Web Browsers - Intro and Its Settings - MyCSTutorial- The path to Success in Exam

By Anjeev Kr Singh – Computer Science Educator
Published on : May 29, 2022 | Updated on : May 29, 2022

Topics covered :

Introduction to Internet, URL, WWW, and its applications- Web, email, Chat, VoIP
Website: Introduction, the difference between a website and webpage, static vs dynamic web page, web server, and hosting of a website.
Web Browsers: Introduction, commonly used browsers, browser settings, add-ons, and plug-ins, cookies

Web Browser

A web browser (commonly referred to as a browser) is a software application for accessing the information on the World Wide Web. When a user requests a particular website, the web browser retrieves the necessary content from a web server and then displays the resulting web page on the user’s device.
Web browsers are used on a range of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
In 2019, an estimated 4.3 billion people used a browser. The most used browser is Google Chrome, with a 64% global market share on all devices, followed by Safari with 17%.

Web Browser – History

The first web browser, called WorldWideWeb, was created in 1990 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
He then recruited Nicola Pellow to write the Line Mode Browser, which displayed web pages on dumb terminals; it was released in 1991.
In 1993, “the world’s first popular browser“ Mosaic was released. Its innovative graphical interface made the World Wide Web system easy to use and thus more accessible to the average person.
In 1994 Netscape, which released the Mosaic-influenced Netscape Navigator by Marc Andreessen the leader of the Mosaic team. Navigator quickly became the most popular browser.
Microsoft launched its own browser named Internet Explorer in 1995. In 2002 market share of Internet Explorer peaked at over 95%.
In 1998, Netscape launched the Mozilla Foundation to create a new browser using the open-source software model. This work evolved into Firefox, first released by Mozilla in 2004.
In 2003, Apple released its Safari browser. It remains the dominant browser on Apple platforms.
In 2008, Google launched the Chrome browser. In 2012, its become the most popular browser. Chrome has remained dominant ever since.

Web Browser – Most Popular

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Edge
Opera
Apple Safari

Web Browser – Settings (Google Chrome):

Autofill
Privacy and security
Appearance
Search engine
Default browser
On start-up
Languages
Downloads
Printing
Accessibility
System
Reset and clean up
Extensions
About Chrome

Add-ons / Extensions / Plug-ins :

A browser extension / Add-ons/plug-in is a small software module for customizing a web browser.
These extensions/add-ons/plug-ins are used to extend the features or capability of browsers.
Browsers typically allow a variety of extensions/add-ons/plug-ins, including user interface modifications, ad blocking, and cookie management.
Browser plug-ins are a separate type of module.
The main difference is that extensions are usually just source code, but plug-ins are always executable (i.e. object code).
As of 2019, plug-ins have been deprecated by most browsers, while extensions are widely used.
The most popular browser, Google Chrome, has thousands of extensions available but only one plug-in: the Adobe Flash Player which is disabled by default.

Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored in a user’s web browser, in a text file, while the user is browsing a website.

A computer “cookie” is more formally known as an HTTP cookie, a web cookie, an Internet cookie, or a browser cookie.

Some cookies are deleted automatically after closes his browser while others, called tracking cookies, remain saved and load the next time user visits the same websites

Types of Cookies – There are different types of cookies-

Session cookies are used only when a person is actively navigating a website; once you leave the site, the session cookie disappears.

Tracking cookies may be used to create long-term records of multiple visits to the same site.

Authentication cookies track whether a user is logged in, and if so, under what name

About the Author

Anjeev Kr Singh

Computer Science Educator, Author, and HOD. Guiding CBSE students in CS, IP, IT, WA & AI via mycstutorial.in. Creator of Question Bank for Class 10 & 12 students.