Did You Know that Mozilla is Hijacking the Internet?

ComputerWorld UK ^ | 12 August 2013 | Glyn Moody

[ShadowAce]

[fwdude]

I like Firefox. Unless some tech geek FReepers have a good demonstrable reason to be against it, I’ll continue using it.

[null and void]

I use Firefox, I like it, I recommend it, and I will continue to use and support it, this up is down, left is right, dark is light propaganda not withstanding.

[GeronL]

Freedom is Slavery Alliance?

This IAB sounds like something out of a communist propaganda bureau somewhere. Or even a parody of one.

[UCANSEE2]

The Digital Advertising Alliance's self-regulatory program(me) gets you this.

The open source, you're in control aspects of Firefox get the owners one of these.

[GeronL]

I use Firefox exclusively since I put Ubuntu Linux on this computer. It is the only O/S that has ever been on this particular HDD

[exPBRrat]

Advertising is getting so intrusive, vulgar, loud, and minefield-like my wife wont buy anything she remembers as ‘advertised’....and that goes for me too. We have so few opportunities to vote with our pocketbook today you have to take advantage of the few left.

[Salgak]

I’m guessing that the IAB feels that since the GOVERNMENT can monitor everything, they need to get in on the action.

In the meantime, in your “Privacy” options, you can turn third-party cookies off manually right now. But the default setting accepts them. . .now.

All Mozilla is doing is changing the default option to “do not accept third-party cookies”. And the advertisers are having hissy fits worthy of Obama himself!!!

[ShadowAce]

I agree with that sentiment. I try to avoid all advertising. In fact, I forget, sometimes, that other people here see web sites differently than I do. I get zero pop-ups, zero ads (that I don’t expressly allow), and zero re-directs. No javascript, unless I allow it. I get just straight content.

[maine-iac7]

ahahah
given the choice, I’d prefer the bottom one -

low maintenance; no huge staff to pay; calmer waters; total control;

Oft times, less is more

[TomGuy]

The last least problematic FF version I have found is 15.0.1.

After 15.0.1, Flash conflicted, add-ons conflicted, PDF files would not download, etc.

I tried the ESR version. I tried the FF22-Portable.

Each one had it own set of conflicts with other things.

Mozilla rapid release insanity is creating a browser that used to be good but it now more buggy than Netscape 4.7 was.

[wardaddy]

I don’t mind it...i go between it and chrome

hate googles influence though

[antidisestablishment]

Netscape? Wow, blast from the past. LOL!

[BenLurkin]

I’ve noticed that some news sites, such as many in AUstralia, will not permit reading content without allowing cookies.

It strikes me as VERY odd.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

To take a contrarian point of view - I don’t see advertising as *inherently* bad. I think of it a bit like lotteries. Lotteries are said to be a tax for those that are bad at math. If you don’t play the lottery then, in a sense, those that do are paying your way when it comes to certain things. If you watch a TV show that is sponsored by Sham-wow and others buy the Sham-wow but you don’t - they’re in effect, paying your way.

Secondly, there are definitely things like concerts by favorite artists or books by favorite authors that I would really like to know about. Or maybe there’s a new restaurant that you would like to try out that’s nearby to somewhere where you’re going. Or maybe some product you were going to buy anyway is being sold for half-off this weekend. I’d argue that all of these types of info are possibly useful.

Sometimes the ads themselves are just great entertainment. For example today I just watched the Geico Hump Day camel ad several times. I also love the etrade baby ads. And I’ve never used either product. But love their ads. (I can do without their Gecko, however).

Obviously advertising can and does crosses the line and becomes annoying, relentless, in your face, and what’s more uses subterfuge and dubious and devious means to achieve its purpose. And these third party cookies appear to be that.

I’m only saying that advertising *per se* is not evil.
I think advertising, despite not being inherently bad, can become mad

[TomGuy]

A discussion of FF add-ons (Disconnect, DoNotTrack, Ghostery) that block Web trackers is available at Windows Secrets:

https://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/add-ons-that-help-browsers-block-web-trackers/

[ShadowAce]

Don't get me wrong--I agree with you and advertising has its place.

But I need to be in control of it, and not directed away or distracted away from the content I went to the site for in the first place.

[oh8eleven]

so-called "third party" cookies.
If you set your browser to "never save history" - ALL cookies will be deleted when you close the browser.

[Utilizer]

Meh. I dunno. Opera works just fine and does not lock up as much as firefox, but then again it has progressed to the point where when I check the hsys logs it now uses about the same amount of resources, which seem to have kept on increasing as the newer revs were released. Faster generally than firefox and much less likely to lock up the system, I use it for the majority of all browsing. It has options for the disposition of cookies and caches according to your preferences.

Firefox is better for flash-type media such as youtube and downloading vids, but more prone to crash or lock up than opera as well as causing the rest of the system to stumble. Probably because so many websites are loading up with more and more bloody annoying graphics and popup ads, not to mention trackers and site statistic analyzers for marketing analysis. Now if I can just find a decent website provider that will not make unrealistic demands when I try to establish a homepage...