🕶️ Darkelf Shadow — Community Edition 7.0.9 Stable

Fully Hardened • Ephemeral • Zero-Trace Browser (Qt WebEngine / Chromium Core)

Darkelf Shadow is a defense-in-depth, privacy-hardened web browser engineered to minimize persistent tracking, reduce attack surface, and actively defend against modern web threats — while maintaining an ephemeral browsing environment.

Version 7.0.9 Stable expands native macOS integration with a custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2 build, Touch ID/passkey support, improved H.264/AVC media compatibility, and hardened release packaging while preserving the cross-platform privacy, filtering, canvas, and MiniAI improvements introduced in 7.0.8.

📦 Installation

Python / PyPI

If you already have Python 3.11 or newer:

pip install darkelf-shadow
darkelf-shadow

macOS

Darkelf Shadow Community Edition is also distributed as a signed and notarized macOS application.

The macOS release includes a SHA-256 checksum for independent download verification.

✨ What's New in 7.0.9

🍎 Custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2 for macOS ARM64

The native macOS ARM64 release now bundles a custom Darkelf build of Qt WebEngine 6.11.2.

This platform-specific engine adds:

• Native macOS WebAuthn integration
• Touch ID/passkey authentication support
• Darkelf-specific WebAuthn configuration
• Expanded H.264/AVC media compatibility
• Dedicated QtWebEngineProcess and QtWebEngineCore signing
• Apple Hardened Runtime integration
• Developer ID signing, notarization, stapling, and Gatekeeper validation

Windows and Linux continue to use the standard PySide6 / Qt WebEngine platform distribution while retaining Shadow's off-the-record and privacy architecture.

🔑 Touch ID, Passkeys & WebAuthn

• Added native Touch ID support for compatible WebAuthn/passkey authentication on the custom macOS build.
• Added the persistent platform configuration required by the macOS authenticator while keeping browser-session privacy controls scoped appropriately.
• WebAuthn secret material is generated locally with restricted file permissions.
• Integrated the macOS application with the required keychain access group and Developer ID provisioning.
• Passkey creation and subsequent passkey sign-in have been tested with a WebAuthn-enabled service.
• Bluetooth privacy declarations remain available for compatible Bluetooth-enabled security keys and devices.

🎬 Expanded macOS Media Compatibility

• Enabled Qt WebEngine proprietary-codec support in the custom macOS engine.
• Added H.264/AVC playback capability through the custom Qt WebEngine/Chromium media configuration.
• Improved compatibility with web video sources that depend on H.264.
• Codec support is independent of Darkelf's tracker blocking, fingerprint protections, and MiniAI security layers.
• H.264/AVC and third-party licensing information is documented in the packaged third-party notices.

🌐 Cross-Platform Distribution

Darkelf Shadow remains cross-platform through Python/PyPI.

• macOS ARM64 native DMG: custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2 with macOS-specific WebAuthn/Touch ID and expanded media support.
• Windows / Linux: standard platform PySide6 / Qt WebEngine with Shadow's off-the-record browsing and privacy architecture.
• Python/PyPI: installs the platform PySide6 / Qt WebEngine dependency rather than the custom Qt WebEngine framework bundled with the native macOS DMG.

The macOS-specific enhancements therefore do not change Shadow's core cross-platform filtering, MiniAI, fingerprint-protection, and ephemeral-browsing design.

⚡ Declarative Tracker Blocking

Darkelf Shadow's network engine now combines its existing EasyList/uBlock-compatible filtering architecture with a fast declarative tracker layer.

Frequently encountered tracker and advertising infrastructure can be rejected through fast hostname matching before falling back to the larger filter-rule engine.

This provides:

• Faster request evaluation
• Reduced large-rule scanning
• Improved page responsiveness
• Lower filtering overhead
• Strong tracker blocking without sacrificing the existing filter engine
• Indexed fallback evaluation for complex rules

The traditional EasyList/uBlock-style engine remains available for rules requiring more complex evaluation.

🎭 Improved Canvas Protection

Darkelf Shadow retains its randomized canvas protection system with domain-sensitive noise generation.

Canvas access follows three protection states:

This provides stronger protection while allowing sites that legitimately depend on canvas functionality to remain usable.

🧩 Improved Website Compatibility

7.0.8 expands compatibility handling for complex modern web applications, including:

• Authentication services
• Microsoft / Outlook web applications
• CAPTCHA and human-verification systems
• Media-heavy websites
• Dynamic JavaScript applications
• Embedded authentication flows

Compatibility exceptions remain deliberately scoped rather than globally disabling Darkelf's protections.

🤖 Human Verification Handling

Darkelf can detect supported human-verification and authentication workflows and temporarily permit the functionality necessary to complete them.

This reduces CAPTCHA loops while preserving normal privacy protections outside the verification flow.

🍎 macOS Improvements

• Updated application metadata for 7.0.9
• Custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2 framework on macOS ARM64
• Native Touch ID/passkey WebAuthn integration
• Expanded H.264/AVC media compatibility
• Improved browser URL/document registration
• High-resolution display support
• Automatic graphics-switching support
• Bluetooth privacy declaration for Bluetooth-enabled security keys and devices
• Developer ID signing
• Apple Hardened Runtime integration
• Apple notarization and stapling
• Gatekeeper validation
• SHA-256 release verification
• Embedded open-source and third-party licensing notices

Bluetooth access is not automatically granted. macOS remains responsible for requesting user permission if Bluetooth functionality is actually requested.

🧱 HARDENED BY DESIGN

Darkelf Shadow is architecturally hardened using multiple independent protection layers.

🔥 Zero Persistence Architecture

• No persistent browsing profile
• Memory-oriented browsing lifecycle
• Ephemeral cookies and browser state
• Automatic cleanup on process exit

🛡️ Network-Level Enforcement

• Deep request interception
• Pre-render request blocking
• Third-party classification
• Declarative tracker blocking
• Indexed EasyList/uBlock-style filtering
• Compatibility-aware request handling

🧠 Autonomous Threat Detection — MiniAI

• On-device behavioral analysis
• No cloud AI dependency
• Real-time adaptive defense
• Local threat scoring

🚫 Telemetry-Free Core

• No Darkelf analytics
• No Darkelf tracking
• No hidden Darkelf telemetry service

🚀 HARDENED FEATURE SET

🔐 Ephemeral Session Engine

Ephemeral handling of:

• Cookies
• Cache
• LocalStorage
• IndexedDB
• Session state

Designed to minimize recoverable browsing residue after termination.

🧠 MiniAI Sentinel

Darkelf Shadow includes an on-device security analysis and response layer.

🚨 Intrusion Detection

Detection logic covers patterns associated with:

• SQL injection
• Cross-site scripting (XSS)
• Command injection
• Path traversal

🦠 Detection Capabilities

• Suspicious request detection
• Tracker and surveillance detection
• Fingerprinting monitoring
• Behavioral anomaly detection
• Burst/flood analysis

⚡ Automated Response Modes

🌐 Advanced Network Filtering

Darkelf Shadow combines multiple filtering techniques:

• ✔ EasyList
• ✔ EasyPrivacy
• ✔ uBlock-derived filter sources
• ✔ ABP-compatible rule processing
• ✔ Declarative tracker blocking
• ✔ Indexed rule evaluation
• ✔ Heuristic tracker detection
• ✔ Known tracker-domain blocking
• ✔ Third-party request classification
• ✔ Compatibility-aware exceptions

The fast declarative layer handles known tracker infrastructure while the larger rule engine remains available for complex matching.

🔍 Anti-Tracking & URL Sanitization

Darkelf removes common tracking parameters such as:

• utm_*
• fbclid
• gclid
• Campaign and tracking identifiers

This helps reduce cross-site correlation through URL-based tracking.

🔐 HTTPS Enforcement Layer

• Automatic HTTP → HTTPS upgrade
• In-memory HTTPS/HSTS-style tracking
• Downgrade protection

🎭 Fingerprint Resistance Layer

Darkelf Shadow includes defenses against several browser-fingerprinting techniques.

Canvas

• Domain-sensitive randomized noise
• Protected canvas readback
• Explicit trusted-site compatibility
• Readback blocking where appropriate

Additional Protections

• WebGL protection
• AudioContext protection
• Font fingerprint mitigation
• WebRTC restrictions
• Geolocation restrictions

The objective is to reduce passive fingerprinting without claiming that any browser can guarantee anonymity or fingerprint uniqueness prevention.

📥 Secure Download Handling

• Controlled download directory
• Filename handling protections
• Optional ephemeral workflows
• Reduced persistence exposure

⚙️ Chromium / QtWebEngine Hardening

Darkelf disables or restricts unnecessary browser functionality, including:

• ❌ Browser synchronization services
• ❌ Metrics collection
• ❌ Crash-reporting telemetry
• ❌ First-run tracking behavior

Privacy-sensitive functionality is additionally controlled through Darkelf's QtWebEngine configuration and request-interception layers.

🧩 DEFENSE-IN-DEPTH MODEL

Darkelf Shadow combines:

1. Request Interception Layer
2. Declarative Tracker Blocking
3. EasyList/uBlock-Compatible Filter Engine
4. Third-Party Classification
5. MiniAI Behavioral Analysis
6. Fingerprint Protection
7. Ephemeral Storage Model
8. Compatibility and Authentication Handling

Each layer addresses a different portion of the browser's attack and tracking surface.

🧪 THREAT INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES

MiniAI provides:

• 📊 Threat scoring
• 📈 Real-time event monitoring
• 🧠 Domain risk caching
• 📋 Threat reporting
• 🔄 Adaptive escalation logic

All MiniAI analysis is performed locally.

⚡ PERFORMANCE

Version 7.0.9 preserves the optimized network-filtering architecture from 7.0.8 while expanding native macOS integration, WebAuthn/passkey support, and media compatibility.

• ⚙️ PySide6 + Qt WebEngine
• 🚀 Chromium rendering core
• ⚡ Fast declarative hostname matching
• 🔎 Indexed filter-rule evaluation
• 🧠 In-memory operation
• 💾 Reduced persistent disk activity
• 🚀 Fast startup and clean shutdown

The declarative layer allows many known tracker requests to be decided without unnecessarily traversing the complete filter-rule set.

🔒 SECURITY POSTURE SUMMARY

⚠️ OPERATIONAL SECURITY NOTES

For stronger system-level protection, Darkelf Shadow can be combined with:

• 🔐 Full-disk encryption (FileVault / LUKS)
• 🔥 OS-level firewall rules
• 🧱 Sandboxed runtime environments
• 🌐 Trusted VPN or network isolation
• 🔑 Hardware security keys where appropriate

Darkelf Shadow is one component of a broader security model and does not guarantee anonymity.

🔒 Security & Verification

The macOS release includes a SHA-256 checksum.

Verify on macOS

shasum -a 256 -c Darkelf-Shadow-7.0.9.dmg.sha256

A successful verification should report:

Darkelf-Shadow-7.0.9.dmg: OK

The macOS application and DMG release workflow uses Developer ID signing, Apple notarization, and stapling for Gatekeeper verification.

📜 LICENSE

Licensed under LGPL-3.0-or-later

The native macOS application also includes Darkelf and third-party notices under:

Darkelf Shadow.app/Contents/Resources/licenses/

Qt, Qt WebEngine, Chromium, FFmpeg, and other bundled components remain subject to their respective licenses. H.264/AVC intellectual-property considerations are documented separately in the third-party notices.

⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This software is provided “AS IS” without warranty.

Darkelf Shadow:

• Does not guarantee anonymity
• Does not guarantee protection against every tracking technique
• Does not replace operating-system security
• Does not replace good operational-security practices
• Is intended for privacy-conscious and advanced users

👤 AUTHOR

Dr. Kevin Moore (2025–2026)
Darkelf Project — Shadow Edition

🤝 Special Thanks

Thank you to:

• Mecha Comet Team
• Tim Burns

for their support and contributions to the Darkelf project.

Darkelf Shadow Community Edition 7.0.9 Stable
Ephemeral by design. Hardened in depth. Privacy without persistence.