Topic

Google Chrome

🇷🇺Aug 17

Browser Privacy Ranking 2026: Tor Browser Leads at 9.5 While Chrome and Yandex Rank Lowest

SecurityLab.ru has published a detailed 2026 browser privacy ranking that evaluates major browsers across six criteria including initial network behavior, site isolation, fingerprint resistance, funding model, configurability, and code auditability. Tor Browser scores highest at 9.5 for its comprehensive protections including unified fingerprinting and layered JavaScript controls, followed by Mullvad Browser at 9.0 and LibreWolf at 8.5. Brave earns 7.5 for built-in tracker blocking but faces criticism over default telemetry and cryptocurrency features. Firefox scores 6.0 out of the box yet reaches 8.5 after extensive configuration, while Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Yandex Browser occupy the bottom positions due to persistent tracking mechanisms and closed-source components. The report also highlights the Local Mess localhost tracking technique used by Meta and Yandex that bypassed browser isolation entirely.

Securitylab•Privacy & Surveillance
🇷🇺Aug 14

Ruthenium: Custom Chromium Build for Android Adds Russian Trusted Root CA Support

A developer has released Ruthenium, a modified Chromium browser for Android that embeds the Russian Trusted Root CA certificate issued by the Ministry of Digital Development. The build restricts trust to .ru and .рф domains only, avoiding changes to the system-wide Android certificate store. The project patches four Chromium source files to include the root with DNS constraints via CertWithConstraints, disables Google sign-in by default, and removes XR-related code for successful compilation. Ruthenium uses the official Chromium TLS verification logic without introducing a custom verifier. The APK is distributed with SHA-256 checksums, build metadata, and reproducible release tags tied to the exact Chromium revision and certificate digest. Users can install it alongside stock Chrome and use it selectively for Russian government and banking sites that rely on the state root.

Habr•Policy & Regulation