Few days ago Tor Project and VPN provider Mullvad presented a web browser called "Mulvad Browser" jointly developed and focused on protecting user privacy.
Mulvad Browser is technically based on the Firefox engine and it includes almost all the changes of the Tor Browser, with the main difference being that it does not use the Tor network and sends requests directly (a Tor Browser variant without Tor).
Mullvad Browser is supposed to may be of interest to users who do not wish to work through the Tor network, but want the mechanisms available in Tor Browser to increase privacy, block visitor tracking, and protect against user identification.
Mullvad and Tor Project have been part of the same community that is dedicated to developing technology that prioritizes the protection of people's right to privacy for many years. Mullvad contributes to the Tor Project at the highest level of membership, Shallot, and was a founding member of the Tor Project Membership Program.
For added security, Mullvad Browser, like Tor Browser, has an “HTTPS Only” setting to encrypt traffic on all sites where possible. NoScript and Ublock Origin plugins are included to reduce the threat of JavaScript attacks and ad blocking. The Mullvad DNS-over-HTTP server is used to determine the names. Ready assemblies are generated for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
They approached us to help develop their browser because they wanted to use our experience to create a product that is based on the same principles and with similar levels of security as Tor Browser, but works independently of the Tor network. The result is Mullvad Browser, a free, privacy-preserving web browser to challenge the all too common business model of exploiting people's data for profit.
By default, private browsing mode is used, which deletes cookies and browsing history once the session ends.
Three security modes are available: Standard, Most Secure (JavaScript is enabled for HTTPS only, support for audio and video tags is disabled), and Most Secure (no JavaScript). DuckDuckgo is used as a search engine. Includes Mullvad plugin to display IP address information, Mullvad VPN connection details (Mullvad VPN is optional) and quickly disable WebRTC support.
Our goal was to give users the privacy protections of Tor Browser without Tor. For example, the Mullvad browser takes a "hide in the crowd" approach to online privacy by creating a similar digital footprint for all of its users. Browser 'out of the box' settings and configurations will mask many parameters and features that are commonly used to extract information from a person's device that can make it identifiable, including fonts, rendered content, and various hardware APIs.
All the different APIs like WebGL, WebGL2, Gamepad, Sensors, among others are disabled or restricted to protect against user tracking and targeted targeting of visitors. screen.orientation, as well as the telemetry sending tools, Pocket, Reader View, are disabled, the data return is arranged only about a part of the installed fonts.
To block identification by window size, the letterbox mechanism is used, which adds padding around the content of web pages. Password manager removed.
Of the differences with the Tor browser: the Tor network is not used, there is no support for different languages, support for WebRTC and Web Audio API is returned, uBlock Origin and Mullvad Browser Extension are integrated, drag and drop protection is disabled , warnings are no longer displayed during downloads, leak protection between tabs is disabled on NoScript information that can be used to identify the user.
Mullvad Browser is not linked to Mullvad VPN and can be used by anyone. The browser code is distributed under the MPL 2.0 license, development is done in the Tor project repository.
If you are interested in knowing more about it, you can check the details In the following link.
Regards!!
Is it possible in Mullvad-Browser to choose another search engine than Duck-Duck-Go??