Security News > 2021 > March > Chrome 90 goes HTTPS by default while Firefox injects substitute scripts to foil tracking tech

When version 90 of Google's Chrome browser arrives in mid-April, initial website visits will default to a secure HTTPS connection in the event the user has failed to specify a preferred URI scheme.

Chrome 90 will make HTTPS the default for first time website visits where no transport has been declared.

Borrowing from techniques used by privacy-focused extensions NoScript and uBlock Origin, SmartBlock provides a way to block tracking scripts while attempting to minimize performance-affecting delays or errors that can arise from meddling with webpage code.

"SmartBlock does this by providing local stand-ins for blocked third-party tracking scripts," explains Thomas Wisniewski, web compatibility engineer at Mozilla, in a blog post.

"These stand-in scripts behave just enough like the original ones to make sure that the website works properly. They allow broken sites relying on the original scripts to load with their functionality intact."

Firefox SmartBlock can replace trackers found on the extensive Disconnect Tracking Protection List, which just for the US numbers well over a thousand.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/03/24/chrome_firefox_privacy/