Comodo IceDragon is a secure Web browser based on the same open-source browser engine that powers Mozilla’s Firefox. Like the Chrome-based Comodo Dragon, IceDragon offers a variety of security and performance enhancements to the browser core, such as improved social media integration, fast page loading via Comodo’s integrated secure DNS service, and SiteInspector, which scans Web pages for malware directly from the browser. IceDragon is fully compatible with all Firefox plug-ins and add-ons, too. There’s currently no 64-bit IceDragon release, but we tried the regular 32-bit version in 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium, and it browsed with the best of them, and not just Firefox but also Chrome and its Comodo cousin, Dragon. The latest version, IceDragon v22, is the same as Mozilla’s latest Firefox release, v22.

IceDragon’s installation involves several options, including setting your Internet connection to use Comodo’s secure (and free) Secure DNS service all the time, just with IceDragon (the default option, and our choice) or not at all. We started with our usual broadband settings and then tried Comodo’s DNS service. We could also create a portable version of the software and import favorites, cookies, passwords, and other data from our other browsers. IceDragon has its own look. The biggest visual difference between it and Firefox is IceDragon’s blue dragon mascot, though Comodo’s icy-cool take on Mozilla’s style fits the name, too. With our normal connection, IceDragon performed well against the latest Firefox and Chrome releases in bandwidth tests. While Chrome and Dragon basically tied for overall speed champ, Firefox has narrowed the gap. The surprise was how fast IceDragon was with Comodo’s Secure DNS service: Still not as fast as Chrome or Dragon, but close, and consistently faster than box-standard Firefox. Speed usually gives way to security in proxy services, but Comodo’s is the first we’ve tried that actually made secure connections faster.

We’ve seen more Firefox clones than we care to remember; and the same goes for Chrome. But IceDragon really stands out; and the same goes for Dragon. Both Comodo browsers loaded surprisingly fast using Comodo’s Secure DNS Service. We’re adding IceDragon to our regular roster.