The Iron Browser - A Google Chrome Browser Clone that Offers Privacy

Updated 19. September 2011 - 6:31 by searchlight

I was perusing the articles on this site about Personal Firewalls and HIPS when I came across someone mentioning that they use the Iron Browser. Curious, I Googled the name and found this information about an open sourced Google Chrome browser clone that does not transmit statistics about your browsing habits and maintains your privacy, and is just as fast. Wow!

Check it out at this link:          http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php

Moderator's note  This is a slightly edited version of a user submitted item. It is factually correct.

Share this
3.555555
Average: 3.6 (9 votes)
Your rating: None

Comments

by The Artist (not verified) on 13. July 2011 - 0:22  (75344)

I use SRWare Iron for most browsing. It is the fastest. Although it is built in Sandbox for virtual browsing that prevents malware from spreading, However it is not fully virtual. Instead, for all my downloads, I used a modified Firefox 4 (modified by me) using vmware thinapp to make it entirely in Sandbox even when running external programs such as WinRAR or WinZIP or running Bat or com or scripts, the whole hard drive is emulated and all firefox.exe file is 40MB no other files to add or install.
by George Caldwell (not verified) on 7. April 2011 - 21:53  (69704)

Iron is the greatest browser I have ever used. I was a die hard firefox fan until version 3. I had some hopes with Firefox 4 but it is still junk. SRWare Iron has been my default browser since it came out. Its the fastest out there and no privacy issues. Even if they are not out to steal from me, I feel its none of google's business what my account numbers are, or what I search for to buy, or if I look at 3 eyed women lol. Iron has never had a problem loading any webpage, as a matter of fact it loads what some browsers do not.
by criss (not verified) on 3. March 2011 - 17:32  (67387)

I use iron as I find it the best browser available, but I also have firefox installed as I really like the profile managing capabilities so that my wife can have all her own passwords and browsing history saved seperately.
by Anonymous on 3. February 2010 - 15:14  (42707)

I use the portable version and love it. Did you know Iron and Chrome feature an automatic "Sandbox" which protects against malware. If you're ever infected, just close the browser and bye-bye malware!
by JohnMW on 14. October 2009 - 19:07  (34650)

I've been using SRWare Iron for months in addition to Firefox. It is faster and does not store history if you tell it not to. I like it and use it daily. I chose it over Google Chrome because of Chrome's collecting history.
by Anonymous on 15. October 2009 - 17:22  (34728)

How do you tell it to empty the cache on exit and clear history on exit?
by Anonymous on 13. October 2009 - 19:37  (34579)

I notice all reviews say Iron and Chrome are light and fast and maybe they are pretty fast but there isn't anything else favorable about the Chrome based browsers.

Iron or Chrome are 40 meg installed, that is larger than a plain install of Firefox (~ 28 meg) and HUGE compared to Opera 10 which is about 8 to 12 meg installed, so if the program size is considered, Iron and Chrome are seriously lacking features.

Iron and Chrome do appear to load web pages a little faster than Firefox and a little slower than Opera 10.

Iron and Chrome also appear to keep a perpetual history which you have to delete yourself one day at a time, no option to have it empty cache etc on exit, no option to have it restricted to a certain number of days.

Maybe I am mistaken about some of what I said, but the negatives were sufficient to cause me to remove Iron within 20 minutes of installing it.
by Anonymous on 1. March 2010 - 14:50  (44797)

as to the size of the installed size, most of us take the "who cares" attitude about that as most of us have hard drives that are so abundant in size that it doesnt really have any impact on us. As far as the history problem that you mentioned, yes you are correct you have to manually delete each day's history. BUT, there is a program that you can use called CCLEANER which can be downloaded here: WWW.CCLEANER.COM that not only clears the history for you in IE and Firefox but you can add a file to it's installation folder called WINAPP2.INI that will also tell CCLEANER to clean out all of Iron's history, internet cache, cookies, current session, and last session. all you have to do is go to the CCLEANER installation folder right click anywhere in the folder and point at "NEW" then click "TEXT DOCUMENT". when NOTEPAD opens copy and paste this into it
[Internet Cache]
Section=SRWare Iron
DetectFile=%ProgramFiles%\SRWare Iron\Iron.exe
Default=True
FileKey1=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default\Cache|*.*

[Cookies]
Section=SRWare Iron
DetectFile=%ProgramFiles%\SRWare Iron\Iron.exe
Default=True
FileKey1=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default|Cookies

[Internet History]
Section=SRWare Iron
DetectFile=%ProgramFiles%\SRWare Iron\Iron.exe
Default=True
FileKey1=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default|*History*
FileKey2=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default|Thumbnails
FileKey3=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default|Visited Links

[Current Session]
Section=SRWare Iron
DetectFile=%ProgramFiles%\SRWare Iron\Iron.exe
Default=True
FileKey1=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default|Current*

[Last Session]
Section=SRWare Iron
DetectFile=%ProgramFiles%\SRWare Iron\Iron.exe
Default=True
FileKey1=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default|Last*

[Form Data]
Section=SRWare Iron
DetectFile=%ProgramFiles%\SRWare Iron\Iron.exe
Default=True
FileKey1=%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Default|Web Data

and then save it as WINAPP2.INI
Thats it, Now CCLEANER will not only clean temp Window files, IE browser, and Firefox browser, but it will also clean IRON browser too. I have done this with mine and it totally works. It adds the Iron to the application tab in CCLEANER. CCLEANER is also a registry cleaner too.
by Jackington (not verified) on 3. September 2011 - 21:23  (78968)

Thanks Anonymous - that was just the info I was looking for about Iron & CCleaner.
by Anonymous on 13. November 2009 - 15:53  (36565)

I never liked IE after I discovered alternatives. I used Firefox and Avant Browser ( an IE shell) for quite a while. Then I tried Chrome when it came out and have never looked back. I like it so much I never even bothered to install Firefox on my new laptop. To me, the most important thing a browser can do is render web pages and then get out of the way. I don't want a bunch of toolbars and widgets and add-ons and fluff. Chrome (and Iron) just seem to work better to me. The interface is super clean and unobtrusive. The Omnibar and the way the autosuggest works is simply superior. I have just found out about Iron and have started using it some. It feels just like Chrome which is good. I am not a member of the tin foil hat society but a little extra privacy can't hurt I guess.
by Anonymous on 6. October 2009 - 9:53  (34013)

they haven't kept up with Chrome's development cycle. I gave up on this weak thing months ago.

Chromeplus is probably a better Chrome alternative
by Anonymous on 5. October 2009 - 2:50  (33945)

I just downlaoded and installed this only to find every site I visit doesn't show up in the browser window..nothing just a blank white page! All the sites visited seem to be loading, judging by the tabs but nothing actually appears in the browser window.

Guess I will be sticking with Firefox for now.
by Anonymous on 1. March 2010 - 14:55  (44798)

you will be able to display these pages if you download the IE plugin as some sites out there are only IE and Firefox compatible this is something that they really need to make part of the download of the browser itself but they haven't as of yet
by MidnightCowboy on 5. October 2009 - 11:05  (33967)

Is it being blocked by your firewall settings, what are your log entries showing?
by Anonymous on 1. October 2009 - 12:16  (33705)

I use Opera and Iron as my two main browsers. I haven't had a single problem with Iron and recommend it.
by Anonymous on 1. October 2009 - 10:20  (33696)

I have tried Iron like months ago and ditched it from my system. It had a lot more bugs than Chrome. E.g. on several internet forums the back button refuses to work with Iron.
by irwanwr on 30. September 2009 - 9:58  (33603)

does SRWare Iron have plugins like flash and java yet?
by Anonymous on 30. September 2009 - 5:12  (33585)

It is mentioned in the best free browser category but unfortunately comments have been shut down on that page.

Iron is good, it's one of the fastest, but the interface is a bit minimalistic. I used it in addition to Firefox until Opera 10 came out. I think Opera 10 is a little bit faster than Iron, and is pretty full featured and doesn't seem to use any more resources than Iron or Chrome. Nevertheless, Firefox is still my default.
by Anonymous on 30. September 2009 - 3:59  (33580)

this is a good browser,,very fast,,besides some bugs yet..
one thing:if somebody from sware-iron is around here,,i register for their forum..add a comment in a topic...then open a new topic,but it doesn't show in the forum.
by MidnightCowboy on 26. September 2009 - 10:37  (33350)

SRWare Iron is already mentioned in our Best Free Web Browser category here:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-web-browser.htm
by Anonymous on 1. October 2009 - 13:34  (33708)

Why does your link refer to it as SWR Iron? I used it for a while but got tired of the incremental updates of once every 3-4 months. That just meant any bugs were going to be around a while before being fixed. Plus their help forums were not all that great.

Gizmos Needs You

Gizmo's Freeware is Recruiting

 We are looking for people with skills or interest in the following areas:
 -  Mobile Platform App Reviews for Android and iOS
 -  Windows, Mac and Linux software reviews       Interested? Click here