We rendered a million web pages to find out what makes the web slow

submitted by magnora7 from itnext.io

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[–][deleted] 11 insightful - 4 fun11 insightful - 3 fun12 insightful - 4 fun -  (20 children)

Google analytics is on most the websites you'll visit; yet another way big tech spies on us! That's why I use Brave, which blocks the script from even running, since it considers it to be a tracker — which it is.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (13 children)

sWITCHING OFF JAVA SOLVES THAT DOESN'T IT?

[–]cant_even 6 insightful - 2 fun6 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

Switching off JavaScript does it.

Get a white-list javascript blocker and learn to use it. It isn't hard and thoroughly worth the effort.

When you install something like NoScript or ScriptSafe browser extensions, they're blocking all scripts on every site you visit. You must then allow legitimate scripts to run from sites you want to fully interact with. The good part is the process is only done once.

  1. Visit a site. Note what loads. Click your blocker's icon for a list of scripts that are trying to run.
  2. The main site domain name will be at the top. Note in the illustration I've already finished allowing the only two javascripts needed to login, post, vote and comment on the 'old-design' Reddit.
  3. Some more complicated sites, like (I hope) your bank or merchants you order from, have cascading trees of scripts that appear as you move through their menu systems. Just use the 'temporary' buttons to experiment with the various scripts offered. It appears daunting, but the more you use the blockers, the more you see recurring ones that you can either accept or reject out of hand.
  4. You don't even have to repeat the process for a new computer. Both the blockers I mentioned above can import/export white-lists from other instances of the app.

"Anything good is worth a little effort".

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

"Anything good is worth a little effort".

Thanks, I see I have whitelist functionality on my firefox addon, I'll start whiting sites. I wonder if they consider "white list" raciest in the colleges?

[–]cant_even 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

You watch; the next iteration of some open-source-committee's "Code of Conduct" will discourage [color]lists...

[–]cant_even 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Don't give them ideas...

[–]madcow-5 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (7 children)

Javascript.

Java is a totally different language.

[–]C3P0 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

Nothing wrong with abbreviating a word. Laymen can't tell the difference anyways.

[–]xigoi 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

The abbreviation for JavaScript is JS.

[–]C3P0 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Or java. with a period.

[–]madcow-5 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

It’s not an abbreviation. They’re two different languages.

Java is a thing.

JavaScript is a different thing.

Recruiters and HR get this wrong constantly.

[–]C3P0 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Notwithstanding "Java" as a language exists, javascript can be abbreviated as java. Although it is not advised because it could be confused with the Java language. However, "not advised" does not mean not permissible.

Imagine you are reading an article in a magazine and you see the abbreviation "pub." Would you really insist that "pub February" refers to a tavern named "February?"

How hard is it to understand that a word in the form XXXYYY can be abbreviated as XXX?

[–]madcow-5 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Bud... No...

A more accurate comparison would be trying to abbreviate fireman as fire. Fire doesn't run into houses to save people. Or Snowshoe as snow. You don't put snow on your feet to help hike in the winter. They're totally different things.

[–]C3P0 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I see no issue with abbreviating fireman as fire., fi., or f. or showshoe as snow., sno., s., etc. The context tells the story. That's our disagreement. Happy new year's!

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Sorry, was renaming picture files...

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    it takes about 12 years, give or take a page...

    [–]Node 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    uMatrix is pretty hands-on, but you can block page elements as desired.

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    Brave also has options for script blocking, but I generally stick with the default, which blocks third party scripts, but allows the rest.

    [–]madcow-5 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    Aye, it's standard. Who knows what google is seeing with it, but the website using GA doesn't get to see too much that's super personal now. Basically the device/browser/location only specific to the town/screen size, etc. Like they're not seeing your facebook account and exact street address.

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    The problem ain't the website, it's Google.

    [–][deleted] 3 insightful - 4 fun3 insightful - 3 fun4 insightful - 4 fun -  (0 children)

    Gathering the data was a matter of writing a bit of code to use Puppeteer to script Chrome, firing up 200 EC2 instances, rendering a million web pages over the weekend, and praying that you’ve actually understood how AWS pricing works.

    lol

    [–]bobbobbybob 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

    To me this reads like a list of BGP / DNS spoofing targets

    [–]magnora7[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    Perhaps, not sure I fully get what you mean. Just reads like google and facebook is sucking up every single piece of information they can get their hands on, to me

    [–]bobbobbybob 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    If I were to change hats, and wanted to fuck with a lot of websites, I'd be targeting DNS and BGP / routing information for the top sites on that list, since so many websites use them. Either malware insertion or DOS / MiTM attacks by sending those calls off on merry routes that i've set up.