I currently have been using Firefox with Arkenfox for a few years now, and overall I have been happy with the experience. But, in the past few months, I have been looking to try or even fully switch to a new browser. The browsers I have been looking to switch to and try are both Mullvad Browser and Brave.
Mullvad Browser is a relatively new browser, but it got a lot of attraction quickly. This is due to the strong protections that it provides combined with a VPN, and in general, the browser protects a lot against fingerprinting. I do have a question though, which I hope you can help answer. Can or Should I use Mullvad with signed in sites? I have seen this question been asked in a lot of places, and many recommend to only use Mullvad for sites that you don’t need to log in to. I am guessing this is because if you are signed in, it will make you stand out more rather than blending in with a crowd.
Brave Browser has been around for years, providing one of the best if not the best protections a browser could offer. However, many people decide not to use it due to its involvement with crypto and web3. I don’t really like them either, and I am mainly considering them due to the protections they offer and other features they offer like being able to install PWAs and the sandboxing that Chromium provides. I only have one question for Brave, which is, should I be running uBlock Origin if there is already Brave Shields? I know Brave Shields is a pretty good ad-blocker, and I am skeptical about whether it would be worth installing another ad-blocker that would be providing the same functionality.
One thing I do like about both of these browsers is the fact they provide protections out of the box, without any need to configure anything. With Arkenfox, I kind of got tired of configuring everything to suit my needs and wanted a browser that is still functional but provides the protections that Arkenfox has.
I am planning to make this my main browser, but I am open to having two browsers. With two browsers, I find it would be hard to manage, and sometimes I would forget to use the second browser for the purpose it was intended for; it would just sit in my dock waiting to be opened and used.
Don’t install extensions which you don’t immediately have a need for, or ones that duplicate the functionality of your browser. For example, Brave users don’t need to install uBlock Origin, because Brave Shields already provides the same functionality.
Depends, if you don’t care much about adblocking just use shields.
If you want to do more, i.e. run uBlock in medium/hard blocking mode and deal with (a lot) of initially broken websites uBO is the way.
Make sure to set shield’s “trackers & ads blocking” to “disabled” if you choose that way.
Brave provides the same protections as well, and I can most likely use sites normally without the breakage that RFP has, like sites being in light mode and timezones being stuck on UTC.
I see. If I do decide to go with Brave, I will probably just stick with Brave Shields as it has been great from what I heard. I just wanted some input on what other people think about it.
Update: After some careful consideration, I decided to give Mullvad Browser a go. I plan to use it for a month and then, I will make my final decision on whether I should fully commit to Mullvad Browser.
Brave has good protection against fingerprinting, but the breakage of RFP is on purpose - to prevent anything that might make you look unique. While sites like coveryourtracks may indicate that Brave is offering the same amount of fingerprint resistance as Firefox in RFP, the truth is that it’s not as substantial.
This is also partially why it’s inadvisable to use Brave’s Tor implementation - all unmodified Tor Browsers send a Firefox user agent and have a specific window size. Brave sends the Chrome user agent via Tor, and doesn’t change the window size. Small stuff like this matters to prevent having a unique fingerprint.
I wanted to provide another update and mention that I have been using the two browser approach for more than a month, and have been loving it. I highly recommend anyone that is reading this to give it a try, since I think it provides a huge benefit.
I second this. I use even 3. Firefox+ arkenfox for all my login stuff, mullvad for any other browsing and brave as a backup (if for any reasons the first 2 aren’t working).
Browser Seperation approach.
Heres my order. If a website doesn’t work on a browser, then just disable some of Ublog protection or allow scripts, or if nothing else works use the browser below.
Tor
Mullvad + VPN
Librewolf
Brave
[with everything on high privacy settings]
Ungoogled Chromium
Use ungoogled Chromium or a seperate Brave User Profile with standard settings if you have accounts where Privacy is difficult to achieve. For example for banking, social media accounts…
One User Profile for every website or account. Then the websites can’t easily track you between different User Profiles.
The more seperation the better.
Most Websites work in Mullvad if you disable Noscript.
Mullvad Browser on minimum privacy shield settings is still way better then Librewolf or Brave Browser.
Tor and Mullvad Browser are always the best for Privacy.
Security is a different aspect.