Google and Web Content

[paulunderwood]

On my new acquired N2, which is running Debian+Mate run everything apart from mlucas on the slower dual core a53. I have noticed that when I use Alphabet software both firefox-esr and "Web Content" show greater CPU usage than say mersenneforum does. Why is this so?

[retina]

Originally Posted by paulunderwood

On my new acquired N2, which is running Debian+Mate run everything apart from mlucas on the slower dual core a53. I have noticed that when I use Alphabet software both firefox-esr and "Web Content" show greater CPU usage than say mersenneforum does. Why is this so?

JS scripting. Google likes to monetise you by watching your every mouse movement, clipboard change and keystroke to see if there is something interesting they can steal use.

[paulunderwood]

Originally Posted by retina

JS scripting. Google likes to monetise you by watching your every mouse movement, clipboard change and keystroke to see if there is something interesting they can steal use.

Thanks. I thought it was something like that. After logging out of Gmail, before I kill its tab, it uses almost a full core. I have switched my search engine setting to the kinder DDG. I will look into how to control JS site by site... fs

[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by paulunderwood

Thanks. I thought it was something like that. After logging out of Gmail, before I kill its tab, it uses almost a full core. I have switched my search engine setting to the kinder DDG. I will look into how to control JS site by site... fs

For site-specific JS enablement, NoScript is the FF add-on you want - that also works with the Palemoon/Newmoon FF fork. I have a couple dozen whitelisted sites (e.g. online banking, ebay, paypal) in those settings (and similar in the privacy->cookies options), everything else is off by default. I've found that with very few exceptions, a site which needs you to enable JS for more that itself and perhaps one other content-delivery site is best skipped altogether - the one notable exception for me is when I use USPS online postage-purchasing/label-printing, for the latter step I need to "enable scripts globally" for it to work - basically the "nuclear option", only to be used in extremis. Also switched to DDG years ago - not only has Google dramatically crapified the quality of their search over the past decade in their relentless quest to monetize everything and "shape their user's thoughts", as retina notes, Google is evil.

[kladner]

Thanks for mentioning Noscript, Ernst. I ran it for a long time, but lost it in some FF debacle. It is now back in residence. OT: Smileys are not working.