I use multiple browsers and deeply appreciate Comodo’s secure DNS service. I have satellite internet (yuck!) and test my speed and check my data usage every morning. I had been using CD for a number of months as my default browser and per my routine had recorded my internet speed(download/upload which I won’t shock anyone by posting the depressing numbers). I on a whim decided I would make ICD my default browser and continued my daily routine of checking my speed and data usage. Immediately my speed went up using ICD by around 20%. Now, before you let the 20% freak you out, it does not take a very large increase to make a 20% change in results if you start with a small number.
My question is, does anyone have any idea why ICD would produce between 15% and 20% gain in my download speed?
And before you ask, I went back to CD and retested my speed and it still produced a 15-20% slower result.
CD is based on Google branded Chrome browser. From the Wiki:
Chrome was assembled from 25 different code libraries from Google and third parties such as Mozilla's Netscape Portable Runtime, Network Security Services, NPAPI, Skia Graphics Engine, SQLite, and a number of other open-source projects. The V8 JavaScript virtual machine was considered a sufficiently important project to be split off...According to Google, existing implementations were designed "for small programs, where the performance and interactivity of the system weren't that important", but web applications such as Gmail "are using the web browser to the fullest when it comes to DOM manipulations and JavaScript", and therefore would significantly benefit from a JavaScript engine that could work faster.Chrome uses the Blink rendering engine to display web pages. Based on WebKit, Blink only uses WebKit’s “WebCore” components while substituting all other components, such as its own multi-process architecture in place of WebKit’s native implementation…
CID is based on Mozilla branded Firefox. From the Wiki:
Mozilla Firefox (known simply as Firefox) is a free and open-source web browser developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux, with a mobile version for Android, by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox uses the [i][b]Gecko[/b][/i] layout engine to render web pages, which implements current and anticipated web standards.
Clearly the browser technology is different. In essence CID is powered by gerbil wheel(s), while CD implements hamster wheel(s) power. Or they essentially could both be hamster wheel powered, its just that CID utilizes 'roid bulked hamsters to drive the hamster wheels. A way to discern that would be analyzing and assessing salient differences betwixt the about:config network entries in the different browsers.
Another facet to the performance issue may be overhead intrinsic to downloads, i.e., Firefox transparently scans files downloaded for malware. To do that it seamlessly implements whatever AV application is implemented on the host machine. I’m confident the functionality in that regard has been integrated for optimal performance with the AV component of CIS. If Chrome does the same thing, I’m confident that Comodo has optimized that functionality with CIS also, however, the actual interface may. In Firefox, the download scan thing can be disabled in about:config.
The other thing to consider, everybody knows that Google is in bed with the NSA. So the difference in bandwidth could be due to the extra time it takes for Chrome to route your traffic to the NSA first, and waiting approval from the NSA to permit your browsing activity. Hey, that could be happening.
How exactly are you testing? When using a Flash based website to measure speeds please take into that performance may vary with browsers.