Brave with Anton Lazarev

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Jan 9, 2025

Anton Lazarev, a Senior Software Engineer at Brave, is known for developing rust-based solutions and his customizable split keyboard project. In this discussion, he explains how Brave's privacy-first ad-blocker leverages Rust for optimal performance. He shares insights on overcoming challenges in browser constraints, parallelizing CSS parsing, and enhancing filter list capabilities. Anton also details the transition from C++ to Rust, emphasizing the benefits of memory safety and innovative development, all while exploring the future potential of Rust in browser technology.

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ANECDOTE

Rust Beginnings

Anton Lazarev's interest in 3D printing led him to Rust in 2016.
He later used Rust for a VST plugin project, which solidified his understanding of Rust's strengths in systems programming.

ANECDOTE

VST and Rust

Lazarev's VST plugin project helped him realize Rust's suitability for audio processing.
The project required working within strict memory allocation constraints.

ANECDOTE

Joining Brave

Lazarev joined Brave as an intern in 2019 after seeing a Reddit post.
The internship involved rewriting the existing ad blocker in Rust.

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Web browsers today face increasing demands for both performance and privacy. At Brave, they're tackling both challenges head-on with their Rust-based ad-blocking engine. This isn't just about blocking ads – it's about doing so with minimal performance impact while maintaining compatibility with existing filter lists and adapting to evolving web technologies.

Today we're joined by Anton Lazarev, Senior Software Engineer at Brave, to discuss how they're using Rust to build a high-performance ad-blocker, the challenges of working within browser constraints, and how they're pushing the boundaries of what's possible in modern web privacy.

About Brave

Brave is a privacy-focused web browser that blocks ads and trackers by default. It's built on top of Chromium, with additional privacy features like the ability to earn cryptocurrency by viewing privacy-respecting ads. Brave has been an early adopter of Rust, using it to build their ad-blocking engine and other core features.

About Anton Lazarev

Anton Lazarev is a Senior Software Engineer at Brave, where he works on the browser's core privacy features. In his free time, Anton enjoys working on like his fully open-source and Rust-based, customizable split keyboard.

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Links From The Episode (In Chronological Order)

VST - Audio plugin standard
Azul - Early Rust UI library
Rust subreddit "Who's Hiring" - Looking for a Rust job?
XPath - Alternative to CSS style selectors
CXX - C/C++ Rust Interop crate
CNAME cloaking - Technique for disguising tracking domains
Manifest V3 - New extension platform specification
uBlock Origin - Popular content blocker
adblock-rust - Brave's adblock engine written in Rust
Public Suffix List - Explains what a "suffix" is compared to a TLD
Servo2 - Next generation browser engine
Ladybird - Browser project
Swift supported compile targets
Matthias: "The Dying Web"
GN - Old Chromium build system
GNRT - New Chromium build system: GN from Rust third_party (pronounced "generate")
Bazel - Google's build system
Ninja - Small build system focusing on speed
Angelfish browser
QuteBrowser - Keyboard-focused browser
Privaxy - Privacy proxy using adblock-rust
Readable - Matthias' attempt to make the web readable
Anton's Keyboard - Custom keyboard setup

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