Web Browsers – Intro and Its Settings

Topics covered :

  1. Introduction to Internet, URL, WWW, and its applications- Web, email, Chat, VoIP
  2. Website: Introduction, the difference between a website and webpage, static vs dynamic web page, web server, and hosting of a website.
  3. 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

You cannot copy content of this page

Scroll to Top