Firefox on the PC and Safari on the Apple devices.
Google Chrome, best browser?
- Thread starter alwslate
- Start date
I avoid anything Google as much as I possibly can.
forindooruseonly
Member
No, McAfee is something you should probably just uninstall. It won't do anything that Windows won't cover with their proprietary stuff built in and tends to be a resource hog. If you want to pay for software, I'd say malwarebytes is the better option. They have a free one that is a good resource for finding issues, but it doesn't have real time coverage like the paid version. Still, not necessary IMO.
If you are not tech savvy, your best bet is to just disable java and watch where you tread. Most problems are user caused - clicking on questionable links or downloading files that contain malware. Basically, if you aren't sure of something, google it and see if it has been flagged before proceeding.
Most of the problems that I know of from people who aren't tech savvy, like many of my family members, is because they don't recognize fishing email and such. Learn to recognize scams, as scammers have gotten fairly sophisticated in making things look legit.
The other problem I have with family and friends is their insistence on going places they don't belong. Stay out of the sketchy side of things, don't try to get into torrents or pirating or looking for free copies of whatever movie, show, program or whatever.
My last suggestion is that you back up your stuff. Get a portable hard drive and back up your computer on at least a semi-regular basis. Consider it insurance.
LVSteve
Member
This recent TV ad by Duck Duck Go sums up Google better than I can.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWpPyYlZXNI[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWpPyYlZXNI[/ame]
DWalt
Member
I had a bad experience with McAfee many years ago, have been soured on it ever since. It's not needed anyway, so forget it. If you feel you must add something, go with Avast's free version.
dirty & hairy
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Ditto.
I use and like firefox but for privacy the most important thing is a good VPN.
Firefox has an app. Just sayin' . . .
Jon651
Member
Chrome is a very good browser and I use it on all of my devices. It has a lot of features and options that I like especially that all of my auto-fills, passwords, favorites, etc. automatically sync with all of my devices so the experience is the same between them.
Yes, Google can be pretty invasive and you will have to do a lot of reading (or watching YouTube videos) on how to bolster your privacy, but it can be done.
FYI, Microsoft's new Edge browser is built on the same source code (known as Chromium) as Google Chrome, so aside from some cosmetics they are essentially the same.
The truth is all the browsers do essentially the same thing and none of us are uber-users where a few minor differences will make or break your web surfing activities. It all boils down to whatever you are most comfortable with when using it.
Private Bailey
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I try not to have anything to do with anything associated with Google. Google and Google Analytics tracks and profiles you and me across the internet and that includes this forum and every other one you post on. You have zero privacy online. Someone makes money in some way every time you go online
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As long as you do not mind them collecting all your personal data, search info, buying habits and the like, then by all means, go for it.
Use FireFox and DuckDuckgo for searches instead of Google.
A good VPN and use "private browsing" so the cites aren't linking things back to you via cookies. VPN isn't doing much if the cookies lead back to you.
I prefer Firefox
Private Bailey
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If you use Safari, it creates a Privacy Report you can look at any time. It's free. You just have to enable it. It not only tells you which websites you visit use trackers, it tells you the names of the trackers and how many times they've tracked you in any given time period of your choosing. No one else can see your Privacy Report but you. These trackers track you across the internet, not just on the current site. This is how they create a profile of you as a consumer. There are ways to block these busybodies but I won't go into that here. Just take it as a given you're being tracked right now.
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Like others, I avoid Google to the extent possible. If something is free, that just means that you (or your data) are the product. Same with Facebook, but that's a different subject.
For the most part I use Brave, although there are some commercial sites it doesn't work well with. In those cases I reluctantly use Firefox, which I also use for work. That's due to issues outside the browser itself.
I'll use Edge on very rare occasions, mostly to check if the issue is with my browser(s) or with the website. If I can't get a website to work on any of the three above browsers, it's their issue not mine.
For email, in case anyone is interested, I use Thunderbird. Which is no longer part of Mozilla I've been told. I refuse to use Outlook as it's a security sieve and won't use GMail based on my previous comments.
Even on my Android (Google) phone I don't use Gmail or the built in browser.
For the most part I use Brave, although there are some commercial sites it doesn't work well with. In those cases I reluctantly use Firefox, which I also use for work. That's due to issues outside the browser itself.
I'll use Edge on very rare occasions, mostly to check if the issue is with my browser(s) or with the website. If I can't get a website to work on any of the three above browsers, it's their issue not mine.
For email, in case anyone is interested, I use Thunderbird. Which is no longer part of Mozilla I've been told. I refuse to use Outlook as it's a security sieve and won't use GMail based on my previous comments.
Even on my Android (Google) phone I don't use Gmail or the built in browser.
Firefox here for many years (since well before it was called Firefox). I still have other browsers installed (a holdover from my amateur web designer days), but I use Firefox almost exclusively.
Edge is honestly a pretty good browser. It uses the Chromium engine (from Chrome) with a UI by MS. Works well, but I still prefer Firefox. I'm old and set in my ways.
Edge is honestly a pretty good browser. It uses the Chromium engine (from Chrome) with a UI by MS. Works well, but I still prefer Firefox. I'm old and set in my ways.
