Re: Debian and Firefox/Iceweasel

[Seeker <seeker5528@comcast.net>]

On 2/25/2016 12:39 PM, H Kyu wrote:

​Hello -

Recently, Mozilla's Firefox browser introduced a few new features that got me to remove Firefox on my Windows PC altogether.  The features were Hello, Camera Access (Android), and screen-sharing.  Every single one of those features did not sit well with me from a security perspective.  On top of that, Firefox seems to be splitting away from the Gecko engine, the Gecko engine was the main reason for my using Firefox in the first place - because I disliked the functional model of WebKits.  If I wanted a WebKit, I'd have used Chrome. 

Then there is the interface - I prefer the Firefox 1 interface... in fact, I prefer the Netscape Navigator 4's interface even better - practical and informational.  I like my status bar, and all my buttons showing all the time, even if disabled.  I like status indicators, which includes grayed-out buttons.  I also prefer the old settings screen where the browser remembers the last settings tab, and I can see all the settings without scrolling.  I am still amazed at the fact that Firefox would just abandon their core fans and move away to cater to others.  

Debian's Gnome uses Iceweasel much like Windows uses IE. 

MY QUESTION:  Would Iceweasel also be incorporating those bothersome features in the near future?  If so, would it be possible to use Debian without Iceweasel or any Mozilla product? 

The camera access is needed for video calling, the screen sharing is a sub-feature of the video calling.
In newer android you may be able to deny Firefox permission to use the camera, won't stop it from
wanting it enable during installation. One would hope it doesn't actually get permission right off the
bat and that you would be asked to give permission the first time a feature is used that needs it, but
that is another question.

People have already answered the question about browsers in Debian and not being forced to use
Firefox.

Over the long haul I suspect it will become more difficult to find a browser that does not implement
some kind of support for webrtc.

After a few minutes of Googling.......

"Concerns

In January 2015, TorrentFreak reported that browsers supporting WebRTC suffer from a serious security flaw that compromises the security of VPN-tunnels, by allowing the true IP address of the user to be read. The IP address read requests are not visible in the browser's developer console, and they are not blocked by common ad blocking/privacy plugins (enabling online tracking by advertisers and other entities despite precautions).

WebRTC can be enabled or disabled in Microsoft Edge by going to about:flags and toggling it on/off. In Firefox by toggling the value of "media.peerconnection.enabled" in about:config, and WebRTC settings can be changed in about:webrtc. WebRTC cannot be disabled in the desktop version of Google Chrome, although there is a plug-in available for blocking it^"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebRTC

"WebRTC is a set of browser APIs and protocols being worked on by the W3C and IETF standardization bodies. With WebRTC, developers can quickly add real-time peer-2-peer audio, video and data capabilities to their web applications through a set of standardised _javascript_ APIs. 

WebKit today lacks support for this exciting new standard. Our intention is to add WebRTC support to WebKit, starting with the WebKit GTK+ port (Linux), by means of the OpenWebRTC implementation. Much of the WebRTC support will be implemented in the core of WebKit and therefore shared among all WebKit ports. This will also enable integration of other WebRTC backends such as webrtc.org."

http://www.webrtcinwebkit.org/

Later, Seeker