Should I Enable Google Safe Browsing?
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I have searched high and low, but am having difficulty finding any convincing opinions on this. Vivaldi is built around the Chromium rendering engine, and should be reasonably isolated from the Google data-harvesting machine. However, like Firefox, Vivaldi has incorporated the Google Safe Browsing web-site-blacklisting service. GSB seems like a great idea on the surface, but does it create any security/privacy risk? I see that I can disable "Help Improve Safe Browsing," which appears to limit some amount of feedback to Google. But is there still some residual interaction going on?
If I am running uMatrix and/or uBlock Origin, will their blacklists be as good as or better than those of GSB? How about Avast Online Security?
I've been trying to get any authoritative opinions on this, but even Heimdal and other security firms seem to skirt the issue of the best way to blacklist malware and phishing sites.
Thanks, in advance, for any helpful advice.
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I can't back this up, but IIRC I've read somewhere (here on the forum, said by a Vivaldi Team member) that no personal information is sent to Google ever.
The Google Safe Browsing feature only receives the URL you try to access so that it can verify it, and not your IP address or any other information that they can harvest.Will see if I can find the source for this.
Edit: Found the post. You can read it here: https://forum.vivaldi.net/post/177280
I remembered things the wrong way around. The URL you are on is never sent to Google's servers (they only send parts of a hash made from it). Google gets the IP, though, as it's impossible to avoid that without using VPN or a middle-man. -
Thanks to Komposten for that encouraging feedback. Obviously, GSB must communicate with Google's servers, in order to download the blacklists. I guess we sort of trust Google that there's nothing else going on, as long as we disable "Help Improve Safe Browsing," which presumably uploads info to Google.
Various security-conscious observers have suggested uBlock Origin or uMatrix as alternatives. I just don't know how their blacklists stack up against Google's. I'll report back in here if I learn anything more definitive, in case it might help other Vivaldi users.
Thanks for helping me with your constructive feedback. Very much appreciated!
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Ahh, I see you were posting while I was writing my response to you. Thanks for the update. I will check it out!
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Thanks, again, to Komposten for that additional information. That is really a useful reference, and it helps my understanding of how GSB actually works.
I wonder if there are problems created by using GSB and uBlock Origin together.
I have read elsewhere that, when using uMatrix and uBO, one should remove items from the uBO blacklists whenever they duplicate ones in uMatrix, in order to avoid problems. I've not yet found anything on avoiding conflicts with GSB. I'll keep digging.
This is not an issue of paranoia. I just want to do a reasonable job of securing Vivaldi, as I spend a LOT of time researching on the internet.
Thanks, again, for your kind help.
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Just to add a bit more to this thread (in case anyone else cares), I came across a discussion on how GSB functions in Firefox. Presumably, the basic functionality is the same in Vivaldi. The discussion is here: https://www.monperrus.net/martin/anti-phishing-protection-without-google-safebrowsing
while details are found here:
https://feeding.cloud.geek.nz/posts/how-safe-browsing-works-in-firefox/ -
@Iggy64 In my opinion, leaving "Google Phishing and Malware Protection" enabled has minimal privacy risks and I use that in addition to the filters and block lists provided by uBlock Origin or uMatrix.
Also, what version of Vivaldi are you using that you still have a "Help Improve Safe Browsing" setting that you can enable or disable? On my Vivaldi installations, this has been locked in the "disabled" position in the browser's underlying Chromium settings and the corresponding setting has also been removed from the Vivaldi Privacy settings UI.
I see that I can disable "Help Improve Safe Browsing," which appears to limit some amount of feedback to Google.
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@vorayer said in Should I Enable Google Safe Browsing?:
must decide for a time being like a man
Satire, i hope?
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@Iggy64 said in Should I Enable Google Safe Browsing?:
when using uMatrix and uBO
Not authoritive, merely a personal opinion, but fyi the day i began using uMatrix [after learning how to use it] was the day that i disabled uBO. I did not want to risk some esoteric possibility of them fighting each other & degrading my browsing experience.
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@Gwen-Dragon I know. Initially i found it too hard to understand, which was why i used uBO for ages, but eventually i learned lots about the adVANCED FEATURES IN Ubo, WHICH WAS VERY HELPFUL TO THEN MAKE THE TRANSITION TO Um <<OMZ - a sudden attack of out of control capslock, eeek>> Now i really love using uM -- its fine granular control is superb.
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@Gwen-Dragon Once more i agree with you, IMO the uBO UI design is poor, coz as you said it's unintuitive. However, hidden away inside the Advanced section is a link to the Dev's instructions, & using those helped me to learn... which i later applied to uM when i taught myself about that. IMO the uM UI is much more intuitive than uBO. FYI:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Dynamic-filtering#start-of-content
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Advanced-settings
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Advanced-user-features
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Dynamic-filtering:-quick-guide <--- ### -
I have had GSB and all other g services turned off in all browsers I've used for several years without any serious side effects.
uBlock has served me well (although with what I consider a steep learning curve) as well as nanoAdBlocker/Defender and other services including my AV.
Ultimately the decision is up to you but I thought I'd let you know what others are doing.
