Privacy: Dragon V's Chromium

On Comodo Dragon’s webpage, it states “Improved privacy over Chromium” as a feature. Is this true? I could understand Dragon V’s Chrome but does Chromium have similar tracking features like Chrome?

:slight_smile:

Nope. I don’t think so. If you’re worried about privacy though, maybe you’d like to check out SRWare Iron. ;D

I’m happy with Dragon in Windows but my default browser in Linux is Chromium. I’ve heard alot of developers are involved with Chromium but wasn’t sure how close (feature wise) these two browsers were.

:slight_smile:

I’ve always wondered why Google Chrome was a lot bigger than Chromium when installed(Chrome: 60MB, Chromium: 28MB). ??? I think maybe there are features found in chrome that isn’t in Chromium. After reading and comparing the two, my GUESS will be the following:

  1. The ID
  2. The auto-update feature
  3. Communication with Google

Other than that, I suppose that all other features are present. So no, it’s most probable that chromium does not have Chrome’s tracking features. :smiley:

Good point Graham. I see where you are coming from, I haven’t heard of any privacy issues with Chromium either. Maybe if we are right then someone able to, may fix the page or if we are wrong someone with knowledge in this will correct us. Kind regards to you

Hi. Over double the program size for just 1 2 3, Imo it makes you wonder if there is more hiding than we realise. Kind regards

:smiley:

zipped chromium 28MB
unzipped 68MB

oh. my bad. that’s the installer’s size. ;D On the other hand, according to add or remove programs by windows, chrome is 163 MB.

I’d be very careful with a statement like that, Comodo isn’t a small nobody, they’re a big somebody and big targets can have problems when false rumors fly.

So when you say you DON’T THINK, then you better think and not say anything if you don’t know…

I personally would like Comodo to step up and prove this showing on their website the differences they’ve made to improve this privacy, but please let’s not speak unless we know FACTS!

You can’t just blatantly come out and say things that aren’t true, that is deception and in business you can be prosecuted in a court of law over this.

So if Comodo is saying they have improved privacy over Chromium, then they better have it, or a lawsuit could be filed against them.

I think it’s only fair and the right business thing to do and list exactly what differences you’ve made better to Dragon on the issues of privacy without sharing your secrets if you’re company is worried about this.

To simply have the website say Dragon surpasses Chromium’s technology and offers better privacy isn’t enough. People are going to want to know details.

It’s not good business ethics and it’s not fair to the community of users around the world telling them you have something better when there isn’t much proof to this.

I truly hope Melih reads this and very carefully considers showing some information of what has been made better and how.

Many companies around the world tell consumers of their changes in technology and even to great lengths and detail over these technologies without jeopardizing the company, so I know Comodo can go to lengths here and give the end-users some real and tangible information here about what it is, everything that Dragon has better.

Dragon one day can be a big force on the browser market but we need more transparency here with what is going on and not just marketing words in order for this to be accomplished.

It isn’t enough to throw around some good words for a nice marketing angle on a product. This isn’t a pair of jeans being sold. Privacy and Security are very real concerns people have and they have a right to know.

Look at the heat Google is taking on matters over privacy and their lack of transparency over the issue, it’s basically the same road Comodo can be headed towards if there isn’t better transparency with this application.

THANKS

Hello,

Some bit of info!

https://forums.comodo.com/beta-corner-cd/comodo-dragon-alpha-ver-09016-is-now-available-for-download-t47764.0.html;msg343367#msg343367

COMODO Dragon Release Notes: Comodo Dragon internet browser is based on the source code of Google Chrome browser but has a number of improvements, which includes fixes some privacy and security improvements.

ADDED Certificate Domain Validation checking warning
Comodo Dragon uses advanced domain validation technology originally developed in Comodo Verification Engine. It performs additional analysis of a domain’s SSL certificate to warn about those that been issued with Domain Only Validation.

FIXED Client identification number privacy issue.
Comodo Dragon fixes this privacy issues, which exists in Chrome browser. Chrome creates an ID for each client (user). This security gap theoretically can be used to identify a user. This ID has been removed.

REMOVED RLZ-Tracking capability.
RLZ-Tracking is a Chrome’s feature which informs Google about when and where the browser has been downloaded. This capability has been removed in Dragon. This has been done to protect user privacy

COMODO’s traditional product update technology is used.
Dragon uses COMODO’s own installer and update technology. Chrome, on the other hand, checks for updates and makes update via Google Updater, legality of which was put under question by Red Bend Software. Google Updater was entirely eliminated in Dragon

REMOVED error reporting mechanism.
Error reporting is used by Google to find and remove problems in their software however the information, which is sent to Google, includes some data about the computer’s software. In case it this information is intercepted by an attacker, it can be used to reveal vulnerabilities in the computer’s security system. COMODO Dragon has eliminated this mechanism is order not to compromise user’s security and privacy.

REMOVED installation time-tracking.
COMODO’s installation technology doesn’t use and store information about when the software was installed and updated, all actions are based only on your current version number, whereas Chrome installation stores detailed (up to the second) information about software installation time

ADDED smart software removal
During software remove Dragon asks user whether he or she wants to keep user preferences data (home page, search engine customizing, etc) and leaves or removes user profile based on his or her choice. This is done for user’s convenience. Leaving user’s profile on your computer is recommended if you are going to return to using Dragon in future

EXCLUDED remote error pages usage
Dragon uses locally stored error messages (such as “Page not found”), whereas Chrome in its default configuration uses server-stored error messages. In Dragon information about your network input errors is limited to your browser instead of being sent to Google’s remote server.

and More!

Hope this helps

- Jacob Kilgore
C-O-M-O-D-O Forum Moderator

Well that’s great that we can see something here, but I made the post so that this information is on the web site not on a forum. I didn’t explain this, but someone who has been in the software development field shouldn’t of needed to have this explained to them, especially a CEO.

Not everyone downloading a product is going to always join a forum and go searching for answers.

I’d appreciate you moving my post back and allowing the CEO to see it if that is ok, if not, then PLEASE contact him and let him know.

This information needs to be listed on the website…

THANKS

Hello :slight_smile:

It’s on the forum, and the CEO of COMODO is active on the forum, So he’ll see it once he gets on :slight_smile:

Ok I hope he sees what I’ve said, because it’s better this information is listed on the website.

I’ve been into computer technology since 1986 so I know that a big percentage of users will never join a forum and simply download and use an application, so not having any information there can be a negative.

THANKS

woah there dasfox. You misunderstood. I wasn’t being very clear was I? He wasn’t really asking about Dragon’s privacy nor was I talking about it. He was asking about chromium. The second question. I merely quoted his whole statement.

If you would analyze the whole statement, he mentions that he understands Dragon versus Chrome, then added a “but” inserting Chromium. If I remember correctly, he was referring to an old post which was there since, I think, version 3 of Dragon and there had been mentions if I remember correctly in the forums back then that the reference was in fact to Chrome and not Chromium since there had been quite some confusion with the two. Was it melih who cleared that out? I’m not sure. I suppose it’s still in the forum. Will look at it if I have some time to spare.

Continuing on, remember that he already understands Dragon vs chrome which presupposes that he understands dragon’s features. Therefore, there is a lack of reason to discuss it further. This presumption gives the second question more wieght than the first. This is how I’ve always answered questions in forums and am very sorry if I had not been clear.

As you can see, the discussion between us was with chromium; it goes further to size comparison, but there wasn’t much of a mention with dragon.

And when people say, “I don’t think”, it automatically implies that this is based on opinion and stands on no ground; thus cannot be used to make such a defense that what was stated is entirely true. I’m fully aware of the meanings of what I say. Otherwise, I would have said there is none, when in fact, I have read reports of dragon having tracking id’s (refer to cnet). Seeing I’m not at all as competent in such matters, I gave only my opinion and opinion alone making sure I was never absolute. Hope this clears things out. :smiley: No hard feelings? :a0

Yes. And I just found them. You see, when the application updates, it doesn’t remove records of the former which continues to build up. I delete them and their back to how they are. Kind of strange and it really makes you wonder. Why wasn’t it deleted…? For faster access of pages perhaps? I don’t know. preferences still there including bookmarks. Whatever reason, it does make me wonder… :-\

Well regardless, Comodo should make things more transparent with more detailed information on the Dragon web page.

Hey in the meantime I know how to really have better privacy with Dragon ----> TOR :wink:

I wonder why comodo did not even mention the version of CD in the website.
If all the differences mentioned was against only with chrome then there is no need to talk about chromium. Moreover, since CD is based on chromium open source we wanted to know what are the differences between these two apart from adding the skin and optional DLS service.
Hope someone in Comodo will clear this for us.

of course, there’s a need to talk about chromium in this thread. It’s the topic, the question involved it, and you said so yourself that “we wanted to know what the differences are”. If you were referring to the installation sizes, the sizes show a difference in the way the product installs itself, what it uses, etc. and by comparing installation sizes, you can make certain extrapolations guessing that there must be more than meets the eye (because if they weren’t any different, why the difference in size?). Though inaccurate and unconclusive, it gives you a starting point telling you that there are differences which are significant enough to create inconsistencies in installation size.

Not one from comodo, but anyway, under the assumptions that dragon is built on chromium and not on chrome, the changelog is most probably directed to comparing chromium and dragon (at the very first release that is). Whatever was added, removed and/or changed as stated in the changelog were most probably features or properties included in chromium.

Do be aware that this post is only an attempt to answer your question. Unless someone verifies them, do not take them for facts. I, too, would like to see a comparative chart between the three (Chrome, Chromium & Dragon), but until then, I’m under the pressumption that whatever is in the first changelog were properties of chromium rather than of chrome (i mean, if dragon is built using chromium, then how can you remove something that didn’t belong there? so chromium must have had whatever was said to have been removed. And whatever was added can be explained in a nearly likewise manner). Oh and yes, I’d also like it if they added the version info in the website.

EDIT: Fixed minor grammatical errors.

Thanks Spainach_12 for a detailed reply.
I think no one in Comodo is reading this or at least frequently. Until then we assume things.