What browser can replace my Chrome?

abisert · Aug 21, 2016

Back in April, Google stopped giving Chrome updates to Windows XP and Vista. Since then, I've been trying to find a permanent browser to replace it.

I've used Opera, haven't tried Firefox yet, and I did look for more browsers. But, what do you think what browser will just be right for us Vista users to settle down for at the moment?

ilikefree · Aug 21, 2016

My choice is Pale Moon

https://www.palemoon.org/

virtual6 · Aug 21, 2016

ilikefree
My choice is Pale Moon

Ditto.

Then install the uBlock Origin extension (available as a Mozilla/Firefox download) for a reasonably clutter-free web experience.

Vistaar · Aug 21, 2016

We had an extensive discussion earlier this year in http://www.vistax64.com/browsers-ma...top-receiving-google-chrome-updates-soon.html

Opera 37 does not support Vista or XP, which is not surprising since it is Chromium-based. The obvious choice is Firefox, of which Pale Moon is essentially a variant. I do appreciate that Pale Moon did not end support for Vista when it ended support for XP; but Pale Moon seems more likely to end support for Vista after April 11 than Firefox, which still supports XP. Another concern of mine that was never discussed in the earler thread is whether security software that explicitly supports Firefox will also function properly with Pale Moon. Have any of you Pale Moon enthusiasts ever tested it at Feature Settings Check for Desktop Solutions Â» AMTSO, and if so using what antivirus?

ilikefree · Aug 22, 2016

I use MalwareBytes Anti Exploit, Avast, Key Scrambler and private firewall as my real-time protection and have never had a problem.
I have other tools and programs I run when I wish to be sure all is well
In my browser I use Adblock Latitude, Better Privacy, Ghostry, Element Hiding Helper For Adblock,and Hide My Ass.
I am going to remove HMA
I have been really happy with Pale Moon and don't intend changing.
I have also been known to use old versions of software without problems too ex. Foxit Reader

Cammygirl192 · Aug 22, 2016

If SeaMonkey was more updated I'd recommend that, but it hasn't been updated as a stable release since June or so and I can't.
However, I'm using it right now and I feel better than Pale Moon...

SM is very good browser and if you want a WYSIWYG editor this browser has the best one I've ever used.

Though check PM for more up-to-date work.

Vistaar · Aug 22, 2016

ilikefree said:
I use MalwareBytes Anti Exploit, Avast, [etc. etc.] and have never had a problem.

Good for you! MalwareBytes Anti-Exploit claims to support "Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and more." How did you determine that it actually works with Pale Moon? I can't seem to find a list of browsers that are supported by Avast, although their Browser Cleanup supports only Chrome, Firefox and IE. Have you tested Avast with Pale Moon at Feature Settings Check for Desktop Solutions Â» AMTSO?

As for myself, I use Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Firewall with Firefox. Not only have I never had a problem, I have tested it at AMTSO and it passed every relevant test except phishing. (Firefox does not have good antiphishing; what about Pale Moon?) MSE only claims to support IE and Firefox (see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/18869); so if anyone has tested MSE using Pale Moon or any other browser, I would be interested in hearing about it.

virtual6 · Aug 22, 2016

...it passed every relevant test except phishing.

I would not expect Firefox to pass this particular test because the AMTSO test page is considered a phishing page only by agreement with certain anti-malware software providers, Mozilla/Firefox not included in the list. Of and by itself the page is not harmful so Firefox allows it to be displayed.
Mozilla does provide a phishing test page for Firefox.

Vistaar · Aug 22, 2016

virtual6 said:
I would not expect Firefox to pass this particular test because the AMTSO test page is considered a phishing page only by agreement with certain anti-malware software providers, Mozilla/Firefox not included in the list.

Good point virtual6. If you are still using Norton Internet Security, which supports Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome (see https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v59829706_EndUserProfile_en_us), I would be interested in knowing how it performs at AMTSO using Pale Moon - or do you rely on Sandboxie to protect Pale Moon?

virtual6 · Aug 22, 2016

The Pale Moon / Norton combination performs the same as the Firefox / Norton in the AMTSO tests...except for phishing protection.
Phishing protection in Norton is provided by the Norton Toolbar add-on. The toolbar is only offered for very recent versions of Firefox and Norton Security, and doesn't seem to be offered for Pale Moon (via the Symantec LiveUpdate).
In addition, the phishing filters formerly in Pale Moon (which were implemented using Google SafeBrowsing) were removed when Google started charging a license fee. (These filters remain in Firefox, however.)
Here is a link to a Pale Moon discussion of the rationale for making that change:
https://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.php?t=4972

Norton is my first line of defense to hopefully block malware downloads, etc., mainly by their Intrusion Protection feature.
After closing the browser, Sandboxie will protect my system from any unintended changes made during the browsing session, like a bad downloaded file or malware that got past Norton, or a bad download decision on my part. Sandboxie will not prevent you from entering your personal information into a fraudulent site, for example, so you still have to aware of your actions.

Vistaar · Aug 22, 2016

virtual6 said:
The Pale Moon / Norton combination performs the same as the Firefox / Norton in the AMTSO tests...except for phishing protection.

That's good to know virtual6! Hopefully that might apply to other security software that explicitly supports Firefox but not Pale Moon, so perhaps I will stop giving you Pale Moon enthusiasts the third degree. Firefox has blocked a small number of web pages from time to time, most likely for malware rather than phishing. One of these days I'm going to turn my attention to Sandboxie, but let's not veer too far off topic now.

ilikefree · Aug 23, 2016

Vistaar said:
Good for you! MalwareBytes Anti-Exploit claims to support "Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and more." How did you determine that it actually works with Pale Moon? I can't seem to find a list of browsers that are supported by Avast, although their Browser Cleanup supports only Chrome, Firefox and IE. Have you tested Avast with Pale Moon at Feature Settings Check for Desktop Solutions Â» AMTSO?

As for myself, I use Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Firewall with Firefox. Not only have I never had a problem, I have tested it at AMTSO and it passed every relevant test except phishing. (Firefox does not have good antiphishing; what about Pale Moon?) MSE only claims to support IE and Firefox (see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/18869); so if anyone has tested MSE using Pale Moon or any other browser, I would be interested in hearing about it.

I don't use Avast browser cleanup, in fact I only use their basic antivirus and to be honest that's all most people will need.
MalwareBytes Anti-Exploit I have had installed since it first became available and that was before I started using PaleMoon.
Pale Moon and Firefox are compatible with each other.
I have used MSE in the past but choose to have something a little better so now use Avast. If Vista was supported by Avira Anti-Vir I would use that.
Private Firewall is a two way firewall I like as I find it easiest to use to stop programs like Windows Media Player accessing the internet. I don't want all the crap that comes with Windows accessing the internet so that is my way of controlling it. Just my way and not any sort of recommendation.
I don't know if what I'm doing works but I do know I haven't ever had a virus, or should I say found a virus, and I trust MalwareBytes Anti-Malware to do most of my checking for me.

I did test by trying to download the EICAR.com test file and Avast blocked it
AMTSO Phishing Test File was blocked too with Avast and Pale Moon so looks like it is a good combination. Testing finished now.

Vistaar · Aug 23, 2016

ilikefree said:
I don't...I only...I have...I started...I would...I like...I find...I do...I haven't...I say...I trust...I did...

If OP abisert installed all the free security software that you prefer, could he safely use Chrome 49 indefinitely - in which case this entire discussion might be moot? If not, he might like to know why Pale Moon is your choice.

ilikefree · Aug 24, 2016

If he used Pale Moon with Avast he would have better protection than he would if he used Firefox with Norton.

I said earlier why Pale Moon is my choice
(Like an earlier version of Firefox with the advantage most add-on's work with it)

I can also add it has passed all tests on here with Avast.

Feature Settings Check for Desktop Solutions Â» AMTSO

ilikefree · Aug 24, 2016

Vistaar said:
If OP abisert installed all the free security software that you prefer, could he safely use Chrome 49 indefinitely - in which case this entire discussion might be moot? If not, he might like to know why Pale Moon is your choice.

OP didn't ask if he could use Chrome 49 indefinitely he asked what alternative browser people would recommend, I gave my recommendation, you may not agree with it, that is your choice.
What do you recommend the op use, and why?

abisert · Aug 24, 2016

Thank you guys for all of the replies. I could look into Pale Moon, and see if I like it. I could look a few more alternatives if people want to name them. Again, thank you.

Cammygirl192 · Aug 27, 2016

Awesome.
If you're looking for any other alternatives, use SeaMonkey or Firefox.

You might want to occasionally spoof your user-agent to Firefox as I said in case it fails to work with a site.

townsbg · Aug 27, 2016

Firefox is the only major browser still supporting Vista. Really almost everything else is a derivative of Firefox (including Palemoon) or Chrome in addition to IE. SeaMonkey is indirectly related since both came from Netscape.

Vistaar · Aug 28, 2016

townsbg said:
Firefox is the only major browser still supporting Vista. Really almost everything else is a derivative of Firefox (including Palemoon) or Chrome...

Exactly, and obviously no derivative of Chrome is going to support Vista for very much longer. Evidently there are some who feel that Firefox has become too much like Chrome, and they might prefer Pale Moon because it's "like an earlier version of Firefox." If Chrome refugees wanted a Firefox variant that is somewhat similar to Chrome, then they might be well-advised to simply install Firefox.

Here's a blog I came across: https://chuttenblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/mozilla-firefox-and-windows-xp-support/. I think the writer exaggerates the danger posed by XP users (and by implication, Vista users in another 8 months). How many of the predicted "botnet" attacks have actually occurred in the 28 months since Microsoft ended support for XP? If Microsoft products are truly worthless without constant patching, then perhaps we should all buy Chromebooks for web surfing and use PCs only for offline data processing tasks?

BTW townsbg, have you ever tested MSE at AMTSO using any browser other than Firefox or IE? (It seems like you once mentioned an older version of Opera, which MSE does not officially support.)

townsbg · Aug 28, 2016

Perhaps we should discuss MSE on the MSE thread to stay on topic but to answer your question on Vista I only installed Firefox. The point of my previous post was to say that only FF and it's derivatives support Vista. I'll look into that blog post but I do believe that the point is valid about XP however not necessarily true about Vista when it isn't supported. IMO Vista is much more secure than XP due to UAC especially if users usually run as a standard user instead of an admin. Unfortunately with the exception of enterprise environments most users are admins and some even disable UAC because they consider it an annoyance. If that's the case then they aren't much better off running Vista than XP when Vista goes out of support. Now obviously a patched version of windows is more secure than a non-patch one but I don't believe that means that we should all jump ship. Even older chromebooks will become outdated as is the general history with hardware and software. My biggest concern for older versions of windows is when antimalware vendors stop supporting them. Secondary to that is when browsers stop pushing compatible versions or when Flash stops updating.

More on topic I am kind of leery of using a browser based on an older version of FF although I suppose that 27 isn't so bad as I was imagining it to be 3.x or 4.x. I am definitely concerned about using a browser based on the antiquated Netscape. Are these forks completely up to date with all of the fixes and patches for the recently discovered major security flaws or are they just rehashes of the old browsers to appease holdouts?

What browser can replace my Chrome?

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