Userscripts VS Smart HTTPS

• Customization
  Userscripts allow for extensive customization of web experiences, as users can write scripts in JavaScript to modify the behavior and appearance of websites according to their needs.
• Enhanced Productivity
  By automating repetitive tasks and adding useful shortcuts, userscripts can significantly enhance productivity for users who interact frequently with specific web applications.
• Open Source Nature
  Being hosted on GitHub, Userscripts is open source, allowing developers to contribute, review the code for security purposes, and fork the project for personal use.
• Community Support
  Userscripts have a strong community backing, with many scripts readily available through various online repositories, providing users with a wide array of pre-made scripts to choose from.
• Cross-Browser Compatibility
  Many userscripts are designed to be cross-browser compatible, functioning in browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and others that support userscript managers like Tampermonkey or Greasemonkey.

Possible disadvantages

• Security Risks
  Userscripts can pose security risks, as malicious scripts could potentially capture sensitive user data or perform harmful actions on behalf of the user.
• Maintenance Overhead
  As websites update their structures and functionalities, users may need to frequently maintain or update their scripts to ensure continued compatibility and performance.
• Technical Barrier
  Creating and managing userscripts often requires a certain level of technical knowledge, particularly in JavaScript, which may not be accessible to non-technical users.
• Browser Deprecation Concerns
  Future browser updates might deprecate some functionalities that userscripts rely on, potentially rendering some scripts useless unless updated.
• Performance Impact
  Poorly written or overly complex scripts might lead to performance issues, slowing down browsers or websites as they perform additional processing on pages.

• Automatic Redirection to HTTPS
  Smart HTTPS automatically changes HTTP protocol to HTTPS, which enhances the security of your browsing by ensuring that the connection is encrypted.
• Fallback to HTTP
  In cases where an HTTPS version of the site is not available, it can automatically revert back to HTTP, ensuring you can still access the website instead of facing a disruption.
• Whitelist Feature
  Allows users to maintain a whitelist of websites that should always be accessed using HTTP, providing flexibility and control over the browsing experience.
• Improved Privacy
  By automatically using HTTPS, it helps in protecting user data from eavesdroppers and enhances privacy while browsing the web.

Possible disadvantages

• Compatibility Issues
  Some websites may not function correctly over HTTPS, leading to potential misbehavior or broken features when accessed using Smart HTTPS.
• Potential for Increased Loading Times
  Sometimes, redirecting to HTTPS can result in slightly longer loading times, especially if the server's configuration is not optimal for HTTPS.
• Resource Intensive
  The addon might consume additional resources to check for HTTPS versions of every site, which could impact browser performance, especially on older systems.
• Limited Control Over Redirection
  Users might have limited ability to control which sites are redirected to HTTPS if they haven't preemptively whitelisted specific HTTP sites.

5 Recommended Tampermonkey Userscripts in 2022

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• Jeffgeerling.com has been Migrated to Hugo

  The looking icon is the Userscripts extensions. https://github.com/quoid/userscripts. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago

• Show HN: My first programming project – userscripts to change forum UIs

  Hi, I'm Will. I'm 24, autistic, and have OCD tendencies. I'm learning to code and this is my first public project. I’d really appreciate your feedback and encouragement! This project lets me solve some of my OCD problems online. There... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago

• Show HN: HNRelevant – Explore Related Discussions on HN in an Integrated Sidebar

  You can use userscripts [1] which is a safari extension which allows you to add userscripts, and the author of this work have an userscript [2] that you can use with safari (or any other browser) [1] https://github.com/quoid/userscripts. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago

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• “We don’t track you … except for when we get paid for it.”

  Smart HTTPS, site This tries to send you to https sites instead of http sites. Using http sites makes you venerable to man in the middle attacks. (dont use http on public wifis if possible). Source: over 4 years ago

• question about non secure websites

  I'd recommend using Smart HTTPS which automatically makes your site's HTTPS if it can offer it so it will reduce these situations. Here's the site where you can choose whichever browser you use. https://mybrowseraddon.com/smart-https.html. Source: over 4 years ago