Our windows to the Internet: Web browsers review

The Internet users’ best friends: Web browsers

Stop for a second and think: what would you do without web browsers? There would be no possible way to look for information, watch movies, work or buy stuff. In other words, it would be like the Internet didn’t even exist. Since the first web browser available in the world -Erwise- web browsers have experienced huge advances, making them safer, faster, and more powerful. Because of this, every web browser has its own charm and focus.

In this article we’re going to analyze the 5 most popular browsers in the web, going from the most to the least used. Maybe this will throw new light on what you thought you knew. It sure did to us.

1. Internet Explorer

That’s right. Despite of its infamous slowness and poor security, this giant still leads the market (60% of the users). Through the years, Internet Explorer has been trying to stay in the game with improved functionality and attractive designs, raising the bet with its coming version: Internet Explorer 10.
Supposedly, this new version will be the safest of them all; previous versions and competitors, with three new safe modes which will protect the user against malware, tracking cookies and malware. Is a surprise coming?

1. Google Chrome

While being the youngest of them all, Google Chrome has experienced historical growth since its introduction in 2008. Nowadays it’s the second most popular web browser in the market, mostly because of its lean, minimalist and powerful interface that offers infinite customization options that make it incredibly versatile. Chrome is available for a huge range of devices and OS, making it possible to sync our content (favorites, history, etc).
However, Google Chrome reportedly consumes an important amount of RAM capacity because of its multiprocess architecture (each tab, video, app works independently), which may cause our computer to be slow. You can’t have everything, can you?

1. Mozilla Firefox

One of the most beloved browsers, Mozilla is third in the market share race. While being one of the oldest browsers (released in 2003) it’s also one of the safest. Its customization options are huge and is available in a good range of devices. One of its most valued characteristics is that its code is free to use, so there are no lucrative purposes, and has been created and updated by expert developers and programmers since the beginning.

1. Opera

Something weird happens with this one. Despite being one of the safest and fastest web browsers, it’s one of the less used among the population. Aside from being extra-stable, it has a lot of extra functions: it has its own e-mail client, easiness to download .torrent archives, integrated chat client and RSS reader. It even has a special function to work in slow wi fi networks.
Worried about safety? Opera offers anti-malware and anti-phising services, which guarantee safe navigation, as well as quick access and special area for actual news. A total mystery why people don’t use it more.

1. Safari

The original Mac OS browser which some use and love has taken a leap into the Windows world, and has brought many interesting functions with it. Aside from the orthographic corrector, tab navigation, and Cloud integration we already know, it has implemented an offline mode which allows us to save entire websites to see them later and a “reading” mode, which blurs the content that is not text and changes the font color to black.
Nevertheless, its Mac OS version is still better than its Windows pair, being lighter and more powerful, but has an important downfall: it barely is customizable –no extensions, plugins or themes are available for it-. While not being the fastest, it’s pretty stable and reliable, perfect for new users with basic knowledge.

So, there it is. Did we say something new to you? Are you sticking with your actual browser or are you willing to try another one? We hope you find this information useful, and wait for our next blog, in which we’ll talk about alternative browsers.