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Browser Dethroned...
Jun. 21, 2006, 07:32 AM
Post: #16
RE: Browser Dethroned...
a home page is something that I tell my browser to go fetch...
"phone home" activity is something my browser is doing WITHOUT me telling it to do...

a home page is something that is obviously being fetched...
this "Link" that Sleipnir is 'fetching' is an item in the "Favorites" pull-down menu...


consider it this way, let's suppose your browser, without your knowledge, "pings" each and EVERY link within your "Favorites" folder each and EVERY time that you open up your browser... and for every "dead ping", when you go to your "Favorites" pull-down menu to click on "The Un-Official Proxomitron Forum", the link instead says "Connection Error"...

sure, a nice "feature", but my browser doing it without me telling it to?
Sleipnir is doing it so that the "Blog Link" links to the appropriate Blog in your native language (English versus Japanese), but it is nonetheless a "phoning home" that is cleverly cloaked and one nobody would ever suspect... I mean, no other browser "fetches" content from the web to "define" a link within the "Favorites" folder upon each and EVERY opening of the browser...
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Jun. 21, 2006, 09:21 PM
Post: #17
RE: Browser Dethroned...
ProxRocks Wrote:
besafe Wrote:ProxRocks:
I'm the reverse of you; I've been a long time user of Maxthon but it has been dethroned by Sleipnir 2.30.

Have you blocked your Sleipnir from "phoning home"?

I don't recall how long ago I noticed it (and thusly blocked it via HOSTS), but Sleipnir does provide a "Link" that it goes out and fetches upon startup (ie, too phonie-homie for my blood)...

In Sleipnir, pull down your Favorites pull-down menu...
Under Links > Recommended, you'll see a "Sleipnir Blog"...

Now close Sleipnir and DISCONNECT from the 'net...
Reopen Sleipnir and you'll notice that the "Sleipnir Blog" Link is NOT there, but rather a "Connection Error" note is displayed where the Link used to be...

Close Sleipnir, reconnect to the 'net, reopen Sleipnir...
Whoala, the "Sleipnir Blog" Link is back in...

Sleipnir is "pulling in" this link from http://www.fenrir.co.jp/services/good/good-en.xml...

Personally, I feel this "service" should be OPTIONAL (such as the notification of updates "service" [ie, "phone home"]), not Sleipnir doing this all by itself...


Anyway, depending on your views of "phoning home", you may wish to block this .xml Blog-Link feed...

In general preferences, if you uncheck "Notify updates of Sleipnir" it should stop phoning home shouldn't it.
It doesn't really bother me if it is. A lot of Antivirus programs do a heck of a lot of activity on the net too and probably phone home. I think most app makers like to have an idea of how often their product is being used and I think this is mainly what happens.
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Jun. 21, 2006, 11:07 PM
Post: #18
RE: Browser Dethroned...
besafe Wrote:In general preferences, if you uncheck "Notify updates of Sleipnir" it should stop phoning home shouldn't it?

Nope...

With that unchecked and with Sleipnir set to open with no home page and opening with no web page at all, open up your Sleipnir and before doing ANY 'net activity, access the ol' "What's Proxo Thinking" URL... Or have the log window open while opening Sleipnir and that blank page...

You'll see that "phone home" activity...
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