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Why You Shouldn_t Use Firefox Forks Like Waterfox, Pale Moon,or Basilisk



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 22nd 18, 01:52 AM posted to alt.privacy.anon-server,alt.comp.os.windows-10,comp.internet.services.google
tom[_10_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 7
Default Why You Shouldn_t Use Firefox Forks Like Waterfox, Pale Moon,or Basilisk

On Thu, 12 Jul 2018 09:01:34 +0200 (CEST)
Nomen Nescio wrote:

Mozilla Firefox is an open source project, so anyone can take
its code, modify it, and release a new browser. That_s what
Waterfox, Pale Moon, and Basilisk are_alternative browsers based
on the Firefox code. But we recommend against using any of them.

If You Don_t Like Firefox Quantum, Use Firefox ESR Instead
RELATED: What_s New in Firefox Quantum, the Firefox You_ve Been
Waiting For

We like Firefox Quantum, which is faster and more modern than
previous releases of Firefox. If you want to keep using your old
add-ons that no longer work in Firefox Quantum, we recommend
Mozilla_s Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) instead.

Firefox ESR is based on Firefox 52, supports traditional XUL
Firefox add-ons and NPAPI plug-ins, and will continue receiving
security updates directly from Mozilla until July 2, 2018.

Yes, Mozilla has done some things we_re not crazy about. The Mr.
Robot _Looking Glass_ add-on was ridiculous, and we_re not
thrilled about what they_re doing with Cliqz in Germany. But,
after taking some deserved public heat, they_ve made policy
changes and we_re hopeful they_ll do better in the future.

Even if you don_t completely trust some of Mozilla_s business
decisions, your browser is just too important to be left to a
small community of enthusiasts. We think it_s best to go with a
big project with a large number of developers that receives a
lot of attention to security. That_s why we recommend against
using these smaller Firefox-based browsers, and why we also
recommend against using alternative browsers based on Google
Chrome. Here are our concerns with some of the more popular
Firefox alternatives.

Waterfox Is Firefox ESR, But With Slower Security Updates

Waterfox is based on Mozilla Firefox, and it_s probably the most
popular alternative browser based on the Firefox code. It made a
name for itself by being a 64-bit browser based on the Mozilla
Firefox code when Mozilla only offered 32-bit versions. However,
Mozilla Firefox is now a 64-bit browser on 64-bit versions of
Windows, so that_s not a reason to use Waterfox anymore.

Today, Waterfox is based on Firefox ESR. It advertises support
for traditional XUL Firefox extensions and NPAPI plug-ins like
Java and Silverlight. These are both features of Firefox ESR, so
you don_t need to switch to Waterfox to get them. After Firefox
ESR reaches end of Life, _a _new_ browser will be developed to
follow the ethos of Waterfox of customisation and choice_,
according to the Waterfox blog.

Waterfox also has some other different features. It disables
Pocket by default, but you can disable Pocket yourself in
Firefox. It won_t send telemetry data to Mozilla, but you can
disable that from Options Privacy & Security Firefox Data
Collection and Use in Firefox. Encrypted Media Extensions (EME),
which are required for sites like Netflix, are also disabled by
default_and, again, you can disable them yourself in Firefox, if
you like.

Overall, using Waterfox is basically just like using Firefox ESR
and changing a few settings_with one big difference: security
updates arrive in Firefox ESR much faster than they do in
Waterfox. Whenever Mozilla releases security updates for Firefox
ESR, the Waterfox developers have to integrate those updates
into Waterfox before delivering them to users.

Let_s look at the most recent major release: Mozilla released
Firefox 57 on November 14, 2017. Waterfox_s developers released
Waterfox 56 that incorporated the security updates found in
Firefox 57 on November 30, 2017. We don_t think waiting more
than two weeks for security updates is a good idea!

Here_s a more recent example from a minor release: On January
23, 2018, Mozilla released Firefox 58 and Firefox ESR 52.6 with
a variety of security fixes. Three days later, the Waterfox
project said it was working on integrating these patches on
Twitter. On February 1, 2018, Waterfox 56.0.4 was released with
these patches. That means Waterfox users waited nine days for a
security patches from a minor release, compared to if they were
just using Firefox. We don_t think it_s a good idea to wait that
long.

In the future, this will only get more complicated as the
Waterfox developers try to make their own browser. We recommend
staying away and just using Firefox ESR.

Pale Moon Is Based on Very Outdated Firefox Code

Pale Moon is based on older Firefox code. The current version of
Pale Moon is based on Firefox 38 ESR, which was originally
released in 2015. The prior release was based on Firefox 24 ESR,
which was released in 2013. The project uses an older Firefox
interface created before the Australis theme, and still supports
XUL add-ons.

Rather than being based on Mozilla_s Gecko rendering engine,
Pale Moon is based on _Goanna_, an open-source browser engine
that_s a fork of gecko. (In open-source software, a _fork_ is
when someone takes the existing code of a project, copies it,
and develops it themselves from that point forward, going in a
different direction.)

While Waterfox is based on code that_s currently supported by
Mozilla, Pale Moon is based on much older code. It won_t have
the new web features or performance improvements of modern
versions of Firefox, nor does it support watching certain kinds
of video with DRM.

More importantly, basing a browser on such old code makes
security patches harder. Pale Moon_s developer tries to keep up
with Firefox security patches, but he_s maintaining old code
that Mozilla has abandoned. Mozilla reportedly has over a
thousand employees, while Pale Moon has one primary developer,
trying to maintain a huge amount of code that_s becoming
increasingly outdated. The older code also omits features that
help make modern browsers so secure, like the multi-process
sandboxing features that have finally arrived in Firefox Quantum.

Besides, Pale Moon tends to perform worse on browser benchmarks
compared to modern browsers, which isn_t surprising given its
age. The developer disagrees with browser benchmarking, but it_s
not surprising a browser based on four year old code might be
slower than a modern one.

Basilisk Is a More Modern, But More Unstable Pale Moon

Basilisk is a new browser from the creator of Pale Moon. While
Pale Moon is based on Firefox 38 ESR, Basilisk is based on newer
Firefox code. The developer is working on the _Unified XUL
Platform (UXP)_, which is a fork of Mozilla_s code without the
new Servo and Rust code that makes Firefox Quantum so fast. It
also doesn_t enable any multi-process features.

A future version of Pale Moon will be based on this code, but
right now the developer considers Basilisk an unstable
development platform.

This fits Pale Moon_s kind of weird history. The first major
version of Pale Moon was based on Firefox 24 ESR, due to a
disagreement about where Firefox was headed. But the developer
eventually had to switch to Firefox 38 ESR to get more modern
features. Now, the developer is doing the same thing again,
basing this new version largely on the pre-Quantum Firefox code.
We don_t see the point of resisting new features only to make a
major leap to them every few years anyway. Just stick with a
browser that_s continually updated, like Firefox.

As for why you shouldn_t use this browser, aside from the same
security and usability concerns inherent with Pale Moon, even
the developer says it_s _development software_ that should be
considered beta.

These aren_t the only Firefox-based browsers out there, but they
are the most popular_and most others will likely come with
similar issues. It_s best to stick with a browser that has a big
team behind it so security problems can be caught, fixed, and
patched as fast as possible.

https://www.howtogeek.com/335712/upd...-shouldnt-use-
waterfox-pale-moon-or-basilisk/


For some, simply not supporting DRM schemes is considered a feature in
itself. Also, having the system not exfiltrate personal data back to
the developer by default rather than finding out about and then
disabling obscure settings in about:config is better for peace of mind.

--
________________________________________
/ Talking much about oneself can also be \
| a means to conceal oneself. |
| |
\ -- Friedrich Nietzsche /
----------------------------------------
\
\
/\ /\
//\\_//\\ ____
\_ _/ / /
/ * * \ /^^^]
\_\O/_/ [ ]
/ \_ [ /
\ \_ / /
[ [ / \/ _/
_[ [ \ /_/

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  #2  
Old July 24th 18, 06:54 AM posted to alt.privacy.anon-server,alt.comp.os.windows-10,comp.internet.services.google
Lucifer Morningstar[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 368
Default Why You Shouldn_t Use Firefox Forks Like Waterfox, Pale Moon, or Basilisk

On Tue, 24 Jul 2018 00:45:00 +0200 (CEST), Nomen Nescio
wrote:

In article 20180721174949.5d02db2c@viridi
tom wrote:

On Thu, 12 Jul 2018 09:01:34 +0200 (CEST)
Nomen Nescio wrote:

https://www.howtogeek.com/335712/upd...-shouldnt-use-
waterfox-pale-moon-or-basilisk/


For some, simply not supporting DRM schemes is considered a feature in
itself. Also, having the system not exfiltrate personal data back to
the developer by default rather than finding out about and then
disabling obscure settings in about:config is better for peace of mind.


excellent point.


What about tenfourfox?
I use that on my G5 Imac.
 




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