Osprey is a browser extension designed to protect users from malicious websites. It leverages a regularly updated local blacklist to block known phishing, malware, and scam sites before they even load. This proactive approach eliminates the need for constant server communication, ensuring faster browsing and enhanced privacy. Osprey also offers customizable whitelisting and an optional "report" feature that sends anonymized telemetry data to improve its database, helping to protect the wider community.
Pets for Cursor is a simple web app that adds a small animated pet to follow your mouse cursor around the screen. Choose from a variety of animals, including a cat, dog, duck, and hamster, each with their own unique walking animation. The project is open-source and easily customizable, allowing users to add their own pets by providing a sprite sheet. It's a fun, lightweight way to personalize your browsing experience.
The Hacker News comments on "Show HN: Pets for Cursor" are generally positive and intrigued by the project. Several commenters express interest in trying it out or appreciate the novelty. Some suggest improvements like different pet options, customizable animations, and the ability to toggle the pet on/off. A few commenters raise potential downsides, such as the pet being distracting or interfering with clicking. One commenter notes the similarity to a previous project called "Cursorcerer," which was received favorably by their team. Overall, the comments indicate that while a simple idea, "Pets for Cursor" has sparked interest and discussion around its potential utility and entertainment value.
This Chrome extension, called Fakey, translates Japanese manga and Korean manhwa in real-time. It uses machine translation to overlay the original text with the chosen target language, allowing readers to enjoy these comics without needing pre-translated versions. Fakey supports a variety of languages and aims to make manga and manhwa more accessible to a global audience. It works directly within the browser, making the translation process seamless and convenient for readers.
HN commenters generally expressed skepticism and concern about Fakey's claims. Several pointed out the difficulty of accurately translating comics, especially with nuances like slang, onomatopoeia, and visual context. Some questioned the feasibility of real-time translation within a browser extension, suspecting significant server-side processing was involved, raising privacy concerns. Others mentioned existing, albeit imperfect, solutions and wondered about Fakey's comparative advantages. A few commenters requested information on pricing and the languages supported, while others simply dismissed the project as unlikely to deliver on its promises. The overall sentiment leaned towards cautious disapproval.
WebShield is a new, free, and open-source content blocker for Safari designed to provide comprehensive protection against a wide range of online annoyances. Leveraging a constantly updated blocklist, it tackles intrusive ads, trackers, cryptocurrency miners, EU cookie banners, and other unwanted content, aiming for a cleaner and faster browsing experience. Users can customize their blocking preferences and add their own custom rules. Built using only native WebKit APIs, WebShield emphasizes performance and privacy by ensuring all processing is done locally on the device.
HN users generally expressed interest in WebShield, praising its open-source nature and potential effectiveness. Several commenters appreciated the developer's focus on privacy and the detailed explanation of the blocking process. Some raised concerns about the reliance on JavaScript and the potential for performance impact, suggesting native implementation would be preferable. Others questioned the long-term maintainability of the project and the feasibility of keeping the block lists updated. A few users mentioned existing content blockers and questioned WebShield's differentiation, while others welcomed it as a valuable addition to the Safari ecosystem. The developer actively engaged with the comments, addressing questions and clarifying the project's goals.
A new Safari extension allows users to set ChatGPT as their default search engine. The extension intercepts search queries entered in the Safari address bar and redirects them to ChatGPT, providing a conversational AI-powered search experience directly within the browser. This offers an alternative to traditional search engines, leveraging ChatGPT's ability to synthesize information and respond in natural language.
Hacker News users discussed the practicality and privacy implications of using a ChatGPT extension as a default search engine. Several questioned the value proposition, arguing that search engines are better suited for information retrieval while ChatGPT excels at generating text. Privacy concerns were raised regarding sending every search query to OpenAI. Some commenters expressed interest in using ChatGPT for specific use cases, like code generation or creative writing prompts, but not as a general search replacement. Others highlighted potential benefits, like more conversational search results and the possibility of bypassing paywalled content using ChatGPT's summarization abilities. The potential for bias and manipulation in ChatGPT's responses was also mentioned.
Browser Use is an open-source project providing reusable web agents capable of automating browser interactions. These agents, written in TypeScript, leverage Playwright and offer a modular, extensible architecture for building complex web workflows. The project aims to simplify common tasks like web scraping, testing, and automation by abstracting away low-level browser control, providing higher-level APIs for interacting with web pages. This allows developers to focus on the logic of their automation rather than the intricacies of browser manipulation. The project is designed to be easily customizable and extensible, allowing developers to create and share their own custom agents.
HN commenters generally expressed skepticism towards Browser Use's value proposition. Several questioned the practicality and cost-effectiveness compared to existing solutions like Selenium or Playwright, particularly highlighting the overhead of managing a browser farm. Some doubted the claimed performance benefits, suggesting that perceived speed improvements might stem from bypassing unnecessary steps in typical testing setups. Others pointed to potential challenges in maintaining browser compatibility and the difficulty of accurately replicating real-world browsing environments. A few commenters expressed interest in specific use cases like monitoring and web scraping, but overall the reception was cautious, with many requesting more concrete examples and performance benchmarks.
The Marsha P. Johnson Chrome extension combats trans erasure by highlighting instances where "deadnaming" occurs on webpages. It identifies and visually emphasizes when a transgender person's pre-transition name is used instead of their chosen name, aiming to raise awareness and promote respectful language. The extension utilizes a user-maintained database of names and allows for community contributions to ensure its accuracy and comprehensiveness. This tool serves as a simple yet powerful reminder of the importance of using correct names and pronouns, honoring trans identities, and fostering a more inclusive online environment.
Several Hacker News commenters express skepticism about the value and implementation of the Marsha P. Johnson Chrome extension. Some question the effectiveness of simply highlighting names, suggesting it doesn't meaningfully address trans erasure and may even be counterproductive by trivializing the issue. Others criticize the technical execution, pointing to potential performance issues, privacy concerns around data collection, and the potential for misidentification or misgendering due to the complexities of language. There are also concerns about the extension promoting a specific political viewpoint and the potential for misuse or abuse. A few commenters offer alternative suggestions for combating trans erasure, such as donating to relevant organizations or engaging in more direct activism.
This blog post presents a simple bookmarklet designed to remove fixed position headers on websites. The author, frustrated by obstructive sticky headers, created a JavaScript snippet that can be saved as a bookmark. When clicked, this bookmarklet iterates through all elements on the current page, identifies those with a fixed position (typically headers), and sets their position to static, effectively removing the sticky behavior. The post highlights the bookmarklet's effectiveness in reclaiming screen real estate and improving the browsing experience. It also includes the code snippet for easy copying and implementation.
Hacker News users generally praised the bookmarklet for its simplicity and effectiveness in removing annoying sticky headers. Some users expressed concerns about potential website breakage, while others offered alternative solutions like browser extensions (e.g., uBlock Origin) or Stylish. A few commenters suggested improvements to the bookmarklet's code, such as handling elements with position: fixed differently or providing an option to restore the original header. The discussion also touched upon the broader issue of intrusive web design and the ongoing battle between users and websites trying to maximize ad revenue. One commenter even shared a personal anecdote about creating a similar tool years prior, highlighting the long-standing frustration with sticky headers.
TabBoo is a browser extension designed to deter procrastination by injecting random jumpscares into websites the user designates as distracting. It works by periodically displaying startling images, chosen from a curated selection or uploaded by the user, on blacklisted sites. This aims to create a negative association with those sites, making them less appealing to visit and thus boosting productivity. The extension offers customization options for jumpscare frequency and image selection, allowing users to tailor the experience to their needs.
Hacker News commenters generally found TabBoo's concept amusing, but impractical for serious self-control. Several pointed out the ease with which one could simply disable the extension or avoid the targeted sites altogether if motivation was truly lacking. Some suggested alternative approaches like website blockers, while others joked about the potential for misuse or the psychological implications of negative reinforcement. A few expressed interest in the technical implementation, particularly the use of AI-generated jumpscares. Overall, the comments lean towards seeing TabBoo as a novelty rather than a robust solution for procrastination.
Summary of Comments ( 4 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43671871
Hacker News users discussed Osprey's efficacy and approach. Some questioned the extension's reliance on VirusTotal, expressing concerns about privacy and potential false positives. Others debated the merits of blocking entire sites versus specific resources, with some arguing for more granular control. The reliance on browser extensions as a security solution was also questioned, with some preferring network-level blocking. A few users praised the project's open-source nature and suggested improvements like local blacklists and the ability to whitelist specific elements. Overall, the comments reflected a cautious optimism tempered by practical concerns about the extension's implementation and the broader challenges of online security.
The Hacker News post about the Osprey browser extension generated a moderate amount of discussion, with several commenters expressing interest and raising pertinent questions about its functionality and approach.
One of the most compelling threads revolved around the effectiveness and potential drawbacks of relying solely on DNS-based blocking for protection. A user questioned whether this approach could be easily bypassed by sophisticated attackers who might use techniques like DNS over HTTPS (DoH) or direct IP connections. This sparked further discussion about the trade-offs between security and privacy, with some arguing that while DNS blocking offers a good first line of defense, it shouldn't be the only security measure. The developer of Osprey chimed in to acknowledge these limitations and clarified that the extension is designed to be a lightweight and easy-to-use tool for basic protection, rather than a comprehensive security solution. They also pointed out that Osprey utilizes a curated blocklist that is regularly updated, aiming to minimize false positives.
Another commenter raised concerns about the closed-source nature of the extension's blocklist, emphasizing the importance of transparency for security tools. They suggested that open-sourcing the list would allow for community scrutiny and potentially improve its accuracy and comprehensiveness. This prompted a discussion about the challenges of maintaining a public blocklist, including the risk of it being abused or manipulated by malicious actors.
Several users expressed appreciation for the simplicity and minimalist design of Osprey, viewing it as a welcome alternative to more resource-intensive browser extensions. Others shared their experiences with similar tools and offered suggestions for potential improvements, such as adding support for custom blocklists or integrating with other security features. One commenter specifically requested the ability to whitelist certain domains, which the developer acknowledged as a valuable feature for future consideration.
Overall, the comments on the Hacker News post reflect a generally positive reception of Osprey, while also highlighting the importance of careful consideration of its limitations and the ongoing discussion about balancing security, privacy, and usability in browser extensions.