X-Git-Url: https://gitweb.stoutner.com/?a=blobdiff_plain;ds=sidebyside;f=doc%2Findex.docbook;h=6974073dbd3803477bf5ea404cbe13a864608018;hb=77a3805e3b7c6ee7daeb2db660bb4b2789b33da2;hp=5a08451c04da60f1e94f094172911e70e1d75e99;hpb=8756d450d1d44dd8e840f7e3de7b1d72ca5b7d8e;p=PrivacyBrowserPC.git
diff --git a/doc/index.docbook b/doc/index.docbook
index 5a08451..6974073 100644
--- a/doc/index.docbook
+++ b/doc/index.docbook
@@ -81,18 +81,57 @@
To distinguish between the Android and the PC version, the website, issue tracker,
and code base refer to this version as Privacy Browser PC.
- There is a list of feature requests and known bugs at redmine.stoutner.com.
- Users should anticipate that all the current features of Privacy Browser Android
- will also be implemented in Privacy Browser PC.
- There is no need at this point to create features requests for these as they will be added as I start working on each feature and have a better idea of how they will be implemented.
- However, each feature that has already been implemented should be bug free.
- If you discover a bug that is not already documented at redmine.stoutner.com please add it.
The best place to discuss the development of Privacy Browser is on the forum.
I also frequently post on my Mastodon account regarding the development status.
+
+
+
+ Qt WebEngine
+
+
+ Privacy Browser uses Qt WebEngine to render websites.
+ Qt WebEngine is based on the Chromium Blink source code.
+ Because Privacy Browser is built on the KDE Framework,
+ it currently uses the Qt 5 packages.
+
+
+
+ The current Qt 5 packages are in long-term support mode.
+ Qt WebEngine 5.15.x is based on Chromium 87.0.4280.144 from a feature perspective.
+ Security fixes are backported with each release every couple of months.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Bugs and Missing Features
+
+
+ There is a list of feature requests and known bugs at redmine.stoutner.com.
+ Users should anticipate that all the current features of Privacy Browser Android
+ will also be implemented in Privacy Browser PC.
+ There is no need at this point to create features requests for these as they will be added as I start working on each feature and have a better idea of how they will be implemented.
+ However, each feature that has already been implemented should be bug free.
+ If you discover a bug that is not already documented at redmine.stoutner.com please add it.
+
+
+
+ Below is a list of known prominent bugs or missing features in this alpha release.
+
+
+
+ The page zoom is momentarily reset every time a new URL is loaded.
+ If domain settings change the user agent, loading of the new URL is interrupted and the
+ previous site is reloaded.
+ Browser error messages are not displayed unless JavaScript is enabled.
+ Bookmarks are not yet implemented.
+ Blocklists are not yet implemented.
+
+
@@ -100,35 +139,161 @@
Using &privacybrowser;
-
- Here's a screenshot of &privacybrowser;
-
+
+
+
+
+
+ Screenshot
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ JavaScript
+
+
+ JavaScript allows web pages to run scripts (programs) on your device. It allows web pages to function more like apps, but it also allows web pages to spy on you.
+ Most of the tracking on the internet does not work when JavaScript is disabled.
+ JavaScript can be toggled by clicking on the privacy shield, which is blue if JavaScript is disabled and red when it is enabled.
+
-
+
- Screenshot
+ JavaScript
-
-
-
+
+
+
-
- More &privacybrowser; features
+
+
+ Local Storage
- It slices! It dices! and it comes with a free toaster!
+ Local storage
+ in Privacy Browser encompasses cookies, DOM storage, IndexedDB, service workers, and the filesystem API.
+ Local storage can be toggled through an action on the toolbar.
+
+
+ Cookies
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Cookies
+
+
+
+
+
+ Cookies
+ allow websites to store small pieces of information for a specific host that are sent in the HTTP header every time the browser connects to that host.
+ Privacy Browser allows a maximum of 180 cookies with a maximum size of 4096 bytes per cookie to be set per domain.
+ Cookies are often used to track users across the web, particularly third-party cookies (which are completely blocked in Privacy Browser).
+ They are also used as a security mechanism on websites where you log in to identify it is you as you browse from page to page on a site.
+
+
+
+ Durable cookies are shared with all tabs that are opened after they are made durable and are preserved even when Privacy Browser is restarted.
+ This allows users to stay logged in to sites of their choosing. No cookies are durable by default. Making a cookie durable requires specific user interaction.
+
+
+
+ All other cookies are specific to the tab where they are created and are destroyed when the tab is closed.
+
+
+
+
+
+ DOM storage
+
+
+ DOM (Document Object Model) storage, also knows as web storage, allows web pages to store information on a client device.
+ The storage capacity is larger than for cookies and the data is not automatically sent in the headers with every HTTP request.
+ In Privacy Browser, each website is allowed to store a 5 MB of data in DOM storage.
+ DOM storage requires JavaScript to function, and, in addition, requires an extra toggle to be enabled.
+ In Privacy Browser, DOM storage is limited to the tab where it is created and is destroyed when the tab is closed.
+
+
+
+
+
+ IndexedDB
+
+
+ IndexedDB
+ provides web pages with a local database where they can store âsignificant amounts of structured dataâ.
+ There is disagreement on the internet about the maximum size of an IndexedDB database, probably because the various rendering engines keep changing their mind.
+ But it is usually listed at somewhere between 20% and 80% of your entire hard drive with each individual domain limited to some segment of that.
+ IndexedDB requires JavaScript to function.
+ In Privacy Browser, this database is limited to the tab where it is created and is destroyed when the tab is closed.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Service Workers
+
+
+ Service workers are offline JavaScript proxies of a website. They have their own cache that is usually hidden and hard to clear.
+ They were designed by people who want the web browser to become the operating system and run full âappsâ.
+ In Privacy Browser, service workers are limited to the tab where they are created and are destroyed when the tab is closed.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Filesystem API
+
+
+ The filesystem API grants the browser direct access to the files on your system.
+ Like service workers, the filesystem API is a summarily bad idea thought up by those who want the browser to become an operating system.
+ Even when JavaScript and local storage are enabled, the filesystem API does not work in Privacy Browser.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ User Agent
+
- The Squiggle Tool
-
-
-
-
- Squiggle
-
- is used to draw squiggly lines all over the &privacybrowser; main window. It's not a bug, it's a feature!
+ The user agent is a text string that is sent as part of every HTTP header that identifies the browser to the web server.
+ Privacy Browser's default user agent is PrivacyBrowser/1.0
.
+ Qt WebEngine 5.15.12âs default user agent is Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) QtWebEngine/5.15.12 Chrome/87.0.4280.144 Safari/537.36
.
+
+
+
+ Over the years user agents have become quite lengthy,
+ partially because they tend to include a brief history of the internet.
+ In the modern world they serve almost no good purpose, but some web developers still think they need them so they can send different version of their website to different browsers.
+ Some servers refuse to function correctly if they don't like the user agent that is sent.
+
+
+
+ At some point in the future Privacy Browser will send no user agent by default.
+ Not only is that currently impossible because the Qt WebEngine doesn't allow you to not send a user agent (I will probably have to fork it to enable that functionality),
+ but even web servers that don't care what the user agent is often refuse to send an answer if there is no user agent at all.
+ Getting rid of this relic of the internet is going to take some time and a retraining of common expectations.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Domain Settings
+
+
+ Domain setting make it easy to automatically change JavaScript, local storage, user agent, and other settings when the domain changes.
+ Domain settings for the current domain can be accessed through the domain settings button at the far right of the URL line edit.
+ Domain settings for all domains can be accessed through the settings menu. When domain settings are active, the URL line edit will have a green background.
@@ -137,33 +302,50 @@
Command Reference
-
+
+
The main &privacybrowser; window
+
The File Menu
-
-
+
+
+
+
+
+ &Ctrl;T
+
+ File
+ New Tab
+
+
+
+
+
+ Create a new tab.
+
+
+
+
+
+
&Ctrl;N
File
- New
+ New Window
- Creates a new document
+ Create a new window.