Chrome for commies

It would be nice if all the best software was open source and free. It would be great if everything worked just the way we wanted it to right "out of the box", but sometimes we have to tinker to get things just right.

Of course, there are those of us who love to tinker. Trying out new things, playing with the settings and customizing what we use to get it just right is just as fun as the end result much of the time. The DIY method is very present in the socialist/communist/anarchist/activist community and this translates to software as well.

Once upon a time there was a browser called Rockmelt. RM did almost everything I wanted a browser to do; she came with all the features I love in Chrome (like autocomplete and Google account integration), had much of the same simple interface and worked with all the Chrome extensions. Additionally it had incorporated social media features built right in. You could post, send messages, etc. to Twitter and Facebook without even having to be on those pages.

 RockMelt (32 bit) in Windows 7 Pro (64bit)

For someone like me who is constantly engaged in political discussions as well as sharing articles and videos on Twitter and Facebook RM was a dream come true; the best thing to happen since Flock.

For a while, after the demise of RM I searched for alternatives. This piece is based on that experience. Though I currently use Pale Moon I have spent a lot of time in Chrome as well. 

Some of the concerns that lefties might have could include privacy. Chrome is a Google product and includes integration with their services as well as tracking of data. Another reason that progressives may not choose Chrome is that it isn't open source. Another concern may be security, if you're really paranoid then you might feel you need a browser that specifically address this.

This post isn't meant to be a solution for tracking, privacy issues or security but rather to point towards different choices which may offer solutions for those issues. There is more than just plain Chrome available.

Chromium (open source)

If you enjoy Chrome but want to use open source, this may be your only choice. It's the root of Chrome and based browsers. Though it is BSD, MIT, etc. licensed so this means whoever else modifies the source can make their browser proprietary and may not necessarily contribute any code back to the project. Chromium is available on many different operating systems such as BSD, Linux, Windows, OS X and Android.

SRWare Iron, Epic & Comodo Dragon (privacy/security)

SRWare Iron is basically just a finished product of Chromium without the Google stuff added, so you aren't tracked and collected stats on. However there are some criticisms of the browser, such as the fact that it doesn't offer much that you can't get simply by disabling certain features in Chrome. Also it is supposed to be an open source fork of Chromium but the source code has never been released (though to be fair they aren't obligated to under it's license).

Epic seems to have more favourable reviews and offers the same, if not more, than SRWare Iron. Of course, you will lose out on using extensions and plug-ins, which is a major deal breaker for me since I like to customize.

Comodo Dragon is the only of these three I have actually tried. It focuses on keeping you clear of malicious websites and changes your DNS to use Comodo's own encrypted servers for privacy. Personally I like using OpenDNS or even Google as I find the response time quickest and I've never had anything thrown at me that my anti-virus couldn't handle. They also have a browser called Chromodo which seems have the same focus just with a different UI.

It is also entirely possible to use TOR in Chrome though it is not recommended. You could also consider using a VPN.

Torch (internet suit)

This might be great if you just installed your OS fresh and want to get one package with many features. For example, Torch comes with a built in torrent client. It also comes with many other things pre-installed, such as adblock, it comes with a download accelerator, Hola as a VPN/unblocker, integrates with YouTube and has "share to" buttons to use with social media, among many other features. If you're lazy this can save you time from having to poke around for all the things you might need.

However all of this makes the browser into a resource hog. The torrent client is rather useless for anyone who is really a serious downloader and Hola almost never works the way it's supposed to with services like NetFlix.

Opera

It's a Chromium based browser now, which is a little sad because it was kind of kewl that Opera was it's own unique thing. Personally I never really caught on to using Opera, it's just not for me. If you to like to stay more current than the average end user try Opera Beta. There is also a new fork out that has received praise called Vivaldi started by a former Opera co-founder and CEO.

Others

There is actually a lot Chromium based browsers out there. When I started writing this I thought I had already heard of all of them and tried most of them-- I was wrong. 

Other interesting possibilities you may consider trying include: Maxthon, out of China, which can use either the Trident or Webkit engines and Yandex, a Russian browser... If you remember the internet in the early 2000s you may remember Flashpeak's  SlimBrowser (Trident), which despite it's name is like Internet Explorer on steroids. They now also have a Chromium based browser called SlimJet.

Some iffy choices include: Coowon and PlayFree, for people who like to play browser based games; Beamrise and Orbitium, which seem to want to take the place of Flock and RM as a social media browser; Superbird, another browser that omits sending data to Google and is supposedly faster than Chrome; Browzar, which is basically a portable Chromium based that runs in incognito mode; BlackHawk, another browser claiming to be faster and offering a different UI; Baidu and Project Maelstrom, other internet suites with torrent clients.

I probably have missed a few, so please let me know in the comments if that's the case. I also assume many of these fly-by-nights could be out of development before I even finish typing this. I trust that before you undertake installing any obscure browsers, especially on a Windows machine, you at least have a good anti-virus and firewall installed. I am not associated with any of the browsers I listed and take no responsibility for any malicious results!

Which to avoid

Dudu, which I can only assume lives up to it's name; Citrio, which appears to be a mal/ad/spyware scam and should be avoided at all costs (see also here and here) and Whitehat Aviator, which was found to have security holes (see also here, here, here and here).

What I recommend

There are various reasons why you might choose any of the browsers above, but if you're reading this than the chances are good you are a geek, a techie, or a tinkerer and you want to figure out what is optimal. I will say that the best thing is to go through the process of trying some until you figure out what's for you. But if you want to know what my opinion is I'll tell you: in the end I think Chrome Canary is the best choice if you are using Windows or OS X.

Chrome Canary (32bit) with LCARS theme, viewing American NetFlix with a VPN in Windows 7 (64bit) with LCARS theme

This way you are getting, as they say, "the bleeding edge". It is sort of to Chrome what Nightly is to Firefox. To me Canary is the perfect choice because you are getting something with the latest red-hot features but with the backing of the official Google Chrome development team so you don't have to worry about it disappearing overnight and it's trustworthy (at least as much as Google is). Also, it sets you apart a bit by using something a little more unique than the same old regular Chrome everyone else is using.  

If you are worried about privacy simply disable those features yourself.

If you are using Linux, FreeBSD or just an open source enthusiast using Windows then your best choice is Chromium. You can also find a program to keep it updated in Windows.

Once you have selected one of those two you can start adding the Chrome extensions that you want. If I want fucking Hola I'll add it, if I want drag and drop features I'll add it, If I want to browse anonymously I'll add TOR button and go to incognito mode, etc. An extension that adds the speed dial feature of Opera can be found as well. Search and ye may find.

Why would I want my browser to come with things I don't want? That's just bloat.

I would not recommend the torrent clients that come with any of the suites I mentioned. They are lacking in the features you will want; instead get a nice light and feature rich program like uTorrent. 

I find Hola to be useless and does not deliver on it's promises to either unblock content or speed up browsing. Instead they sell your bandwidth off to enterprise users and put you at risk (see also here). Get a VPN like Spotflux, ProXPN or Expat shield to unblock content instead.

Take the time to explore what options truly work best according to what sort of things you do the most when using a web browser. I'm sure some people reading this will not agree with my final assessment, so please post your opinion in the comments!