Waterfox Browser
Waterfox is an open-source web browser that is based on Mozilla Firefox. The developers have modified the source code of Firefox to increase the speed and to take advantage of add-ons or legacy extensions dropped by Firefox.
If you are looking to install Waterfox based on its privacy features, then I recommend that you look at who required the browser early 2020. System1 has announced that it accuired Waterfox Web Browser on its webpage. Waterfox also included it on their webpage. According to Bloomerberg.com, the "System1 Group PLC provides marketing consultancy services. The Company offers advertising research, opinion polling, and marketing services."
Keep in mind that the best way to monitor what you do online is by your browser and web extensions. However, if you trust System1 and you still want to install Waterfox on your Linux system, then follow these instructions. You can download the AppImage and run Waterfox without installing it on your system or you can download the program and place it in your opt folder. The instructions below illustrates how you can download the compressed files and uncompress them and place them in your opt folder.
Go to Waterfox's Download webpage and download the installation file to match your operating system. The files for Linux systems will be compressed.
Go to Waterfox's Download webpage and download the installation file to match your operating system. The files for Linux systems will be compressed.
Next, go to your Downloads folder or location that you downloaded the file. Right-click the file and select Extract Here to uncompress the files.
To keep your programs organized, I recommend that you place the new Waterfox folder in the opt folder. To locate the opt folder click on File System on the left of your file manager and the locate the opt folder.
Right-click the opt folder and click on Open as Administrator to allow you to copy the Waterfox folder into this folder.
Enter your password in the Authenticate dialog box and then click the Authenticate buton.
Next, drag the Waterfox folder in your Downloads folder into the opt folder.
Now we need to add an icon in the menu. Open the Main Menu editor. If you do not have the Main Menu editor then you'll need to install Alacarte. Open your Terminal and enter the following: sudo apt-get install alacarte
When the Main Menu editor loads, click on the New Item button.
This will bring up a Create Launcher dialog box. Then enter the following information:
Type: Application
Name: Waterfox
Command: "/opt/waterfox/waterfox" %U
Comment: Waterfox is an open-source web browser that is based on Mozilla Firefox.
Then click the icon button on the left.
Type: Application
Name: Waterfox
Command: "/opt/waterfox/waterfox" %U
Comment: Waterfox is an open-source web browser that is based on Mozilla Firefox.
Then click the icon button on the left.
This will bring up a Choose an icon dialog box. The icon should be in the opt/waterfox/browser/chrome/icons/default folder. Select the default128.png icon and then click the Open button. (You can also save the icon at the bottom of this page and use it for the icon in your menu.)
Then click the OK button.
Then locate and click on Waterfox to select it within the Main Menu editor. Click the Move Up button until you have it arranged alphabetically in your list. Then click the Close button.
You should now see Waterfox in your menu.
Clicking the LibreWolf icon will bring up the LibreWolf browser. The first time you run the browser you'll be greeted with a Default Browser dialog box. You have the chance to make Waterfox your default browser.
The initial homepage will appear blank the first time you open it. Eventually thumbnails will appear for the Top Sites you visit online and Highlights will eventually appear below them. You will also notice that Bing is the default search engine. Remember, these can be changed or customized to meet your surfing needs.
It is a very fast and snappy web browser.
Here's a list of its Main Features: (Taken from their homepage.)
- No Telemetry - Waterfox does not collect any telemetry, meaning you do not have to worry about any tracking or usage information about what you do inside your browser.
- Limited Data Collection - The only thing that Waterfox sends back is your OS and browser version to check for updates to various components. That's it, and no more.
- NPAPI Plugins - They should be used responsibly, but Waterfox supports the use of Java and Silverlight plugins, as well as any other 64-Bit NPAPI plugins.
- Bootstrapped add-ons - Waterfox is one of the few fully customizable browsers, allowing you to modify and extend it any way you please. From WebExtensions to classic-style bootstrap add-ons. You'll even find some of your favorites already updated such as DownThemAll!, Greasemonkey, Private Tab and more!
- Polish your userChrome - Waterfox allows you to modify the internal CSS and JS to your hearts content, no need to worry about it being dropped in functionality!
- Stable API - No need to worry about your extensions becoming obsolete every release, with a stable API until the next major release milestone.
At the time of creating this webpage (October 7, 2020) Waterfox is on the 2020.09 Release.
The image below is Waterfox G3.1.0 Release (February 02, 2021) running from an AppImage. You don't have to install Waterfox on your system in order to use it.
Overall, I think this is a nice web browser. It works great with Firefox addons, it works with most major streaming services, it is highly customizable, highly reliable, it is less bloated than Firefox (Pocket, Telemetry, Data collection, and Startup profiling are removed), and it's much faster than Firefox.
Recommended addons:
You can change the appearance of the browser by downloading and installing a theme.
Recommended addons:
You can change the appearance of the browser by downloading and installing a theme.
Waterfox also has a Waterfox Classic. You can read the difference between Waterfox Current and Waterfox Classic on their Reddit webpage.
You can make a few tweaks to make Waterfox more secure. Visit the website, "Can We Trust the Waterfox Browser?" and scroll down to the "No Mozilla Telemetry" section. You can see that Waterfox performs a DNS query for mozilla.org and detectportal.firefox.com. You can follow the instructions on that site to disable that service. Remember, Waterfox claims it doesn't "talk" with Mozilla servers; however, that is not true. You may also want to read the Waterfox section from the website, "Choose your browser carefully."
You can check out the Waterfox Community for support, help, or anything related to the Waterfox browser.
Oct 7, 2020