Today, Internet technologies are developing at a frantic pace. Unsurprisingly, web content viewers aren't far behind either. But let's find out what browsers are for a computer, and which of all this huge number to prefer for work.

What is a browser?

Let's start with the very definition of this type of program. What is a browser? The official interpretation says that this is not only a tool for viewing the content of web pages with text, graphics, sound or video information, but also a tool for managing sites or web applications, creating search queries, using additional add-ons that increase the functionality of the program, downloading the necessary content to the computer etc.

Now we will consider what browsers for a computer are, what are the differences between similar programs, what additional features they have, etc. Finally, let's pay attention to the comparative characteristics of the most popular applications and give some tips on using one or another browser on a computer.

True, let's make a reservation right away: here you need to clearly understand that the operation of programs of this type directly depends not only on the computer configuration, but also on many other factors, including the type of operating system, installed settings and plug-ins, quality and type of Internet connection, and much more. So it’s simply not possible to unequivocally answer which is the fastest browser for a computer. In other words, the conclusion will be highly arbitrary. But for convenience, we will consider Windows systems, which are most widely used in our country.

The history of the development of Internet technologies in browsers

Now let's find out how it all began. It is believed that the first-born in the history of the development of applications of this type was the browser, which was originally called WorldWideWeb and owed its birth in 1990 to Tim Burns-Lee, the founder of the Internet. As is already clear, the abbreviation WWW was then firmly entrenched in the World Wide Web itself. The browser itself was called Nexus a little later, but it was not widely used.

The NCSA Mosaic application was the first software product of this type, which gained immense popularity around the world. It was the technology implemented in this browser that later became the basis for creating such monsters as Netscape Navigator.

Unfortunately, Netscape Navigator did not last long, although it was considered a fairly convenient and nimble program. This was due only to the fact that it was primarily focused on UNIX-like operating systems and Mac OS. During the global offensive on the world market of Windows systems, it became unclaimed, since the "OSes" themselves already had a built-in Internet Explorer, and the need to install additional software simply disappeared. In addition, the "native" Windows browser at that time showed good performance results and was quite convenient in terms of not overloading the interface with unnecessary elements.

What browsers are there for a computer today? They can be counted not even tens, but hundreds. Of course, among all this, several of the most popular programs can be distinguished, but for a complete understanding of the topic under consideration, we will try to provide at least an approximate list of everything that can be found on the Internet.

What are the browsers for the computer. Review

So, what can be said about today's programs? Frankly, sometimes it seems that every developer persistently sets himself the goal of creating a tool for Internet surfing, just to get a user audience. In particular, this applies to most search or mail sites, for example, Yandex with its "Yandex browser" or Mail.Ru with its "Amigo".

Alas, most of these applications are created in the image and likeness of more powerful systems. As a rule, technologies are borrowed from Google Chrome, in which some changes have been made, some elements have been removed or added. And the saddest thing is that almost all developers shout at the top of their voices that their browser is the fastest.

But they often have so many ads that it is simply unbearable to work. Therefore, the user asks the question: what are the browsers for a computer without ads? Now let's try to present just such programs. Let's look at the existing browsers for the computer. The list (far from complete) is presented below:

• Internet Explorer.
• Google Chrome.
• Mozilla Firefox.
• Opera.
• safari.
• edge.
• Yandex Browser.
• Amigo.
• Acoo Browser.
• Arora.
• Avant Browser.
• Browzar.
• Chromium.
• 360 Safety Browser.
• CoolNovo.
• Citrio.
• Coowon Browser.
• Comodo Dragon.
• double.
• DustyNet.
• Epic Privacy Browser.
• Goona Browser.
• Green Browser.
• Internet Surfboard.
• K Meleon.
• Kylo.
• Loonascape.
• Maxton.
• Midori Browser.
• Mozilla Flock and Mozilla Sea Monkey.
• netsurf.
• Nuke.
• Orbitum.
• Orca.
• palemoon.
• Pirate Browser.
• Play Free Browser.
• QIP Sirf Browser.;
• Qt Web Browser.
• QupZilla.
• rockmelt.
• Slepnir Browser.
• Slim Browser.
• S.R.Ware Iron.
• Sundance Browser.
• TheWorld.
• Torch Browser.
• Vivaldi.
• Uran.
• YRC Weblink.
• Rambler Browser, etc.

Enough? What do you think? If you look closely even at the above names, it becomes clear that only the first five differ in originality and the technology originally incorporated in the software. The rest are, so to speak, derivatives.

Here, in fact, we see what browsers are available for the computer. Of course, if you search well, you can "dig up" a huge number of relevant programs. Here are just a few of the most famous ones. And to say which is the fastest browser for a computer can be very approximate. But here it is necessary to build on this issue exclusively from those programs and technologies that are used, so to speak, by the progenitors (the first five).

Now let's pay attention to the main programs that are used by most users today for surfing. So let's try to choose the most popular browsers for the computer. The list, of course, will not be so long. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each application.

Internet Explorer 11

This program, although it is a standard integral element of any Windows OS, nevertheless has serious problems (especially with regard to the security system). And if at the very beginning of its evolution the priority of the popularity of Internet Explorer was not in doubt, then over time it fell to almost zero.

The browser itself has received a fairly strong development only in recent years and, I must say, showed quite serious and impressive results, beating its closest competitors - Google Chrome, Opera and Mozilla Firefox. At the moment, it boasts a fairly high speed of work on the Internet and a user-friendly interface. So why are only a few using it? Yes, only because the old stereotype is still strong. In addition, users are often repelled by a minimalist, even if completely Russified, interface, in which additional settings and elements are not displayed on the main panel, but are hidden in different menus. Nevertheless, these claims seem to many experts to be clearly unfounded.

Google Chrome

What are the browsers for a computer in Russian yet? Without a doubt, in this question one cannot fail to mention Google Chrome, which not only became a legend itself, but also served as the progenitor for many other programs of this type.

Despite the same minimalism in design, in terms of convenience and speed of work, it looks quite impressive. Basically, users in this program are attracted by the fact that it has a reliable security system. But the main "chip" many users call the built-in extension store, which allows you to install additional plugins (add-ons), as they say, "on the spot". In addition, today you can find quite a lot of programmers who use this browser as a development tool. In addition, here you can quickly navigate to search results directly from the query string.

Perhaps the most important disadvantage, as strange as it sounds, lies in its plus. The fact is that it shows the optimal results of the speed of work, so to speak, only in a “pure” form. When there is an overflow of plugins and add-ons, alas, the speed of opening pages drops very much. But even on the condition that some tab “freezes”, you can work with the rest in normal mode.

Chromium, Yandex Browser, Amigo and 360 Safety Browser

Now let's take a look at Chrome-like browsers for Windows. The list, of course, can be continued, but these four programs are perhaps the brightest representatives of this family. In principle, they are made exclusively in the image and likeness of the progenitor, even menus and plug-ins often have the same name.

Each application has its own interesting aspects. Chromium is indeed somewhat optimized in terms of page opening speed compared to the original. Amigo offers the user an interface with direct access to the most popular social networks such as Odnoklassniki or VKontakte and the ability to quickly access a mailbox registered on Mail.ru.

Yandex Browser is called the "rising star of Runet", although, to be honest, it is completely incomprehensible why. What repels many users is the default search engine settings, and in general the dominance of Yandex services, which now and then install some additional panels, arrange unnecessary redirects. In general, it seems that the developers have tried in this way to promote their main service on the network. But in terms of speed, you can’t refuse him.

360 Safety Browser is relatively new. This browser is the development of Chinese programmers and, unlike other Chinese fakes, the quality of which is legitimately doubtful, it works quite fast (at least at first, that's for sure). The speed of launching the application itself and opening pages immediately after installation cannot be compared with anything. Even the "oldies", as they say, just "nervously smoke on the sidelines." Alas, over time it passes (however, like all other programs). It will be explained later why this is happening. But in general, this program, despite its youth, looks quite attractive. By the way, this is perhaps one of the few browsers with a built-in AdBlock pop-up blocking system (in other applications, the add-on needs to be installed additionally).

Opera

If we consider the best browsers for a computer, the list, of course, cannot do without such a giant as Opera, which has become, so to speak, a classic of the genre. Not surprisingly, in the usage statistics, this browser has always occupied the top lines.

But here we need to make a small digression. The fact is that Opera was not in demand for a long time only because it was released as a shareware program, that is, you could work with it for 30 days, after which it was offered to buy the official full-featured version of this software.

Only after Opera became free, she ascended to the podium. But even here it is not so simple. The fact is that today you can find too many modifications of this browser, and it is not always clear which one is official. For example, it is claimed that the latest release was released under numbers 15 and 16. Here on the official website you can find and download Opera 21, Opera Stable or Opera NI. What is the difference? Apparently, these releases are simply underdeveloped, and developers-programmers are simply in a hurry to release new versions in order to keep up with competitors. In addition, the latest versions of the browser clearly do not want to work on weak machines. Braking and freezing is such that you simply marvel. However, there are reasons for that. Perhaps the creators of Opera are simply creating a browser for more powerful configurations, working ahead of the curve, so to speak? Who knows…

Mozilla Firefox

Again, if you describe the most popular browsers for PC, the list cannot do without the "fire fox" - the Mozilla Firefox browser, which, if it does not claim to be the leading development in this area, is at least one of the most popular .

What is special about it? Almost everything. First of all, it is worth noting that many experts tend to accuse Google programmers of unethical behavior and uncleanliness, since Chrome turned out to be very similar to Firefox after its debut. Like it or not, it is believed that it was the Mozilla browser that became the basis for Chrome.

As for the application itself, it is one of the most reliable and stable. Maybe the "fox" does not show too high speed of work, in principle, he does not need it. First of all, this browser is aimed at web developers. Even the so-called “boxed” version already contains a lot of additional tools, and in terms of the number of add-ons (of which, by the way, there are not even hundreds, but thousands), it will easily bypass the notorious Google Chrome. Webmasters rate this application highly enough, if only because it is very convenient for writing scripts and testing their work, not to mention other equally interesting features.

safari

What other browsers are there for a computer? Have you seen compass-shaped icons on the Internet? Yes, it's an indispensable attribute of Apple's Safari browser, originally designed for Macintosh systems and later implemented as a beautiful application for Windows.

Everything in it is extremely simple and beautiful. A distinctive feature of this application is a unique font smoothing system, as well as the ability to comfortably view large texts. Another innovation is a built-in password manager with an impenetrable security system. In general, security is considered one of the strongest points of "apple" software products. In general, this is a well-made program, optimized for the needs of an ordinary user.

edge

Finally, if you look at what browsers are available for your computer, you can’t help but say a few words about Microsoft’s newest development called Edge, which first appeared in the new Windows 10 OS.

Although Edge is based on Internet Explorer technologies, the developers have clearly revised their global concept and redesigned the original application quite strongly. As a result, a powerful software product appeared, which today is ahead of similar programs in almost all respects.

True, and here it was not without its "jokes". The fact is that, by default, the start page loads a bunch of unnecessary information such as news or software updates, weather informers, popular sites and bookmarked resources, all sorts of unnecessary interesting things, etc. In addition, it is on the start page that the address the line is not at the top, but a little lower and is presented as a kind of search field. Then, when you click on the link, it returns to its rightful place. However, this is easy to get used to.

On the other hand, the speed of work here is quite high, which cannot be said about similar applications, and the download speed, if there are no restrictions, say, when downloading content from file-sharing networks, is comparable even to torrents. But the program itself has not yet been released as a separate version, so you can evaluate all its capabilities and advantages only if you install the tenth version of Windows (by the way, it has two browsers: Edge and the same Internet Explorer, presented as a separate application ). But by default, the system uses Edge.

PC browsers: list by performance tests

So, what browsers are available for a computer, we figured it out a bit. As far as performance tests go, they don't always look the same. It all depends on who exactly and what test was conducted. Quite often, you can also find results in favor of a particular browser, which can only indicate an attempt to promote this software on the market. In addition, any browser becomes more and more sluggish as you use it. And it has absolutely nothing to do with cache or browsing history overflow. The only exception is Edge. On some systems, the Safari browser is not affected either.

But to say exactly which is the best browser for a computer is simply impossible. And it depends not only on the programs themselves, but also on the preferences of users. In addition, each program of this type has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the question of which browser to choose for a computer, in most cases, the user has to decide on their own. The given test diagram cannot show the objectivity of the assessment (the preferences of the experts who made the comparison also play a role here). This is, so to speak, a conditional result for an approximate understanding of the situation.

What is the result?

Now it’s probably a little clear what browsers are available for a computer and what features they have. Again, giving advice on installing a particular software product is a completely thankless task, because each person has his own preferences. In addition, the browsers themselves can be focused on solving quite specific tasks, sometimes not even related to Internet surfing. Yes, you also need to take into account what “OS” is installed on the computer, what is the speed of Internet access, how much RAM is the same, and many other equally important factors. But to be objective and not tip the scales in someone's favor, it is recommended to choose one of the first six browsers presented at the very beginning of the above list. The rest can be fundamentally, since they are all derivatives of the main programs. However, here, as they say, everyone decides for himself what he likes and what is more convenient to work with.