Best web browser on Windows

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NYCaviator
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Best web browser on Windows

Post by NYCaviator »

Recent Windows convert (not by choice). I am used to, and really like, Safari on Mac. What is the best browser to use on Windows? I have a Google account, though not thrilled about using their products, but it seems like Chrome is the only browser to offer a sync with iCloud passwords. Is Chrome OK to use from a privacy/safety standpoint? Any others I should check out? I read about Brave, but I don't think I can sync my passwords and I don't want to pay for a new password manager.
dukeblue219
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by dukeblue219 »

It depends on what you mean by OK.

Chrome isn't malware obviously, and it's fast and works well, but a lot of people are unhappy with how Google has handled some as-friendly tracking lately.

Edge is an even better browser than Chrome with less Google, based on the same Chromium core, but Microsoft is being Microsoft and making some dumb choices with it suddenly, like integrating a "Bill Me Later" feature and making it hard to make other browsers the default. Any Chrome extension will work with Edge.

Firefox is not very popular any longer with average users, but is very extensible and more private than the others.

Brave is the most "private" of the list but by far the least commonly used. It uses Chromium underneath like Chrome and Edge. The thing is, if you truly want private browsing youre going to have to avoid the big search engines and the major web properties entirely.
carolinaman
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by carolinaman »

I use Edge and Chrome on Win 11 PC. I use Edge for most things but prefer Chrome for searches.
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JoeRetire
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by JoeRetire »

NYCaviator wrote: Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:51 amWhat is the best browser to use on Windows?
Obviously, "best" is subjective. Chrome has by far the largest market share.
Is Chrome OK to use from a privacy/safety standpoint?
Yes.
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khangaroo
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by khangaroo »

I usually default to Chrome because of all my passwords but have started to recently use Edge for work because of the vertical tabs after seeing a co-worker use them. It does provided for faster toggling between PDF and different websites/software.
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markjk
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by markjk »

I'd say the two best options are Edge and Chrome. So, maybe do a comparison between the two through your normal daily flow to see which is better for you. As already mentioned earlier in the thread, Edge and Chrome are very similar under the covers. So, it depends more on the design and user features of the two browsers that matter to you. Try one for a week or two. Then try the other for a week or two. Maybe break it up a different way but give them both a try for an extended period of time and then decide. You can install Edge or Chrome on Mac as well so once you get used to one of them, you could carry either back to the Mac as well.

For context on my experiences, at home I tend to use both Safari and Chrome on the Mac (but mostly Safari). I use mostly Chrome on Windows but will at times use Edge as well. I'm not too locked into any one browser so for me, it works to just bounce around. Plus, bouncing around keeps the interface a bit fresh. At work, it's all Chrome on Windows.
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riverant
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by riverant »

I like Edge. Though MS has recently implemented an annoying shopping plugin that pop up with questionable similar items everytime I go to a product page. I’m assuming I can turn it off.
runner3081
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by runner3081 »

I use Opera on Windows.
Broken Man 1999
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

Edge user on Windows 10 desktop.

Broken Man 1999
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galectin
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by galectin »

I have been using Vivaldi on both Windows 10 and Linux. My bookmarks are synced across all computers. It is working quite well for me.
falconsfan
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by falconsfan »

I use chrome for youtube only. Hate their tracking and other policies. Brave has been very good. Use bitwarden for passwords, deleted all saved chrome.
Fclevz
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by Fclevz »

Vivaldi
Bud
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by Bud »

SRWare - open source browser based on chrome with all the google tracking removed

Opera

Mozilla
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arcticpineapplecorp.
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by arcticpineapplecorp. »

i use firefox.

never had a problem.
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by Doom&Gloom »

Chrome (primary)
Brave
Edge
Firefox
Opera

Each are used daily--all except Chrome only for specific sites or functions.
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lthenderson
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by lthenderson »

I use Chrome but have and occasionally use Edge when I find a website that doesn't work well with Chrome. Doesn't happen so often anymore but in the earlier days, it happened quite a bit. Like transitioning between any major software packages, it isn't intuitively obvious how to set it up like you want exactly in the beginning but with a little bit of time, I think someone can get used to the settings on just about any software. Many people however just get the initial shock of change and throw in the towel.
dboeger1
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by dboeger1 »

"Best" is both subjective and personal. I'm a long-time Linux user who favored Firefox and Chrome, but honestly, Edge is so good now that I don't feel the need to replace it on my new Windows 11 laptop (I avoided IE like the plague for many years, so this is a welcome change). What I will say is that I would personally avoid any kind of browser-specific syncing features. It sounds wonderful to have all your stuff synced in theory, but in practice, I find that there's often some reason or edge case where I need to use a different browser on a different computer or VM, or I'm letting my spouse borrow my system and I don't want her to inadvertently mess with my settings. About a year ago, I started migrating all of my account information to Bitwarden, and I use Google Drive/Docs/Keep to store anything I want synced in the cloud, such as bookmarks. Then I just turn off all the auto suggestions in each of my browsers, install the relevant plugins, and I'm good to go.

One thing to keep in mind is that certain plugin/browser combinations don't work nicely together. For example, I used to have plugins for 3 different cash back portals on a single browser, and they sometimes conflicted with each other, so now I either just enable the one I'm wanting to use, or I have multiple browsers installed with different plugins configured on each. That's yet another reason to not tie any personal data to a specific browser provider.

There are also quite a few online bookmark / home page managers that let you basically create a personal page with things like bookmarks saved in it, so that you don't have to rely on your browser's bookmarking features. Some people have privacy concerns about such things, or they need to store private internal links for work. For something like that, I would consider just creating a local web page stored on your system. If I remember correctly, you can set most browsers to open a local file as the new tab home page.
Impatience
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by Impatience »

Edge and chrome are both great. You can configure them to turn off most of the questionable privacy things. If you have beefs with Microsoft AND Google then go with Firefox, that’s what comes installed on most Linux machines.
j9j
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by j9j »

All the major ones are good for security. For privacy, I only can recommend Firefox with unblock plugin.
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tuningfork
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by tuningfork »

I use Firefox as my main browser, and Edge occasionally.

Firefox has much better privacy than Edge or Chrome. It has a special container extension for Facebook that isolates all Facebook and Instagram browsing so that FB can't track you around the web as much. A few things manage to sneak through, but for the most part when I search for things at other sites I don't get ads from those sites following me around on FB.

Firefox also allows you to disable autoplay videos pretty much everywhere. Edge and Chrome autoplay too many videos for my taste. If I want to watch an embedded video I will click Play thank you very much.

Edge and Chrome are very similar. Both work well. The privacy issues are probably somewhat overblown, but Google or Microsoft will collect some data about your browsing habits, so choose your poison: Google or Microsoft. Since Edge is a standard part of Windows and will be used instead of your preferred browser in some situations, I decided I would just go with Edge and delete Chrome. No need for three browsers IMHO.

Whichever browser you use, you can greatly improve your privacy and security by using a privacy tracker blocker extension and an ad blocking extension. You'll see many different recommendations. I use Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin. They are both available for Firefox, Edge and Chrome.

Also recommended is a Password Manager to manage your passwords outside of the browser. I use Bitwarden but there are others that come highly recommended, such as 1Password and Lastpass. You can change browsers and devices and your passwords will be available everywhere, rather than tying you to a specific browser or OS.
jayjayc
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by jayjayc »

NYCaviator wrote: Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:51 am Is Chrome OK to use from a privacy/safety standpoint?
Chrome is the absolute worst browser from a privacy standpoint. It's built by Google and their goal is to gather as much data from you as possible for targeted ads. Firefox is the best browser for privacy.

All the major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, other Chromium based browsers) as long as they are kept updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technolo ... me-switch/
dmncs
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by dmncs »

Another recommendation for Vivaldi. It's incredibly customizable. Like every browser except Firefox, it's chromium based and it can use Chrome extensions. Only possible con is that there is no ios version.

I'd recommend giving a few browsers a try and song what you like best. They are all fine and it's easy to switch.
mancich
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by mancich »

Currently using Edge on Windows 10, and use DuckDuckGo as my search engine. Supposedly much more private than Google. I've used Brave and like it, but find on my desktop PC that sometimes it renders some pages in a funky way.
cheesepep
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by cheesepep »

I decided to do some of my browsing using Firefox now instead of Safari on my Mac. I also use the DuckDuckGo browser, but now use Firefox. Why? Browsing has becoming very annoying to me, mainly with window overlays and websites always insisting on opening a new window/tab instead of in the same window/tab. Firefox with its extension fixes this. Safari has been majorly hobbled ever since Safari 12 and I don't ever see it coming back. Firefox extensions also has content blocking which is very nice.
gavinsiu
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by gavinsiu »

Best depends on what you are after.

For compatibility, chrome is best because of market share. Despite every browser except Firefox and safari being chromium based, my workplace encountered compatibility issue with edge. Security is good but chrome is also a bigger target.

For privacy, I go with Firefox which is what I used. I also used containers to reduce tracking, so far I do not see containers on chrome. The big issues is some site break or demand to use chrome. If you want privacy with chromium, there is brave, but I still prefer Firefox.

If you use Mac or iOS, all browser uses WebKit and are the same as safari. I still use Firefox on macOS for extension. On iOS there is no point since extension are not allowed

There are other browser with specialized features like opera and Vivaldi, or even more hardened version of Firefox. I suggest you try them out to see what you like.
Target2019
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by Target2019 »

1. Firefox
2. Brave
3. Opera
4. Chrome

I segment my interests by browser. All but Opera include 1Password for managing passwords.
sycamore
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by sycamore »

gavinsiu wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 8:31 am ...
If you use Mac or iOS, all browser uses WebKit and are the same as safari.
Not exactly!

Chrome on iOS uses WebKit.

Chrome on macOS uses Blink.

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome

Browsers on macOS are not forced to use WebKit.
safari
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by safari »

From the privacy concern, Brave is probably the best. Personally I use Chrome, as it makes things easier for me since I am deeply entrenched into the Google ecosystem and Google already has all my data.
gavinsiu
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by gavinsiu »

sycamore wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:36 am Not exactly!

Chrome on iOS uses WebKit.

Chrome on macOS uses Blink.

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome

Browsers on macOS are not forced to use WebKit.
You are right. This is why I ran Firefox on the Mac and can do extensions
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yatesd
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Re: Best web browser on Windows

Post by yatesd »

My default browser on Mac is Safari and Edge on WIndows. Over time I find myself using Chrome less and less.
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