Which browser is recommended?

[Charles_NL]

Hi all,

Which browser is recommended for Linux Mint?
I use Firefox now, but is Chrome or Chromium (Chrome but with a different name?) better?
Or a different browser recommended? Or must I don't change of browser of Linux? And why?

[athi]

You can install other browsers (Chrome, Chromium, Opera etc.) if you want, most browsers have .deb installer available. I use Firefox with DuckDuckGo for most of my browsing for the improved privacy. However, I always install Chrome on my machines but minimize usage due to Google data logging practice since there are sites that does work better in Chrome.

[RIH]

Like most things in Linux it is your choice.
I was a long time user of Firefox while I was using Windows (hated IE & its replacement) so used that when I switched to Mint.
After a couple of years & updates I found Firefox to require that I booted my machine a lot more often than I wanted to - otherwise the internet slowed to a crawl.
So I had a look around & Opera suited me to a T,
I have used it for the last 3 years & am still very happy with it but that is me & my equipment & how I use a browser, for someone else it might be a disaster.
However, that is the beauty of Linux - you use what suits you & your kit, not what someone else thinks you should do.

[Schultz]

I recommend Pale Moon.

[Pjotr]

Whatever you choose: I recommend to stick to the big ones. Firefox, Chrome, Chromium or Opera.

Only the big ones get enough and timely security maintenance from their large security developer teams. The small ones simply don't have the manpower to keep it up. Note that your web browser is, by far, the most attacked piece of software on your machine....

[DAMIEN1307]

just for chuckles here...lol...i use a "small" fry browser known as "Brave"...have no idea how small their staff is but find it very surprising that i get browser updates from them before getting updates from my backup "Chromium" browser which i naturally thought would provide updates first being one of the "big" browser outfits...DAMIEN

[carum carvi]

Whatever you choose: I recommend to stick to the big ones. Firefox, Chrome, Chromium or Opera.Only the big ones get enough and timely security maintenance from their large security developer teams.

Very good argument. Security is number 1 for me as well in choosing my browser. Not so long ago research has shown that Firefox was best protected against the many variants of Spectre and Meltdown.

Chrome is based upon the open source Chromium. Opera and Brave are based on Chromium as well. If you love Google and use Gmail etc then it might be an interesting choice, because it has perfect integration for anything Google related. If you value privacy, I wont recommend Chrome though. I have tried Chromium once and it just feels like Windows, because I was constantly discovering more data settings that wanted to snoop information.

Firefox is an open source project. The last big independent browser on earth. I really want to support that, besides it being a great browser, that just does everything I want, with great secure privacy settings on top of that.

[Charles_NL]

Thank you for the answers!
Firefox is a good browser for Linux, and for me
Another one not needed.

[MrGrimm]

hands down vivaldi. matter of fact they just released a new version today.

[Schultz]

Pjotr wrote:
Whatever you choose: I recommend to stick to the big ones. Firefox, Chrome, Chromium or Opera.

This is one of the rare times I disagree with you.
What were those Pink Floyd lyrics . . . all in all you're just another brick in the wall.

[MrGrimm]

Pjotr wrote:
Whatever you choose: I recommend to stick to the big ones. Firefox, Chrome, Chromium or Opera.

This is one of the rare times I disagree with you.
What were those Pink Floyd lyrics . . . all in all you're just another brick in the wall.

agree with you 1,000,000%. firefox is heaping steaming pile of you can guess what since they switched their addon engine. chrome is only good as a base for others like vivaldi, brave, and opera. all three far superior to chrome.

[pbear]

Another one not needed.

There's a value to having a backup browser, in case your primary stops working temporarily for whatever reason. I always have one.

[majpooper]

Whatever you choose: I recommend to stick to the big ones. Firefox, Chrome, Chromium or Opera.

Only the big ones get enough and timely security maintenance from their large security developer teams. The small ones simply don't have the manpower to keep it up. Note that your web browser is, by far, the most attacked piece of software on your machine....

I concur with Pjotr - as a big fan of Steve Gibson's weekly "Security Now" podcast it seems other security "experts" back this up.
I certainly do not pass myself off as a security expert but find the topic interesting enough that I follow it, read about it watch videos etc. to the point of actually applying quite a few security tweaks - for example, PiHole Server, VPN, Y router configuration. I just mention this only to make Pjotr's point that "your web browser is, [INDEED, my emphasis] by far, the most attacked piece of software on your machine (your router is a vulnerability as well - but that is a other kettle of fish). The security attackers come from all directions, from state actors to the guy in his mom,s basement - and it is relentless - so yeah it does take a Mozilla or Google or MS that have the vast resources to provide an adequate defence - and often that is not even enough.

[phd21]

Hi Charles_NL,

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

The recommended or default browser for Linux Mint is Firefox and it is already installed in all editions of Linux Mint.

I always recommend that people install more than one browser like Google's Chrome browser because there is always a chance that an update may temporarily cause some issue(s) with your main browser and you can then just use the other browser until they fix or updated whatever the isssue(s) are. Also, because some websites may not necessarily work or work well in Firefox but will in Chrome or visa-versa.

I have many browsers installed to test them for myself and others in this forum. So far, my favorite browsers are "Vivaldi" (Chromium based) and "Slimjet" (Chrome - chromium) because both have excellent features and are updated frequently.

Hope this helps ...

[MrGrimm]

Hi Charles_NL,

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

The recommended or default browser for Linux Mint is Firefox and it is already installed in all editions of Linux Mint.

I always recommend that people install more than one browser like Google's Chrome browser because there is always a chance that an update may temporarily cause some issue(s) with your main browser and you can then just use the other browser until they fix or updated whatever the isssue(s) are. Also, because some websites may not necessarily work or work well in Firefox but will in Chrome or visa-versa.

I have many browsers installed to test them for myself and others in this forum. So far, my favorite browsers are "Vivaldi" (Chromium based) and "Slimjet" (Chrome - chromium) because both have excellent features and are updated frequently.

Hope this helps ...

can't agree with you. firefox like i said IS a heaping steaming pile of you can guess what since they switched their addons engine. if peeps are going to install more than one browser i personally recommend vivaldi, brave, opera, and then chrome. myself in order: vivaldi-stable, vivaldi-snapshot, brave, chrome. as for websites not wanting to work with a particular browser use a user agent switcher, i'm using "User-Agent Switcher and Manager
0.3.2".

[Schultz]

This is getting off topic, but why stop at using only the big named browsers? If that really makes sense (which I don't believe it does), we should all be using the only big named OS. Now I know nobody here agrees with that, right?

[Pierre]

just lately, it seems that I've taken an liking for SlimJet,
as that still has an 32 bit version, that will install as an *.deb file, on this LM18x 32 bit system.

but, on another partition, were LM19x 64bit, does reside, is an copy of the Brave Browser.


it's that Firefox, that is still my main web browser, though.

[Benedetto]

I am sure this question has arisen before and my choice of browser has not changed since I replied to a previous thread.
I use Opera in my desktop, laptop and Android tablet. I have used it for many years - eve when I had Windows o/s.
Firefox is available, as it comes with Linux Mint, but I do not use it, however it is there as a standby as other posters suggest.
I have tried Vivaldi, did not care for it and nether did the smaller ones available to Linux users appeal to me.
Opera syncs over all three of my technologies. I do not save passwords and other important details with any form of banking or sensitive sites.

[kc1di]

my vote is for Opera it's smooth and does everything I need. FF is good but just seems slow to me. In any event the one you choose should meet your needs securely.

[MrGrimm]

In any event the one you choose should meet your needs securely.

EXACTLY