Avoid Chrome

[yogi]

Few can match Tor’s level of anonymity, but Brave is an excellent choice for privacy, and Firefox is a close second (both Tor and Brave are built on Firefox). Even Vivaldi, Edge, and Opera have their benefits—just avoid Chrome if you’re trying to block ads, data trackers, and keep your identity obfuscated.

https://lifehacker.com/dont-use-tor-rig ... 1842318515

Since a lot of people are working from home these days, the lack of security therein has become a problem for many. The usual answer is to use the Tor browser (or, IMHO, the Tails Linux OS). Unfortunately, Tor currently is having a problem containing javascript. Basically the article tells you to wait for a fix or to kill javascript altogether in the settings. The quote above was interesting to me because I know you are a big fan of Google Chrome. The author seems to think Chrome has the least security of all the popular browsers. Lifehacker isn't always the most reliable source, but I'm kind of in agreement with them on this call.

[Kellemora]

The reason I use Google Chrome is because it has features I use every day that are not in Firefox.

Ironically, I was using Firefox and got slightly annoyed with Chrome when I tried to do something only to find it didn't do it.
But then after I figured out why, it was actually the better way and I could do more twice as fast.
Most of the differences that affect me are how the Tabs work on Firefox, vs Chrome.
For most of what I do, Chrome does it the way I like, but for some things, I will move over to Firefox because their way does something I like for that specific purpose.

When you open a Tab in Firefox, it fully opens the website you are linked to.
When you open a Tab in Chrome, it only access the website and places it on hold until you go to that tab, then it opens it.
However, you can move down the tabs on Chrome which makes them open the websites you jump on the tab for.
This is why I can open 50 tabs on Chrome and only 8 to 10 on Firefox.
But while on Chrome, I can scroll down 5 to 8 tabs, even a 12 if I want so they will be open when I get to them.
Most of my work is done on the first couple of tabs, I will scroll down to the third tab and back so it starts loading the rest of the page. When I finish what I was doing on the first tab I close it, move to the second tab, but scroll down three to cause the third to start loading. By the time I finish the tab I'm working on, the next is fully loaded and ready to go.
I don't have to do only 5 tabs and go back and load 5 more tabs from the source like I do with Firefox.
I can load all 50 tabs at once on Chrome, and they only connect without opening the page completely.
Saves RAM and makes the machine run faster too.

Although, that being said, Chrome is notorious for adding glitches here and there with all their updates every couple of weeks.

[yogi]

I typically have more than a few tabs open in every browser I use, except Edge. Even there I have two open all the time. To my way of thinking tabbed browsing is an unwanted complication. I use half a dozen browsers instead of opening 50 tabs in any one of them. There was a time when each browser had it's own performance quirks. They all run pretty much the same now and days, or at least the ones I use: Waterfox, Chrome, Opera, Edge, and Firefox.

Along with the popularity of tabbed browsing some massive changes in resource usage suddenly became an issue. For example, I have eight tabs going in Waterfox and over a gig of RAM is being used to keep them alive. Back when that's all the RAM there was in many computers it was a problem. Plus, you are correct about Mozilla browser's handling of open tabs. In order to get around that problem they changed the design of the browser. Now you have the option to run each tab in a process of it's own. That means my eight tabs can all be loaded and run in parallel. As you might imagine that's quite a burden on resources, so the default setting is to do it all in a single process. It's easy enough to change in the options menu if you care to experiment. Google Chrome solved the problem by simply not loading the full website. This goes easier on the computer's resources unless something as you like to do happens where you pre-load the tabs before using them. LOL

The Tor browser is like Waterfox in that it is derived from the Mozilla (Firefox) engine. They boogered it up a bit to meet their security standards, but it looks and feels a lot like what is already familiar. Allowing any scripts to run, of course, would complicate security issues which is what the current concern is all about. It's not just a curiosity kind of browser for security freaks. Many people in countries where the Internet is regulated depend on the anonymity of Tor to save their lives. That's not the case, usually, when you work from home but in a crisis the bad guys like to take advantage of people's ignorance. That is what is bad about javascript.

[Kellemora]

I think the simple way of saying that is, Google only fully opens the Tab that is in Focus.
But, if you go back to a tab that is not in focus, even for a split second, it will then consider it in focus and begin loading the rest of the page.
I actually like the way Google Chrome does this!
Let's say I have a list of 50 pages I have to visit to do a short project on each one.
I could go to each one, one at a time, wait for it to load, do my job, close it, then move onto the next page.
Or I could start two, go back to the first one, and do it then close the tab which brings the next one up and lets it finish loading, and while it is doing that I bring up the next page and go back one.
Although this may sound fairly fast, it is not, because I have to go to my List and open a page, then jump back before it loads so it is not in focus.
It is so much easier to go down my List of 50 pages give or take, open each in a tab, which does so NOT in Focus.
Then I go back to tab one, scroll to tab two and immediately back to tab one again.
Tab two is loading while I'm working on Tab one.
When I close Tab one, and although Tab two is now tab one and almost ready or sometimes is ready, I still scroll to the new tab two and back so it begins to load.
Sometimes I may scroll to the third tab so it is starting to load, if I know there is very little work on the in focus tab to do, and I will then be waiting for the next tab to get done loading before I can start.
I like the fact I can stay on my List and simply open each URL without it jumping from the List to a Tab.
I used to only do 20 at a time, until I figured out opening all 50 does not slow down the machine.
What does slow it down is if I make more than 5 or 6 tabs in focus so they are loading or loaded.

There is a way to set Firefox so it opens in a new tab without leaving the List, but it still opens the whole page.
I have mine set that way, but have to go back to the list each time I close a Tab to start the next one.
Takes more than a half hour longer to get through that part of my daily routine using Firefox.
And this is why I use Google. I do have my Bookmarks bar available on three different browsers.

[yogi]

I have my eight standard web pages in a single category of my Waterfox bookmarks. When I start the browser it's blank. I don't set it to recall the previous session. Starting blank defeats certain attempts at hijacking by malware. Then I open my bookmarks list and open all eight pages at once. I go to the first tab and do what I do there. By that time all the other tabs have loaded.

I could repeat this routine for any number of grouped bookmarks, but there are times when I want two or even three browsers open simultaneously. Thus, I have the bookmarks grouped as I want them to be, but only open certain groups of bookmarks in certain browsers.

Works for me. LOL

I detest the bookmark menu bar with a passion and eliminate it every chance I get. There is a way to group tabs under a single tab but that's way more than I need to do. Maybe I'd look into it if I needed as many open tabs as you do.

[Kellemora]

One of the reasons I have more than one computer is there are some things you cannot do on the same computer.
One example is: I cannot go and log into a certain website under one name, then open that same website even from a different browser on the same computer using a different screen name. Those sites load things onto your computer to use them, and cannot have more than one instance on the same computer.
I guess it could be possible using Virtual Machines, never tried that.
But I need to Interact with User A and User B on the website, I have to use two different computers to do so.
I have no call to do that recently, but back when I did, it was the only way I could interact with myself under two personas.

[yogi]

I understand your dilemma completely. It is possible in theory to log into the same place twice, but that has to be configured in the administration panel. Most sites don't allow it. We don't because in the past people took advantage of it and tried to do some nasty things with people they didn't like. Virtual machines are like having separate hardware. It should work just fine.

[Kellemora]

Back when I had time to play a few games, but not the time to sit around waiting for someone with something to sell that I needed for the game. I started three different game accounts, which did mean I had to play them to earn products. But I kept it really simple so it didn't consume but a couple extra minutes a day. They never sold any products they earned, but held onto them in inventory. Then when I needed something, I could bring them up on another computer, and go buy the product I needed from them. The game had some features where you couldn't use your own products and had to buy them from someone in the market. Everyone wanted to sell you what they had for sale, but none of them ever had what you really needed at the time you needed it, unless you sat around and waited, and waited, and waited, and then no one may have it for sale. I have no time to play such games anymore, hi hi.

[yogi]

You know the routine, I'm sure. The type of game you describe is only interested in selling it's own merchandise. Those so called free games will foist ads upon you as incentives to pay to upgrade and eliminate the ads. But, even if you upgrade they are collecting data about you all the time. Selling that data is profitable. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg.

Then again, while I know you need to work hard just to stay afloat, you also need some recharging time. I hope you are able to do that.

[Kellemora]

Although I do go visit my game for a break, I am doing very little there now, due to a lot of personal things I need to take care of before I croak. Trying to get all the digital stuff together that goes to my son, and on the weekends going through some of the boxes I've had packed up since I moved here. Nothing is of real value since I sold everything at auction before I moved south. But I did keep a lot of personal items, and also managed to accumulate things over the past 20 years too.

But yes, all work and no play gets boring, so I do stop to play a game, usually a fast one, like FreeCell or Spider between projects. Helps clear my head before I start on the next thing, hi hi.

Yesterday with the Internet out for 6 hours, I managed to get a ton of things done.
But then had to work like a dog to catch up with everything after the Internet came up just after dinnertime.

[yogi]

As just about everybody else I deal with, I just received an e-mail from Spectrum telling me what they are doing to get us through this virus crisis. Also like everyone else they are cleaning the daylights out of their stores and business offices and teaching their employees best practices. Only healthy technicians are being dispatched for service calls -- which made me wonder if they send sick technicians out when there isn't a pandemic going on. AND, of course, they are providing free Internet to student households all the way up to your college kid. Most of all they are concentrating on keeping the networks up and open so that all those public service people can do their jobs. Apparently since you don't have kids at home and are not into public service, you are at the mercy of the Internet gods and should consider yourself lucky to be on line at all.

Seriously, a lot of people are reaching out and trying to be helpful. There also are a lot of scared chickens running around out there and I'm guessing it will be a couple more weeks before people start to calm down and attempt to ride this out like all the other crises we've been through. Us old timers like us apparently are at the highest risk levels of this pandemic. I think you may have more to think about than most people due to your lung issues. That probably explains why you are preparing for your exit. I can empathize with you, and want to remind you that the end game has different rules than when running the rat race. Your primary concerns should be for your own personal well being and comfort. Comfort is important. You worked hard your entire life so that at times like this you could have an easier time of it. Well circumstances have not been good in every respect, but you do have your self-assurance and dignity fully in tact. You have earned the right to be at peace with yourself and reflective. Make time for you to be comfortable. You've earned it.

[Kellemora]

I hope I have a few more years left, and if I can avoid this coronavirus should be able to collect on them.
Another scary aspect is most of those who died happen to be blood type A, which I just happen to be.
I'm being safe, but not crazy about it. There has been some pandemic every election year for as long as I can remember, and a really big one while Obama was el-presidente. This virus may cross that one in deaths, despite all the things being done to help curb its spread.
I don't pay attention to the news media hype either. They are always looking for something to blow way out of proportion and/or start a premature panic over. Look at all the idiots out there buying up toilet paper, hi hi.
And the hoarders filling up their garages in an attempt to scalp people.
At least Amazon is deleting the accounts of anyone trying to sell for 10% higher than the going rate.
Except for themselves of course! Amazon is known for price gouging on many items themselves.

[yogi]

I'm not known for my highly accurate intuition, however, I have a feeling you and I are going to be chatting here for quite some time. There are always unexpected turns in the events of our lives, but I like the fact that you keep yourself informed and are pretty well organized in your life. You don't do things half-hearted, and that is exactly the kind of response this current pandemic flu requires. Keep yourself out of harms way and I'm certain we will make it through this plague unscathed.

I don't know about a pandemic disease recurring every four years, but Barak Obama did have to deal with something called Swine Flu (or Bird Flu, or something), I believe it was. The current generation of the influenza is the worst they've seen in a long time and it is highly contagious, which is what makes it scary. The media does hype things up, but people in general are not equipped to take on major changes in their daily lifestyle such as self-quarantine would require. Not knowing what to do they panic.

I'm amazed at how people react in a crisis situation. Some shine brighter than the sun while others stoop to the lowest levels of deprivation you can imagine. It's hard to equate this with events in the past, but I lived through the Chicago riots when the city was being burned and they had to close it down. They also had to close down the entire city one year 26" of snow fell overnight. Nobody could get around well for weeks in that catastrophe. The closest I can relate to what is happening today is when 9/11 occurred. It was the same eerie feeling when they shut down O'Hare International and no planes were seen or heard over my house for at least a week - and I lived only a few miles from the end of runway 27 S. LOL Then too people were in a panic and the cockroaches crawled out of their gutters to take advantage of the hysteria. We'll make it through this pandemic too. At least the stock market stopped it's free fall. It's now below the point it was when Trump took office. Hard to believe.

[Kellemora]

I try to go about my daily routine as if nothing is happening around me, but then too, I'm never out in it.
Just from house to office and back to house again. I'm happy with that, hi hi.
I do worry about the frau working, and what she might possibly bring home.
But so far, if a case is reported in the area, her boss won't call her into work due to her age, and knowing what condition I'm in.

After a tornado, I managed to live through 22 days with no electric, although I did have a small generator to keep the fridge cold and the lights on in the den and bedroom at night. What little cooking we did was done outside on a gas grill.
This was long after I had sold my big China Diesel Dynamo. And after I married Debi too. Happened right as we got home from our honeymoon. And after I told her a tornado never comes south of tornado alley, hi hi.

Almost all the companies where I know of people who work there, they are all running double shifts in order to keep the stores stocked up. But the panic buyers have still not simmered down much yet. And then their are the con artists who are buying up stuff hoping to sell it at price gouging prices. At least they get booted off of places like Amazon and other places too.

I have an old neighbor named Don, who is out there buying up stock in blue chips while they are near rock bottom.
He did this about ten years ago and made a fortune by doing so.
And then blew most of it by moving into a fancy house in an affluent area where his expenses per month are probably more than he had to pay in a year when he lived next door.
Crazy people!

[yogi]

This is the time to buy stocks. The market is a few points positive this morning as it was yesterday. It's possible that the free fall has completed, but now we wait and see if all those panic sellers are right to think a deep recession is up next. There will be a slowdown, but I am not sure it will be an actual recession or last beyond summer.

I'm doing my part at self-isolation and not visiting the local grocery as often as I am wont to do. This morning I started to make some rye bread, for example. It's never been really great when I tried it before but I have a new recipe and am hoping for the best. It's terribly complicated and time consuming. I now understand why local shops are hesitant to make their own.

You're not going to believe this story, but sometimes I just have to sit back and laugh at myself for being gullible. We are not in danger of running out of toilet paper, but its presence in the stores is minimal to non-existent. This made me wonder if I could buy some online in my favorite haunts. Last weekend I did a search in every place imaginable and came back empty handed. I thought it odd that EVERYBODY would be out of stock; half the places I looked would put me on a waiting list if I wanted to go that route. But then, somewhere about page 5 of the Google search I found a shop on E-Bay that was selling some. I thought this was amazing and ordered a supply immediately. It wasn't just plain ol' toilet paper either. It was the 3-ply gushy stuff I like to buy in a 4 roll pack. The price was high but I thought I was buying 4 packages of 4 rolls each for $40. Fair enough when it's it short supply.

Turns out I did business with this same seller in the past. He knew about me even though I forgot about him. He thanked me for my order and said the TP was shipped and on it's way. Hooray for me.

When the package arrived it came in what looked like a used garbage bag. The O'Fallon post office attached a note telling me the package arrived at their office damaged. They scanned it to see if it was broken, but, you know. What can break in a bag of toilet paper? It was in one of those mylar envelopes and there were marks all over it like it fell off the truck into a puddle of mud - which is probably what happened. Otherwise it all looked good when I opened it except for being slightly crushed. But wait. This is only one package of four rolls. I was expecting three more. I looked for an explanatory note from the seller but none was present. Hmm.

So I went on line to see what it is I actually ordered. It turns out I didn't read the description correctly. One package of four rolls was indeed $41, or $10.25 per roll. And, of course, this seller does not accept returns. I guess I was too hasty when I placed the order because all the signs of a scam were there in plain sight. I fell for it. So, being the nice guy that I am, I sent a message to the seller. All such messages must go through the E-Bay process so that they have a permanent record of what all is going on. I told the seller how disappointed I was with the obvious unethical pricing (it was a Buy-It-Now thing, not an auction), and that I also took full responsibility for being an idiot. I also mentioned the note from the post office. It didn't take long for him to respond. He sympathized with my damaged goods and offered a partial refund to make things better. My reply was as congenial as I could force myself to be and told him I'd accept any refund he felt would bring the price down to the fair market value. His last reply was to send me back to the purchase console and request a refund. He could not initiate such a thing from his end.

There was no option to get a refund, but there was a way to return goods. I chose that and was told immediately that this seller does not accept returns, but that E-Bay will forward the request anyway and hope we can settle it among ourselves. If not, they will get involved after a week of honest effort. As of this writing I am waiting to see what the refund will amount to.

This isn't over yet, but I believe E-Bay will pressure this guy to do something if he doesn't volunteer to do it himself. I guess I can't blame the seller for my gullibility, but as a businessman he is crossing the line by taking advantage of people when the chips are down. Up to this point he has been very understanding, but I'm not sure how far his sympathies extend. I have read where places such as Amazon have suspended seller accounts for doing exactly what this guy is doing. I've not read about similar policies at E-Bay, but they did say they would get involved if I'm not perfectly happy.

The moral of this story is not an admonition to read the fine print. Read the fricken headlines. That's what I didn't do correctly.

[Kellemora]

I've been burned a few times by e-Bay sellers.
One time it was on batteries, I thought I was ordering Alkaline Batteries, and they shipped Carbon Batteries.
All over their advertising page they had things like "Compare to DuraCell Alkaline the copper top battery" or compare to EverReady alkaline battery that keeps on going." etc.
No where on the page could I find anything that said they were not alkaline batteries being sold.
To me, this was blatant false advertising!
So I sent a complaint to them, to the BBB, and to e-Bay along with a copy of the screen shots of their advertisement.
About three days later I saw that seller was no longer on e-Bay, under that name anyhow.
Then a couple of days after that I got a form from the BBB to fill out.
Then out of the clear blue sky, about 3 weeks later, I get a box of Ray-O-Vac Alkaline batteries, with a form showing they were a replacement for the batteries I previously received from the seller, and I should dispose of those I was previously sent. So somebody did something about it!

Other times I did not fair so well. Got stuck with bad merchandise that was never made good on by the seller or by e-Bay.
Oh, and the BBB does not handle anything through e-Bay, if I don't know the sellers name, address, and phone number, they do nothing. I've tried using the address something was shipped from, only to find they are merely a drop-shipping outfit, and have nothing to do with sales or how items are advertised. The BBB can't hold them responsible for what the people who buy from them do.

Also beware of using Other Sellers on Amazon. When you use another seller, the order may not go through Amazon nor appear on their records as an Amazon sale. Many of those links take you directly to another website and away from Amazon. They are not supposed to, but they do.

[yogi]

My wife and I have been sellers on E-Bay for more than a dozen years. Thus we have experience as both seller and buyer. I can't say that I've ever been burned on E-Bay, and this is actually the first time I had anything to complain about. The advertising was not misleading in this case; I simply misinterpreted what I read. I have had multiple communications with customers and sellers during my years on E-Bay but I don't recall ever having trouble.

This TP seller was doing something unethical as far as I'm concerned. It's a common practice I must sadly say, but still unethical. Price gouging is not only a poor business practice for the seller but it also reflects poorly on E-Bay for allowing such practices to continue. I'll give them the benefit of a doubt and assume I'm the first buyer to bring this to their attention, and fortunately I did not have to press the issue any further than I already mentioned. The seller refunded me half the price which is still extraordinarily high but considering the general situation probably closer to being fair than the original price.

I would not expect BBB to have any influence over E-Bay sellers, but I suppose it does not hurt to at least let them know what is going on. Because I've been an online shopper and seller for so many years I know what to look for in the advertisements. I knew what to look for in the present case too, but simply didn't do it. Those "comparable" claims almost always mean you are not getting what it is being compared to. Frequently there is a spec sheet or a detailed description that is not front page content, and that is where to look for what you really are buying. If it doesn't exist, move on to the next seller.

Those ads at the bottom suggesting items you "may also be interested in" are exactly that; advertisements. I know enough about browsers to understand when I'm being redirected and that's always a red flag. Generally, but certainly not always, they make it obvious that you are leaving the main site and will be dealing with somebody else henceforth. I have a tendency to not follow those redirects, but quite often they are legitimate. As I noted, they are no different than any other ad you might click to check out, other than the fact they are targeted at you personally with items of immediate interest.

[Kellemora]

I sold a lot of stuff on e-Bay myself about 20 years ago.
Some of the delicate things I sold required special packaging, so I always got an A+ on my packaging of those items.
A few of my customers were surprised I was using foam bags, which were so expensive. I burned up a lot of my profits selling those delicate items due to packaging costs. Mostly from buying and trying out different types of packaging.

Now if I have something to sell, I just put it on my website, and add a link here and there, but not often.
I do put some things on our LOCAL shopping websites. Debi does good on them, but I think she spends more in gas to go to the meet up place than she actually makes, hi hi.
We also have several bargain stores here. Her cousin maintains a couple of large sections and he does good, but when I checked into it, the monthly fee for one of their smallest display areas is more than I think I would ever make.
He goes around to garage sales and the like, something I'm not able to do anymore.
And with so many flea market type of stores around here, you can never get what something is worth.

[yogi]

E-Bay, like anyplace else, has changed over the years. As it stands today the seller would not have to pay the shipping and handling costs. That's all for the buyer to pay. In your case I think you did some research that wouldn't really qualify for s/h costs anyway. They also legally disconnected themselves from PayPal, but they still work hand in hand as far as business transactions go. I don't know if I could get a better deal than those I got on E-Bay because I never really tried any other methods. To me it was a lot easier to do it all online, and that was worth something.

[Kellemora]

I happen to have a Merchants Account at the time I was doing the e-Bay thing, so could take credit cards.
It really irked me when a place Advertised they took credit cards, only to find out they don't, unless you go through PayPal.
Any time I hit one of these jokers, I turned them into e-Bay for false claims on their pages.
They should just say they take PayPal and not even mention taking credit cards which they don't.
I also took electronic checks too! Being able to accept these came with a high price too.

There were a few places that popped up after e-Bay became successful, but they were unable to draw as many buyers.
So I just stayed with e-Bay during that time.
Now I just try to sell locally if I can, and if not, I make a page on my own website for the more expensive items, or things I could not possibly ship for a reasonable price, shipping would cost more than the product, hi hi.

Don't know if you saw this or not, it is one of the expensive things I have for sale that I made a nice web page for.
https://classichauslimited.com/htmlpgs/ ... ments.html