Phoronix: Kubuntu 12.04 To Drop KDE Support For Firefox

[SteveRiley]

I suspect porting plugins is difficult. GNOME's browser, Epiphany, once used the same Gecko rendering engine in Firefox, and most Firefox plugins worked in Epihpany. When Epiphany switched to WebKit, the plugins quit working.

As for the plugins you mentioned, some alternatives are available. Rekonq can instruct KGet to download all links and images on a page, for example. And don't forget the plethora of applications at KDE-Apps.org; I've found a number of interesting things there.

[dancingmadrb3]

why isnt this on a ppa pr something though at the very least, the file dialogs in firefox now look horrible thanks to this foolish mistake.

[claydoh]

While I am not disputing the complete ugliness of the filepicker in Firefox, I am wondering why such emphasis is placed on it in the overall scheme of things.

But I think that if it is feasible to maintain, someone in the community will volunteer to take it on.

[ardvark71]

While I am not disputing the complete ugliness of the filepicker in Firefox, I am wondering why such emphasis is placed on it in the overall scheme of things.

Hi...

Sometimes it's the little things that count and this is one of them, in my opinion.

But I think that if it is feasible to maintain, someone in the community will volunteer to take it on.

I think it is, it's just a matter of someone in KDE or Kubuntu picking it up.

Regards...

[claydoh]

Or OpenSuse, where iirc it originated. This really isn't something KDE itself would ever get into, I don't think.

[ardvark71]

Hmm. I didn't know that. I thought the package was more Kubuntu specific. Either way, it would be a blessing whoever picked it up.

Regards...

[Mr_Bumpy]

The Thunderbird integration with the KDE Message Indicator is broken as well, so both Firefox and Thunderbird integration is no longer working in Precise. My mom and I use both. I'm glad I haven't upgraded my mom's PC to Precise yet, because I know she will be thrown for a loop by these changes.

aardvark71, thanks for sharing those links in your signature. That 22 minutes in hell video was simply amazing (I downloaded the video file from your link). My dad also had a similar vision before he came to know the Lord (albeit much shorter), and he was overwhelmed by the sense of God's love (not condemnation) in the vision.

[ardvark71]

thanks for sharing those links in your signature. That 22 minutes in hell video was simply amazing (I downloaded the video file from your link). My dad also had a similar vision before he came to know the Lord (albeit much shorter), and he was overwhelmed by the sense of God's love (not condemnation) in the vision.

Hi Mr_Bumpy...

You're more than welcome and I'm glad this has blessed you!

A few years ago, after I came to the Lord, a friend's sister was reading to us from Mary K. Baxter's book "A Divine Revelation of Hell" and during the first 10-15 minutes or so of the reading I really wasn't feeling anything apart from a more superficial (it didn't run to deep) feeling of "yikes!" However, all of a sudden, I felt this powerful wave or sense of sadness come over me. It was so intense that I could not help bursting into tears. I knew what I felt didn't come from me but was from the Lord and I was allowed to feel a fraction of how He feels when even one person has to go there.

Regards...

[Jimi-James]

Workaround found for 'open containing folder' in downloads (right-click-option) on Firefox installs without firefox-kde-support here

I implemented steps 1 and 6 only for a working solution.

Also the (right-click-option) 'open,' opens the file type using the corresponding default application, e.g a png image opens in Gwenview.
I believe these associations can also be edited to your personal choice.

Regards

I did this, and I also tried editing /usr/share/applications/defaults.list (I assume those are GNOME's defaults?), but Firefox still insists on using Gwenview. The reason for that is probably the fact that I can't get the download manager to ask me what program I want to open files with. It just continues to use Gwenview. No matter how much I delete mimeTypes.rdf, it seemingly has zero affect on Firefox or its file associations.

[gnomek]

Ah, a paradox of choices for Qt/KDE browsers...

* rekonq (which I've been trying to make my primary browser)
* QupZilla
* QtWeb
* arora

Are they safe? Are there any tests that can confirm that? Forgive me my ignorance in this topic. I know that Linux is much safer than windows but there are many articles on the web about "which is the safest web browser" and they don't even mention those above mentioned alternatives. For example:
http://lifehacker.com/5867545/whats-...re-web-browser
The safety of other browsers, or to be more precise browsing with them, comes from safety add-ons. Are there for example any script blockers for those above quoted browsers?

[GreyGeek]

A new Google-fundedstudy of browser security by security research firm Accuvant Labs crowned Chrome the champion of security features, and ranked Firefox below Internet Explorer in terms of protection available from web-borne threats.

And, the study is a year old.

If the "study" had found any other conclusion Google would not have let it see the light of day. Regardless, a study funded by one of the horses in the race is a dictionary example of "bias".

Are the browsers you bullet point safe? They are no safer than the OS they are running on. IF your passwords are weak and/or your libraries/apps lack the latest security patches it doesn't matter which browser you use.

The key is one of openness. Are the security holes made public as soon as possible, along with proof of concept code so that when a patch is released it can be checked to verify the hole is plugged? Or, are the security holes kept secret for weeks, months or years until such time as those who stand to benefit financially decide it is in THEIR interests to announce the hole and release the patch on the same day, and have the hubris to claim a "zero day patch"?

[GreyGeek]

And wouldn't you know it, Microsoft pulls out its favorite Lawn Jockey, NetApplications, to make the claim that Chromium has only an 18% market share.
http://www.netmarketshare.com/prerendering.aspx

Microsoft, speaking through its sock puppet, claims that Chromium's look-ahead browser is inflating the numbers. Could be, but to me it is interesting that MS is being skewered on it's own petard, the bought off study.

[SteveRiley]

Are they safe? Are there any tests that can confirm that? Forgive me my ignorance in this topic. I know that Linux is much safer than windows but there are many articles on the web about "which is the safest web browser" and they don't even mention those above mentioned alternatives...

All of these browsers in that list rely on libqtwebkit for page rendering and script interpretation. Additionally, Rekonq also relies on libkdewebkit. In general, WebKit presents less of an attack surface area than Gecko (Firefox's engine) or Trident (IE's engine). An argument can be made that any browser with a mechanism for allowing users to run executable code can be more dangerous than browsers that don't. And if you examine the history of browser-based exploits that permit arbitrary code execution, a distinct pattern emerges.

Also, be cautious about where you obtain your research from. The article you quoted mentions a Google-funded study, and the outcome is exactly what you'd expect: Chrome is reportedly the safest. Vendor-funded studies are, by definition, flawed.

Script blockers are beginning to lose their effectiveness, as it's becoming possible to detect and work around them. At the risk of appearing self-serving, might I suggest instead a simpler approach? A while back, I posted a script you can use to create and maintain a system-wide method that uses simple DNS redirection for blocking almost all ads and scripts. The benefit of this is that it works outside the browser and thus can't be detected by HTML trickery.

[gnomek]

That's a nice script and I will use it. I can only add that I use sandfox to separate a web browser from the rest of the system.
http://igurublog.wordpress.com/downl...cript-sandfox/
I know that there are other tools like Apparmor but it is too difficult for me. Thank you for replies.

[SteveRiley]

I know that there are other tools like Apparmor but it is too difficult for me. Thank you for replies.

Actually, I purge Apparmor from all my systems:

sudo service apparmor teardown
sudo apt-get purge apparmor
sudo rm -rfv /etc/apparmor /etc/apparmor.d

IMHO, mandatory access control systems like Apparmor and SELinux don't really do much to raise the security posture of desktop systems. The debate over which of these two is "better" is tedious and eternal; I avoid it by not using it