4 Browsers Best Suited for Safe and Anonymous Surfing

Invasion of privacy is the goal of many: intelligence agencies, governments, Microsoft, cybercriminals, and even your neighbor across the street. Achieving complete anonymity on the global internet is nearly impossible, but you can take steps in that direction. For example, you can switch your browser. The browser is your main portal to the World Wide Web, and even enabling security-related options is already a big step forward. However, settings alone are often not enough.

Below, we review four browsers that are best suited for anonymous internet surfing.

1. Tor Browser

Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The TOR network is designed for one simple task—anonymous communication. This browser is considered the most secure and is regarded as the best for use on the deep web.

TOR allows you to hide your location, browsing history, messages, and other confidential data from people or software tools that analyze traffic.

How TOR Works

Network traffic analysis is perhaps the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of information hunters. For example, this technique can be used to track your behavior and interests for marketing purposes. Alternatively, your location can be used to show different prices in online stores. Additionally, collected information can be used by criminals for blackmail.

Data sent over the internet consists of two parts: the header and the payload. The payload is the actual data, such as the content of an email, while the header helps the information reach its destination and includes the source, size, and timestamps. Basic encryption does not provide full protection from analyzers, as it can only hide the payload, not the header.

This is where TOR comes in. This browser routes traffic through multiple individual relays and tunnels, making header analysis meaningless. Simply put, instead of sending data directly from point A to point B, it is sent through a network of many nodes.

A sniffer listening to just one node in this route will never know either the source or the recipient of the intercepted information.

Browser Features

To access the network, you need the TOR browser, which is so secure that even the U.S. Navy uses it for intelligence gathering. Law enforcement agencies also often use TOR for anonymous site visits.

The program does not require installation. The browser is portable, can be stored on a USB flash drive, and you can use this service on any computer—even in public places like libraries or universities.

The TOR interface is very similar to Firefox, but there are a couple of key differences. The main one is that the NoScript extension is integrated by default. Unlike the original, more complex NoScript plugin, the TOR version has a simple slider for managing anonymity.

However, TOR does have its drawbacks, the main one being speed. Since traffic is routed through many nodes, page loading may not be as fast as you’d like. If you have a good connection, this won’t be a problem, but with slow internet, surfing through TOR can be frustrating.

It’s important to note that TOR is the best solution for anonymity, but complete privacy is not guaranteed. For example, downloading torrents or illegally streaming TV can still leave you vulnerable. However, compared to well-known browsers like Chrome and Safari, TOR is far ahead.

2. Epic Browser

Available for Windows and Mac.

Although Epic Browser does not use a special onion network, it disables many options that negatively affect your privacy while surfing.

For example, it does not save your browsing history, disables DNS pre-fetching (used to speed up page loading), and cookies. DNS cache and autofill are also disabled.

After closing a session, the browser automatically deletes all related databases, settings, the Pepper Data folder contents, and cookies used by Flash Player and the Silverlight plugin.

3. SRWare Iron

Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.

SRWare Iron is very similar to Google Chrome and is based on the Chromium project. As a result, many design elements look almost identical.

The main difference between Chrome and SRWare Iron is improved anonymity features. Experts criticize Chrome for using a “Unique User ID.” Every time a new session starts, Google is notified about your data usage.

SRWare does not use unique identifiers or other features that affect security, such as search suggestions.

4. Comodo Dragon Browser

Available for Windows and Mac.

Comodo is not quite like TOR, but it has some built-in tools to enhance security while surfing. For example, it automatically blocks tracking, cookies, and web spies. Additionally, this browser has a built-in validation feature that separates strong and weak SSL certificates. It also uses antivirus protection against trojans, viruses, and other attacks.

Like the previous browser, Comodo Dragon is based on Chrome, so many users can easily switch to it.

Why Aren’t Other Browsers Mentioned?

It’s quite difficult to find high-quality browsers that focus primarily on security. You may have heard of the Brave browser, but the company’s website clearly states that the app “anonymously monitors user activity, and then publishers are rewarded with the Basic Attention Token (BAT) cryptocurrency.”

You may also have heard about the best free anonymous VPNs for Firefox, but remember that free VPNs are generally not trustworthy.

If you are very concerned about your anonymity, you should use a suitable browser in combination with a reliable VPN.