How to Make Vivaldi Browser Portable: Sharing Between Desktop and Laptop
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I've been experimenting with launching Vivaldi using specific command-line switches, specifically --disable-encryption and --disable-machine-id, to tailor my browsing experience for development purposes. However, it seems these switches are not taking effect as expected.
I'm diving into the possibilities of using Vivaldi in a portable setup, aiming to seamlessly switch between my desktop and laptop while retaining all settings, extensions, and personal customizations. The core idea is to maintain a consistent browsing environment across devices, making my workflow as mobile and flexible as possible without the need to reconfigure settings or reinstall extensions every time I switch devices.
I'm reaching out to see if anyone has successfully used these or similar switches with Vivaldi, or if there are alternative methods within Vivaldi to achieve the same outcomes.
Could anyone share insights or guide me on how to achieve a fully portable Vivaldi setup? I'm particularly interested in any tried and tested methods or tools that facilitate this kind of portability, ensuring that my entire browsing environment can be carried over on a USB stick or through cloud sync.Has anyone encountered this issue or found a workaround? Any insight or guidance would be greatly appreciated. I'm all for learning more about how Vivaldi handles these under-the-hood settings and whether there's a different approach I should consider.
Thanks in advance for your help and looking forward to any suggestions you might have?
PS.
I want to clarify that syncing through a Vivaldi account is not an option for me, as it doesn't sync extension settings to my satisfaction. Additionally, for those concerned about security, rest assured I am not engaging in any illegal activities and I use Vivaldi on AES-512 encrypted data storage devices, with encryption keys of such length that they are considered secure against quantum computers, so there are no safety concerns to worry about. -
@mavorte The Chromium core uses the encryption key from your Windows user and encrypts data.
You can not port this to an other Windows user, other PC or OS.There is no Portable version of Chromium and Vivaldi.
If that could be done easily Vivaldi devs would have implemented such.You should upvote with thumb button at https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/85034/please-do-vivaldi-full-portable-with-pass-logins-save/1
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@DoctorG Indeed, Google does restrict such capabilities to users, anchoring us to devices because they need to pinpoint our identity to tailor advertisements
However, there's a workaround since there exists a browser on portaapps.io (not to be confused with portableapps) that has specific functions disabled and is optimized for portability.
Contrary to what you've mentioned, it's evident that there are solutions out there.
I'd love to implement this, but with the Vivaldi browser instead of Brew, as Vivaldi is the browser that really appeals to me. -
@DoctorG I've been using this switches that work perfectly on Brave, but for some reason, they don't seem to function on Vivaldi.
Has anyone else encountered this issue? If you've managed to get them working on Vivaldi, could you share your insights?Looking forward to your tips.
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@mavorte I guess Brave patched their browser to be able to do this.
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@mavorte Won't work. But I'm still a bit confused about the whole chromium portability matter.
@DoctorG Brave and some other have clearly some patches to allow portability (disabling totally the encryption on request) but on the other side they doesn't officially support portability because all user data will be in plain text likely even for sync and the extensions, so is probably why they pretend doesn't exist. -
@Hadden89 I'll do my best to clarify the whole issue surrounding chromium or vivaldi etc portability .
Someone who creates a portable version isn't just an ordinary user; they know exactly what they're doing. For instance, I have a portable version of Brave installed on an AES encrypted drive, so my data is definitely not in plain text.
Ideally, chromium based browsers, would allow for data encryption that encrypts all contents while also letting users decrypt it by entering a password. Unfortunately, it's unclear why this feature hasn't been implemented, leaving the encryption out of the user's control.
I'm grappling with an issue regarding data encryption and control. I don't understand why, when someone encrypts my data in such a way that I can't decrypt it, I'm left without any control over it.
It seems to me that corporations might deliberately avoid giving users control over their data because they prefer to manage it themselves, thus maintaining control over us. However, there are a small percentage of users who are aware of this and refuse to allow corporations to control their data, choosing instead to manage it themselves.I wanted to add a note about the risks of losing a laptop, especially one with windows, which often isn't encrypted with BitLocker or any other. Losing such a device can easily lead to someone taking control of our browsers, then email, and other without much hassle.
given these, I believe that using a portable version on an AES-encrypted drive offers a much safer alternative. This setup significantly enhances security, safeguarding our personal information from unauthorized access. -
@mavorte Yeah, but most users of portables are not aware of these kind of things and will install it on their home laptop without encryption, sync they data, maybe even with admin rights and questionable addons with data permissions. So is always better to remark that. Said such, I'm not against portables at all or defending chromium encryption.
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@Hadden89
Just to clarify, you can't install a portable ver. and disable encryption and device identification unknowingly. To accomplish these actions, you need to use specific switches and download the appropriate version of the software. Therefore, it's not something that happens accidentally. Users who set up their systems this way are typically well aware of what they're doing and have intentionally chosen to implement these settings.I think what Brave has done is quite sensible, for users who don't need portable version features and aren't particularly tech-savvy, the lack of certain functionalities won't be an issue because they likely won't be aware of these possibilities. At the same time, Brave doesn't restrict advanced users from accessing the possibilities they care about. This approach provides a balanced user experience, catering both to those who prefer simplicity and to those who require more control.
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@DoctorG, actually, there are a few Chromium-based browsers which are 100% portable, meaning they keep all passwords, all settings, and all extensions and their settings, and everything else. I know this because I only use portable browsers, and I have been using two of these 100% portable browsers. I have been using "Catsxp portable browser", for a year, and "Cent portable browser", for 5 years now. Again, they are 100% portable; however, since two days ago, Vivaldi has become my favourite browser due to its customisation capabilities, as I LOVE using my own icons on the browser, which is something one cannot do with either "Catsxp" or "Cent". Therefore, I too am looking very much forward to finding a Vivaldi version, or an implementation to one, which is 100% portable
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@mavorte, I too wish to have a Vivaldi version which is 100% portable and keeps everything, for I only use portable browsers, and I LOVE being able to use my own icons on Vivaldi. You are correct that it is doable, because a few Chromium-based browsers are 100% portable, and I use two of them, namely "Catsxp" and "Cent".
Would you be so kind as to explain what these switches are, and how one would go about implementing them? I totally understand that they have yet to yield any success, but I would like to give them a shot anyway. Thanks in advance.
I have only been using Vivaldi for two days now, but Yesterday I did read on Google about those switches that force Vivaldi not to use SID.
Regards,
ElaHeart -
@mavorte said in How to Make Vivaldi Browser Portable: Sharing Between Desktop and Laptop:
Could anyone share insights or guide me on how to achieve a fully portable Vivaldi setup?
@ElaHeart said in How to Make Vivaldi Browser Portable: Sharing Between Desktop and Laptop:
I too wish to have a Vivaldi version which is 100% portable
https://github.com/Bush2021/chrome_plus/releases
https://gitflic.ru/project/neyrostalker/proksi-biblioteka/file?file=Bin&branch=master
https://github.com/ca-x/vivaldi_plus/releases -
@Capushon, thanks
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@Capushon, what does the specific dll file "Version.dll" do, and where does one place it within Vivaldi portable?
I thought we were meant to replace the one in Vivaldi portable with this one in order to make Vivaldi 100% Portable, but I found no such file in Vivaldi portable
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@ElaHeart said in How to Make Vivaldi Browser Portable: Sharing Between Desktop and Laptop:
what does the specific dll file "Version.dll" do, and where does one place it within Vivaldi portable?
Version.dll should be located next to vivaldi.dll
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@Capushon, neither "version.dll" nor "version x64.dll" exists anywhere in the Vivaldi installation folder and subfolders; nevertheless, although I am using Vivaldi x64, I did copy both "version.dll" and "version x64.dll", in two separate instances of Vivaldi of course, to the folder where "Vivaldi.dll" resides, and then reinstalled Windows, but unfortunately my passwords and extensions were not kept. The only thing I may have done wrong was placing "version.dll" in Vivaldi x64; however, I did use "version x64.dll" in the other instance of Vivaldi x64, in other words both Vivaldis were x64, and none x86, but again, "at least "version x64.dll" should have worked.
Am I supposed to do something else in addition to placing "version.dll" where "Vivaldi.dll" is?
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@ElaHeart said in How to Make Vivaldi Browser Portable: Sharing Between Desktop and Laptop:
Am I supposed to do something else in addition to placing "version.dll" where "Vivaldi.dll" is?
The profile must be in the Data folder. You need to configure the profile after version.dll is placed in the folder with vivaldi.dll.
version.dll - prevents the Chrome engine from changing user IDs when changing hardware. -
@Capushon, what I had forgotten to mention in my previous reply is that not only did I place "version.dll" where "vivaldi.dll" is, but I also did place the file "chrome++.ini", which I had downloaded from your link, in the same folder, and like I had said before to no avail.
However, I decided to place both "version.dll" and "chrome++.ini" in five different locations within the Vivaldi standalone installation folder and subfolders, and then I reinstalled Windows, and Voila, all my passwords and extensions were beautifully and completely kept, so now thanks to you I get to keep my favourite browser Vivaldi. Thank you so, so much.
Maybe either both files or just "chrome++.ini" needed to be placed somewhere else other than where "Vivaldi.dll" resides. Now, I do not know which of the five subfolders I used ended up being the correct one, but that is absolutely no problem at all, because I can just keep using all five until I have time to find out.
You have made me very happy, so again, thank you very much
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I would really like a truly portable Vivaldi too. I use FireFox portable and the entire thing is in one folder I can cut/copy/paste the entire thing anywhere I please. Its so supremely useful.
I enjoyed the massive amount of customization that Vivaldi has but when I realized it cannot offer a Portable version I had to uninstall. However I do swing by the forums to check now and then!
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Very experimental to use foreign patched DLLs!
I fear some users can run into issues with Security Tools as patched DLLs are not signed by Vivaldi company's code signature.
