Internet Browsers SIR Area 16 Computer & Technology Group By Neil Schmidt April 16, 2020 • Software program that is used to view web pages on your computer • Used to surf the internet quickly and efficiently • Also known as “” or simply a “browser” • Browsers and search engines are not the same thing

What is an Internet Browser? Top Five Browsers (by popularity): • Chrome • • • Edge (formerly “”) • Apple

Internet Browsers Available • Browsers have different capabilities & features: – Speed – Reliability – Available Add-ons – Security – Use of resources (affecting other programs) • Some websites display better on one browser or another – It is a good idea to have at least two browsers available on your computer in case you run into a display problem with your default browser • Most browsers are free

What is the Best Web Browser? Best Browsers for 2020 (Review by Digital Trends) “The Best Web Browser” • Robust feature set • Full Google Account integration • Thriving extension ecosystem • Reliable suite of mobile apps • Not so great on privacy

Google Chrome “The Best Chrome Alternative” (A very close second) • Extensive extension catalog • Good user interface customization • More privacy-centric than Chrome • Managing settings across platforms isn’t as seamless as Chrome

Mozilla Firefox “The Most Innovative Web Browser” • Based on Google’s open-source engine • Very similar user experience as Chrome • More features baked into browser (instead of extensions) • Serious privacy and security (Unlimited VPN service) • Combines some of the best features of Firefox and Chrome

Opera “The Web Browser with the Most Potential” • Based on Google’s open-source Chromium engine • Much improved over original Edge browser • Supports Chrome extensions • Good privacy settings • Still adding new features (collections & vertical tabs)

Microsoft Edge (New) Best for Apple Ecosystem • Default for MacOS and iOS • Focused on privacy and security • Optimized for MacOS and underlying devices • Seamless transition between Apple platforms • Available but not supported for Windows

Apple Safari Browser Benchmarks (PCMag – Feb. 4, 2020) Browser Percentage Share 68% (& IE) 13% Mozilla Firefox 8% Apple Safari 5% Opera 1% Others 5%

Browser Usage Share (Desktop only) • Started rolling out free to Windows 10 users in February 2020 • Based on Google’s open-source Chromium engine • Clean & easy to understand user interface • Increased performance • More customizable experience • Several new features such as: – Enhanced privacy – Can use the same plug-ins as Google Chrome – Checks to see if your password is posted on the dark web – Smart Copy – Collections (collect & organize web pages as you browse) – Vertical tabs (future)

The “New” Microsoft Edge Browser (version 80) Extensions Collections Refresh Favorites Personal New Tab Add page to Back/Ahead Home favorites Settings

Search or Favorites Bar Other Favorites

Page Settings

Using Your Browser (New Edge example) Right

Using Your Browser (New Edge example) Settings

Settings popup window Mouse “right click” popup window

Using Your Browser “Popups” (New Edge example) New Edge’s “Informational” Page Layou New Edge’s “Inspirational” Page Layout • Most browsers are updated automatically • You can also manually update a browser – Go to (typical): menu  settings  system – If you can’t figure out how to update, do a web search

How to Update Your Browser • Plug-in: A program that extends the capability of a browser • Extension: Apps that can provide you with difference options that can enhance the functionality • Themes: Allow you to personalize the browser visual aesthetics • Add-on: A collective name for plug-ins, extensions and themes

Plug-ins, Extensions, Themes and Add-ons • Plug-ins extend the capability of a browser • The functionality can range from something: – Simple as giving the user the ability to enlarge images – More more complex, such as scanning for viruses or blocking advertisements • Thousands of are available for free • Some may become unusable when the browser is updated to a newer version

More About Plug-Ins Menu  Extensions  “Get extensions from Microsoft Store” or go to “Chrome Web Store” Installing Add-ons - Edge Web Store  Extensions Installing Add-ons - Chrome • To view/disable installed plug-ins: – Google Chrome: type “chrome://plugins” – Mozilla Firefox: Firefox menu  Add-ons  Plugins or type “about:plugins” – Microsoft Edge: Edge menu  Extensions – Apple Safari: Help menu  Installed Plug-ins – Opera: type “opera:plugins” • Recommend: Disable plug-ins not being used

How to View & Disable Installed Plug-Ins • Plug-ins like Flash & Java add additional features web pages can use • However, they can also slow things down when in use or add extra security holes • Plug-ins are installed system-wide on your Windows computer • To remove a plug-in completely, you need to uninstall via the Windows Control Panel (Different that “disable”) • To uninstall in Windows 10 – Settings  Apps  Apps & features  Uninstall

Uninstalling a Plug-in Some Popular Free Browser Extensions (Tom’s Guide & Productivity Land) • Remove all ads

AdBlocker Ultimate • Ad-blocking • Supports websites by not blocking nonintrusive ads by default (configurable)

AdBlock Plus • Removes ads, navigation and junk before your print • Pages are optimized for print reading

Print Friendly & PDF • Checks every site you visit to ensure nothing puts you or your data at risk • Stops phishing attacks • Shows user reviews, and warn you if a site is deemed untrustworthy by our community of 400 million

Avast Online Security • OneNote, and save it for later • Clip images, pdfs, videos, or a visual of a page. • Clips without ads, navigation, and noise

OneNote Web Clipper • Converts all of your tabs into a list • When you need to access the tabs again, you can either restore them individually or all at once • Can save up to 95% of memory by reducing the number of tabs open

OneTab • Instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages • Translate between 103 languages: – Copy text in any app and your translation pops up – Conversation Mode: Two-way instant speech translation in 32 languages

Google Translate • Password manager • Saves your passwords • Secure access from every computer and mobile device

LastPass • Scan your PC for Malware • Delete your browsing history • Remove download history • Erase temporary files • Clear cookies and Empty cache • Remove Flash Cookies (LSOs) • Clean up your hard drives and free up more disk space

Click&Clean • Replace your new tab page with a personal dashboard featuring to-do, weather, daily inspiration and more!

Momentum • Displays a beautiful landscape from Google Earth every time you open a new tab

Earth View from Google Earth • Create task lists • Website tasks can include screenshots & hyperlinks • Create tasks from emails!

ClickUp Notepad “Raise your hand” to contribute

What Browser “Plug-ins” Do You Use? • “Search Engine” is different than a “Browser”

• Search engine: Is a website that allows you to look for specific websites or information based on keywords, dates and other criteria

• Search engine runs inside a browser

• You can change the default search engine for your browser

• Popular search engines: – Google – Bing (Microsoft) – Yahoo! – DuckDuckGo

Search Engines • Cookies are small files that browsers save to your computer when you visit some websites • Purpose: – Save data about your past activities for helping you surf the web – Managing advertising that you see on a website • How to delete cookies (typical): – Menu  Settings  Clear browsing data

Deleting Cookies • Cache is a place on your hard drive where the browser keeps things it downloaded once in case they’re needed again • Clearing cache: – Purging stored data in cache automatically forces browser to retrieve most recent webpage elements – Clears unnecessary data that could slow down your browser • How to clear the cache (typical): – Menu  Settings  Privacy and Security  Clear browsing data

Clearing Browser Cache One Last Look… Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Opera Microsoft Edge Apple Safari (via iPad) • Most browsers are very similar in their appearance, the way they work and in their general appearance • Layout may be customized in many ways • New features and capabilities are often added to individual browsers • Sometimes individual add-ons won’t work when a browser is updated • It is advisable to have at least two browsers installed in case something doesn’t work with your primary browser • Your browser selection should be based on your own priorities (speed, privacy, functionality, etc.)

Final Comments… “Raise your hand” if you have any comments

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