Disconnect? Internet privacy?

7 replies [Last post]
Tirifto
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Joined: 02/19/2015

Hello!

I have been trying to make my internet life a bit more spying-resistant. I figured that the next best option after Tor and similar would be Firefox (and derivatives) with add-ons. I always install HTTPS Everywhere, uBlock, Self-destructing cookies and NoScript for that. Some time back I was also using Disconnect, since it seemed very nice. But recently I visited their website (https://disconnect.me/) and found out that they have a free version and a premium version with added functionality, which is also commercial. That worries me, because although commercial software can be libre, I'm not sure that's the case here. Can anyone confirm if the Disconnect Premium add-on is proprietary? If so, do you know any similar software to Disconnect? I want to be safe, but I'm hesitant about supporting a company that produces proprietary software.
Thank you!

tomlukeywood
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Joined: 12/05/2014
onpon4
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Joined: 05/30/2012

I don't see "Disconnect Premium" there, and I don't think it would be possible to charge a monthly or yearly fee to use a libre program.

As for alternatives, to be perfectly frank, I don't think Disconnect is all that great to begin with. How it's described is extremely vague, but from what I can tell, it just blocks a small set of requests for resources (e.g. images). It's nowhere near as comprehensive as SpyBlock, which is included with IceCat. (uBlock can also do the same job if you convert SpyBlock's blacklist to it.)

Another option you could try is RequestPolicy, which blocks all requests by default and lets you whitelist certain requests.

Triqel
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Joined: 12/06/2014

Development of RequestPolicy has been stopped and RequestPolicy Continued will replace it. It is a beta version at the moment https://requestpolicycontinued.github.io/
One alternative to RequestPolicy Continued is Policeman add-on in address: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/policeman/ This add-on has released under GNU GPLv3. The default privacy trackers list of Spyblock (http://gnuzilla.gnu.org/filters/blacklist.txt) is not compatible with uBlock.

Calinou
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Joined: 03/08/2014

No need to use Disconnect, just use uBlock and configure it to block social buttons: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock

It already blocks Google Analytics by default, as far as I know.

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

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Joined: 10/31/2014

adblock edge with just the ultimate fanboy list, noscript and disconnect.

bitbit
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Joined: 10/29/2012

Today google warned about new privacy policy so I installed Disconnect.me addon and i use it as a main search engine...
the resoults are the same as plain google and is fast enough...
do you think I'm in a better position than straight google? I think yes
please tell me if I'm wrong

tomlukeywood
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Joined: 12/05/2014

most likely but a good idea would be to use tor
to browse the internet as then as-long as you use it sensibly
you should be completely anonymous or at least as anonymous as you can be in this current internet

but make sure you read this:
https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en#warning