If you’re going to use arkenfox’s user.js, then don’t expect to just start using it as is. You WILL NEED TO CREATE OVERRIDES, and FULLY read this wiki.
You have to understand that Arkenfox is notreally a pre-made configuration (even though it is, it’s not lol), it’s more of a tool which allows you to adjust Firefox’s privacy settings in a more fine-grained manner.
I think Arkenfox is somewhat similar to Arch Linux in that it is explicitly and deliberately targeted at somewhat more advanced users (or those willing to put in the effort and research to learn). The learning curve is high at the outset, possibly too high for non-technical people. But once you get past the initial reading, setup, and decisions, it is relatively straight forward. Just have to remember to update every once in a while (or automate that) and revisit your decisions and see if they still make sense to you.
You have to understand that Arkenfox is notreally a pre-made configuration (even though it is, it’s not lol), it’s more of a tool which allows you to adjust Firefox’s privacy settings in a more fine-grained manner.
I agree it is hard to put Arkenfox in a box. I think of it sort of like a “template”, it is pre-configured, but it is assumed you will make changes where necessary based on your preferences and they provide guidance on some of the most common changes people make.
If Arkenfox can be used for logged in websites without issues, then I don’t see why I would not use it.
You are correct, on a technical level, there really aren’t reasons to not use Arkenfox compared to vanilla Firefox, if you are not dissuaded by the learning curve or the strong defaults, and understand Arkenfox is a project that gives you more control and by extension more responsibiliyt, I think Jonah is basically just warning about the learning curve / knowledge barrier with Arkenfox, its geared towards more advanced hands-on types of users (and to some degree, requires you to make technical decisions for yourself.
The initial setup is a great gatekeeper/test, if you can read through the wiki, roughly comprehend it, set it up, and set your overrides, and practice updating it once, you should feel confident that you can responsibly use Arkenfox without much trouble. If not, there is likely a better choice for you at this point in time, and you can revisit arkenfox later.
I read through the entire Arkenfox Wiki, and credit to the people making this stuff, they are truly amazing, but it was like navigating through the underworld! So I gave up. Also what is the use case of TOR now then?
Haha, I gave up too too the first couple times I looked into it. 3rd time was a charm for me. And in retrospect it wasn’t that difficult, just a lot of information to process up front. But getting started is quite daunting, This was pretty much my first this is exactly what I meant about the initial learning curve being an effective gatekeeper.
Any of the alternatives we discussed (vanilla Firefox, Brave, Mullvad Browser) could be a reasonable alternative for you.
I am using Mullvad for reading websites, Firefox for logged in ones. I know I can get Arkenfox to work, and I actually did get it to work, but for me it really is a waste of time unfortunately. Hopefully they can automate it one day or Mozilla makes the improvements they have themselves.
How about LibreWolf? That seems to be a good way to go, if you don’t want to spend much time configuring, updating, setting up etc. I’m not an admin, I’m a user. It looks simple and to me. So does the hardened Firefox.
So my final question is hardened FF or LibreWolf? I want to have one single browser only.
If you use Linux, I’d recommend either one, whichever you prefer. The differences are minimal.
If you use a different OS where Librewolf does not receive automatic updates (Windows, possibly others) I’d suggest ‘hardened’ Firefox via arkenfox, or just following the privacy guides recommendations if you are okay with more relaxed/less locked down settings.