Web Browser

• A web browser (commonly referred to as a browser) is a software application for accessing 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 a 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 Chrome browser. In 2012, its become the most popular browser.  Chrome has remained dominant ever since.

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Web Browser - Most Popular

• Google Chrome

• Mozilla Firefox

• Microsoft Edge

• Opera

• Apple Safari

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​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

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Add-ons / Extensions / Plug-ins :

• A browser extension / Add-ons / plug-ins 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-on / 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 that is disabled by default.

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Cookies

• A cookie, is a small piece of data sent from website and stored in a user’s web browser, in a text file, while 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 deleted automatically after closes his browser while others, called tracking cookies, remain saved and load the next time user visits the same websites

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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

 

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