Brave Browser review

All off topic conversation held here. Have fun and play nice. =)

Moderators: Bookworm, starkruzr, MrFireDragon, PrettyPrincess, Wapsi

Post Reply
User avatar
lake_wrangler
Posts: 4300
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Brave Browser review

Post by lake_wrangler »

lake_wrangler wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:51 amHas anyone ever heard of the Brave browser? It's based on Chromium, but is altered to be more secure, with ad blocking and more built-in, but you don't sign into the browser via Google, so no sending data back to Google.

It can use all the Chrome extensions, using the Chrome web store to find them.

It can sync bookmarks between devices, although the process to achieve that is somewhat convoluted (since there is no Google sign-in to link the devices/browsers), but not the settings or the extensions. This means that if you have a lot of extensions, and you want the browser to have them on all the devices you have, you must install them one at a time (as far as I can tell), which can be time consuming... And if an extension requires you to be signed in to Chrome, before you can access all the functionalities it offers, then it's sorry, out of luck...

I also noticed one other thing: instead of an actual sign-in, it offers you to "manage people", so you can add users to the browser, which will keep different settings for them (even going so far as to have separate extensions for that person), but it does not require a password for any of the users of the browser, which, in my opinion, would make the browser's offer to keep track of passwords for various websites, payment information, and addresses somewhat less than secure... (I disabled those before I even realized that flaw was there, since I use a password manager for that kind of information...)


So, does anyone have any experience with this browser? I am considering switching to it as my main browser, but I would like to know more about real users' experience with it...

(You know, switching to Linux to avoid having MS spy on you is all fine and dandy, but if you go and use Chrome and a whole bunch of other Google services, you're probably not that much better off... And I have my own reasons for not caring too much for Firefox... But I do find Chrome to be convenient, easy to use, and I am used to it. So having a browser based on Chromium, but allegedly more secure, would keep me in my comfort zone, while addressing some of the data collection concerns of Chrome...)


I heard about that browser in the comments on a video about a guy attempting to de Google his life. (Yes, ironically, and he willingly admits to this at around the 2 minute mark, he is posting that video on YouTube, which is itself a Google platform... )
I was all ready to put in a fairly glowing review of the Brave Browser, but...

I have used the Brave browser for a few months, now, until I ran into a problem that was hard to get around...

Until that problem showed up, I was doing just fine using the browser. It was snappy enough, all the built-in security did not seem to slow things down at all. To further anonymize my browsing, I made Searx my default search engine (although, according to a web page I have just read tonight, Startpage might just be a slightly better option... But I'm not quite convinced, from reading the comments below the article...)

Syncing bookmarks between devices seemed a little problematic: while Brave does offer a method of syncing bookmarks between devices, via a sync chain to which you add your devices, it only works whle the devices in question are turned on and online, as no bookmarks are kept on any server anywhere (the way Google Chrome does it). I was still having some difficulty with it (notably, since when I read webcomics, I modify the related bookmark to the next to current page, so as to know where to pick up reading the next time, regardless of hot long it's been since I last visited the site, but these types of changes may or may not have synced properly, as opposed to new bookmarks being added.) I say may or may not, as it may also have had to do with having to sync via a third device, in the case of rebooting into Windows 7 from Linux, where the changes would have had to first sync with my Win10 -yeck! - tablet before syncing anew to my computer under Win7... more testing may have been needed, but I couldn't be bothered. Besides, Chrome syncing never worked well for me either, so it's not like I lost much...

Another oddity, when using Brave under Linux, was that whenever I clicked on a link in an email on my email client (Evolution), while it did open the link in Brave, it would also display a system error, telling me that it couldn't open the link in the browser (I forget the exact error message). I would simply dismiss the message, and go about my business. But it was still an odd thing to occur, particularly since it did open the link in the browser...

But I was willing to live with those idiosyncracies, since I at least felt secure in knowing my data was not being collected like under Chrome. Or, at least, much less, as I have no proof that all data collection was extinguished, but it still felt like a step in the right direction.

Incidentally, while Netflix will not work on Chromium, it will work on Brave, even though Brave is a Chromium based browser. I don't know what they did to it, but Brave behaves more like Chrome, insofar as displaying content, than like Chromium, on which it is based.


HOWEVER...
A recent update of the Brave browser went and broke things: under Linux, it would hang almost completely, taking forever to reach the home page, or the window generated by an extention I have to keep track of open tabs to reopen them later. Depending on what I tried to do, it would downright hang the whole system! I actually had to do a hard reset to get Linux working again!

Under Win10 (on my tablet), it would slow things down to where the system would tell me that the browser is not responding (accompanied by the fading of the contents of the window) for a few moments, before the desired web page would display.

In Win 7, the same Brave browser version as in Win10 worked just fine.

I looked up the problem, and found a Brave Community forum page that discussed the issue. The suggested solution was to disable using hardware acceleration when available, and to disable the bookmark syncing. Doing so in Win10 helped (somewhat, or completely, I forget), but doing so under Linux (Ubuntu Studio 18.04) did not. It would still hang.

About two weeks after the problem first showed up, a new update of Brave fixed the problem in Win10, but the problem still persists in Linux (where the browser was also updated to a new version.) I will therefore continue using Brave under Windows (both Win7 and Win10), but for Linux, I had to resort to going to Chromium for most stuff, and Chrome for watching Netflix, which won't work in Chromium. From what I have read, Chromium does not send Google usage data like Chrome does. Furthermore, I added the Trace Online Tracking Protection extension, which seems rather impressive in its functionality, to further reduce my fingerprint on the web. However, I am still logged in to the Chromium browser, so as to automatically log into my gmail, YouTube, and Facebook. So there may be some tracking there. But since Trace does block 3rd party cookies, websites can't track where you go when you're not on their site, so it may not be as critical.

--------------------------------

I am a creature of habit. Once I get set up with some software or with an OS, and I tweak it the way I like it, I don't like having to switch to something else. I forget when I first switched from Internet Explorer to Google Chrome, but I know that at the time, it was the most recommended alternative. I was still strictly a Windows user, at the time. Moving to Linux, Google Chrome followed me there. I did find an extension that helped with syncing bookmarks (better than Chrome's own sync feature, which had left me with duplicates, once I had Chrome on Windows and on Linux), but that extension stopped working at some point (it was terminated by the parent company/developper). So syncing bookmarks between Linux and Windows was no longer working. No biggie: I kept most of my browsing to the Linux side, only using Windows for some videoconferencing software that did not work in Linux, and promptly returning to Linux once I was done. But now that I have a tablet, I would like to find a way to sync my bookmarks properly again, so that all my bookmarks would be available on the tablet as well, and any new bookmark on the tablet would be refected on my PC... But there is hope on the horizon: the extension I was using to sync bookmarks seems to have been restarted. But they say they have not yet added Brave compatibility to it, so we'll have to see how that goes.

I knew that Google Chrome was tracking me. And it did bother me some, but not too much. And I knew that I was too deeply entrenched in gmail to switch to another provider (aside from gmail being free, I also had years and years of archived emails, which I did not want to lose, nor did I want to somehow transfer them to another provider.) Besides, I usually read my emails via an external email client (Evolution), so I'm not even sure if Google was "reading" my emails at all, to provide "relevant" ads. Not only that, but when I have a gmail tab open in my browser, my ad blocker extension prevents ads from showing up (although I suspect that in that case, the "reading" by Google still occurs, but at least I still don't seen any ads...)

It was when I watched the video by the guy trying to de-google his life, that I found out about the Brave browser in the comments below the video, and decided to try it. I was very satisfied with it, until the slowdown problem that recently occured.

I will continue to use Brave in Windows, as the latest version works fine again (and the Chromium browser is apparently harder to set up and update, in Windows, so Brave is a more viable, more private alternative to Chrome, there). But I don't know yet if I will return to Brave under Linux. For now, I think I am fairly well protected (i.e. made anonymous) via Chromium and the Trace extension. I will wait and see if a later version fixes the problem (or if a different Linux distro would make a difference). The only thing that bothers me is that if I wait long enough, I will have accumulated more bookmarks in Chromium, which will be a pain to update to my Brave bookmarks.


tl/dr:

As of right now, I would highly recommend the Brave Broswer to Windows users. It works well, and will keep your browsing more private by default, without having to add additional extensions for security/privacy.

However, for Linux users (or, at least, for Ubuntu Studio 18.04 users, as I don't know if other distros have the same problem or not), I would not suggest it for now. Not until that problem (slow down/hanging) is fixed in a later version.
I will try installing a different Linux distro on my computer eventually (I've been wanting to do so for a few years, already, but never have time to do so...). I will also eventually replace the SSD on my tablet with a larger one (which I have already purchased), and install a LInux distro in a dual boot configuration. I will then be able to see if either option helps with the Brave slowdown issue. But until I have had time to do so, I cannot speak in too general terms for Brave under Linux (i.e. is it related to the distro, or perhaps to the hardware configuration I have on my computer, as it pertains to Linux drivers for my distro? I don't know.)
User avatar
TazManiac
Posts: 3701
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2013 6:53 pm

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by TazManiac »

I've tried Brave in the past, but not recently.

I'll try it again, and one thing to consider is that the 'layers of the onion', that is- built up install/patches/'just real life' can often cause a broken situation that a clean install will never see.

It's going to be a while until I see for myself, but I'll let you know...
User avatar
TazManiac
Posts: 3701
Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2013 6:53 pm

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by TazManiac »

ps- I dual boot MS & Ubuntu Studio 18.04, new SSD HD w/ a clean Win 10 install. And windows is broken.

Its such a fragile OS...
User avatar
lake_wrangler
Posts: 4300
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by lake_wrangler »

TazManiac wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 3:39 pm ps- I dual boot MS & Ubuntu Studio 18.04, new SSD HD w/ a clean Win 10 install. And windows is broken.

Its such a fragile OS...
Did someone throw rocks at your computer? If your windows are broken, what you may want is to call upon a glazier...


Meanwhile, still looking into privacy-oriented browsers, I have cast my eyes towards Iridium, Opera, and Vivaldi. I will look into them further, via reviews and such, and perhaps try them out, although I hesitate to switch again... I was happy enough, switching to Brave, only to be disappointed by the slowdown problem I ran into these last few weeks. And it's a pain in the butt, to try to have my bookmarks and such follow me from one browser to the next...

We'll see...
User avatar
AnotherFairportfan
Posts: 6402
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 2:53 pm

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by AnotherFairportfan »

Bookmarks?

"Export/Import as HTML" and Robert is sib to your maternal gene donor.
Proof Positive the world is not flat: If it were, cats would have pushed everything off the edge by now.
User avatar
lake_wrangler
Posts: 4300
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by lake_wrangler »

AnotherFairportfan wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:25 pm Bookmarks?

"Export/Import as HTML" and Robert is sib to your maternal gene donor.
I know about that... And I do it when I first install a new browser. My point is that if I use a browser for any length of time, then decide I don't like it, I will have had time to add bookmarks to it, and to modify others. Integrating those changes back into whatever browser I was using before installing the new browser, that's what's a pain in the butt...
User avatar
lake_wrangler
Posts: 4300
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by lake_wrangler »

AnotherFairportfan wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:25 pmand Robert is sib to your maternal gene donor.
I forget what I was watching, recently, but a movie or TV show on Netflix had some interaction between two characters that revolved around the "and Bob's your uncle" colloquialism... With the one character not understanding it was, indeed, a colloquialism, and replying how he didn't have an uncle named Bob.

Later in the same show (or movie), samesaid character did something to help the first one, and used the colloquialism himself.

I just wish I could remember what it was I had watched...
Warrl
Posts: 1723
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 10:44 pm

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by Warrl »

lake_wrangler wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:57 am
AnotherFairportfan wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:25 pmand Robert is sib to your maternal gene donor.
I forget what I was watching, recently, but a movie or TV show on Netflix had some interaction between two characters that revolved around the "and Bob's your uncle" colloquialism... With the one character not understanding it was, indeed, a colloquialism, and replying how he didn't have an uncle named Bob.
"Surely Bjorn Stronginthearm is my uncle." - Captain Carrot
User avatar
Bookworm
Posts: 615
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:59 pm
Location: Houston, TX
Contact:

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by Bookworm »

Warrl wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 7:33 pm
lake_wrangler wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:57 am
AnotherFairportfan wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:25 pmand Robert is sib to your maternal gene donor.
I forget what I was watching, recently, but a movie or TV show on Netflix had some interaction between two characters that revolved around the "and Bob's your uncle" colloquialism... With the one character not understanding it was, indeed, a colloquialism, and replying how he didn't have an uncle named Bob.
"Surely Bjorn Stronginthearm is my uncle." - Captain Carrot
Wrong character - not Carrot.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
User avatar
lake_wrangler
Posts: 4300
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by lake_wrangler »

Bookworm wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:43 pm
Warrl wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 7:33 pm "Surely Bjorn Stronginthearm is my uncle." - Captain Carrot
Wrong character - not Carrot.
Could be worse... could be Captain Vegetable... :P
User avatar
lake_wrangler
Posts: 4300
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by lake_wrangler »

lake_wrangler wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:52 pm
Bookworm wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 10:43 pm
Warrl wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 7:33 pm "Surely Bjorn Stronginthearm is my uncle." - Captain Carrot
Wrong character - not Carrot.
Could be worse... could be Captain Vegetable... :P
Or even worse: John Leguizamo as Captain Vegetable! :shock: :roll:

It's amusing to see the number of comments arguing that he's an imposter, that that's not the REAL Captain Vegetable, and so on...


My two favorite comments are:
beauferret
8 years ago
John Leguizamo, you may be great actor and one of the funniest comedians around but you sure can't sing.
and
Graymin
1 year ago
Elmo's lunch is interrupted by the local vegan.
User avatar
Dave
Posts: 7584
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: Mountain View, CA, USA

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by Dave »

We'll, if it's vegetables that you must have, then it's vegetables that you shall have.

And moisture. One must have moisture.

User avatar
lake_wrangler
Posts: 4300
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Re: Brave Browser review

Post by lake_wrangler »

Well, that one takes the cake! (Carrot cake, I suppose... And that's no lie! :P )

Season 3...by then, they had irreparably fallen into the "Monster of the week" pattern...


Can you imagine, the producers had hesitated moving the show to color, because they were worried that kids might get scared... Then again, seeing Doctor Celery Smith, they might have been on to something... :mrgreen:

Meanwhile, for anyone who may find this interesting, here's the story about the restoration of the original Gemini 12 prop:

Post Reply