I have been very happy with DuckDuckGo, and it has helped me break free of routines that I did not feel safe with. Especially the small flame icon that would clear all history, cookies and cache from websites that are not “fireproofed” was great!

But today I had to do a quick example on Tinkercad (3D browser design tool) and it was so slow! I thought that my PC maybe was busy doing something (yeah its an older PC but not THAT old), but when I open the same page on my now parked Opera browser, everything went smoothly.

I am ok with using Opera, or any other browser for 3D work, as I don’t really do all that much of it, but I just feel gutted to find out that my now favorite browser sucks so bad at something, not to mention the Microsoft Edge processes when that is the last of any browser that I would choose to use

EDIT: I found out that this was due to hardware acceleration was off, on my DuckDuckGo browser. I had turned it off, because the fonts on websites looked blurry when it was on. The solution was to turn off antialising on the Nvidia control panel, and restart the PC. It is now working well!

    • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      20
      ·
      9 months ago

      What I like with DDG is that I can clear all cookies, cache, history etc except for the sites that i have “fireproofed”. Also all the tempting plugins that make life easier on FF are too tempting, and I always end up running many of them. The lack of such on DDG keeps things simple

      • Yuumi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        39
        ·
        9 months ago

        I think you can whitelist websites to be exempt from deleting data from them on firefox too. I vaguely remember seeing something like that in settings near the “Clear Data” button.

      • Derp@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        In Firefox, you can use the cookie autodelete extension (it’s open source) which deletes all cookies for sites you haven’t explicitly whitelisted. Same thing, integrates well with other privacy features on Firefox (like container tabs and I still don’t care about cookies, and is probably better maintained than the feature in DDG.

        IMO starting with a more minimalistic base, and adding whatever features you need is a better approach that suits more use cases. Just reduce your extensions to what you really need, and deactivate or uninstall those you don’t need. Make sure what you are installing is open source, well-maintained and trustworthy (look at the github page: when was the most recent commit or release? how many contributors and stars are there? It’s not foolproof, but a good start and definitely beats closed source extensions). Having access to more extensions is not a bad thing.

        EDIT: don’t use I don’t care about cookies as it was acquired by some shady companies. Use the independent fork called I still don’t care about cookies instead.

        • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          9 months ago

          Thanks! I’ve noted all the suggestions and will try them out when I feel ready to try a different browser.

        • UprisingVoltage@feddit.it
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          9 months ago

          About reducing useless extensions, please don’t use nor recommend cookie autodelete and I don’t care about cookies (which has been acquired by avast or some similar company iirc).

          Firefox (and any other modern browser) has settings to delete website cookies on exit and to block third party cookies, while giving the ability to whitelist for both features.

          For the annoying cookie popups just enable the adguard annoyances lists in ublock origin, which you already want to install on a browser anyways.

          • Derp@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            9 months ago

            You are correct, I don’t care about cookies was acquired by avast. It is still GPL3 licensed and, according to the privacy policy, does not capture user data. But for those who don’t trust avast (which includes me), there is an independent fork called I still don’t care about cookies. The builtin Firefox cookie deletion settings are not granular enough for my usecase (with container tabs) and a hassle to configure for imo, which is why I still recommend the forked extension if it suits your usecase.

  • kby@feddit.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    122
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    9 months ago

    Excuse me if this is an obnoxious question: But why not just Firefox with the DDG extension (if you really need it)? Search engine-specific browsers tend to be… bad in general. It’s going to be a wrapper around some other browser anyway.

  • whou@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    87
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    Firefox with ublock origin is even better than the DuckDuckGo browser alone. Yes, you can use DuckDuckGo as a default search engine, and even install the extension, if you need to.

    • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      20
      ·
      9 months ago

      What I like with DDG is that I can clear all cookies, cache, history etc except for the sites that i have “fireproofed”.

        • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          3
          ·
          9 months ago

          Not as easily it seems but to be fair, i haven’t looked too much into it. In DDG I get asked if I want to fireproof the site, when I type in any information. Then I just press flame icon to torch everything else multiple times a day.

          • DetectiveSanity@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            On Firefox you can set the browser to clear any type of data on quit and set exceptions for certain sites such as your search engine.

            In addition you can set global preferences for data tracking and selling to inform all websites upon landing of your privacy settings.

            • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              8 months ago

              Do you know of an easy way to add sites to the exception list? I really like how easy itnia to “fireproof” sites with a press of a button but in Firefox it takes quite a lot more.

                • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  8 months ago

                  I tested this. but it only brings up the page info for me, but with no option or way to get to the area where you add a site to the exceptions (in the security tab)

  • Pantherina@feddit.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    78
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    9 months ago

    Please dont use DDG browser or even worse edge or opera.

    Use Librewolf, Firefox or Ungoogled Chromium.

    • rekabis@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      9 months ago

      Opera in particular is a dangerous browser to run these days, it’s owned by confirmed scammers and investment-scheme operators.

      If you want something with the same ideological history as Opera, run Vivaldi, which was created by ex-Opera engineers.

      But yes, for true openness, Librewolf, Waterfox, or Firefox is the way to go.

        • Zerush@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          edit-2
          9 months ago

          5% of non Chromium source code corresponding to the unique UI, 100% auditable and even moddeable by the users. rest of the code degoogled, basic APIs like Google save browsing, Chrome Store, etc. as userchoice in the settings. No red flags, EU browser (overcomming GDPR), don’t spread nonsense

        • Pantherina@feddit.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          9 months ago

          It is okay, but has little fingerprint protection and still some tracking.

          Just use Firefox.

          Try googleteller, its a program you can easily clone, compile and run, which beeps if you are connecting to a google server. Chromium even with a very extensive policy and everything GUI degoogled ALWAYS connects to google, repeatedly and very worrying

          • Ascend910@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            9 months ago

            I switched from Opera to Vivaldi since it is the closest alternative I can get. I heard about Firefox can get the same look and feel with enough customisation, but I am not sure how to do it.

            • Pantherina@feddit.de
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              9 months ago

              Yeeeah not easy. Try Floorp, look at their code.

              They use ESR poorly so outdated as hell (but still secure). But their interface changes can be applied to regular FF too.

                • Pantherina@feddit.de
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  9 months ago

                  Yes, but its still ESR. You might get compatibility problems, for example Nightly supports JXL which is very much needed (its such an easy fix even damn Palemoon supports that, which is based off a totally outdated version of Firefox). This will hopefully arrive in Firefox stable, no idea of the ESR cadence.

      • Pantherina@feddit.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        9 months ago

        They use ESR because otherwise their GUI stuff would break. So under the fancy hood you have a very dated browser…

    • sab@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      22
      ·
      9 months ago

      Worth mentioning that Vivaldi is basically the spiritual successor of Opera, and it’s doing pretty well at that. It’s still Chromium based though, so unless you really miss Opera for the functionality you’re better off with Firefox.

      Still, rather Vivaldi than Opera, Chrome, or Edge.

    • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      9 months ago

      Oh yeah! I am not using Opera any more, and as mentioned it is “parked” so I only have it installed but never use it . I just wanted to check if the issue was browser based of due to my PC. I have updated my post though, because I found out that I had turned off Hardware Acceleration on DuckDuckgo and that was the issue causing the choppy experience

        • AtariDump@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          6
          ·
          9 months ago

          Yes, and EVERY other web browser at the time was free.

          Why would anyone choose a web browser you had to pay for in the 90’s? There was no reason.

          • LWD@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            9 months ago

            You serious?

            NCSA Mosaic, free only for personal use. Dominated the market.

            Netscape Navigator, cost money for personal use. Dominated the market even longer.

            Netscape Navigator costing money -- $60 worth originally

            And if we look past you being wrong, I don’t even know what point you’re trying to make. Microsoft Internet Explorer was free in the '90s, and it was due to Microsoft trying to wipe out the competition through monopoly.

            • AtariDump@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              5
              arrow-down
              6
              ·
              edit-2
              9 months ago

              Netscape navigator was free in the 90’s.

              My point is that no one wanted to pay for a browser in the 90’s which forced opera into obscurity compared to IE and Netscape Navigator.

              Edit: From your own article “ Netscape announced in its first press release (13 October 1994) that it would make Navigator available without charge to all non-commercial users”

              No one cares about commercial licensing.

              • LWD@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                6
                arrow-down
                3
                ·
                edit-2
                9 months ago

                Couldn’t be bothered to read a couple more sentences?

                However, two months later, the company announced that only educational and non-profit institutions could use version 1.0 at no charge.

                Or if you’re more of a visual learner

                Update: and then AtariDump dishonestly changes the timeline and the goalposts. Glad I wasted my time on the troll

                • AtariDump@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  arrow-down
                  6
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  9 months ago

                  Nope.

                  By the time people came around to the internet it was with Netscape Navigator 3 which was free.

                  Opera was not.

  • therealjcdenton@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    24
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    Like most people said, use Firefox with the DDG extension or use Librewolf (just a heads up Librewolf by default deletes all history and cookie so disable that before signing in)

    • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      15
      ·
      9 months ago

      What I like with DDG is that I can clear all cookies, cache, history etc except for the sites that i have “fireproofed”.

        • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          7
          ·
          9 months ago

          Sorry - I don’t expect commenters to go through replies to other commenter’s so I thought it was the most reasonable thing to do

          • Gooey0210@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            9 months ago

            I really don’t understand why you got downvoted, you’re having like 30 conversations at the same time, no problem to copy of of your answers to save some writing formulating time

            • Alk@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              3
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              9 months ago

              I think the point is other commenters saw the response and went on to suggest Firefox further. So the fact that they copy pasted a response that commenters were not only aware of but commenting to address, causes the copy paste to seem annoying and like the OP is purposefully ignoring all feedback and spamming the same narrow view. In a thread ostensibly implying they need help or advice, OP is ignoring most help and advice given because one one niche feature that can be replicated in other browsers.

              At least that’s how it comes off to me.

              • Gooey0210@sh.itjust.works
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                9 months ago

                For me it sounds more like: i like these features, what your option can offer, let’s discuss

                I mean, other commenters can read the post, they can see other options, but they all just flood “Firefox”, with no explanation or comparison, etc

                To a very lazy and uninformative message, there a very lazy and uninformative reply

  • QuazarOmega@lemy.lol
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    9 months ago

    not to mention the Microsoft Edge processes when that is the last of any browser that I would choose to use

    I believe all DDG browsers are webview based, so they use the already installed platform WebView as the engine and add the browser functionalities on top, that’s not really a bad thing, since it saves space by avoiding duplicating such a huge component. Realistically, if they rolled their own, it would 100% be another Chromium fork and the Edge WebView is already based on Chromium so it’s kind of (but not totally) pointless

  • LWD@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    9 months ago

    Does this comparison actually take into account whether you are using the same tabs on both browsers and keeping them in the same state?

    I’ve noticed, for example, that in chromium, I can permanently increase CPU usage just by opening a console in a tab and leaving it alone in the background, even if the tab itself is doing nothing.

    If both browsers have the exact same number of tabs open, I would question why one has around 40 processes and one has around 20. That number should correspond roughly to the number of tabs/extensions you have open.

    • cosmicrookie@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      9 months ago

      Thanks for the concern. At the end of the post I have added an update to this. It turns out that I had turned off hardware acceleration on the DDG browser and that was the reason it was tapping on my CPU instead

      • LWD@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        9 months ago

        I’m glad to hear you figured it out. I was also curious about tab suspension, a feature that’s built into Chrome and similar browsers, but it sounds like you figured out the biggest issue

  • chevy9294@monero.town
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    Best browsers for 3D stuff like games and CADs are chromium based.

    I generally use Librewolf (Firefox fork) but for gaming and 3d modeling use Brave. I think it’s tge best chromium based browser.