Anyone using a browser that isn't chromium based and isn't Firefox or Safari?

[estwig]

Anyone using a browser that isn't chromium based and isn't Firefox or Safari, it needs to run on Windows, Android and iOS?

It's a long shot I know, I have good reason to keep away from anything based on Chromium.

 

[WebDesires]

? WHY?

 

[WebDesires]

Layout Engine Usage 1994-2009

I think this graph says it all. You have literally exhausted the list of layout engines as they are pretty much the ONLY ones that exist...

All others have been discontinued or are not multi-platform...

More Info HERE: Comparison Of Browser Layout Engines

 

[gpietersz]

What is wrong with Firefox? I use it and its got a lot of extensions. Set up right its very secure and private. It is also very configurable so the look and feel can be varied quite a bit (e.g. if you use a widescreen monitor then tree style tabs maybe good). I am guessing you do not mind doing some tweaking? FF is very flexible is so.

There are Webkit based browsers other than Safari. I have several installed, including Konqueror, for which it was originally developed (strictly speaking that was KHTML, but Webkit is a fork of KHTML). I have Falkon, Midori, Otter and others installed on my desktop, and a few others on my phone and tablet.

There are also some Firefox forks for people who do not like the direction FF is going in. I have not tried any. I recall one is called Pale Moon.

 

[Fred-smith2022]

I've been using the Brave browser for a few years now on Windows, great if you don't like adverting on websites and Youtube, it stops them all.

 

[zigojacko]

I've been using the Brave browser for a few years now on Windows, great if you don't like adverting on websites and Youtube, it stops them all.

Brave is Chromium based.

 

[zigojacko]

Anyone using a browser that isn't chromium based and isn't Firefox or Safari, it needs to run on Windows, Android and iOS?

It's a long shot I know, I have good reason to keep away from anything based on Chromium.

I think you're left with Opera or Edge...

 

[gpietersz]

@WebDesires the wikipedia aritcle is wrong on one important point, which is that webkit is actively developed for windows, and is available in its webkitgtk and webkit QT forms - these are used by browsers such as Midori and Otter (both of which run on Windows). Falkon will to but I am a bit wary of using KDE on Windows.

I think you're left with Opera or Edge

Not any more. Opera has been Chromium based for a while, and current versions of Edge are Chromium based too with a backward compatibility mode using Trident, which is now maintained but not actively developed.

 

[Graham Tyers]

lynx - I use it every day.

LYNX – The Text Web-Browser

Thomas Dickey is the maintainer/developer of the Lynx text-browser. This page gives some background and pointers to Lynx resources.

lynx.invisible-island.net

Fast as they come and no annoying pictures or anything.

 

[zigojacko]

Not any more. Opera has been Chromium based for a while, and current versions of Edge are Chromium based too with a backward compatibility mode using Trident, which is now maintained but not actively developed.

Ohhh. I don't think I was aware of this. Yeh not much else left then ?

 

[WebDesires]

I think you're left with Opera or Edge...

Both Chromium...

 

[Graham Tyers]

It's like cosy and warm and safe

 

[estwig]

I have an ex bf, he did 6 months for stalking me, he got out about a month ago, for lots of reasons a right nuisance he is too!

He is an accomplished hacker, he keeps getting into my android stuff, from there he moves across to my windows, it's very disruptive having to keep starting all over again.

One of his fav tricks are iffy browser extensions, I can't sync any chromium based browser or firefox, I believe he uses them to move from one device to another. He puts an awful lot of effort into doing all this.

I use lastpass to manage passwords, I'm going to get a bookmark manager too.

 

[gpietersz]

If an ex how does he get access to your devices? Does he have access to your cloud services? If he keeps doing this its a fairly serious offence.

Also, I would have thought Windows is more vulnerable than Android, so unless he has the password to your Google account or similar its going the other way.

 

[gpietersz]

Personally I think you need to secure your devices. Backup, wipe and restore at the very least. Try using Firefox on Android next time, instead of Chromium, and avoid extensions.

If he has the level of access you say to your computer he may well have access to your lastpass password. I would switch password manager too.

Very few people are actually accomplished hackers. Is he making a good living? Even legitimate ways of using those skills are well paid. If not he is probably using some thing he has planted on a device or a password he has or similar.

Also, you cannot run any browser that is not Safari based on iOS. The other browsers are just wrappers around Safari's layout and JS engines.

 

[estwig]

I factory reset android devices, I throw away HDD's, install clean copies of windows, set up new accounts with google, ms, adobe and Autodesk. I do not have any backups of any sort to use, I'm meticulous in doing all this.

I have security apps, I use a paid for VPN at every opportunity, my use of wifi is limited and never without a VPN. I don't use bluetooth. I have two routers forming two LANs, both set to not allow any new devices to connect. Obvious stuff like WPA3, 2FA, and long passwords are all in place. None of my windows devices can use wifi or bluetooth, it's disabled in device manager. Even my TV uses a VPN!

My wifi security cams are useless, he now has a jammer.

For two years he has been continually getting into my devices and apps, this is how it is for me, I can only mitigate the problem. I close one door on him, he opens another one.

IT security professionals are utterly useless, chocolate fireguards!

 

[gpietersz]

My wifi security cams are useless, he now has a jammer.

So is he physically accessing your devices? Is it possible he has installed something like a hardware keylogger?

Could he have compromised your routers? A lot of routers are not very secure and you do not mention securing them.

There is something that does not add up. There is something you have missed, and the problem is not your browser. If he can get dodgy extensions installed, he must have already compromised the computer (including "mobile device" in that ) that it is installed on, or he must have phished you.

What signs do you see that he has compromised your phone, PC etc?

Using a VPN probably does not help much BTW.

 

[estwig]

Nothing is compromised at the moment, it wasn't before the last recent incident either, I haven't laid eyes on him in over 18 months.

I know it's not my browser, I use a different one on every device, but they are part of the picture.

I'm not naive enough to be phished.

He almost certainly has a device planted near me, I have found them in the past, it's pointless looking as he simply plants a new one, this includes my car.

Generally evidence are overlays, new users, lots of ports opening up, remote access, etc.

His goal isn't to rob me, it's to watch me, spy on me, disrupt my life.

I'm not a paranoid nut, I might be a bit nutty aren't we all, this is real, there are people who can do this stuff.

 

[gpietersz]

I do not mean to suggest you are paranoid.

If he uses tracking devices there are things to find them. There are apps that can detect Apple Airtags, for instance.

there are people who can do this stuff.

Yes, but it is not that easy and not that many of them. He must have a way into your network to keep doing it. Have you factory reset routers and wireless APs? Also worth checking whether the ones you have, have known vulnerabilities. If I was in your shoes I would route everything on your LAN through device set up just to be a firewall.

 

[IanSuth]

If I was in your shoes I would route everything on your LAN through device set up just to be a firewall.

This

Doesnt work anymore due to updates but in our old office we had a CentOs server with 2 physical network cards, all traffic in and out of the office had to go through that server. The adsl router was attached to one card and the network to the other.
Gaurddog running on it allowed us to shut down any port/protocol not physically needed at that exact point in time.
Not perfect but the web design company we sub let a few rooms to couldnt get in using any tools they had access to (they had their own adsl line so no shared infrastructure)

 

[Kerwin]

Anyone using a browser that isn't chromium based and isn't Firefox or Safari, it needs to run on Windows, Android and iOS?

It's a long shot I know, I have good reason to keep away from anything based on Chromium.

Lynx.

Lynx (web browser) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Edit: Just noticed it had already been suggested.

 

[estwig]

When I say devices near me, or on my car, this isn't an air tag, this is a mobile device, probably stolen, with a bigger battery attached and a bigger aerial, which is a piece of wire.

A cheap sim card, wrap it up in Tupperware and duck tape, you got a device constantly tracking my location if it's on the car and constantly probing my wifi and bluetooth, if it's near the house.

These are not easy problems to solve, IT security guys are useless, they can't get their head around the thinking and motivation behind this. Too blinkered!

 

[BustersDogs]

I use Opera, but no idea if it works on ios though as I don't have anything i. It's been my main browser for about 20 years.

ETA Ignore this, I read the rest of the thread now.

 

[IanSuth]

Are you sure he has actually planted a device on you and isnt just using one of many apps that allow him to track you through your android phone ? Look at umobix for example

Most are marketed at allowing you to covertly monitor your teenage children....

 

[estwig]

This is all way above air tags, apps to track your kids, poor passwords, open ports, permission settings wrong for sharing, etc, etc.

My ex fella is highly intelligent, creative and well on the wrong side of sane, he doesn't think or perceive life like other people do. He is somewhere on the spectrum. This alone creates a problem, to add to it, from the age of about 12 years old he was hacking nintendo gameboys, he is now 42, this is his thing.

He is the reason you should never logon to public wifi, or have a thing for bad boys!

 

[OMGVape]

If he’s already done prison time for doing this to you, have you reported him again?

 

[IanSuth]

This is all way above air tags, apps to track your kids, poor passwords, open ports, permission settings wrong for sharing, etc, etc.

My ex fella is highly intelligent, creative and well on the wrong side of sane, he doesn't think or perceive life like other people do. He is somewhere on the spectrum. This alone creates a problem, to add to it, from the age of about 12 years old he was hacking nintendo gameboys, he is now 42, this is his thing.

He is the reason you should never logon to public wifi, or have a thing for bad boys!

Some of those apps are very insidious, do some reading up so you can protect yourself from them

i agree if he is out on licence, talk to his parole officer, get him recalled or at least fire a warning shot across his bows.

 

[estwig]

One of the really difficult things about 'stalking', is whenever it gets mentioned, it is important to talk about it to make others aware. To me he is a nuisance, to others he could be a real menace. It needs to be discussed so people understand that this does happen, it needs to be out in the open.

The problem comes in that people start making all kinds of useful suggestions, which are appreciated, but at the same time with over two years of dealing with this, the suggestions are useless. This leaves the 'victim' with the problem of keep saying, no that won't work, or no that isn't the problem, or no the problem is a lot more complex than just an app!

It's a lot easier to just keep quiet and deal with it.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

A couple of random thoughts:

• what does he aim to achieve / what are you concerned about him achieving?
• if you have done everything you say you have to protect yourself, and he still has access to your IT, presumably, he could edit / delete what you're posting on here?
• per @IanSuth suggestion, if you have evidence, take that evidence to his parole officer and copy to police and CPS.
• Belt and braces, but powering everything down and using a different laptop tethered to a PAYG mobile would give you the anonymity you need, but back to the first point, only useful if the aggro (and cost) outweighs that.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

IIRC(?) ideally you could you have steered the builder who was vandalising your cars to the ex who is stalking you and solve two problems at once?

 

[ctrlbrk]

This is all way above air tags, apps to track your kids, poor passwords, open ports, permission settings wrong for sharing, etc, etc.

My ex fella is highly intelligent, creative and well on the wrong side of sane, he doesn't think or perceive life like other people do. He is somewhere on the spectrum. This alone creates a problem, to add to it, from the age of about 12 years old he was hacking nintendo gameboys, he is now 42, this is his thing.

He is the reason you should never logon to public wifi, or have a thing for bad boys!

Hacking is a crime - have you reported him to the police?

 

[estwig]

IIRC(?) ideally you could you have steered the builder who was vandalising your cars to the ex who is stalking you and solve two problems at once?

It's the same person, I made up the builder bit, it's tough to discuss these things.

 

[gpietersz]

A cheap sim card, wrap it up in Tupperware and duck tape, you got a device constantly tracking my location if it's on the car and constantly probing my wifi and bluetooth, if it's near the house

There are ways to detect those devices - there are mobile apps that will do it. They may not work if its not trying to connect to anything, but it sounds like it is. Wifi should be pretty secure. I suggest you use cables for whatever you can (desktops, regular places you put laptops) just in case. Reduce bluetooth use too.

The problem comes in that people start making all kinds of useful suggestions, which are appreciated, but at the same time with over two years of dealing with this, the suggestions are useless

Speaking for myself I can make suggestions about the technical problem of securing your network. The good thing about this is that finding a device like that is pretty good evidence you are being stalked. Forensics on the device is likely to find evidence that it being used (probably as a relay) to attack your LAN - if he has planted a phone with cracking tools or similar in your car its pretty solid evidence he is trying to crack your network or devices.

These are not easy problems to solve, IT security guys are useless, they can't get their head around the thinking and motivation behind this. Too blinkered!

What have the IT security guys you have tried actually done?

 

[estwig]

Thank you everyone for the help, suggestions and advice, these are the same conversations I have had many times with the police, social services, victim support, friends and family. It doesn't get anywhere, I shouldn't have mentioned it, it just so much easier to get on with it and not involve anyone else.

On a more positive note I've ordered an iPhone 13 pro max, moving away from android will close another door on him. I may eventually dump windows too, go all out for Apple.

To bring the thread back on topic, no surprise I can't get away from Firefox or chromium, to go a bit left field and make things more difficult for him, I'm using Yandex. It's a very pretty browser, chromium based, seems very good, they nearly all are these days.

 

[gpietersz]

On a more positive note I've ordered an iPhone 13 pro max, moving away from android will close another door on him. I may eventually dump windows too, go all out for Apple.

I would be interested in knowing whether that works. I suspect that with targetted attacks OS makes less difference than with automated ones.

I can't get away from Firefox or chromium, to go a bit left field and make things more difficult for him

You seem to have missed by comment about Webkit browsers: apart from Safari, there are Otter, midori, falkon and others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_web_browsers#WebKit-based

 

[Nico Albrecht]

iPhone 13 pro max, moving away from android will close another door on him. I may eventually dump windows too, go all out for Apple.

Great going down the route with Apple products makes it even easier for him to track and hack you. Apples track record for security and privacy is poor in the last couple years. At best with security on par with Android and Windows or even worst at the moment. Just the likes of Pegasus and checkm8ate comes to my mind and a never ending list of other exploits. Safari leaking data from youir phone and much more fun stuff.


For the rest if anybody would really have checked your hacking stuff and done some recommendations you would have started upgrading your tech with some decent stuff. Step one get fpsense firewall router. Ports on routers do not open randomly not buying that.

Hacking a Gameboy, no skill required a monkey can do that, breaking through modern routers that are not ISP supplied very hard.

Can be done but would req. a lot of resources which leads back to fpsense firewalls. At this stage it's game over running one.

Wifi with wpa2 encryption as rock solid as it can get very few flaws and most have been patched years ago. Most some ISP routers might not have been patched but the likes of Cisco, Jupiter, Draytek etc.. done and patched.

Blocking wifi cams with a jammer. He needs to be very close to you under 10meters and this jamming would cause a lot of other interference as well. If he would use higher performing jammers with bigger ranges and you soon would have a visit from several UK authorities including the aviation authorities asking tons of questions.

My best advise don't fall for Apples marketing, their tech and security is poor at best. Your iphone 13 on IOS 16 can be broken in less than 2 days. Just saying not as secure as people think brainwashed by Apple marketing.

 

[estwig]

I'm not the one who's' done anything wrong here, your attitude isn't appreciated!

You seem to have missed by comment about Webkit browsers: apart from Safari, there are Otter, midori, falkon and others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_web_browsers#WebKit-based

Appreciate your efforts, thank you.

Webkit stuff is too techy for me, I risk creating more problems, possibly creating more vulnerabilities than I solve.

 

[gpietersz]

Webkit stuff is too techy for me

Confused by that.Did I not make it clear that all you have to do is install a browser, which is what you wanted to do in the original post.

 

[gpietersz]

Hacking a Gameboy, no skill required a monkey can do that

I was wondering about that. Do not know much about them, but a Gameboy from decades ago does not sound like something that would have particularly good security.

Incidentally, typo: I am pretty sure you meant pfsense, not fpsense.

I'm not the one who's' done anything wrong here, your attitude isn't appreciated!

@Nico Albrecht is just telling you the facts.

Your ex may claim to be some sort of super cracker who can get through any security. I do not believe it. Everything you say about him contradicts that. For example:

A cheap sim card, wrap it up in Tupperware and duck tape

I could easily put together something with better wifi hardware for the purpose and harder to find or identify even though it is definitely not my area. Why is this guy who is so good at it using something that crude and obvious?

I think he has convinced you that he is really skilled and you are interpreting everything in that light - i.e. confirmation bias. At the moment you seem to be trying things at random that you have heard of (trying a different browser, two routers, switching from Android to Apple). You need to calm down and re-evaluate and then get some advice.

Incidentally, the pfsense firewalls Nico recommended are based on a far more security minded version of the operating system apple based theirs on, further secured to act as firewalls. They are far more likely to defend your network than anything from Apple.

 

[estwig]

He never convinced me of anything, he never spoke of any of this.

My point about the gameboy was, 30 years ago he started out hacking them, now 30 years on he has progressed considerably, in something he enjoys and is good at.

This is all very different to anything you guys have seen before, he is not motivated to steal my data, blackmail me, there is no ransom. He is motivated to spy on me and disrupt my life, he is putting considerable effort into doing this.

Originally he was charged with, 4 counts of criminal damage to my car total cost of £15k, one count of criminal damage to my house £1k, two counts of assault with a weapon twice he tried to stab me and one count of stalking. Despite having considerable evidence they dropped all the charges, I suspect some kind of plea deal was made, he grassed someone, except the stalking for which he did 6 months. I have a lifetime county court restraining order against him.

Things have been difficult for me over the last two years, I'm still here, I'm still playing lots of tennis!

I will look into pfsense thank you.