[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Thanks, would be cool to hear how it goes :)

This is probably a good start https://codeberg.org/konform-browser/arch

There's another contributor helping out with arch packaging. Expecting an update shortly there which makes it more idiomatic for arch (fetching and verifying firefox sources directly with makepkg instead of inside the build script). Nothing that we expect to cause any snags for you but just FYI!

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

What piece of software are you talking about ?

Azire in particular.

Azire what? They're a Wireguard VPN provider with a web portal.

I guess same confusion as here: https://discuss.tchncs.de/comment/23696262

You give the impression that you are talking about the VPNs when you are actually talking about smartphone apps..?

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 11 hours ago

There is message for those of you in sibling thread!

https://discuss.tchncs.de/comment/23650139

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

Find out for yourself!

https://codeberg.org/dialhome-study/browser-network-insights

Usage details for running locally under "Testing procedure" -> "Basic test environment usage"

Previously posted on this community here: https://lemmy.ca/post/59519788

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

What isn't free software..?

I think you should make it clear if you are talking about VPN services or client-side apps here. If they provide normal standard protocols like Wireguard and OpenVPN, they can be used without having to install any provider-specific apps.

Regardless of provider it's generally preferred to use third-party software to connect. VPN providers that don't even have their own apps don't qualify as good for you either?

Demanding the whole stack be FLOSS is a bit silly in this context. None of the ones you mentioned open-source most of their backend systems either AFAIK.

I think you should do your homework better before you speak so widely and absolutely dismissively with such claim of authority. It is not helpful.

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Food for thought: By consistently following a strategy optimizing and picking the optimal product/service based on cost/benefit, you will end up on the same one as everyone else doing the same thing. From a practical perspective this leads to winner-takes-all and centralization. Whoever is the underdog today becomes the Google or Cloudflare of tomorrow and we're back at square one. From a philosophical perspective, did you really make a choice? Or did "the market" (of which you are also part) decide on your behalf? A healthy market needs at least thousands of mail providers, not 5 or 10.

Obviously same thing goes for basing your pick on brand perception, picking the most popular or recommended one, but without the benefit of knowing you'll actually get the better service.

Can free will exist among economically rational participants in a market? There can be some power in knowing you chose whatever you did based on factors other than cost-performance or popularity. Sometimes the optimal choice can be suboptimal.

And why not self-hosting your inbox? Hard to beat from privacy standpoint. It really doesn't have to be as hard as they say. Even if you don't go full homelab right away: Some providers are accommodating and make it easy to gradually or partially self-host by offering open standard protocols. Others make it really tricky and steer you hard into their app ecosystem. So how straightforward it is to use your own local third-party mail client is a good consideration even if you don't intend to self-host anything else anytime soon.

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I prefer my devices without any malware at all but you do you I guess.

you’re data is safe with small hackers

wat

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 days ago

In case it swings your judgement either way, Njalla is run by one of the three Piratebay founders.

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago

Yes let's make sure everyone's on the exact same provider. What could possibly go wrong. "Just use X" bandwagonning is shortsighted and lazy.

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago

That is interesting!

BTW in case you're not aware, direct links to fedia.io like the one you posted just lead to a loginwall so you probably don't want to share those publicly. This one via beehaw.org works for everyone, though: https://beehaw.org/post/24563411

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago

Would be cool to hear how it goes if you do!

[-] ken@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Dev here! Thanks for your interest!

Aw. On Artix, it wants to pull in wayland. No thanks.

Hm, I guess you're just running text mode browser on that machine..? On Arch the wayland package is pulled in as transitive dependency of the gtk3 package. I don't believe it will actually be loaded at runtime. However, I think that gtk3 might not be a hard dependency at all anymore (it used to be for Firefox in the past so this might be a leftover that konform inherited).

If you're comfortable with makepkg I could suggest trying the konform-browser-bin AUR package and simply remove gtk3 as dependency from the PKGBUILD, run makepkg -si and fingers crossed that might work. More details in konform-browser/Arch repo, where contributions are also welcome. If you go the source route, see the note about profiling without wayland.

EDIT: OK I took a look and unless Artix is repackaging some core packages, I don't see a way to make it work on Arch at least: xorg-server depends on libglvnd depends on mesa depends on wayland. Among others. Are you actually able to run an X server at all without having the wayland package installed? Or is thsi for headless use without any graphical environment...? Curious about the use-case! You can also try the binary tarball or just tar -xfing the arch package and invoke the konform binary directly.

Aw. https://gpo.zugaina.org/Search?search=konform no ebuilds on any listed overlays for Gentoo yet.

FWIW, it's not planned at the moment but here's the issue currently tracking Gentoo packaging: https://codeberg.org/konform-browser/source/issues/9

29
submitted 3 days ago by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/foss@beehaw.org

Hi Beehaw people! New here and hope some of you will take interest in this toolkit and accompanying writeup. :3


Set up a framework to fully man-in-the-middle my own browsers' networking and see what they're up to beyond just looking at their DNS queries and encrypted tcp packets. We force the browser to trust our mitmproxy cacert so we can peek inside cleartext traffic and made it conveniently reproducible and extensible.

It has containers for official Firefox, its Debian version, and some other FF derivatives that market a focus on privacy or security. Might add a few more of those or do the chromium family later - if you read the thing and want more then please let us know what you want to see under the lens in a future update!

Tests were run against a basic protocol for each of them and results are aggregated at the end of the post.


Apart from testing browsers themselves it can be useful for putting extensions under the lens. Making a modern browser properly accept a proxy and trust the mitmproxy cert is a lot more obscure and fiddly than it might seem so hopefully this can be helpful in empowering and pushing other people to peek inside what's actually going on inside their own systems without spending hours or days figuring out what actually makes it tick.

Rewritten cross-post. First Thread @ https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/53845514

55
submitted 6 days ago by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

Set up a framework to fully man-in-the-middle my own browsers' networking and see what they're up to beyond just looking at their DNS queries and encrypted tcp packets. We force the browser to trust our mitmproxy cacert so we can peek inside cleartext traffic and made it conveniently reproducible and extensible.

It has containers for official Firefox, its Debian version, and some other FF derivatives that market a focus on privacy or security. Might add a few more of those or do the chromium family later - if you read the thing and want more then please let us know what you want to see under the lens in a future update!

Tests were run against a basic protocol for each of them and results are aggregated at the end of the post.

Posting with ambition that this can trigger some follow-ups sharing derived or similar things. Maybe someone could make a viral blog post by doing some deeper tests and making their results digestible ;)


Cross-post. Original Thread @ https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/53845514

23
submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/privacy@lemmy.ca

Set up a framework to fully man-in-the-middle my own browsers' networking and see what they're up to beyond just looking at their DNS queries and encrypted tcp packets. We force the browser to trust our mitmproxy cacert so we can peek inside cleartext traffic and made it conveniently reproducible and extensible.

It has containers for official Firefox, its Debian version, and some other FF derivatives that market a focus on privacy or security. Might add a few more of those or do the chromium family later - if you read the thing and want more then please let us know what you want to see under the lens in a future update!

Tests were run against a basic protocol for each of them and results are aggregated at the end of the post.

Posting with ambition that this can trigger some follow-ups sharing derived or similar things. Maybe someone could make a viral blog post by doing some deeper tests and making their results digestible ;)

62
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/linux@lemmy.world

Good time-of-day, Linux users! I hope you will take kindly^1^ to coming here to tell you about Konform Browser and what it is. And also ask you to try it out in case this is your cup of tea :)

In short, Konform Browser is a web browser with the goal of promoting user freedom and access to the rights of security, privacy and anonymity. It is intended as a general-purpose browser fit both for daily online surfing as well as targeted deployments in secure or untrusted environments. It is fundamentally a patched build and custom configuration of Mozilla FireFox ESR. It started as a fork of LibreWolf and now stands on its own four feet.

Some highlights to give an idea to those familiar with LibreWolf or other FF fork:

  • Security: Konform is based on Firefox ESR instead of Rapid Release. This means a more stable base without missing out on the latest security updates, in exchange for longer time waiting for the newest features from Firefox. It also enables shorter lead times to backport upstream updates.
    • In this sense (and a few others), Konform Browser is closer to IceCat/GNUZilla than it is to Librewolf.
  • Freedom: Konform allows a higher level of customization. It gives the user control and trusts you with that responsibility. Some examples:
    • Allows enabling dark mode and following system theming even when Resist Fingerprinting is enabled
    • Allows installing your own self-built unsigned add-ons
    • "Spoof referer source" user configuration option
  • Privacy and security: Disables all browser features relying on external network connections.
    • "RemoteSettings" is completely disabled^2^.
    • No cloud "AI" integrations. You can run Konform on a disconnected network and not notice any reduced functionality.
    • All telemetry, metrics, and ads from the browser disabled.
    • OCSP turned off (but we have CRLite).
    • tcpdump and see the difference!

I should add that even if we contrast with LibreWolf above, this is not at all meant as a dig or criticism. I think they have done and continue to do great contributions for the benefit of all of us. That we chose it as upstream and that it's the easiest to compare with is a testament both to how closely aligned we are and that Konform has a lot to thank Librewolf and the wider Firefox customization community for. Like they built from Librefox and Arkenfox to bring private browsing to a wider audience, so are we but the next to try help widen and deepen the browser ecosystem.

The recommended installation method is building from source but there are also binary packages for x86_64 and arm64 built by Codeberg CI. Currently Linux only, considering Android next and could use some assistance with that.

Doors open for users, testers and contributors. Looking forward to hear what you think and if there's anything missing!

^1^: Disclosure: Am dev. This is a rewritten crosspost.

^2^: This means that local full-page translation is also unavailable even if in principle it should be possible to bundle and run translations fully locally. It's just the way Mozilla built it. Patches towards allowing users to enable fully offline translations would be very welcome.


Sources: https://codeberg.org/konform-browser

Deb / RPM / Tarball / Container image

See releases for details.

Arch User Repo package

Arch User Repo binary package

Screenshot

74
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/privacy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

There is a new Firefox fork in town: Konform Browser. Its focus is privacy, security and user freedom. Yes, I know this sounds familiar - but hear me out, I do think we have something to bring to the table!

The project started as a fork of LibreWolf and now stands on its own four feet.

Some highlights to give an idea to those familiar with LibreWolf or other FF fork:

  • Security: Konform is based on Firefox ESR. This means a more stable base without missing out on the latest security updates, in exchange for longer time waiting for the newest features from Firefox. It also enables shorter lead times to backport upstream updates.
    • In this sense (and a few others), Konform Browser is closer to IceCat/GNUZilla than it is to Librewolf.
  • Freedom: Konform allows a higher level of customization. It gives the user control and trusts you with that responsibility. Some examples:
    • Allows enabling dark mode and following system theming even when Resist Fingerprinting is enabled.
    • Allows installing your own self-built unsigned add-ons
    • "Spoof referer source" user configuration option
  • Privacy and security: Disables all browser features relying on external network connections.
    • "RemoteSettings" is completely disabled^1^.
    • No cloud "AI" integrations. You can run Konform on a disconnected network and not notice any reduced functionality.
    • All telemetry, metrics, and ads from the browser disabled.
    • OCSP turned off (but we have CRLite).
    • tcpdump and see the difference

I should add that even if we contrast with LibreWolf above, this is not at all meant as a dig or criticism. That we chose it as base and that it's the easiest to compare with is a testament both to how closely aligned we are and that Konform has a lot to thank Librewolf and the wider Firefox customization community for. Like they built from Librefox and Arkenfox to bring private browsing to a wider audience, so are we but the next to try help widen and deepen the browser ecosystem.

The recommended installation method is building from source but there are also binary packages for x86_64 and arm64 built by Codeberg CI. Currently Linux only, considering Android next and could use some assistance with that.

Doors open for users, testers and contributors. Looking forward to hear what you think and if there's anything missing.

^1^: This means that local full-page translation is also unavailable even if in principle it should be possible to bundle and run translations fully locally. It's just the way Mozilla built it. Patches towards allowing users to enable fully offline translations would be very welcome.


Sources: https://codeberg.org/konform-browser

Arch User Repo package

Deb / RPM / Tarball

See releases for details.

Screenshot

14
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/unixporn@lemmy.world

Redmond97-SE is a living continuation of the now unmaintained Redmond 97.

"Redmond" style themes for GTK, Xfce, Metacity, WINE.

Includes both old-school retro variants to emulate Win9x/2000/XP, plus more modern darks for the productivity-focused desktop.

AUR packaging for Arch Linux just dropped.

45
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/unixporn@lemmy.world
  • Distribution: QubesOS 4.3
  • Desktop Environment: Xfce
  • Theme: Redmond97-SE
  • Window Manager: Xmonad
  • Terminal: xterm + tmux
  • Launcher: Rofi^1^
  • Bar: xfce4-panel

Windows

Top-left to bottom right:

  1. neovim "IDE" with integrated terminal editing dotfiles (Debian)
  2. dom0 admin terminal (Fedora)
  3. Qubes Manager looking at some templates (Fedora)
  4. Thunar File manager about to move a file between qubes (Whonix)
  5. Konform Browser browsing codeberg (Arch Linux)

Each app and window can belong to a separate qube (Xen VM), visually discriminated by differing color schemes.

Thanks to Ben Grandes qusal which was very helpful as base for setting things up.

This is a setup optimized for productivity and efficiency, which is reflected in the lack of eye-candy and gratuitous margins.

^1^: Not pictured - I figured the screenshot was busy enough. If y'all want to see more LMK.

13
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/arch@programming.dev

For those of you still not satisfied with the Firefox fork ecosystem, we propose to you Konform Browser. Yes, it's another one about privacy and security with a canine logo. But I do think we have something to bring to the table.

This started as a fork of LibreWolf and now stands on its own four feet.

Some highlights to give an idea to those having used LibreWolf or another FF fork:

  • Security: Konform is based on Firefox ESR. This means a more stable base without missing out on the latest security updates, in exchange for longer time waiting for the newest features from Firefox.
    • In this sense (and a few others), Konform Browser is closer to IceCat/GNUZilla than it is to Librewolf.
  • Freedom: Konform allows a higher level of customization. It gives the user control and trusts you with that responsibility. Some examples:
    • Allows enabling dark mode and following system theming even when Resist Fingerprinting is enabled.
    • Allows installing your own self-built unsigned add-ons
    • "Spoof referer source" user configuration option
  • Privacy and security: Disables all browser features relying on external network connections^1^.
    • "RemoteSettings" is completely disabled^2^.
    • No cloud "AI" integrations. You can run Konform on a disconnected network and not notice any reduced functionality.
    • All telemetry, metrics, and ads from the browser disabled.
    • OCSP turned off.
    • tcpdump and see the difference

Oh, and it actually builds on Arch, in contrast to IceCat^3^. In fact, currently the only supported distribution channels are source on Codeberg and AUR.

While it's not entirely newborn, it's still early days so we won't say "trust me bro" here - this is currently not ready for a non-technical audience but rather looking to engage with people who might already be building their own Firefox or Chromium forks. Continuing work on what we consider a production-ready browser while not rushing to ship a single binary is intentional.

I should add that even if we contrast with LibreWolf above, this is not at all meant as a dig or criticism. That we chose it as base and that it's the easiest to compare with is a testament both to how closely aligned we are and that Konform has a lot to thank Librewolf and the wider Firefox customization community for. Like they built from Librefox and Arkenfox to bring private browsing to a wider audience, so are we but the next to try help widen and deepen the browser ecosystem.

Doors open for users, testers and contributors. Looking forward to hear what you think and if there's anything missing.

^1^: One notable exception is allowing the bundled uBlock origin to perform filter lists updates.

^2^: This means that local full-page translation is also unavailable even if in principle it should be possible to bundle and run translations fully locally. It's just the way Mozilla built it. Patches towards allowing users to enable fully offline translations would be very welcome.

^3^: For now; I'm sure they will fix it too. Lots of respect for the GNUZilla/IceCat people.

https://codeberg.org/konform-browser

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/konform-browser

Screenshot

8
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by ken@discuss.tchncs.de to c/archlinux@discuss.tchncs.de

For those of you still not satisfied with the Firefox fork ecosystem, we propose to you Konform Browser. Yes, it's another one about privacy and security with a canine logo. But I do think we have something to bring to the table.

This started as a fork of LibreWolf and now stands on its own four feet.

Some highlights to give an idea to those having used LibreWolf or another FF fork:

  • Security: Konform is based on Firefox ESR. This means a more stable base without missing out on the latest security updates, in exchange for longer time waiting for the newest features from Firefox.
    • In this sense (and a few others), Konform Browser is closer to IceCat/GNUZilla than it is to Librewolf.
  • Freedom: Konform allows a higher level of customization. It gives the user control and trusts you with that responsibility. Some examples:
    • Allows enabling dark mode and following system theming even when Resist Fingerprinting is enabled.
    • Allows installing your own self-built unsigned add-ons
    • "Spoof referer source" user configuration option
  • Privacy and security: Disables all browser features relying on external network connections^1^.
    • "RemoteSettings" is completely disabled^2^.
    • No cloud "AI" integrations. You can run Konform on a disconnected network and not notice any reduced functionality.
    • All telemetry, metrics, and ads from the browser disabled.
    • OCSP turned off.
    • tcpdump and see the difference

Oh, and it actually builds on Arch, in contrast to IceCat^3^. In fact, currently the only supported distribution channels are source on Codeberg and AUR.

While it's not entirely newborn, it's still early days so we won't say "trust me bro" here - this is currently not ready for a non-technical audience but rather looking to engage with people who might already be building their own Firefox or Chromium forks. Continuing work on what we consider a production-ready browser while not rushing to ship a single binary is intentional.

I should add that even if we contrast with LibreWolf above, this is not at all meant as a dig or criticism. That we chose it as base and that it's the easiest to compare with is a testament both to how closely aligned we are and that Konform has a lot to thank Librewolf and the wider Firefox customization community for. Like they built from Librefox and Arkenfox to bring private browsing to a wider audience, so are we but the next to try help widen and deepen the browser ecosystem.

Doors open for users, testers and contributors. Looking forward to hear what you think and if there's anything missing.

^1^: One notable exception is allowing the bundled uBlock origin to perform filter lists updates.

^2^: This means that local full-page translation is also unavailable even if in principle it should be possible to bundle and run translations fully locally. It's just the way Mozilla built it. Patches towards allowing users to enable fully offline translations would be very welcome.

^3^: For now; I'm sure they will fix it too. Lots of respect for the GNUZilla/IceCat people.

https://codeberg.org/konform-browser

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/konform-browser

Screenshot

view more: next ›

ken

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