.

            In many cases my clients were happier with the alternatives provided after we did a thorough analysis on their requirements. They often saved time and money and at some point realised that there’s a reason they asked an IT professional to help them.

            If your user has a good reason for not wanting Firefox, install Chromium, set up Edge, go to alternativeto.net and find an obscure alternative like Midori… but you don’t even mentioned a real reason or requirements to work with here, so you can literally use any browser. Even firefox. We don’t even know if your user cares about privacy.

                • Helix
                  21·
                  3 years ago

                  I thought Firefox’ design was functional. Now they plan on disconnecting the tab bar from the tab itself which makes not a lot of sense from a UX design viewpoint. Let’s see if users like it…

                  Mozilla already has a really low userbase. They do stuff like the Pocket integration and pointless redesigns to alienate them even further.

                  I have used Firefox as my main browser since Firefox 0.9. I never warmed up to any of the Chromium-based alternatives. But even I think that Mozilla likes to fuck up from time to time.