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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2021-05-09 3:07 PM
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H/PC Oracle

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Yeah, you heard me.

I found out about Google FLoC this morning. Suffice it to say, I was pretty outraged: not that I use Google Chrome or Google products if I can help it. However it takes the cake really.

If you haven't see it yet:


Or more at
https://amifloced.org/
https://blog.runcloud.io/google-floc/

Which sounds like a completely vile idea to me and an absolute abuse by an already over-abusing company that is stretching into the realm of 1984.

Anyway, as I don't serve you advertising on this site, it is self-funded by me as well as through your donations, it technically shouldn't matter for HPC:Factor users because "technically" FLoC shouldn't report your visits here... however I don't trust Google as far I can throw them. Consequently, either in vein hope that they'll honour it in the medium-term, or if you prefer, see it as a protest vote. The HPC:Factor server is now broadcasting the anti-FLoC header.

Permissions-Policy: interest-cohort=()

If you are a website owner, I encourage you to join the protest. To do this, you need to inject this into the HTTP header for every single page on your website. In IIS, if you don't want to server-side code it to be injected at runtime on every single page on your site, this means adding the following to web.config:
<configuration> 
<system.webServer>
<httpProtocol>
<customHeaders>
<add name="Permissions-Policy" value="interest-cohort=()" />
</customHeaders>
</httpProtocol>
</system.webServer>
</configuration>


HPC:Factor does not profit from thrusting ads down your throat and I neither intend to be either a willing or unwilling third-party to any of my community having their privacy exploited. Your donations do help me hugely to do that, so thank-you for keeping this place ad-free since 2004 (and ce320 since 2000).

If you are a Chrome user, I strongly encourage you to stop using it and instead install Brave ( https://brave.com/ ). Brave is the Chrome engine without insidious Google or Microsoft tracking features in it that are found in Chrome and Edge. I also encourage you to use DuckDuck Go ( https://duckduckgo.com ) instead of Google, plus, install something like uBlock Origin ( https://ublockorigin.com/ ) and, if you have a server/spare Raspberry Pi, Pi-hole ( https://pi-hole.net/ ). The latter givng you full home network ad-blocking for any device on your home or business network. This is a way to vote with your feet and give as big, as rude a finger-based gesture as possible to Google about this.
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Karpour Page Icon Posted 2021-05-10 10:51 AM
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H/PC Philosopher

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439
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Thanks for taking action by adding the header and calling attention to this! Considering the backlash so far, I sure hope FloC will be a big FloP!
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joval Page Icon Posted 2021-05-10 1:36 PM
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H/PC Sensei

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Yikes! Let's get the Floc out of here!!

Some might say "its Shades of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)... the evolving Evil Empire/Emperor of our times... now inspiring Google".?!! Very, very "Xi-zee" in style as the best selling book "World Upside Down" elucidates. It really stinks as if someone cut the "Cheese"....in the Google phone booth (Winnie the Poo??). Youtube bans/demonitizes/de-platforms for unknown unspecified and underterminable reasons...some might say "not unlike the CCP make individuals "disappear." Perhaps two of kind, Googles equivalent of the South China Sea claim to ownership of what really belongs to others... but Bullies and the immoral greedy lawless thugs seek to have their way. Or is that just another "conspiracy theory" in spite of the parallels. Convince me otherwise!!! The good Chinese people deserve better, and so do we, IMHO.

I immediately switched browsers to Firefox, hope that blocks the those Floc-ers!!

Appreciate and support your stand on this matter!
joval (from my Jornada again)

Edited by joval 2021-05-10 1:49 PM
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stingraze Page Icon Posted 2021-05-11 4:55 AM
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H/PC Vanguard

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Hmm... time for me to change my mobile browsers to Firefox or Brave.
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HPC:Fan Page Icon Posted 2021-05-11 7:25 AM
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H/PC Sensei

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Don't user Firefox, they're also falling in step with the CCP and cancel culture thanks to their hatred of Trump and his supporters. I don't care what you think of Trump, but censoring people for having the wrong political ideals (ideally what Firefox wants to do) is reminiscent of what China does. *Edit* Currently using the Brave browser and enjoy it. Haven't used Firefox in ages, switched over to Opera many years ago and have used Brave for last year.

Google has also been dropped in favor of lesser known services. And I use Adblock if I must use Youtube.



https://www.rt.com/usa/511996-mozilla-firefox-deplatform-trump-inter... (RT's article on Firefox.)

Edited by HPC:Fan 2021-05-11 7:27 AM
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stingraze Page Icon Posted 2021-05-11 9:51 AM
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H/PC Vanguard

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I've been using Firefox for a long time, but I guess Brave is the better option nowadays. And you can get those rewards... haha

I'll think about it.

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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2021-05-11 11:53 AM
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I have been using FF for a long time too, but am switching to brave on all devices. Firstly, I cannot deny that Brave is noticeably faster than FF is at loading and rendering on the same system. Secondly, there are aspects of FF that irk me, in the same vein that they do in the other browsers. For example, why can't I have a new tab automatically go to a web page. Like Microsoft and Google, FF are more interested in pushing their sponsored content default (tracking) home page on people than having choice. You could do this in IE, but all other browsers since have not allowed it. Brave does though.

Brave does have this annoying Brave rewards thing and a lot of attempts seem to be in the mix to integrate crypto currencies into it, which I dislike, so it isn't perfect... and I think that having uBlock Origin does a better anti-ad job than its built-in ad guard. However, in terms of fingerprinting it is currently seemingly, second to none.
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HPC:Fan Page Icon Posted 2021-05-13 8:49 AM
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H/PC Sensei

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The crypto in Brave is annoying, however you can disable it through options. (Still pops up from time to time but not often.) I use Brave with a few extensions, uBlock Origin is one of them. I warmly recommend checking Brave out. Most annoyances can be fixed without extensions (unlike other browsers). And the default adblocking is just OK and would recommend an extension to replace / supplement the one built in.

Another browser I like is SWIron. https://www.srware.net/iron/ (Basically Google Chrome without Google and more security centered settings.) I don't use this one much anymore as Brave does everything I like in a way I like. Plus, I think Chrome has an ugly interface.
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fantablium Page Icon Posted 2021-05-16 6:50 PM
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Factorite (Elite)

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So I use Opera, its faster than chrome has built n free VPN and I like the shortcuts to messenger and whatsapp, is this going to be affected by FLoC?

Sorry if that's a silly question but I'm unsure if its based on chromium or not.
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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2021-05-17 4:35 PM
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Yes, Opera is based on Chromium. It won't be impacted by FLoC unless Google get FLoC ratified as a standard. For now, it is proprietary and limited to Google offerings. Microsoft have stated that they are working on their own rival Cookie Replacement technology, so you can expect to see that burned into Edge in the near future. I have no idea what Opera or Mozilla's stances are, however they'll have to if it becomes a standard.
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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2022-01-25 11:21 PM
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We half won: https://blog.google/products/chrome/get-know-new-topics-api-privacy-...

They have killed the idea of FLoC! They're going to replace it with something else, something that hopefully Mozilla and Brave won't be implementing but that is wishful thinking on my part. Still, good news. I can remove the HTTP headers mods from the web server
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