All browsers and their names. What browsers are there? Browsers: list, reviews. New browsers

05/01/2019 17:33

Each person has unique tastes, preferences, and requirements. If one thing gets tested by a hundred people, each will give a different result. Some opinions will be similar, others will differ and this is natural. In the software field everything is exactly the same. A browser is a program that a person uses to surf the Internet. We run it every day, so it’s important to choose a convenient browser that will meet all the requirements.
Using the browser, you can search for any information, listen to music, watch movies, and play your favorite games. Any rating will be controversial, but let's try to rank the best browsers. In this article you will look at the criteria for choosing a good browser for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. We will study in detail the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. Based on our rating, you will be able to choose a good browser for yourself.

Google Chrome 1st place

Advantages:

1. High speed. Chrome is significantly superior to its competitors in terms of browser speed, as well as processing of displayed resources. In addition, there is a convenient function for preloading pages, this further increases the speed of work.
2. Safety. The company has implemented reliable technologies that ensure the safety of using the browser. They continue to actively develop. The browser has a database of phishing and malicious resources, which is updated regularly. The browser works according to a unique scheme in such a way that not a single process is used, but several at once, but with lower privileges. Downloading files with .bat, .exe or .dll resolution requires additional confirmation, which reduces the chances of downloading a virus.
3. There is an "Incognito" mode. This is a very convenient feature when you need to view a large number of sites, but not leave traces of their visit on your computer.
4. Thoughtful interface. It is quite simple and contains everything you need, without unnecessary elements. Chrome is the first browser to offer quick access. On the panel you can see the most visited resources. Another feature is the joint use of the address bar and the search engine. Later this feature was implemented in other browsers.
5. Stable job. Recently, there have been no such cases when Google Chrome experienced glitches or was very slow. This can only happen if there are viruses in the system. In many ways, security and stability are improved by using multiple processes that are separated from each other. If one of them stops working, the others continue to function.
6. There is a task manager in the "Additional tools" menu. Almost no one knows about this feature. Thanks to this convenient tool, you can track how many resources an entire tab or a separate plugin takes up. You can find and fix the source of the problem if the application starts to slow down.
7. Large selection of extensions, many of which can be downloaded for free. There are also many plugins and themes available. The browser can be customized depending on personal preferences, which is very convenient.
8. It is possible to automatically translate pages. Google Translator is used for this.
9. The program is updated automatically without disturbing the user.
10. Search queries can be specified by voice, for this purpose the service “ OK Google».

1. Starting with version 42.0, support for NPAPI plugins was stopped, including the fairly popular Flash Player.
2. For the application to run smoothly, you need at least 2 GB of RAM.
3. Most of the extensions and plugins are made in a foreign language.
4. A significant load on the hardware contributes to the short battery life of laptops and smartphones.

Yandex.Browser 2nd place

Advantages:


Flaws:

1. Not everyone will like the original interface.
2. Linking to various Yandex services. Without them, the program is deprived of many features.
3. Rarely, but still problems arise with transferring settings and history.

Mozilla Firefox 3rd place

Advantages:

1. A simple and very convenient interface with no unnecessary details.
2. A convenient settings system that allows you to radically change your browser, customizing it to your liking.
3. A large number of various plugins. They can be chosen to suit every taste, because at the moment there are more than 100,000 of them.
4. Cross-platform. The browser can be downloaded for any operating system that is used on modern technology.
5. Reliability. I have found myself in situations where the user caught a banner that blocked all browsers, but Firefox continued to function.
6. Maximum level of security and privacy of personal data.
7. Convenient bookmarks bar.
8. The program may refuse to allow various websites to track information about you. You can set up private browsing. In addition, there is a Master Passwords feature that further protects your entries on certain resources.
9. Updates occur in the background without the need for user intervention.

1. Compared to Chrome, the interface is a little slower and takes longer to respond to user manipulations.
2. Performance is average;
3. Lack of script support on some resources, as a result of which the content may not function properly.
4. The application requires a large amount of RAM to run.

Opera 4th place

Advantages:

1. Excellent speed of operation and page display. The browser's features include a turbo mode, which significantly increases page loading speed through the use of cloud technologies. At the same time, traffic is saved significantly, which is very important when using the mobile version.
2. There is a convenient express panel with saved bookmarks. This is a modified Speed ​​Dial tool that we saw in previous versions of the browser.
3. Opera Link technology, which is needed to synchronize different devices.
4. Lots of hotkeys for easy control.
5. Opera Unite Internet browser.

1. To work effectively, you need a large amount of RAM. If you open several tabs at the same time, Opera will start to slow down. Even the reliable Chrome engine does not improve the situation.
2. On many sites there is incorrect operation of scripts and various forms. There are a large number of complaints when working with WML.
3. Stability cannot be called the browser's strong point. The company was never able to get rid of periodic crashes and freezes.
   4. Own bookmarking system, nicknamed “Piggy Bank”. This is quite an interesting solution, but it is poorly implemented.

K-Meleon 5th place

Advantages:

1. Small requirements for PC resources, including a low amount of RAM.
2. Using the native Windows interface, which significantly saves time and resources spent on the interface.
3. High speed.
4. Good personalization options, and you don't need to use third-party extensions for this. Everything is arranged using macros. It will be difficult for a beginner to master, but you can figure it out in your free time.
5. There is a large selection of assemblies. You can choose an extension with the desired set of functions.
6. You can create multiple profiles for different users.

1. Quite a clumsy interface. If you compare it with the Top 5 leaders, then this browser has a too simple design.
2. Rarely, there are problems with displaying the Cyrillic alphabet, but the situation has been corrected in recent updates.

Internet Explorer

Now there are many browsers that we did not mention in our review. We've presented our picks for the best browsers, but everyone may have a different opinion. The review includes only those reviewers that I have encountered. They are completely free to download and use without any restrictions. The current version can be found on the official website. If you can suggest decent browsers that should be in the Top 5, then indicate your options in the comments.

Due to my duty, I have to maintain several computers of very respectable age in working order. In terms of hardware, this is not difficult - fortunately, machines produced 10 years ago are often assembled (soldered) better than modern consumer goods. But in terms of software, the task is more difficult. The biggest headache for me is antiviruses and browsers. Both of them are very hungry for RAM, which, alas, is in short supply (for the last 1.5 years, the budget for upgrading computers at school has been approaching zero, and a small upgrade can only be done if the old hardware completely fails). Meanwhile, it is highly advisable to update both the antivirus and the browser periodically. We'll talk about choosing an antivirus some other time, but today I'll try to find the fastest browser for old computers.

First, a little background. Until recently, I installed the old Opera 12 on all old computers. But, alas, one fine day, this once wonderful browser began to display crookedly a vital site - an electronic magazine. Well, I had to say goodbye to the old Opera and look for alternatives.

First of all, of course, I checked how the fresh Opera would behave on old machines. Alas, as expected, Opera 30 (this version was current at the time of my experiment) behaved like a typical Chromium browser: it consumed a lot of memory, forcing the computer to swap heavily (IDE disk, heh...). Things were a little better with other standard chrome clones (Yandex.Browser, Chrome itself). The latest Firefox 40 behaves relatively well, but it has obvious problems with interface rendering (it slows down) and memory consumption is still quite high (especially when opening 2-3 tabs). Well, since the browsers known to everyone cannot cope with the task, let’s try different exotic ones.

Part 1. Looking for a fast browser in the Chromium camp

I was pleasantly surprised in terms of speed. Being an add-on to Internet Explorer, it works very quickly and does not eat up too much memory. But, alas, all this happiness is available only on Windows 7, and my weakest machines run Windows XP. No, the mentioned SlimBrowser works great under Windows XP, but the IE8 engine, alas, is hopelessly outdated and is not much different in rendering quality from the same Opera 12-.

Next, I decided to try out “unusual” variations on the Chromium theme. There were as many as three candidates. The first of them is . It is positioned by the developers as a light and fast browser. In general, this statement is true - for a chromo clone, Midori is indeed quite light and fast. But, unfortunately, on computers with 1 gigabyte of RAM (and even more so with 512 megabytes) it is not light enough.
The second candidate is Chinese. The younger brother of the well-known Maxthon was born about a year ago. In essence, it is Chromium stripped to the limit. It really works quite quickly, but it still consumes a lot of memory. I would recommend it rather as an addition to the main browser on normal machines (when you need to quickly read something without waiting for the main browser to load - Nitro loads almost instantly). But this browser is not suitable for older computers.

Finally, the last Chrome in my experiment is the OpenSource project. The developer positions it as a successor to the good old Opera, but on a modern engine (guess which one?). True, from a technical point of view, this browser is built a little differently - it does not create a separate process for each sneeze. This feature allows Otter (and this is how the name of the browser is translated from English) to save memory quite well. In terms of speed and functionality, Otter is also doing pretty well. But, alas, it is still very crude and not stable enough for everyday use. And the interface, to be honest, leaves much to be desired... Moreover, Otter is essentially a one-man show (in the sense of the developer) and, alas, there is almost no hope for quickly bringing the project to a digestible state.

Otter Browser. In the depths of the tundra Otter in spats...

Part 2. Looking for a fast browser in the Gecko camp

Well, since the Chrome community can’t please us with anything in terms of speed, let’s try to turn to the second opposing side and look at browsers based on the Gecko engine. This engine is no less popular among developers, although it has its own specifics. While browsers based on Chromium (and Blink) are mainly built by various commercial companies (Otter is a rare exception), Gecko is more popular among the OpenSource community. Unfortunately, this community, for the most part, is busy changing the basic functionality of Firefox, as a result of which clones of Ognelis (or Firepanda - as you prefer) with different sets of functions are born. Against this background, several projects stand out that make optimized assemblies for certain platforms. Among them, only two focus their efforts on improving the speed of Firefox. The first project is . Within its framework, they make assemblies that work (according to the developers) 25% faster than the original FF. Until recently, the PaleMoon project even had a separate assembly optimized for Windows XP, but due to the cessation of official support for this OS, its release was discontinued. However, to this day there is a separate build for weak Atom-based machines, which can be used on any old computers.
In terms of speed, I was very pleased with PaleMoon - the subjective speed of launching the browser and loading pages on a computer with 1 GB of RAM is even higher than when working with Opera 12 (although it uses a little more memory). The interface, by the way, is rendered noticeably faster than that of its ancestor in the face of FF (the cut Australis has an effect). True, to make the work more convenient, the “lunar” browser will have to be modified a little (in particular, it will have to be turned on in the settings). In general, the impressions from this browser are the most pleasant. Among other things, PaleMoon supports extensions from FireFox, which means expanding its functionality will be quite simple.

Finally, the last contender for the title of “fastest browser for old computers” is the . This project, which appeared at the dawn of the popularity of Firefox, was in hibernation for many years and only recently began to be revived. Essentially, this is a very distant relative of Firefox, taking only the Gecko engine from its ancestor. Due to its close relationship, K-Meleon does not support extensions from the original Firefox and does not inherit all its problems (working speed in particular). As a result, we have a very fast and quite functional browser. In terms of operating speed today, K-Meleon is the leader. The only thing that prevents us from definitely recommending it for use is the clumsy interface and the fact that it is overloaded with not all the necessary functions.

K-Meleon 74. The fastest browser…

As a conclusion. Based on the results of many days of testing (including on real users), I personally chose PaleMoon (more precisely, its assembly for Atom). In conditions of severe lack of RAM, it works noticeably faster than all other browsers. On computers with 512 megabytes of RAM, K-Meleon showed the best results in terms of memory consumption, but users in almost 100% of cases complain about its inconvenient interface (read: unusual appearance and non-standard arrangement of controls). In theory, all this can be solved by fine-tuning the interface (fortunately, K-Meleon provides this option), but in practice the difference in the speed of working with PaleMoon is not so great. The final decision, however, is yours.

Updated March 18, 2016
I tested a couple more programs that claim to be the “fastest browser for an old computer.” My impressions are in .

Updated February 19, 2019
It turns out that enthusiasts continue to make PaleMoon builds that work on older computers. Here, in particular, (you need to download the file mypal-28.3.1.win32.installer.exe).

Today, Internet technologies are developing at a breakneck pace. Not surprisingly, web content viewers are not far behind. But let's find out what browsers there are for the 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 is that it is not only a means of viewing the content of web pages with text, graphic, audio 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 a computer etc.

Now we will look at what browsers there are for a computer, 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 a particular browser on a computer.

However, 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, the quality and type of Internet connection, and much more. So it’s simply not possible to answer unequivocally which is the fastest browser for a computer. In other words, the conclusion will be very conditional. But for convenience, we will consider Windows systems, which are most widespread among us.

History of the development of Internet technologies in browsers

Now we find out where it all began. It is believed that the first-born in the history of the development of applications of this type was the viewer, 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 later named Nexus, but never became widespread.

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

Unfortunately, Netscape Navigator did not last long, although it was considered a fairly convenient and fast program. This was only due to the fact that it was primarily aimed at UNIX-like operating systems and Mac OS. During the global offensive on the world market of Windows systems, it became unclaimed, since the “operating systems” themselves already had 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 the computer today? They can be counted not even in dozens, but in hundreds. Of course, among all this we can highlight several of the most popular programs, 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 browsers are there for the computer? Review

So what about today's programs? Frankly speaking, sometimes it seems that every developer stubbornly sets himself the goal of creating a tool for Internet surfing, just to gain a user audience. In particular, this applies to most search or email 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 contain so much advertising that it is simply unbearable to work. Therefore, the user asks the question: what browsers are there for the computer without advertising? Now let's try to present just such programs. Let's take a look at the existing browsers for the computer. The list (by no means 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.
• Maxthon.
• Midori Browser.
• Mozilla Flock and Mozilla SeaMonkey.
• Netsurf.
• Nuke.
• Orbitum.
• Orca.
• Pale Moon.
• Pirate Browser.
• PlayFree Browser.
• QIP Sirf Browser;
• QtWeb Browser.
• QupZilla.
• RockMelt.
• Slepnir Browser.
• Slim Browser.
• SRWare Iron.
• Sundance Browser.
• TheWorld.
• Torch Browser.
• Vivaldi.
• Uran.
• YRC Weblink.
• Rambler Browser, etc.

Enough? How do you think? If you look carefully even at the names given above, it becomes clear that only the first five are distinguished by originality and the technology originally embedded 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 hard, you can “dig up” a huge number of relevant programs. The most famous ones are simply collected here. And it is possible to say very roughly which is the fastest browser for a computer. But in this matter you need to start exclusively from those programs and technologies that are used, so to speak, by the ancestors (the first five).

Now let's turn our 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, naturally, will not be so long. Let's look at 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, over time it fell to almost zero.

The browser itself has received fairly strong development only in recent years and, I must say, has shown quite serious and impressive results, beating its closest competitors - Google Chrome, Opera and Mozilla Firefox. At the moment, it boasts fairly high Internet speed 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 put off 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 clearly unfounded to many experts.

Google Chrome

What other browsers are there for computers in Russian? Without a doubt, in this matter 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, from the point of view of convenience and speed of operation it looks quite impressive. Basically, what attracts users to this program is that it has a reliable security system. But many users call the main feature the built-in extension store, which allows you to install additional plugins (add-ons), as they say, “without leaving the checkout.” 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 line.

Perhaps the most important disadvantage, as strange as it may sound, is its advantage. The fact is that it shows optimal speed results, so to speak, only in its “pure” form. When there is an overload of plugins and add-ons, unfortunately, the speed of opening pages drops very significantly. But even if some tab freezes, you can safely work with the rest as usual.

Chromium, Yandex Browser, Amigo and 360 Safety Browser

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

Each application has its own interesting sides. Chromium, compared to the original, is indeed somewhat optimized in terms of page opening speed. 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 the Runet”, although, to be honest, it is completely unclear why. What repels many users is the default settings of the search engine, and in general the dominance of Yandex services, which every now and then install some additional panels and arrange unnecessary redirects. In general, it seems that the developers tried to promote their main service online in this way. But in terms of speed of work, you can’t deny him.

360 Safety Browser appeared relatively recently. This browser is the development of Chinese programmers and, unlike other Chinese fakes, the quality of which raises legitimate doubts, it works quite quickly (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 “old men,” as they say, simply “smoke nervously on the sidelines.” Unfortunately, this goes away over time (as with all other programs). Why this happens will be explained later. But overall, 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 must be installed additionally).

Opera

If we consider the best browsers for a computer, the list, naturally, cannot do without such a grandee as Opera, which has become, so to speak, a classic of the genre. It is not surprising that this browser has always occupied and occupies the top positions in usage statistics.

But here we need to make a small digression. The fact is that Opera was unclaimed 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 did it rise to the podium. But even here, not everything is so simple. The fact is that today you can find too many modifications of this browser, and it is not always clear which of them is official. For example, it is stated that the latest release was released under numbers 15 and 16. You can also find and download Opera 21, Opera Stable or Opera NI on the official website. What's the difference? Apparently, these releases are simply unfinished, and software developers are simply in a hurry to release new versions in order to keep up with their competitors. In addition, the latest versions of the browser clearly do not want to work on weak machines. The braking and freezing is such that you are simply amazed. However, there are reasons for this. Perhaps the creators of Opera are simply creating a browser for more powerful configurations, working, so to speak, ahead of the curve? Who knows...

Mozilla Firefox

Again, if we describe the most popular browsers for PCs, the list cannot do without the “fiery 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's special about it? Almost everything. First of all, it is worth noting that many experts tend to accuse Google programmers of unethical behavior and dishonesty, since Chrome after its debut turned out to be very similar to Firefox. Whether this is true 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” doesn’t show too high a speed of work; in principle, he doesn’t 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 (which, by the way, are not even hundreds, but thousands), it can easily bypass the notorious Google Chrome. Webmasters rate this application quite highly, if only because it is very convenient for writing scripts and testing their operation, not to mention other, no less interesting features.

Safari

What other browsers are there for your computer? Have you seen compass-shaped icons on the Internet? Yes, this is an indispensable attribute of the Safari browser from Apple, originally developed for Macintosh systems, and a little later implemented as a beautiful application for Windows.

Everything about 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 aspects of Apple software products. In general, this is a well-made program, optimized for the needs of the average user.

Edge

Finally, if you look at what browsers there are 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 significantly. As a result, a very powerful software product appeared, which in almost all respects today is ahead of similar programs.

True, there were some “jokes” here too. The fact is that by default, the start page loads a bunch of unnecessary information such as news or new software products, weather informers, popular sites and resources that are bookmarked, all sorts of unnecessary interesting things, etc. Moreover, it is on the start page that the address the line is not at the top, but slightly below and is presented in the form of a kind of search field. Then, when you click on the link, it returns to its rightful place. However, it's easy to get used to it.

On the other hand, the operating speed here is quite high, which cannot be said about similar applications, and the loading 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 there for the computer, we figured it out a little. When it comes to performance tests, they don't always look the same. It all depends on who exactly conducted what test. Quite often you can 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 it is used. And this is absolutely in no way related to cache or browsing history overflow. The only exception is Edge. On some systems, the Safari browser is not affected by this.

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

What's the result?

Now it’s probably a little clear what browsers are available for the computer and what features they have. Again, giving advice on installing this or that 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 operating system is installed on the computer, what is the speed of Internet access, how much RAM and many other equally important factors. But if you are objective and do not tip the scales in anyone’s favor, it is recommended to choose one of the first six browsers presented at the very beginning of the above list. The rest are possible in principle, 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.

Do you want more speed on the Internet? Opera is a fast browser that will speed up page loading for you and help you save time navigating the web. Speed ​​is one of our top priorities.

Opera Turbo: low internet speed is not a hindrance

If the speed of your Internet connection leaves much to be desired, for example, on a public Wi-Fi network, enable Opera Turbo mode. Open websites faster and continue working as usual.

Favorite sites are just a click away

Opera is a fast browser not only because it loads websites quickly. We have developed many features to help you navigate faster and save time. For example, Express panel in Opera - the name speaks for itself. It simplifies and speeds up access to the most important sites. Add them to the browser start page, arrange them in a convenient order or put them in folders.

Hotkeys for quick navigation

Did you know that keyboard shortcuts (or keyboard shortcuts) save on average 2 seconds every minute? They can replace almost all the commands you normally perform in the browser with the mouse. In Opera, you can set your own keyboard shortcuts for various actions - try it!

Nowadays, no one can be surprised by the statement about the importance of the Internet both for entertainment and for serious work. It should be noted that the productivity of the work process largely depends not so much on the connection speed, but on the convenience and thoughtfulness of the browser used.

If you don’t know what browsers are and how they differ from each other, this article is especially for you. So let's get started! What kind of browsers are there? The list can be very long, but let’s list the main “players” in this market:

• Internet Explorer.
• Opera.
• Firefox.
• Google Chrome and all its derivatives.

We will now talk about all these “characters” in more detail.

Internet Explorer

This is a real legend. Whether it’s deserved or not, everyone decides for themselves, but no one will dispute the fact that the overwhelming majority of experienced users started with it. In 2001, when the Internet in our country was almost in its infancy, and even in large cities Dial Up reigned, the sixth “donkey” was the only association with the word “browser”.

Of course, someone knew about the Opera project, very few geeks in the vastness of our country used Netscape, but the palm definitely belonged to IE, since there were simply no worthy alternatives at that time. For information, the history of Firefox began only in 2004, and the word “chrome” was perceived only as the name of a chemical element until 2008! Yes, yes, the Google Chrome browser appeared relatively recently!

It must be admitted that Internet Explorer was good for those years, and many of its features were completely unique. Thus, IE 6 became the world's first browser that had on board the P3P platform tools, which provided an advanced (in those years) level of user security when working on the network.

It is not surprising that due to its widespread use and presence by default in the Windows operating system, it is “donkey” that has become the de facto standard for almost all government agencies in our country. To this day, normal work with the websites of government agencies, Sberbank, and all similar structures is possible only from this browser. This is largely due to its use of ActiveX structures, which greatly simplify the creation of software components for this type of resource.

Disadvantages of a “living legend”

It is no coincidence that we constantly used the phrase “at that time.” In 2001, IE was rightfully the leader, but... Its creators completely forgot that the browser should be updated from time to time. Until 2006, when Vista and IE7 appeared on the scene, there were basically no updates.

Competitors were not asleep; by that time they had already appeared: the legendary Opera 9, which is still revered by many as the best browser, Firefox 2, as well as several add-on browsers that used the IE engine (Maxthon, Avant Browser). All of them were more convenient, more functional and much safer than the hopelessly outdated Internet Explorer. The appearance of the seventh version did not save the situation, since IE7 was in many ways the same sixth “donkey”. Of the visible changes, one could notice only a slightly “refreshed” interface, and support for tabs, which Opera had had since the seventh version (2005).

Add to this terrible compatibility with HTML standards, disgusting page rendering and terribly slow loading speed. It is not surprising that only IE 9 finally “became like a browser,” as many publications wrote about it. Currently the latest is the eleventh version, which is really quite good.

The problem is that there are a huge number of old releases (IE6 somehow got rid of), errors (!) from which had to be ported to the new Explorer. This was done so that old versions of sites created specifically for the “donkey” would be adequately displayed in Internet Explorer 11. This approach does not add either popularity or trust to the Microsoft product.

Alas, when working with state and municipal websites you will not have any special alternatives. However, there are exceptions: several years ago, the German government officially encouraged municipal workers to use Firefox, since IE “does not meet modern security requirements.” So what other browsers are there?

Opera

Since we have mentioned this product several times, we will continue the story about it. It all started in Norway in 1994. Until 2005, versions were produced that were not particularly popular. Everything changed in 2006, when Opera 9 was released. At that time, it was ideal. Judge for yourself:

• excellent work with tabs;
• built-in email client;
• bit-torrent client, also built into the browser;
• work with most HTML standards;
• mouse gesture support;
• the widest possibilities for customization;
• the ability to block ads without using third-party utilities.

And all this in a 2006 browser! In addition, we forgot to mention one more “killer” feature of Opera. We are talking about the “Turbo” mode. What is the essence of this option? It's simple. When activated, all traffic to the user’s computer passed through Opera Software’s servers and was compressed several times along the way. In some cases, it was possible to save up to 80% of all traffic!

Taking into account the fact that in those years there was no normal high-speed and unlimited Internet even in large cities, this technology was a royal gift for users of our country and the entire former CIS. It is not surprising that in some regions the real market share of this browser was confidently approaching 50%, while in the world this figure rarely exceeded 3-4%.

In addition, Opera Mini appeared in 2009, which made normal Internet surfing possible even for owners of old phones. By the way, the phrase “free browsers” can only make modern users smile, while Opera for smartphones was paid for a long time, and for desktops (up to Opera 5) this browser was distributed on a fee basis.

Sunset

After the release of version 10.6, strange things began to happen to the company: constant reorganizations forced most of the old developers to leave, and users began to complain about the poor performance of their favorite browser. In 2013, a rather ridiculous event happened. The new management of the company announced a complete transition to the Blink engine, which is a product developed by Google, as well as the linking of Opera to the Chromium project.

It’s not hard to guess what emotions all this evoked among users. They said that almost all new browsers are already clones of Chrome, so the appearance of another player from the same series did not inspire anyone. In addition, the enormous dissatisfaction of both ordinary users and professionals was caused by the simple fact that from the old “Opera”, in fact, only the name remained.

No mouse gestures, no usual customization options... and there weren’t even bookmarks in the new version! The developers swear that everything will be fixed “in the near future,” but this has been going on for two years now, and there has been no particular progress. The company lost a huge number of users, who partially switched to Chrome, and some started using Firefox.

Almost everyone agrees that the Opera project no longer exists: even if the developers return some of the old functionality to the browser (it won’t be possible to “screw in” everything due to the features of the new engine), the entire cycle of creating the program will be tied to Chromium and Google itself. By the way, what browsers are there based on the Google product? We'll talk about this below.

Google Chrome and its derivatives

The history of this browser, as we have already mentioned, began in 2008. The very news that Google is going to create its own browser has caused a lot of controversy on the Internet. Some rejoiced, some experts were more cautious in their forecasts, but the fact remains that the event was clearly extraordinary. Today, the Chrome browser claims to be the “number 1 browser”, displacing not only IE, but even Firefox in this position. How did this happen?

When the new Internet browser first came out, everyone loved its incredible speed. Many people liked the ascetic and simple interface, which did not distract from work. However, the “first approximation” was not very successful, since almost all experienced users noted the complete lack of useful plugins, due to which the browser could not resist advertising, and poor integration with third-party applications (antiviruses, download managers, etc.).

The beginning of success

For someone else, this might be a failure, but not for Google! The company’s incredible capabilities and aggressive marketing policy did their job: at first, when using the company’s search engine, they were prompted to “try a new browser,” and today Chrome checkboxes are available in almost every second shareware application (included in the installation kit).

Soon this particular browser was on the computer of almost every second user, and professionals increasingly began to use it. The proactive policy of Google again played a role, which very soon achieved full integration of its product. In addition, using a Google account, users gained access to Google projects such as Drive, Mail, Documents and many others.

To be fair, it is worth noting that Google (the browser) is a very safe product: the process separation policy bears fruit. It is difficult for malicious code to penetrate from the virtual sandbox into the production system. Among other things, Chrome now has plugins for blocking ads and Flash content, integration systems with the most popular downloaders, and so on. In 2014, the official x64 version appeared, which became even safer and faster.

Flaws

Alas, there are enough of them. Firstly, those same fans of the old Opera really miss the ability to change the browser “to suit themselves”. The maximum that the WebKit engine gives is to apply a color scheme. All. A simple user is not entitled to anything more. Of course, you can use the Flag argument and “browse” the browser from the inside, but you can’t do anything special even from there.

Secondly, there are serious concerns about the confidentiality of user information. In general, Google has never hidden the fact that all your data can be viewed for the presence of child pornography and information that could be classified as a “terrorist threat,” but this does not make it any easier for suspicious individuals. The browser abundantly collects information about your search preferences and frequently visited pages, generating targeted advertising based on this data. However, all modern free browsers often suffer from this.

It is shown not only on the pages themselves, but even in GMail mail. The latter, by the way, is extremely disliked in large companies; sometimes employees are directly prohibited from using it. Of course, there is not a single proven fact of leakage of any corporate data, but this measure is not superfluous...

As for the “sky-high” speed, today it’s no longer possible to call the Google Chrome browser fast. With installed plugins and a connected user account, the application (especially on older machines) does not launch quickly.

Chromium

After the scandal with the Chrome license agreement, in which the developers allowed themselves to have rather frivolous clauses about user privacy (they were subsequently removed or changed), the Chromium project appeared. Unlike its “big brother”, this browser is based on open source software that anyone can change at their own discretion. In terms of functionality, it is not much different from the parent application, with the exception of the ease of creating your own plug-ins.

It was on its basis that a huge mass of “chrome-like” programs appeared, which we will now talk about. In general, almost all new browsers that appear recently are just that in 90% of cases. This is due to the ease of adapting the code to your needs, and you don’t have to worry about updating “your” product, since all the work will fall on the shoulders of Google programmers.

"Yandex" (browser)

Today it is the most successful fork (branch). The creator is the “domestic-Dutch” search engine Yandex. The first versions of Yandex (browser) differed from Chrome only in a different search engine and slightly changed design, but today the situation has changed radically. Thus, there appeared: support for mouse gestures, intelligent search menus and other “goodies”, which gave many users reason to call this browser “the successor of the old Opera”. This fact in itself is surprising, especially considering the biased attitude of professionals towards any Chrome fork. Thus, the free Yandex browser has very good prospects.

"Amigo"

This is the exact opposite of the project discussed above. Also a product of a domestic company, but this time the authorship belongs to the Mail.ru corporation. Alas, there are no “breakthrough” opportunities. Among the features is only close integration with all existing social networks, but it is quite difficult to consider this circumstance as a special advantage. In addition, Amigo (browser) also collects a bunch of advertising information, which is then shown in abundance to the user.

There's nothing special about it anymore. In addition, there are also such varieties of “Chrome”:

• “Internet” (from the same Mail.ru, somewhat similar to “Yandex”).
• "Uranus" (from Ucoz).
• Dragon (from Comodo).
• "Nichrome" (from "Rambler").
• Iron (German development, originally created to profit from the developers' blog).

And many, many similar products. What browsers are there besides this “variegated” family?

Firefox

Appeared in 2004 (as already mentioned above). It was developed on the basis of the mortal “ashes” of Netscape. The first versions were simply terrible, they constantly hung and were terribly slow. Of course, the collapse of the program was the most common occurrence. Time passed. In 2006, there was already Firefox 2, which had good qualities, and the third version was among the Guinness record holders (several million people downloaded it in the first 24 hours).

Why is this browser so attractive to users from all over the world? First of all, its “omnivorousness”. While some developers relied on functionality (Opera), others on beauty (Safari), and Microsoft did nothing at all, the Mozilla Foundation team collected all HTML standards, at least theoretically found on the Internet. As a result, their browser is a kind of “standard”. If a site does not open normally in Fox, then it is unlikely to open anywhere else.

In addition, numerous plugins were the reason for its success. With their help, you can turn your browser into a multifunctional “harvester”, with capabilities almost superior to the operating system! In particular, the Tor browser, created on its basis, largely uses the capabilities of various extensions designed to improve the level of user anonymity on the Internet.

In addition, even with a dozen or two extensions, Mozilla starts very quickly even on older machines, which is not what you can expect from Chrome.

Finally, this browser, unlike almost all existing solutions on the market, can be flexibly customized to suit your needs, and the available themes will help you bring the interface closer to older versions of Opera, Chrome, or even the old IE6. It is precisely because of the latter circumstance that experienced users often strive to install the Firefox browser.

Flaws

These include the not very high security of the native (without installed extensions) application. However, without installed extensions, Firefox is generally a very average browser without any special features. Beginners do not always know which plugin to install and for what purpose. In addition, such add-ons are not always good in software terms, and therefore often cause memory leaks and even crashes of the browser itself.

These are the main browsers. This list is far from complete, but in the article we have given the most common types of programs of this kind. Of course, we haven't talked about Safari (which is used in Apple's OS), as well as many other browsers, many of which occupy leading positions in Asian markets, but these products are quite specific. In any case, they are used quite rarely; in our country you are unlikely to find a user on whose computer they would be installed.