Browsers are their functions. What does browser mean? What browsers are there

Since you are reading this article, then you, like many, are interested in the question, what is a browser? No matter how strange it may sound, you actually already know the answer to it, you just probably don’t guess yet. I will try to explain. In short, browser Is a web browser. That is, in order to read the information on this page, at least you had to start the browser by clicking on its shortcut on the desktop or elsewhere on your computer, type in the search engine (Yandex, Google and others) the query “ what is browser»Or any other similar to this one, find my site in the SERP and go to it. See how many independent actions you have already taken? How could you do all this without having the slightest idea of what a browser is and how to use it? Of course not.

All your steps have led you to what you were looking for in this case to this page on my site that you are currently viewing. Now let's go back to the definition of a browser: a web browser. And, if I understand correctly, this is what you are doing now. You see, you are already using the browser for its intended purpose. Naturally, it has other functions, the main of which we will now analyze.

Basic browser functions

My persistent browser is Firefox, but I often use others in my work. I will give you the main features of the Internet browser using an example, you guessed it, Firefox, but they practically do not differ from the functions of other browsers. And so, let's go.

You start the browser by clicking on its shortcut with the mouse, and get to your home page... In my case, it is the Yandex search engine (yandex.ru). This page always opens when you start your browser. It can also be accessed at any time by simply clicking on the house icon in the upper right corner (circled in red in the figure) or by simultaneously pressing Alt keys and Home. I think it's understandable.

As a home page, it is recommended to set the one that you most often visit, from which you would like to start your work on the Internet every day. It's very easy to change it. To do this, just click on the "Firefox" in the upper left corner and enter the Settings, as shown in the figure below.

You will see a window in which in the field "Home page" you need to enter the address of the required site, for example http://www.yandex.ru or http://vk.com. You can drive in the address of absolutely any site. We figured out how to change the home page and what it is. Let's move on.

Since we are talking about site addresses, let's dwell on them. Each site is unique. You will never find sites with exactly the same URLs. Let's draw an analogy with real life... There are hardly any families living in different apartments or houses at the same address.

The site address very often begins with "www", but this part can be omitted. Further, through a dot goes the name of the site, for example, the same favorite "yandex". We put one more point and write the end of the address: ru, com, net. org and others. In our case, we received the address of the Yandex search engine “www.yandex.ru”. To get to the site by its address, you just need to enter it in address bar your browser.

For faster access to your favorite sites, bookmarks... It is enough to click on the star icon to the right of the address bar or press the key combination Ctrl + D, and a window will appear in which you need to enter the name of the bookmark, select the folder you need for it and click "done". You can bookmark absolutely any sites you like, for convenience they can also be divided into folders. To view bookmarks, you need to click on the corresponding icon in the upper right corner in the case of Firefox, or in a slightly different way depending on the browser.

For more convenient navigation through the sites, there are tabs... If you want several Internet pages to be open at the same time, then be sure to use the tabs. To open new tab click on the plus sign (circled in red).

Most often, the Internet is used for information search... It is naturally impossible to do this without a browser. Since you are reading this article now, you most likely already know how to search for information on the Internet. I recommend using search engines such as yandex.ru and google.ru for these purposes. In the request, most accurately indicate what you want to find. For example, if you live in Moscow and want to buy a car for yourself, write to search bar "Car sale in moscow".

Browser types

There are a lot of browsers, but only a few of them have gained popularity. Let's talk about them.

Is one of the oldest browsers surviving to this day. IE is part of Windows, which is probably why it gained popularity in the world. Perhaps this is its main advantage. Despite the fact that it is developed by specialists from Microsoft, Internet Explorer in many respects it lags behind other browsers, it often displays sites incorrectly, does not support many modern standards, and the speed of its work is not happy either, although it has noticeably increased in new versions of the program.

Opera is a very old browser, it has many different settings, functions and extensions, it is very fast. This browser, in my opinion, will be somewhat difficult for beginners, but if you understand it, you can safely make it the main one for work and play. Personally, I used it a little, but I noticed a few negative points. Firstly, it displays some sites a little incorrectly, most often the problem is the increase in font size. I think this error will be fixed in new versions. Secondly, Opera for the first time did not import bookmarks, passwords, history and other data from my other browsers. I still found this function, but the path to the profile with the data had to be specified manually. In my opinion, this is somewhat inconvenient. Maybe I did something wrong, I do not deny this point, but the fact remains. Yandex Browser, for example, coped with this task in no time. Thirdly, there was a case when I opened only one page, while neither the browser nor the computer were restarted by anything, after which Opera froze for about half a minute, or maybe more. Of course, these are all coincidences, and this can happen with any browser, I just share my impressions of using them. In general, the browser is very good, it supports all, or almost all, modern standards and technologies.

- first appeared in 2002, is regularly updated, supports all modern standards, displays sites as correctly as possible, has many additional extensions and plugins that are easy to install and update. Firefox also has disadvantages: sometimes the browser freezes for a while, sometimes even for several minutes, after which it may stop working altogether, citing some kind of error. It also happens that the browser, in simple terms, is buggy. For example, now on some sites you have to manually enter logins and passwords each time, despite the fact that they are saved in the browser and should be displayed in automatic mode... I also noticed such a glitch as the periodic loss of the spelling check: sometimes it disappears by itself and then it appears itself, while I do nothing. It is worth noting that Firefox has very good support, so all problems are often solved in new versions or in other ways that can be found on the program's forum.

- appeared relatively recently, in 2008, but has already gained popularity all over the world. Google Chrome can be described in three words: fast, simple and convenient. Despite its visual simplicity, the browser has all the necessary capabilities and supports all modern standards. Even a beginner will master it in a matter of minutes. Proof of convenience Google chrome is the fact that many of the technical details first used in it were later borrowed from it by other browsers. For example, tabs in browsers long time were located under the address bar, above which there was also a menu in the form of drop-down lists, as a result of which the browser header turned out to be rather cumbersome. If my memory serves me, then for the first time it was in Chrome that the tabs were moved under the address bar, and the menu was completely in a different place.

- is the youngest browser in this list and in the world as a whole, at the time of this writing, its age is only a month, but despite this, it is actively gaining popularity, as a rule, among the Russian-speaking population. In my opinion, it has a great future, especially in Russia and the CIS. But if Yandex makes more efforts, then the browser may go far beyond the borders of our country, although it is hard to believe in it, wait and see. It combines all the advantages of modern browsers, and also has its own individual characteristics. For example, only in this browser I saw that the titles of Internet pages are displayed not only in the tab, but also in the address bar. In its appearance and interface, Yandex Browser is very much like Google Chrome, they are also made on the same engine. The browser works very smoothly, quickly and without brakes, at least that's how it showed itself in my case. Separately, it should be said about the Yandex Browser security system, which was developed at Kaspersky Lab, as well as about Turbo technology, which accelerates the loading of sites, which was created by Opera and will appear in the next versions of the program. I myself have not tested or verified these developments, since I have neither the ability nor the desire.

The list could also include a browser from Apple, but, as far as I know, its development and support for Windows has recently stopped. I will just say that the browser is really made very high quality and beautiful, like any other products from Apple. If you want, you can download Safari and use it, you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Which browser is better?

Each Internet user must choose a browser for himself. Neither I nor any other person will be able to fully objectively answer the question of which browser is better. Here it is most likely a matter of taste. For example, I don't really like working on Opera, but this does not mean that this browser is worse than others. Many of my friends use it.

As you know, My choice at the moment - Mozilla Firefox. Since I use it more often than others, I have given more specific examples of problems and errors in this browser, but this does not mean that others do not. At times, absolutely every browser is buggy, like any other program. Some, of course, have fewer glitches, some more, but everyone has them. Any browser can freeze and crash, you can't get away from it.

For beginners, I would recommend browsers such as Google Chrome and Yandex Browser. Let me explain why. They are the easiest to learn, everything is as simple as possible, there is nothing superfluous, complete minimalism. You will not need to scour the wilds of the menu to find this or that function, everything is on the surface. But despite their apparent simplicity, both of these browsers are very powerful and support all modern standards. The initial functionality in them without installing any additional extensions is also quite large. For example, only these two browsers are initially able to translate sites from foreign languages. For others, such a function becomes available only after installing additional plugins.

Perhaps objectively, or almost objectively, I can only speak about Internet Explorer. It is this browser that most often displays sites incorrectly, I also heard that its security system is lame. Even though IE is oldest browser from this list, lately he has only to catch up with his young competitors, and this is far from being the best way for him.

When choosing a browser, you can also take a look at popularity ratings, but I advise you not to rely on them. Each person must choose for himself what he likes. For example, there are still a lot of users in the world who prefer IE, but in my opinion, this is only because it is installed on a computer along with Windows. Most people do not like to change anything and look for the best, but use what they already have. I used to use Internet Explorer too, but that was a long time ago. I was not then such an active Internet user as I am now, I did not know all the intricacies, I thought that sites should be displayed exactly as in Explorer, I just did not know the best. If on any site something moved out or was too large or, on the contrary, small, I thought that the error was in the site itself, but, as it turned out, I was wrong. In the original version of this article, I gave the rating of the popularity of browsers in Russia and in the world in general, but then I realized that this was not necessary, since it was constantly changing, and indeed right choice definitely won't help.

When choosing a browser, you need to pay attention to several highlights:

Convenience - with this item, each user must decide for himself. To do this, download the browser, work on it for several hours, and if you feel any inconvenience or something you don't like, download and test the next one. And so on, until you understand which browser is most convenient for you. In principle, the list is small, so testing will not take long.
Functionality- by and large, all of the above browsers have sufficient functionality for almost any Internet user. In case one or another function is missing, you can always download and install an add-on or plugin.
Speed - I personally did not check the speed of this or that browser using any services, let alone stopwatches. I can say that the latest versions of each of them work pretty fast. Somewhere I saw the results of a study, according to which it loads the fastest chrome web pages, and displays the visible part of the page on the Firefox screen. To what extent this is true, I do not know. I don't think Yandex Browser or Opera are far behind them in this indicator.
The correctness of the display of sites- it would seem, well, why not update the developers of their browsers and make them correctly display sites. Imagine how cool it would be if in all browsers each site looked exactly the same, how many problems it would have for the layout designers (specialists who "pull" the design onto the site), but no, the developers cannot yet bring their browsers to perfection, which is a pity. I want to note right away that browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Yandex Browser display sites as correctly as possible. Opera also supports almost all modern standards, but there are still times when it does not display a particular style correctly. Recently, it was because of her that I had to redo the font sizes on one of my sites, as she made them very large. Also go, for example, to Yandex Market and see how it is displayed in Opera and in any of the other browsers listed above, I'm sure you will see the differences. I don't really want to talk about Internet Explorer, but still I will say: this is one of the most backward browsers in terms of the correct display of sites. He is very bad with shadows and other effects. Very often it is under IE that they write separate file styles so that he somehow copes with his task.
Security - to be honest, I did not check this item in any special ways. I know that Chrome and Firefox have everything, it seems, in order, on Yandex Browser you can also make big bets thanks to cooperation with Kaspersky Lab, I can't say anything specific about the Opera, I heard about IE that the security system is so-so. In any case, install antivirus programs on your computers, and everything will be fine.

In the matter of choosing a browser, do not completely trust anyone's opinion. What seems convenient and ideal to others, you may not like at all, and vice versa. The most important thing in a browser for ordinary Internet users, in my opinion, is convenience... If you are satisfied with the work of the browser, its interface is pleasant and it is simply convenient to use it, then you are unlikely to pay special attention to other points. But in any case, try to evaluate the browser on the other points listed above, and then make your final choice. Moreover, now, I hope, you understand what a browser is, why you need it and how to use it correctly. Personally, I would advise you to take a closer look at Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, Yandex Browser also performed well, but, I repeat again, this is just my subjective opinion.

If you have any questions, there are problems with the choice or operation of this or that browser, you are welcome in the comments.

The browser is a tool for accessing the World Wide Web. To get the most out of the internet you need to understand and know various functions web browser.

In this lesson, you will learn what a browser is, and we will also talk about navigating the Internet using a browser, downloading files, bookmarking your favorite sites, tabs and plugins.

A browser is a program for viewing web pages. With the help of a browser, you have the opportunity to surf the Internet, visit websites, watch images on the Internet, movies, listen to music, etc. Now you are reading this material using your browser.

What browsers are there

There are many web browsers nowadays, but the most popular ones are (Chrome) and Firefox(Firefox) . Other browsers: Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari. Each of the above browsers has its own look and feel, but the goal is the same: to load web pages correctly and quickly.

Like most modern programs, browsers use graphic user interface(GUI), which means you can navigate and perform actions with the mouse, rather than, as in the early days of the computer, by typing commands.

Some devices, for example, use different types of graphical interfaces, such as touch screens. Nevertheless, many principles remain unchanged.

In the image below, a computer graphical interface where we use a mouse and a smartphone touch interface where finger taps are used instead of a mouse.

Navigation

In order to get better at using the browser, you need to know some basic concepts.

All browsers have an address bar that shows the web address (also called a URL) of the page you're on. To go to another page, you can enter the URL in the address bar and press Enter.

Links

Basically, to go to another page, you can go by clicking on the link. They can be in the form text or Images and they usually stand out. Mostly blue and can be accentuated. If you do not understand this link or not, then move the mouse cursor over it, and it should change its appearance to a hand icon.

Sometimes after you click on a link, you may want to return to the previous page. To do this, you can use the Back button , then you can click on the Forward button to follow the link again. You can use the Refresh button in cases where the page did not load correctly, the pictures are not visible or some of the text is missing, etc. It happens sometimes.

There are times when you shouldn't use the navigation buttons. For example, in online stores, you should not refresh the page after purchasing an item or during a purchase, because this could result in the item being purchased twice.

Many browsers have combined the address bar and the search bar into one panel. The string where the URL of the page is located, in the same place you can write the search terms. However, there are browsers that have a built-in search bar as a separate bar.

Adding a bookmark

If you find a page of interest to you on the Internet, you can add it to your bookmarks. Bookmarks are added so that later it would be easier to return to the page and not forget it. It is convenient and easier than memorizing long obscure addresses and constantly typing them into the address bar.

In Chrome, you can add a bookmark by clicking on the star at the end of the address bar on the right. Bookmarks are added in the same way in other browsers.

History

Let's say you visited a page a few days ago, but forgot to bookmark it. You can find this page using history, which is a list of sites / pages that you have visited before. Pages usually remain in history for a certain number of days. For privacy, you can delete history at any time.

View history

To view the history in the Chrome browser, click on the button in the upper right corner and select the History item:

Delete history

To delete history in Chrome, go to history and click Clear history.

If you have a different browser, the process for viewing and deleting history will be different.

All browsers allow you to open the link in a new tab. This allows you to keep the current page open. For example, if you are reading an article that contains a link, then you can open the link in a new tab, and finish reading this article, and then go to the new tab.

Tabs are designed to make browsing the pages more convenient. You can open as many tabs as you like. They will stay in one browser window without cluttering the screen with multiple windows.

To open a link in a new tab, right-click on the link and click "Open Link in New Tab"

Uploading files

You can download various types of files from the Internet using your browser. Suppose you need to fill out and print a form that you found on the Internet. You can download it to your desktop and then open it with an appropriate program (for example, using Microsoft Word).

How to download a file?

If you click on the link under which there is the file you need, then it can be automatically downloaded. And sometimes it will just open in the browser instead of downloading. In this case, to download the file you need to right-click on the link and select "Save Target As ..."

This does not mean that you can download anything from any site. Some sites do not allow you to download content.

Some sites do not allow you to save their images.

Plugins

Plugins are programs that are installed on your browser that allow it to play videos and flash animations. For example plugins Quicktime Player and Flash Player... If you do not have the necessary plugins installed, the site, instead of playing the video, will give you a link to download the plugin.

If you have the necessary plugins, you can enjoy streaming video and play games.

- (English Browser, from browse to browse), on the Internet (see INTERNET) a program for viewing hypertext documents (see HYPERTEXT) (pages). The most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer. Most browsers can ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

See WEB BROWSER Glossary of Business Terms. Academic.ru. 2001 ... Business glossary

browser- A program for navigating the Internet and reading hypertext documents in the information environment WWW. [GOST R 52872 2007] browser program Web browsing navigator Program for navigation and viewing of web resources. Usually bundled with browsers ... ... Technical translator's guide

BROWSER- (English browser) a program that provides search and viewing of information stored in computer networks … Legal encyclopedia

BROWSER- viewer software (see) on www pages. With B.'s help, you can make "walks" on (see). At the same time, a page of a document is displayed on the computer screen, which can be read if it contains text, viewed if it contains photographs and ... ... Big Polytechnic Encyclopedia

Comp. a program that allows you to view information from an electronic network on a computer screen. New Dictionary of Foreign Words. by EdwART, 2009. Browser Browser, M. and Browser, Browser, M. [from English. browser, browse - browse, ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

browser- A program for viewing Internet pages, from English. browse words - to browse. TP: What is your browser? client: I have Firefox Internet slang, Computer slang ... Dictionary of modern vocabulary, jargon and slang

M .; = browser A program that allows you to view information from a computer network on a computer display; navigator III. Efremova's Explanatory Dictionary. T.F. Efremova. 2000 ... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

- (English browser), a program with the help of a swarm a user searches for information (text, graphic, etc.) in the computer memory or in computer networks, for example. in the Internet … Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

General history. 5-9 grades. Interactive maps. FSES (CDpc), Belaychuk O. A .. The edition contains 40 control and 40 simulator tasks on the history of the ancient world, the Middle Ages, new and recent history for grades 5-9, based on interactive computer ...
The world. 1-4 grades. Interactive Maps (CDpc). Federal State Educational Standard, Belaychuk O. A. Electronic tutorial... Workshop for students of general education organizations. The edition contains 50 control and 50 simulator tasks in astronomy, geography, biology, history and ...
Honor 7C smartphone; Yandex Browser protects against hidden mining; Google Lens based on Android; Report of "Kaspersky Lab"; Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Pavel Kartaev. Xiaomi company announced the Russian prices and the date of the start of sales of inexpensive frameless smartphones Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus.

For those who continue to comprehend the Internet and what is connected with it - today we will tell you about what a browser is, what it is for, and also we will conduct a small analysis of the most popular Internet browsers today.

What is a browser and what functions does it perform

Browser (WEB-browser) is a program that provides browsing of Internet sites on computer devices and gadgets. The essence of the browser is to process the user's request and load the requested site .. Now let's take a quick look at what functions the browser performs.

As mentioned above, main function browser is the opening of web pages of sites. Themselves web pages consist of code, which actually receives the browser from the server on which the site is located. The browser processes this code, and you see the "finished picture" on your monitor. In order to see what the site really is - right-click, for example, somewhere in the side of the site and select the item in the appeared context menu«View source”(Or“ Source Code of the Page ”, or the like). Correct source code is very important for the browser, since adequate display of the site pages and the performance of its functions depend on it.

Browsers allow you to save your passwords from sites, so that every time you access your account on a particular resource, you do not need to re-enter your username and password. All browsers also save the history of your visits to various sites so that, if necessary, you can find the desired site you previously visited. Well, and the last thing worth noting from the main functionality of the browser is the ability to store sites in bookmarks for memorization and quick access.

In addition to opening the web pages themselves, browsers allow you to download files from sites, that is, the browser downloads them. These can be programs, games, music and other files.

The vast majority of modern browsers support various add-ons. These add-ons may include: extensions to browser functions, informers from various resources, as well as add-ons in the form of visual themes for the browser itself. Let's consider them in more detail:

Extensions... Notable examples of browser extensions are extensions from antivirus software: anti-banner and link checking module, which protect users from intrusive ads, as well as check dangerous links and sites.

Informers... The informers are also made as extensions. As the name implies, informers inform. The most popular informers are weather informers, informers about the arrival of new mail, messages, etc.

Visual themes... Visual themes allow you to change the design of your browser: tabs, buttons, background images, and other elements.

It is worth noting that an unlimited number of browsers can be installed on a computer, and one of them must be the main one - the default browser. The default browser is the browser that is set as the main one in the operating system, through which all links and services that you switch to from other programs will open.

Now let's take a look at the most popular browsers today.

What browsers are there?

It is very difficult to count the total number of browsers today. Below we want to take a look at the top five browsers that are used by the majority of Internet users.

Internet Explorer Browser

Internet Explorer is the standard browser that comes with the Windows operating system. That is, you will immediately be able to access the Internet through Internet Explorer. We named Internet Explorer the first, not because it is the most popular or the best, but because initially everyone uses it, at least to download another browser. By the way, there is a joke on many computer Internet resources: "Internet Explorer is the program with which you can download a good browser."

Yes, there is some truth in every joke, and as you can imagine, this joke appeared for a reason. The fact is that Internet Explorer (IE), in our opinion, is not the most the best way browser. Firstly, it is very slow and its slowness lies not only in the operation of the program itself, but also in opening pages. Secondly, IE itself opens the web pages incorrectly, as they say in the common people - "crooked". In addition, Internet Explorer is a very non-functional browser, and most importantly, its updated versions do not carry anything radically new and do not even have a hint of it. IE does not have support for plugin integration and does not support visual themes, which makes it quite marginal today.

The Internet Explorer browser is used mainly by beginners who do not know, do not understand or do not really delve into the concept of what a browser is and what other browsers there are besides IE. In most cases, those users who have tried other browsers never use Internet Explorer again, which is why we recommend installing another, or rather a good browser.

Internet Explorer does not require installation as it is integrated into the Windows operating system.

Google Chrome Browser

The most popular browser on the territory of the former USSR is a browser called "Google Chrome" (Russian). Chrome is a browser from Google, which is not only a popular browser, but also probably the best. By the way, Chrome is a fairly young browser, but at the same time it has won a large army of fans over the years of its existence.

Probably the very first advantage of this browser is its "lightness", which lies in the fast work of both the program itself and in the fast opening of the pages of the sites. This WEB-browser is well thought out, therefore it is very easy to use. A large number of functions are also the strong point of the Google Chrome browser. Let's take a closer look at the functional features of Chrome.

In our opinion, the most important functional the advantage of google Chrome is the synchronization of passwords and bookmarks in the browser with the Google server, thanks to which, by entering your username and password, you will get access to your bookmarks and passwords after reinstalling the system or on your other gadgets. This is very convenient, since, for example, when reinstalling the system, it is not so difficult to reinstall it, as it is difficult to remember all your visited sites and passwords to them. And with Chrome, you just need to log into Google system and all your bookmarks and passwords will be recovered. Also, of the functional features of Chrome, it is worth noting the ability to install extensions and change the design style, of which there are a large number in the Chrome Web Store, and for free. Well, and the last thing to mention is the smart address bar, that is, in the address bar (in the field where you enter the site address), you can also enter search queries - this is universal and convenient.

In order to download the Chrome browser on your computer - go to the address: "google.com/intl/ru/chrome".

Mozilla Firefox Browser

The next browser we would like to consider is Mozilla Firefox. The Mozilla Firefox browser has been around for about 10 years and is one of the oldest web browsers. Mozilla Firefox is used mainly by webmasters and advanced users, thanks to its correct and correct display of site pages.

Of the functional features of Mazila (English Mozilla), it is worth highlighting the presence of a huge number of plugins (extensions), the number of which largely exceeds the range of extensions in Chrome. In addition, Mazil Firefox has the ability to change the visual style of the browser, which should also be attributed to the advantages.

Despite all this, Mozilla Firefox is a fairly heavy browser. It, in comparison with other browsers, takes a little longer to start, and also sometimes freezes and slows down, even for quite the same powerful computer... If we compare Mozilla Firefox with the aforementioned Chrome, then the disadvantage of the former is the lack of synchronization of bookmarks and passwords. Therefore, if there is no special need to use Mazila, then it is better not to use it as the main browser.

Download Mozilla browser Firefox you can from the official website of the browser: "mozilla-russia.org".

Opera browser

The Opera browser is an aksakal among browsers that has been around for almost 20 years. Opera browser is quite light and convenient. Of the functional features, support for widgets and plugins can be distinguished, but they have not received widespread use. It is worth noting the Turbo function, which allows you to load pages faster with a slow Internet connection or to save traffic by compressing it, but, as a rule, today this function is relevant for laptop owners with limited 3G Internet tariffs.

Analyzing the Opera browser, one cannot say something bad about it, but it is also difficult to single out something good. In our opinion, the Opera lacks a certain charisma that would distinguish it from the above browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

You can download the Opera browser from its main page: "opera.com/ru".

And, finally, it should be said about the fifth browser, which, in our opinion, deserves its place in our top five. Yandex Browser is the last on our list, but not the least. Although the first mentioned is Internet Explorer, it is far from the leader, and perhaps even the outsider of our list of top browsers.

As for the Yandex browser, this is the youngest browser developed by Yandex. This browser has been around for only about a year, but despite its novelty, it quickly conquers its audience. Probably Yandex wanted something more serious than intrusively integrating its Yandex.Bar (add-on with its services) into other browsers, so the company's developers decided to create their own full browser... It's a little difficult to call Yandex Browser “own”, since it is the same Chrome, with a slightly redesigned design and some additional functions implemented. One of these additional functions is a Turbo function that was borrowed from the Opera browser. Let's analyze Yandex Browser in more detail.

Yandex's browser is made on the same engine as Chrome, so they have a similar appearance and similar functionality. In new versions of Yandex Browser, you can now synchronize your passwords and bookmarks with the Yandex server. The Yandex browser also allows you to install extensions, but they must be installed manually, since Yandex does not have its own store to download add-ons. It is worth noting that it is possible to set a background image, but unfortunately, there is no possibility to change the background of the navigation bar in the browser. But there is a convenient "Scoreboard" - a panel with icons of sites for their quick opening, which is very original and convenient. You can also note the ability to search for a query in different search engines from the "smart line" of this browser by selecting the desired search engine below.

Summing up, we can say with confidence that Yandex Browser is the same Chrome, but more focused on Russian-speaking users living in the CIS. If you decide to remove Yandex Browser, then.

To download a browser from Yandex, go to its official page: "browser.yandex.ru".

Which browser should you choose?

To give an unambiguous and categorical answer to the question: which browser to choose will be wrong. Each browser has its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as its own characteristics, so for each user "his" browser is the best. For example, someone prefers Chrome browser for its simplicity, the integration of passwords and bookmarks with Google, and someone - Mozilla Firefox for its huge number of different add-ons. Despite the fact that the structure of browsers is all the same, they have their own visual differences, which makes them significantly different from each other. In order to determine which browser to choose, and which one is best for you, you need to try them all to make this decision for yourself.

While the vast majority of older people are only superficially familiar with the Internet, for the younger generation, daily “surfing the web” is as much an integral part of the procedure as brushing your teeth or eating. However, even among those who log on to the Internet on a daily basis, few know what he is and what capabilities he has. Therefore, let's figure it out.

What is a browser and what is it for

Browser is software that allows you to query and display the content of websites, manage virtual applications, download files from your computer, and perform many other tasks. The functionality of web browsers is constantly growing, fueled by healthy competition between developers and active adoption information systems and technologies in various fields of activity. Most of the browsers are distributed free of charge, but some of them on a regular basis offer the user to make a voluntary donation for their development.

Browser history and a brief overview of modern products

The first web browser was released in 1990 and was named WorldWideWeb (later renamed Nexus). The author of the project was the famous London inventor Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, whose contribution to the development of information technology can hardly be overestimated. The world's first browser is based on the NeXTSTEP platform, which is also used in the development of Mac OS X.

However, due to the fact that program code browser for a long time (until 1993) remained closed, the first browser released to the masses is considered to be NCSA Mosaic. It was he who served as the basis for Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, and it was with him that the legendary "browser war" began.

Unlike Netscape, Microsoft distributed its product for free from the very beginning, which allowed it to monopolize the market by 1999, taking over 95% of its volume. For users, this turned out that many sites and web documents were optimized for one particular browser (IE) and did not open in others. The developer himself, having felt the advantage, stopped paying due attention to the development of his product. This is what Netscape took advantage of. Leaving the market, she released the source code for her web browser under the MLP license, thereby stabbing Microsoft in the back and initiating many modern projects, including:

Google chrome

Today, Chrome is used daily by over 300 million users, which automatically makes it the most popular browser in the world. Based on Chromium and Blink, it is suitable for both casual and advanced PC users. The strengths of the browser include:

Security, which is expressed in the presence of a blacklist of phishing sites and resources containing malware, a personal task manager, etc.
Speed. Thanks to its DNS lookahead and the powerful V8 JavaScript engine, Chrome has one of the best page load speeds.
Stability. Chrome work is built on the principles of multiprocessing, due to which the problem in the operation of one tab does not affect the functioning of the others.

From the disadvantages of the project, users single out a large number of options for collecting information about the client's web surfing and an artificially limited choice of parameters during installation. Also, they are not satisfied with the fact that the current version of the browser can be installed on mobile device only if the latter has access to the Internet. Chrome has standalone downloaders, but home page the project is not presented.

Mozilla Firefox

This browser runs on the Gecko engine (which has been gradually replaced by the next generation Quantum engine since version 57.0) and is the second most popular free software in the world. Officially released for Windows, Android, macOS, and GNU. V Linux distributions is one of the preinstalled files. The web browser is being developed by Mozilla Corporation, which originally named its project Phoenix, but then (due to trademark conflicts) had to rename it first to Firebird and then to Firefox.

Although the project was once positioned as a legacy of Netscape, this is not entirely true. After the company's defeat in the "browser war", its code was written from scratch. This allowed the developers to make the product more flexible and responsive to the needs of users, as well as provide functionality that is not available to other web browsers.

The benefits of Firefox include:

Regular updates.
Prompt elimination of detected vulnerabilities.
The ability to manage cookies.
Features relevant to the advanced user (including the "Incognito" mode and a flexible graphics loading system).
Support for W3C standards.
Large selection of extensions and add-ons.
Pop-up blocker.

Among the shortcomings, users highlight Firefox's close collaboration with Google and Adobe. For them "alive" google search in the address bar and support for DRM plugins looks like an imposition of services, which is unacceptable for open source software.

Opera

Opera is one of the few browsers that has been ported for many operating systems... It is compatible with various builds of Windows, OS X, Linux, as well as mobile operating systems: Android, Windows Mobile, iOS, Symbian OS and MeeGo. One of Opera's greatest strengths is JavaScript. Its loading speed is about 2 times faster than that of other browsers.

Developers pay special attention to network security. So, for encryption when the user visits protected pages, the SSL 3 and TLS protocols are used, which are known for their high reliability. The database of saved passwords is encrypted using the 3DES algorithm, cutting off access to them for those who do not have an encryption key. Also, in the latest releases, mechanisms were presented to combat hidden mining, which is especially important against the background of the growing interest in cryptocurrencies.

Among the disadvantages of "Opera" users point out:

Cumbersome, not very user-friendly interface.
Closed code that gets in the way third party developers find vulnerabilities in the product and quickly eliminate them.
The transition to the WebKit engine, which increases its developer's market share and may well contribute to the beginning of a new "browser war".

In addition to the browser installed on the device, Opera offers its customers the so-called [email protected]- a program that works directly from removable media. In fact, this allows you to have all your settings, bookmarks, chat logs and other data close at hand, wherever you are.

Safari

This web browser is a kind of an alternative to the Internet Explorer for all electronic products Apple... Developed with the free WebKit engine code, it has been included with iOS and macOS for many years. Since version 3.0, Windows support... However, it ended with version 5.1.7. For other operating systems, Safari has never been officially released.

TO strengths browser include:

Recognition of non-standard fonts used by sites and their download.
Support for different encryption protocols.
Private Browsing is an alternative to the "Incognito" mode.
Integration of QuickTime multimedia technologies.

In Europe, Apple products each year take an increasing share of the market, and therefore the number of Safari users is steadily growing. In the second half of 2017, the browser occupied the second position in the popularity ranking. In Russia, however, he has not yet been able to achieve such success. Here, the observer has so far been able to climb only to the 4th line.

Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge

Speaking of web browsers, it would be a mistake not to mention Internet Explorer (for Windows 10 - Microsoft Edge), which today has become a stable supplier of local memes for the Internet community. Having once won the "browser war", the developers were superficial about updating and protecting their product, which is why, after a couple of years, the progressive community practically abandoned it, preferring more convenient and functional Firefox and Google Chrome.

Faced with the harsh reality, Microsoft was forced to rethink its priorities, and starting with version 9, the browser began to fully support the SVG and CSS3 standards. Moreover, today the company's developers work closely with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and are actively involved in the creation of its standards. Some of the implemented developments include Pointer events, which allows you to determine the type of user interaction with the device.

However, none of these steps, or the rebranding and name change from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge, helped to completely restore the browser's reputation. Most users still see IE as slow and poorly secured. This is confirmed by the fact that the observer is used mainly by employees of state institutions, to whom it is imposed despite the available alternatives.

What are the criteria for evaluating browsers

Market software offers dozens of free or shareware web browsers, the abundance of which makes an inexperienced user dizzy. It is not easy to choose the best among them, because some are not safe enough, others drag any software "garbage" into the system, and still others are not optimized and often "hang up" the system. Therefore, if you cannot boast of knowledge of modern standards, we suggest that you be guided by the following criteria when choosing a browser:

Standards support

Almost all modern browsers position themselves as an independent innovative product. However, in reality, most of them are just another variation based on the now popular Chromium. There is nothing criminal in this, since the engine code is open source. Here are just some web browsers, allegedly at the stage of active development, for some reason use solutions from 2015 or even 2012 (which are hopelessly outdated today). Why this indicator is critical, the user will learn from personal experience when he tries to install an application, and as a result he will see the following message:

And if the browser is also with modern standards (for example, with network protocol HTTP / 2) is not friendly, you can forget about fast boot pages, prioritizing requests, push notification support, and many other features and capabilities.

Want to check your web browser is up to date? To do this, just find out its version and the line User Agent. Information on the first point can be found in the "Help" - "About the program" section, on the second - with the help of numerous online services.

Security

A vulnerability can be found in almost any program. However, not every developer can eliminate it, and even do it quickly. Therefore, to assess the security of a web browser, several indicators should be taken into account at once, such as:

Exposure to vulnerabilities.
Regularity of security updates.
The number of vulnerabilities that have been fixed since the release of this version.

Obviously, the most popular browsers, such as Chrome or Mozilla, will have an order of magnitude more problems than the same Safari or Yandex Browser. This is due precisely to their popularity, because the actions of hackers are most often aimed at a mass audience. It is simply not interesting and not profitable for “evil geniuses” to search for vulnerabilities in unclaimed software.

Functionality

For the largest web browsers, this point is not particularly relevant. It is worth one developer to implement some kind of new function, as another one almost immediately presents the same or similar analogue. A striking example of this is the "Incognito" mode, which first appeared in Google Chrome, and then was implemented in Firefox.

However, if you are using a lesser-known product, its functionality may be severely curtailed or modified compared to the industry giants. For example, some add-ons (blocking ads, allowing you to bypass blocking, etc.) are simply not installed on them. Somewhere video calls, live search or sync mode are not supported. However, the greatest concern among users is caused by the national search engine "Sputnik", for which a unique search engine is being developed that produces information from only a limited number of sites.

User friendliness

This indicator is one of the key arguments in the ongoing debate about the "best browser". Evaluation criteria here are different for everyone. For some, it is enough for the browser to simply work, for others the ability to adapt the interface for themselves is critically important, and still others put the download speed and consumption indicators above all. random access memory... However, several generalized parameters can be distinguished. So, a good browser:

Does not drag unnecessary "garbage" into the system in the form of applications and extensions that the user will not use. A vivid example of this is "Amigo" from mail.ru, which, if the user only loses vigilance, installs "Mail.ru Agent" on the computer.
It does not "freeze" the system, taking away the lion's share of RAM with 1-2 open tabs, which Google and Firefox have been "sinning" lately.
Has an intuitive interface and in the matter of settings gives the user maximum freedom, which certainly does not apply to "Opera" and IE.

Browser Basics

However, for successful web surfing, the "best" browser alone will not be enough. Advanced features and handy add-ons make no sense if you don't know how to work with them properly. Therefore, we will consider the main features of browsers that everyone should be able to use.

Navigation

Although the interface of different browsers looks different, they all have common elements, including:

Address bar - the place where the website address is registered, as well as a quick search is carried out (if the browser saves the browsing history).
Search - a rectangular window with a magnifying glass icon, which allows you to quickly use the search for Google, Yandex and other search engines, without going directly to their pages.
Buttons "Forward", "Back" - help to move between several pages viewed in one tab.
"Refresh" - by pressing this button you reload the page if it takes a long time to load or suddenly stops working.

Tabs and windows

Moving between pages (especially if there are more than 2) using the "Forward" and "Back" buttons is not always convenient. Therefore, more often users prefer to open new pages in new tabs. All tabs are located within one window, and therefore switching between them takes place in one click.

Good to know:

To add a new tab, just click on the "+" sign on the tab bar,
To close the extra ones - use the mouse wheel on the tab itself.
If you accidentally close the tab that you need, right-click on the tab bar and select "Restore Closed Tab" from the drop-down menu.
If you need to compare two pages, open them in different windows. To do this, select the "New Window" item in the browser menu.

Downloading files and photos

Downloading multimedia, software, text and other files to a computer is one of the most demanded functions of modern browsers. To save an image, just right-click on it, select the "Save As" item and specify the desired file name and save path in the window that appears. For files, this process is often easier. After you click on "Download", "Download" or another button with a similar name, the file will be added to the download folder on your computer. To find out its location, go to your browser settings and look for the "File Saving Path" item or a similar wording.

However, do not forget that files saved from the Internet often contain malicious codes and other dangers. Therefore, never settle for a ride if:

Not sure about the reliability of the resource.
To download, you are offered to send an SMS to some number.
To start downloading, you need to install a third-party plugin or program.

Plugins and extensions

Working with any program, the user always seeks to customize it "for himself." And browsers are no exception. In an effort to make web surfing more comfortable, browser developers have created their own online stores, where anyone can display their application. Here you can find browser themes, ad blockers, block bypass services, systems for downloading from YouTube, VKontakte and other media resources in one click, and much more. The product will be distributed for free or for free, depending only on its author.

Where to find the list of plugins available for installation depends on which browser you are using. So, in Firefox it is enough to hold down the key combination "Ctrl + Shift + A" (which corresponds to the transition: "Tools" - "Add-ons"). And in Google, you need to open the menu bar (a vertical row of three dots), select the "Additional tools" item in the drop-down table, and then "Extensions". Or open a store Google applications, alternately going to: "Settings" - "Additional" - "Accessibility".

Browsing history

Found an interesting resource a few days ago, but forgot to bookmark it? It doesn't matter, the browser (unless otherwise specified in the settings) stores the entire history of your web surfing for the last few months. It also implements a convenient search system, which means that if you remember the approximate date of viewing or (at least partially) the name of the page, it will not be difficult to find it. This service can be named differently in different browsers, but the essence always comes down to "history" or "view log".

Bookmarks

There is more and more information on the network every day. When there are only 2 or 3 sites of interest to you, it may be convenient to store their addresses in memory or on paper. But what to do when the number of important pages exceeds a hundred? That's right, mark them with "bookmarks". This function implemented in all mainstream browsers today.

Click on the special icon (most often resembling an asterisk), which is located either in the address bar itself or directly next to it. The browser will prompt you to add the page to the bookmark list and assign a name by which it will be easy to find later. If the list is too long, group sites into sites into folders that you also create yourself.

Why you need to update your browser

To an advanced user, such a question will seem strange. However, many newbies seriously do not understand why update it.

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