8 years ago
28
Chrome Blocks Major Torrent Sites Over "Harmful Programs"
Starting today Google Chrome is blocking direct access to several large torrent sites including KickassTorrents, Torrentz, ExtraTorent and RARBG. According to Google the sites contain "harmful programs" but the site owners are clueless as to what they've done wrong.
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https://torrentfreak.com
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You can always use Torch Browser it's based off Chromium, the source for Chrome, but it also has a built in Torrent client, for all those Linux Distributions everyone downloads. But there are several others that are security focused and all based on Chromium. So you'd get the same experience.
I tried downloading Torch Browser but I get the Chrome warning of 'harmful programs'...
Are there any major differences between Torch and Chrome that I (as a not too heavy user and non-web dev) might notice? Does Torch support a similar number/variety of extensions and how are its benchmarks?
The linked article has an update: "Update: ExtraTorrent says it successfully resolved the issue with Google through webmaster tools. RARBG is also unblocked."
It would be helpful if TorrentFreak would have mentioned what ExtraTorrent/RARBG had to do to resolve the issue. There's more to this... I, for one, am curious to know more.
Maybe the issue was legit, malware ad or something.
It could very well be legit. In these conspiratard days, even Google should provide a reason when they do such things, to ward off suspicion.
Well... They did say "Malware". They do a ton of those, there is a staggering amount of that. About 10% of the web (by volume, not popularity) contains malware.
If it was legit, then actions were taken by machines.
The quick resolution makes me think there was no foul play involved.
I reinstalled Firefox not long ago, looks like it wasn't such a bad thing to do after all.
Firefox is OK, but on my android devices it's too slow to be useful. I use it on Mac, and it works perfectly with all the usual addons (Ghostery, HTTPS everywhere etc).
I'm not sure why the scrolling in Firefox Mobile is so bad on Android devices, but that's pretty much the only thing keeping me from using it on my phone.
You guys should give Opera a try if you're ever curious. Best browser out there for me.
If this is true, this gives me enough reason to switch away. Why does Google need to treat me like a retarded ape and not let me decide which sites are harmful and which are not?
Because it's big enough that governments and lawyered up corporate types have it in their cross-hairs.
Nooooo... Don't take away my torrent sites I need them!
Censorship is evil.
I don't know if this is enough for me to stop using Chrome, but I have always kept Firefox installed for those times when I just want the raw, unprotected Internets. Anyone else a double-browser person? I guess I am actually triple, because I use Chrome and IE at work. Before anyone forms a mob, IE tends to work better with Power BI and Office 365, which I am obligated to at the office.
Now I'm beginning to think about switching to another browser... Because I don't want to turn off phishing and malware protection in Chrome just to access my favourite torrent sites. What do you guys think, which browser is the second best after Chrome?
Firefox is probably the other highest rated browser out there. To take full advantage, look up customization options for a ton of built-in features so the browser does what you want it to.
TorBrowser is great if you're interested in security; it redirects your IP through other countries to prevent tracking. However, that does not extend to things you download (like torrents).
It looks like there are also other options based on Chromium (the same underpinnings that Chrome uses) that I haven't tried out. I would say test out a few things, and see what works best for your browsing needs.
Firefox is my personal choice as well and it is recommended by most privacy advocates, particularly with the right extensions installed. Here are some websites if you're interested in learning more:
- Prism Break
- Privacy Tools (thanks to /u/Endymion for bringing this to my attention today)
- Reset the Net
TorBrowser really is a really good option for privacy in terms of general web browsing. One important caveat though, whilst it is great at keeping your browsing habits anonymous from what I understand the exit node of the Tor network may be monitored, so don't enter any confidential information (e.g. username or passwords) through TorBrowser.
It's sad, but I don't think anyone should be surprised. Google is a mega corporation, no matter how nice they may seem to be. They've got to deal with legal issues, stock holders, the government, and everything else that a big corporation does. While Google does tend to be a good company, nobody should be surprised to find Google isn't their friend.
Except that excuse is pretty much crap. A web browser is a vehicle. Ford doesn't take heat when someone uses it to transport drugs or as a getaway car. It's one thing for Google to not show search results because the results are for illegal content, but another to limit their browser because someone might use it for something illegal. Take away my computer too because that's what bankers use to embezzle and what hackers use to hack.
I don't disagree, I was just trying to explain Google's reasoning behind it and the reasons they'll say, and just get people to remember that big corporations are not their friends. Google would never be forced to legally do what they did, but they'll happily do it because they're not the users' friend, they're friends with the people with power and money.
The dev tools on chromium based browsers are awesome. The only problem is google doing all this.
I've been slowly tearing myself away from Chrome for a while. This might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Anybody know of a bypass? I mean other than clicking through details. It's annoying and unreasonable.
This seems to be a part of their Phishing & malware alerts, so to turn off:
Would seem to turn it off for all sites, so do browse a bit more carefully if you do decide to disable it.
Using a proxy should get you through.
Hah, good thing I use Opera instead. Screw Google, screw Google hard.