#chromium

Been awhile since I've had one of these posts but I figure with all that's going on in the world it's time to make another one and get some stuff out there for people. A lot of the information I'm going to go over you can find here:

So if you'd like to just click the link and ignore the rest of the post that's fine, I strongly recommend checking out the Privacy Guides. Browsers: With the recent updates and trend towards AI in a number of browsers we’re going to need to update this list. Firefox is an option, but unless you opt out of the AI prompts it will be enabled by default. At this point my list of trusted browsers has changed to, in order: Vivaldi, Helium, Mullvad, and Ungoogled Chromium. Browser Extensions:

uBlock Origin: content blocker that blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting scripts. Notable for being the only ad blocker that still works on Youtube.

Privacy Badger: Content blocker that specifically blocks trackers and fingerprinting scripts. This one will catch things that uBlock doesn't catch but does not work for ads.

Bitwarden: Password vaulting software, don't trust the password saving features of your browsers, this has multiple layers of security to prevent your passwords from being stolen.

VPN: Note: VPN software doesn't make you anonymous, no matter what your favorite youtuber tells you, but it does make it harder for your data to be tracked and it makes it less open for whatever public network you're presently connected to.

Mullvad VPN: Is a fast and inexpensive VPN with a serious focus on transparency and security. They have been in operation since 2009. Mullvad is based in Sweden and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for payment methods that allow it.

IVPN: Has servers in 41 countries. Picking a VPN provider with a server nearest to you will reduce latency of the network traffic you send. This is because of a shorter route (fewer hops) to the destination.

Email Provider: Note: By now you've probably realized that Gmail, Outlook, and basically all of the major "free" e-mail service providers are scraping your e-mail data to use for ad data. There are more secure services that can get you away from that but if you'd like the same storage levels you have on Gmail/Outlook.com you'll need to pay. Previously I would have recommended Proton Mail, but recently they have shown to be failing in their privacy mission and have complied with more than 80% of the subpoenas that they’ve been served with by US law enforcement.

Tuta: Secure, end-to-end encrypted, been around a very long time, and offers a free option up to 1gb. Based out of Germany and as such has privacy laws in place that shield any data you have in your inbox from being accessed by anyone but you, including the Tuta staff. Even if served with a warrant, without the encryption key you possess they cannot access your email.

Mailbox.org: Is an email service with a focus on being secure, ad-free, and privately powered by 100% eco-friendly energy. They have been in operation since 2014. Mailbox.org is based in Berlin, Germany. Accounts start with up to 2GB storage, which can be upgraded as needed.

Email Client:

Note: The Apple Mail client on iOS/iPadOS, even being closed source, has been showng to be a great option with the MacOS version also including OpenPGP with the GPG Suite installed.

Thunderbird: a free, open-source, cross-platform email, newsgroup, news feed, and chat (XMPP, IRC, Matrix) client developed by the Thunderbird community, and previously by the Mozilla Foundation.

Betterbird: Free, open source, fine tuned version of Thunderbird.

FairMail (Android Only): minimal, open-source email app which uses open standards (IMAP, SMTP, OpenPGP), has several out of the box privacy features, and minimizes data and battery usage.

Cloud Storage:

Tresorit: Encrypted cloud storage owned by the national postal service of Switzerland. Received MULTIPLE awards for their security stats.

Peergos: decentralized and open-source, allows for you to set up your own cloud storage, but will require a certain level of expertise.

Self-Hosted Cloud Storage:

Like being able to backup your phone, pictures, videos, etc? Don’t want to pay to put it on someone elses hardware? Here you go:

Syncthing: Works across every OS, has Docker support, and mobile applications. Essentially plug and play for a backup solution.

Nextcloud: FAR more extensive than the option above, has dozens of plug-ins that give you collaboration, messaging, MFA, video conferencing and more; but out of the box it works great as a back-up solution and there’s options for it across every OS.

Microsoft Office Replacements:

LibreOffice: free and open-source, updates regularly, and has the majority of the same functions as base level Microsoft Office.

OnlyOffice: cloud-based, free

FreeOffice: Personal licenses are free, probably the closest to a fully office suite replacement.

Chat Clients: Note: As you've heard SMS and even WhatsApp and some other popular chat clients are basically open season right now. These are a couple of options to replace those. Note2: Signal has had some reports of security flaws, the service it was built on was originally built for the US Government, and it is based within the CONUS thus is susceptible to US subpoenas. Take that as you will.

Signal: Provides IM and calling securely and encrypted, has multiple layers of data hardening to prevent intrusion and exfil of data.

Molly (Android OS only): Alternative client to Signal. Routes communications through the TOR Network.

Briar: Encrypted IM client that connects to other clients through the TOR Network, can also chat via wifi or bluetooth.

SimpleX: Truly anonymous account creation, fully encrypted end to end, available for Android and iOS.

Now for the last bit, I know that the majority of people are on Windows or macOS, but with Windows 10 sunsetting if you can get on Linux I would strongly recommend it. Fedora and Mint are super easy distros to use and install. They all have very easy to follow instructions on how to install them on your PC and if you'd like to just test them out all you need is a thumb drive to boot off of to run in demo mode. For more secure distributions for the more advanced users the options are: Whonix, Tails (Live USB only), and Qubes OS.

On a personal note I use Arch Linux, but I WOULD NOT recommend this be anyone's first distro as it requires at least a base level understanding of Linux and liberal use of the Arch Linux Wiki. This is also what the SteamOS is based on and will ship with the Steam Machine when it launches. Note: If you use Arch and plan on using the AUR for installing applications please make sure to always verify your installs as the AUR has been having issues with malicious code being added, they are working to correct this, but it will take time. If you game through Steam their Proton emulator in compatibility mode and the Heroic Game Launcher for GoG, Epic, and Amazon Games works wonders, I'm presently playing a major studio game that released in 2025 with no Linux support on it and once I got my drivers installed it's looked great. There are some learning curves to get around, but the benefit of the Linux community is that there's always people out there willing to help. I hope some of this information helps you and look out for yourself, it's starting to look scarier than normal out there.

Day 24 & 25: Chromium & Manganese!

Happy holidays everyone!

When I was in school chromate compounds always sticks out as the only precipitation that actually has colors instead of just boring white. Chromium also has a lot of possible oxidation states, which makes her compounds have all kinds of crazy colors, such as green, blue, red, orange and purple. This is where her name actually came from. (From Greek “kroma” meaning color)

Not even counting the lost storage and internet bandwidth, at a billion devices (minimum), the climate costs are horrific:

If this model were pushed to just 1 billion Chrome users (roughly 30% of Chrome’s user base), the distribution alone consumed 240 gigawatt-hours of energy and generate 60,000 tons of CO2. That’s not including actually using the model, just the downloads.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect is the broader pattern this represents. Just a few weeks ago, another unsolicited AI invasion - Anthropic’s Claude Desktop app - silently installed browser integration files across multiple Chromium browsers, which reinstalls itself if removed.

Both happen without any user consent or even disclosure.

Both likely violate EU privacy law, specifically the ePrivacy Directive rules about storing data on user devices and the GDPR’s requirements around transparency and lawful processing.

It's easier to find and remove the files and software on a computer, but you can at least turn off "AI features," delete app storage, and then uninstall Chrome et al from your phone.

If you're still using Chrome (or even one of its derivatives, like Opera that I use as a backup), it's now past time to uninstall, delete those creepy privacy-invading bloatware files, and use only Firefox and other such secure, private browsers.