Review of anonymous browsers for private surfing

[Tomcat]

In today's article we will test the best anonymous browsers and find out what level of privacy they can provide and which of them can be trusted and used.

Let's make a reservation in advance: by the word anonymous browser we mean a browser that was designed for private surfing and which should not leave traces. If you want a truly anonymous browser, use Tor!

Testing anonymous browsers​

To find out whether such programs should be trusted, I decided not to invent complex stands or build a special laboratory. To compare secure browsers, a virtual machine with freshly installed Windows and several online tests specially created to check the security level of such programs are sufficient. Here they are.

• Qualys Browser Check - checks browser vulnerabilities and tests settings for working with cookies. By default, to pass the test it is suggested to install a special plugin, but you can do without it by using the link on the site.
• Cloudflare Browsing Experience Security Check - a test from the well-known company Cloudflare, checks the DNS used by the browser, certificates, cookie settings and the presence of known vulnerabilities.
• Privacy Analyzer is a comprehensive browser check for the possibility of data leakage. Tracking by IP, browser fingerprint is checked, privacy settings are tested.
• Panopticlick - test for third-party tracking cookies and browser fingerprint tracking.
• Webkay is a service that displays all the information that your browser transmits to websites on the Internet.

So, we figured out the evaluation criteria. Now let's move on to our test browsers - what results will they show us with default settings? Now we'll find out!

Browser for private surfing Comodo Dragon​

• Developer: Comodo Group
• Website: comodo.com/home/browsers-toolbars/browser.php

Comodo Dragon is perhaps the most popular solution for safe web surfing after Tor Browser. Dragon claims to be a universal solution for those who don't want to wait half an hour for Tor to start.

Comodo's reputation once suffered seriously - when in 2016 the company was caught that its products installed a VNC server on computers without asking.

In fact, the guys from Comodo made two whole secure browsers with the same set of functions, but on different engines: Comodo Dragon on the Chromium platform and Ice Dragon based on Firefox. Among the stated features are built-in protection against malware, the use of secure DNS, blocking cookies and domain validation to combat phishing.

I downloaded both versions of Lizard at once and launched them on the virtual machine one by one. Outwardly, Dragon looks like the usual Chrome and launches at about the same speed - on my virtual machine it took an average of 4.5 seconds to load. The browser also inherited its love of RAM from Chrome - with one window and one open tab, Comodo Dragon immediately launched five processes in the system and consumed 90 MB.

Well, let's see what the tests say.

• Qualys Browser Check recognized the Chrome browser in Comodo Dragon, and an outdated version, and then offered to download a newer version from the Google website.
• The Cloudflare Browsing Experience Security Check determined that Dragon does not authenticate DNS server responses using DNSSEC and does not support SNI server name encryption when establishing a TLS connection, which could theoretically compromise privacy.
• The Privacy Analyzer test showed that Dragon successfully transmitted my IP address, location, browser version, OS bitness and screen resolution data to the remote host.
• Panopticlick demonstrated that the browser has a unique “fingerprint” and does not send the DNT (do not track) HTTP flag to the server, which allows the user to be tracked. Comodo Dragon passed all other security tests on this site.
• Finally, judging by the Webkay page , in addition to the version and bitness of Windows, IP address and screen resolution, Dragon allows me to correctly recognize the battery level of my device and the type of processor. The browser did not allow me to scan the local network for available devices.
• Comodo Ice Dragon is not much different in appearance from its “non-ice” counterpart. Firefox and Firefox, nothing special. It loads and works quite quickly: three seconds passed from clicking on the icon to launching the application.
• Qualys Browser Check did not find any flaws, the test was passed with 100% success.
• Cloudflare Browsing Experience Security Check showed exactly the same result as in the previous case.
• According to Privacy Analyzer , the browser sends out all the same data as its sibling, including the IP address and OS version.
• Panopticlick reported that the program does not block ad tracking attempts, does not send DNT, and has a unique “fingerprint.”
• But Webkay presented a surprise: it turned out that the browser has a unique User Agent IceDracon 65.0.2 and does not send any hardware data to the side at all, except for the processor bit capacity. But, in addition to the external IP, Webkay happily showed me the IP of the network interface of my LAN. Using a special button on the site, I tried to scan the devices available on the local network, but the search did not bring any results.

Anonymous browser Waterfox​

• Developer: Alex Kontos
• Website: waterfox.net

This is another Firefox clone with a focus on security, with versions not only for Windows, but also for macOS and Linux, with only the 64-bit version available. In the “About the program” section of the official website it is said that the browser was made in 2011 by sixteen-year-old schoolboy Alex Kontos, who is updating and supporting his brainchild to this day. The author claims that his application does not collect telemetry and only sends data about the browser version and OS to the outside world in order to receive updates on time. All others are confidential, the developer assurances, and are completely secure. Externally, the program looks like the most ordinary Firefox - so ordinary that it's even boring. It works and loads at the same speed; I didn't notice any significant differences with the regular “Fox”.

Let's see how the tests evaluate the student's craft.

• Qualys Browser Check - the test passed successfully, no problems were identified.
• Cloudflare Browsing Experience Security Check showed that Waterfox has problems with DDNSEC checking and Encrypted SNI usage. Additionally, the browser does not support TLS 1.3.
• Finally, Waterfox successfully failed all Privacy Analyzer tests, and according to Panopticlick and Webkay , it leaked my IP address, processor type and bit, as well as screen resolution settings, but wisely hid all other data.

It is noteworthy that Waterfox is recognized as Firefox 56.0, while the current version of Fox is currently 79.0. That is, the clone lags behind the original by about an eternity, and this may mean problems not with privacy, but with security.

Browser for anonymous surfing Iron​

• Developer: SRWare
• Website: srware.net/iron

Iron is not “irony”, but “ iron”, which somehow hints to us at the brutality and reliability of this browser. The hardware is built on Chromium, uses the latest versions of WebKit and V8, and also includes its own ad blocking component. It is noteworthy that the developer's website has a Russian version - however, one gets the feeling that it was translated into the great and mighty one using the same Google Translate. According to the creators, Iron does not send telemetry to Google, does not send automatic bug reports and is not updated in the background, which saves traffic. It also has an “elegant design.”

• SRWare Iron is a little less similar to Chrome. The program launches in about 3.5 seconds and works with several open tabs quite quickly: I didn't notice any significant slowdowns with it. It even seemed to me that this browser works faster than Chromium in the Comodo build.

Qualys Browser Check complained to me about an outdated version of Google Chrome (83.0.4250) and told me that it was not secure.

• The Cloudflare test showed performance similar to the Comodo browsers - TLS 1.3 support included, but complaints about DNSSEC and Encrypted SNI.
• Panopticlick complained about the standard set of privacy problems (all tests failed) and casually noted that if SRWare Iron has some kind of ad blocker, it doesn't work.
• Privacy Analyzer and Webkay reported that the “Zhelezyaka” sends out data about the browser version, OS version and bitness, IP address, all information about the hardware (including video card model, screen resolution and battery status), but data about the local network remained for Webkay secret.

Brave Private Browser​

• Developer: Brave Software
• Website: brave.com

The creators of the Brave browser claim that their Chromium-based product, like no other, prevents tracking and possible data leaks. One of Brave's features is the ability to send cryptocurrency payments to websites and content creators in the form of Basic Attention Tokens, Brave Software's Etherium-based cryptocurrency platform.

In 2017, when the platform first launched, Brave Software sold over $35 million in tokens and distributed a total of 300,000 tokens to new platform users to raise funds. Brave browser users can earn tokens for viewing ads or pay content creators, either by sending microtransactions or using Brave's built-in feature, where a predetermined reward amount is automatically distributed among the owners of registered sites based on how much time the user spent viewing content.

• There are versions of the browser for Windows, macOS, Linux, as well as Android and iOS. We will consider only the first of them, the interface of which, as you would expect, cosplays Chrome.
• Qualys Browser Check showed that the current version of Chrome is up to date and no update is required.
• The Cloudflare test did not show anything new - the Comodo and Iron browsers had similar results.
• But Panopticlick gave an unexpected result: as it turned out, Brave successfully blocks advertising and automatic tracking, but does not send DNT and has a characteristic “fingerprint” by which it can be identified.
• Privacy Analyzer and Webkay surprised me even more: both sites did not show my IP address and location, although services like WhatIsMyIP identified it without any problems. The browser transmitted data about the version and bitness of the OS, hardware (including processor, graphics adapter, screen resolution and battery status). The program uses Chrome 84.0.4147.125 as the User Agent .

Overall, a good result. Considering that the application works quite quickly (although it feels slower than Iron), it is clearly worth taking a closer look at.

Anonymous Epic Browser​

• Developer: Hidden Reflex
• Website: epicbrowser.com

This browser is developed by a company based in Bangalore (India) with a representative office in Washington DC. Here I really wanted to joke about the Indian code, but Epic, like its competitors, is based on Chromium, so the code there is Google. Program developer Alok Bhardwaj claims that Epic successfully blocks tracking, fingerprinting, annoying advertising, cryptomining and voodoo magic . In addition to the version for Windows, you can download the release for macOS on the site; there are also links to Google Play and the App Store for downloading mobile versions.

Immediately after launching the application, the user sees a threatening warning that some browser functions, such as built-in VPN, proxy and ad blocker, must be installed separately in the form of plugins available on a special page of the Epic Extension Store. How, in this case, Epic differs from regular Chrome, in which you can also configure proxies and VPNs using plugins, remains a mystery to me. Well, let's see what this browser can do out of the box with default settings.

• Qualys Browser Check - no problems or comments.
• Cloudflare is a similar result to Comodo and Iron.
• Panopticlick - the browser successfully blocks advertising and tracking attempts, but does not send DNT and has a characteristic “fingerprint”.
• Privacy Analyzer - the test froze while determining the IP address and geolocation, I still didn't get the result.
• Webkay - the service successfully identified my IP and OS version, but did not show absolutely any data about the hardware, except for the processor bit capacity. The browser is identified as Chrome 84.0.4147.105 .

Looking at the name of the product, I was expecting to write about “epic fail”, but surprisingly the browser performed quite well. Blocking ads, tracking, as well as a minimum of data transmitted outside, and all this without additional plugins is a pretty serious claim to success.

Dooble Private Browser​

• Developer: Dooble Project Team
• Website: textbrowser.github.io/dooble/

The development of this open source browser began twelve years ago. Dooble's interface is based on Qt, and the application itself is cross-platform: there are versions for FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, OS/2 and Windows, and in the form of a portable version for all platforms. The distribution can be downloaded from GitHub in the form of a ZIP archive, which contains the executable file and all the necessary libraries.

With default settings, Dooble automatically deletes cookies and data stored in the program is encrypted (except for information about user preferences). The browser uses a session model using temporary keys, and the passphrase can be changed without losing data. A master password must be created in the settings when you first launch Dooble, otherwise, when you shut down, all data saved in the browser will be erased. These features allow us to conditionally classify Dooble as a safe browser.

On my virtual machine with Windows 10, Dooble flatly refused to start, swearing at the lack of some library, but on the host machine with Windows 7 it suddenly started working. The external design of the program can be characterized by the phrase “hello from the nineties” - it even squeezed out a nostalgic tear from me.

Dooble - cross-platform browser based on Qt

Comparative tests gave the following results.

• Qualys Browser Check - called Dooble an unsafe version of Google Chrome - apparently due to the User Agent used by the browser.
• Cloudflare has a similar result to Comodo, Iron, Epic and Brave.
• Panopticlick is a complete failure of the test on all counts.
• Privacy Analyzer and Webkay - the browser transmitted the IP address, data about the OS and hardware, geolocation, screen resolution. The program appears to external services as Chrome 84.0.4147.163 .

Perhaps Dooble is the fastest of all the browsers I tested in this experiment. Given that it comes in a portable version, the application can be very useful for systems that have difficulty installing programs. The browser will also likely appeal to BSD and Linux users. The functionality of the application in Windows 10 raises some doubts.

Which anonymous browser is better?​

The results of the experiment were ambiguous. Contrary to expectations, the best results were shown not by the products of the famous company Comodo, but by the quite modest Brave and Epic. However, Comodo Ice Dragon is also not bad - it sends out less data about the device than its brother. I would put Comodo Dragon in fourth place. Owners of devices with weak hardware and older versions of the OS may like Dooble, which has good performance. But Waterfox and Iron dived to the very bottom of our modest rating - they cope worse than their competitors with advertising and tracking blocking.

Obviously, none of the programs listed in today's article can provide complete anonymity and security on the Internet. For true privacy, you need to use a VPN, disable script processing in your browser settings, and use encrypted containers to store form data and passwords. In addition, there is a wide range of plugins aimed at increasing the level of security when working on the network.