Brave Browser for a Brave New World
It’s not very often I actively support something as mundane as an Internet Browser, after all, it is just an Internet browser, right?
However, as the years have rolled on since the uprising of the Internet and browsers have died off and new ones have risen out from the ashes we have seen a monopoly occur.
Our good old friends over at Google have effectively ensured that their chrome browser has dominated the market, with over 65% of all internet browsing now done on a Chrome browser and the next most dominant, Safari, just a mere 17%, Google have quite literally taken ownership of most of the Worlds population gateway to the Internet.[1]
Which to the average person may feel like a ‘so what?’ situation, but in actual fact this is a serious problem which we should all take very seriously, particularly if you are concerned about freedom of speech, freedom of education, freedom of truth and individual privacy.
- Chrome 65.45%
- Safari 16.99%
- Firefox 4.24%
- Opera 1.94%
Source: Statcounter.com
What is the Brave Browser
The Brave browser is built around google’s open-source Chrome browser, so it supports all the add-ons and features of Google’s dominant Chrome browser but rich with additional features which we’ll go through now.
Brave Rewards
The brave browser features a unique monetary based incentive to both browse and create content.
- Users earn BAT tokens for viewing advertisements
- Content can earn BAT tokens from tips, contributions and referrals which result in downloading the browser.
- Setup auto-contribute to websites you support
- Tip your favourite content creators
- Verify with Uphold to move your BAT tokens in and out of wallets and change into other currencies.
Shields
With built in Ad Blocking, HTTPS upgrading, Script blocking and Cookie control, all per-site customizable, Brave leads the way in features.
- Ad blocking
- HTTPS upgrading
- Script blocking
- Cookie control
- Fingerprinting prevention
- Per-site and global shield settings
Privacy & Security
With everybody and their uncle now looking at ways to monetize and use your browsing data, it has become more essential than ever to protect yourself while browsing online.
The Brave browser is abundant with security features:
- Built-in TOR browser functionality for Anonymous browsing
- Send “Do Not Track” with browsing requests
- Secure password manager
- Clear Browsing data with ease
Other Features
As well as the additional features we’ve already run through, the Brave browser has all the familiar features found in the Chrome browser:
- 100% compatibility with Chrome Extensions
- Themes available from the Chrome store
- Private Windows (with or without TOR)
- Drag & Drop Tabs and Windows
- Developer Tools
- Pinned Tabs
- Favourites Toolbar
- Search using the address bar
Monetize Your Content
Whether you are a blogger, Independant Journalist or even (god forbid) an influencer; Brave offers a simple way to monetize your content by allowing fans to tip your content.
Fans can either make manual contributions or setup an auto contribution to your account using the funds that they received from viewing adverts.
All in all its a win-win situation as fans get to support their favourite content creators without having to dip into their pockets and content creators get the additional funding they so often need to continue doing what they do.
Every little helps!
All this is done thanks to the BasicAttentionToken (BAT) which is a cryptocurrency built on the Ethereum blockchain. You can transfer all tokens received easily into any other Ethereum based ERC-20 token using various decentralized exchanges or sell your tokens on the open market on numerous popular exchanges for Bitcoin.
Anonymous Browsing with TOR
Whether you just would rather not have your data sold around the World to anyone willing to pay for it or whether you often browse sensitive data which could be classified as ‘at risk’* content viewing; the Brave browser has it covered with its built in TOR browsing functionality.
Please Note
* We do not condone data that promotes anything that is harmful to others. By ‘at risk’ content we are referring to leaked documents, controversial websites such as Wikileaks or maybe trading on the dark web.
Using the TOR browser is easy, simply Press the ‘Alt+Shift+n’ keys and a new private browser window with TOR enabled will pop.
From here you simply navigate the web as you usually would. If you are unfamiliar with how the TOR network works here is a little summary.
Your traffic is relayed and encrypted three times as it passes over the Tor network. The network comprises thousands of volunteer-run servers known as Tor relays.
A Brave enabled browsing tab or window connects at random to one of the publicly listed entry nodes, bounces that traffic through a randomly selected middle relay, and finally spits out your traffic through the third and final exit node and da-daa your browsing is anonymous.
There is no reason NOT to use Brave
With everything Google Chrome can offer but with enhanced privacy and security feature, plus the ability to monetize your browsing and begin tipping your favourite content creators there really is no valid reason to not use Brave.
Brave is great fast and ad free but why does it mainly show just US websites when a search is done