The best browser for windows 8. Choosing the best browser for Windows

Greetings! Agree, today it is no longer possible to imagine your life without the Internet. It is important for every user to use a truly decent Internet browser, because the better and faster it is, the more comfortable it is to surf the expanse. global network. This is especially important when the computer is not modern and installing any browser is not a solution. Today we will look at the best and fastest browsers for PC as of 2016, which over the years have gained the trust of many users in all countries.

Browser is a program through which you can view various web resources. All this is done using special http requests to the server, after which data is transferred back from it. All these data are processed according to established web programming standards, and in this way the electronic page with all objects.

In other words, the browser is the same conductor between the user and the global Internet. So, we figured out what a browser is, now we can actually move on to the rating of the best browsers of 2016.

TOP best internet browsers 2016

Google Chrome
Let's start with the most popular browser today - Google Chrome. It is used by the majority of all users in the world, and this is not surprising, since a global corporation invests enormous resources in the development and support of its product. This browser is used both on personal computers and on mobile gadgets (phones, tablets, etc.).

Advantages:
- supports all popular operating systems;
- searches directly from the address bar;
- lightning-fast translation of any page (for example, from Ukrainian to Russian);
- fast speed (pages open almost instantly);
- synchronization of settings and bookmarks.

Flaws:
- on weak computers, the Google Chrome browser may slow down, as more than one plugin will be installed over time.

Yandex browser
Enough fresh browser, which is rapidly gaining momentum by combining all its services in one place. Yandex Browser can also be used on personal computers, tablets, phones, etc.

Advantages:
- supports, as in Google Chrome, all popular OS;
- search from the address bar with hints;
- the presence of many beautiful themes that can change the browser visually beyond recognition;
- synchronization of settings and bookmarks;
- the browser has a turbo mode, which allows you to significantly speed up the loading of web content, as well as speed up online video playback when the picture slows down due to low Internet speed.

Unfortunately, Yandex Browser is practically a clone of the popular Google Chrome browser, differing only in some of its own features. This is not surprising, because both browsers use the same engine. I would recommend that you use Yandex Browser only if you often look for any information in search engine Yandex, or use its services. You can download this browser from the link

Mozilla Firefox
A very popular browser that is used great amount users. Although he is not significantly inferior in speed Chrome browser, but he has no equal in capabilities. Firefox contains a wide variety of plugins and add-ons that are aimed at solving the most different tasks: password master, downloading videos and music, expanding browser capabilities and much more.

Advantages:
- ease of working with bookmarks, as well as their synchronization (especially useful when reinstalling the operating system);
- contains a large number of all kinds of add-ons and plugins;
- quite high speed of operation (unless, of course, a huge number of plugins are installed);
- editing the toolbar to suit your “taste” (you can remove or add any desired button);

I advise you to install this browser in any case, even if it won’t be the main one, but believe me, it definitely won’t hurt. You can download Firefox from this link

Opera
This browser has been around for a long time, improving and developing. Of course, he lost quite a few fans after it was decided to switch from his own engine to a third-party one. However, today it is still capable of overtaking many competitors. To tell you a secret, I always have it installed and I use it, even though it is not the main browser.

Peculiarities:
- good speed work, even on weak PCs the browser shows good results;
- a colossal degree of safety (these conclusions were drawn by more than one specialist around the world);
- a huge number of various extensions that add interesting features to the browser;
- turbo mode ( Opera turbo) - a function that allows you to save traffic by compressing downloaded elements of web pages. A very useful feature that appeared for the first time in this browser.

In principle, by and large, all browser options are the same as in the previous ones. I’ll tell you another secret: if Opera is configured as it should be, then in speed it can easily overtake Chrome. If you don't believe me, you can do an experiment. You can download this browser from the link

Microsoft Edge
A completely new browser, which is included in the distribution package of the new Windows 10 operating system. There is a possibility that in the future users will not have to download third-party browsers, since it will cope with the assigned tasks just as well, or even better. The developers set a goal - to create simultaneously lightweight browser, and at the same time functional.

The browser shows excellent results in many tests, surpassing popular competitors. But, since Microsoft Edge sometimes displays some sites not quite correctly, this indicates its “dampness”. The prospect is great, but it is last on our list of the top best browsers of 2016.

The best browsers for weak PCs (light browsers)

Palemoon
Here is a modified version of the Firefox browser, which I described above. The highly optimized Palemoon browser is ready to boast fast operating speed. By the way, most of the plugins and add-ons for Mozilla Firefox can easily function in Palemoon.

I recommend using this browser to those users who like the Firefox browser, but who do not like its speed on weak machines. You can download this browser from the link

QupZilla
The next lightweight browser is QupZilla. This miracle consumes little RAM and uses the processor differently than other browsers.

Some of the features include: the presence of a portable version, which eliminates the need to install the program; the ability to block various types of advertising; support for all versions of Windows OS, including top ten, etc.

K-Meleon
Just like the two previous browsers, K-Meleon is a fast and easy solution for surfing the World Wide Web. Source open, so every user can modify and customize it.

The advantages of this browser are as follows: very fast operating speed (including weak PCs); the ability to disable the loading of web page images (this is done in one click); minimalism and super-lightness.

Today we looked at top best browsers of 2016, and I think each of you made a certain conclusion by choosing a decent browser for surfing the Internet. Try, test and choose best browser under your car.

That's all! See you again!

With the development of web technologies, the content displayed using a browser becomes more and more “heavy”. The video bitrate is increasing, caching and storing data requires more and more space, and scripts running on user machines consume a lot of CPU time. Browser developers keep up with trends and try to include support for all new trends in their products. This leads to latest versions popular browsers place increased demands on the system on which they are running. In this article we will talk about which browser to choose for a computer that does not have enough power to use the Big Three browsers and the like.

As part of the article, we will conduct a kind of testing of four browsers - Maxthon Nitro, Pale Moon, Otter Browser, K-Meleon - and compare their behavior with , as the most voracious browser at the time of writing. During the process, we'll look at startup and running speeds, RAM and CPU utilization, and whether there are enough resources left to complete other tasks. Since Chrome provides extensions, we will test both with and without them.

It is worth noting that some results may differ from those you get from such testing. This applies to those parameters that depend on Internet speed, in particular, page loading.

Test configuration

To carry out the test, we actually took weak computer. The initial parameters are:

About browsers

Let's talk briefly about the browsers participating in today's testing - about the engines, features, and so on.

Maxthon Nitro

This browser was created Chinese company Maxthon International Limited based on the Blink engine - a converted WebKit for . Supports all operating systems, including mobile ones.

Pale Moon

This member is a brother with some modifications and one of them is optimization for Windows systems and only under them. This, according to the developers, makes it possible to significantly increase the speed of work.

Otter Browser

"Otter" was created using the Qt5 engine, which is used by the developers. The data on the official website is very scarce, so there is nothing more to say about the browser.

K-Meleon

This is another browser based on Firefox, but with the most reduced functionality. This move by the creators made it possible to minimize resource consumption and increase speed.

Startup speed

Let's start from the beginning - let's measure the time it takes for the browser to fully launch, that is, you can already open pages, make settings, etc. The goal is to determine which patient comes to a state of combat readiness faster. We will use google.com as the start page. We will take measurements until it is possible to enter text into the search bar.

• Maxthon Nitro – from 10 to 6 seconds;
• Pale Moon – from 6 to 3 seconds;
• Otter Browser – from 9 to 6 seconds;
• K-Meleon – from 4 to 2 seconds;
• Google Chrome (extensions disabled) – from 5 to 3 seconds. With extensions ( , Browsec, ePN CashBack) – 11 seconds.

As we can see, all browsers quite quickly open their window on the desktop and show readiness for work.

Memory consumption

Since we are very limited in the amount of RAM, this indicator is one of the most important. Let's look into "Task Manager" and calculate the total consumption of each experimental subject, having first opened three identical pages - Yandex ( home page), YouTube and website. Measurements will be taken after some waiting.

Let's launch a video on YouTube with a resolution of 480p and see how much the situation changes.

Now let's complicate the task by simulating a real work situation. To do this, we will open 10 tabs in each browser and look at the overall responsiveness of the system, that is, we will check whether it is comfortable to work with the browser and other programs in this mode. As mentioned above, we have Word, Notepad, a calculator running, and we will also try to open Paint. We will also measure page loading speed. The results will be recorded based on subjective feelings.

• In Maxthon Nitro, there are slight delays in switching between browser tabs and when opening running programs. The same thing happens when viewing the contents of folders. In general, the OS behaves quite well with minor lags. The page loading speed is not annoying.
• Pale Moon beats Nitro in terms of speed of tab switching and page loading, but the rest of the system is somewhat slower, with longer delays when launching programs and opening folders.
• When using Otter Browser, page rendering speed is quite slow, especially after opening several tabs. The overall responsiveness of the browser also leaves much to be desired. After launching Paint Otter, it stopped responding to our actions for some time, and running applications opened very “tightly”.
• Another thing about K-Meleon is that the loading of pages and the speed of switching between tabs is very high. “Drawing” starts instantly, other programs also respond quite quickly. The system overall responds well.
• Even though Google Chrome tries to unload the contents of unused tabs from memory (they are reloaded when activated), active use paging file makes the work completely uncomfortable. This results in constant page reloading, and in some cases, showing an empty field instead of content. Other programs also “don’t like” the proximity to Chrome, as there are high delays and refusals to respond to user actions.

The latest measurements showed real situation of things. If under gentle conditions all products produce similar results, then when the load on the system increases, some are left behind.

Since CPU usage may differ in different situations, we will look at the behavior of browsers in idle mode. The same tabs shown above will be opened.

All patients show good results, that is, they do not load the “stone” during the absence of actions within the program.

Watch video

In this step we will enable the video card by setting NVIDIA driver. We will measure the number of frames per second using the program in full screen mode and 720p resolution with 50 FPS. The video will be included on YouTube.

As you can see, not all browsers are capable of fully playing video in HD quality. When using them, you will have to reduce the resolution to 480p or even 360p.

Conclusion

During testing, we identified some important characteristics of our current test subjects. Based on the results obtained, we can draw the following conclusions: K-Meleon is the fastest in operation. It saves maximum resources for other tasks, but is not entirely suitable for watching videos in high quality. Nitro, Pale Moon and Otter are approximately equal in memory consumption, but the latter lags far behind in overall responsiveness under increased load. As for Google Chrome, its use on computers similar in configuration to our test one is completely unacceptable. This is expressed in slowdowns and freezes due to the high load on the paging file, and therefore on the hard drive.

In the modern world, the Internet is becoming more and more important. Therefore, one should not be surprised by the fact that today a browser is not just a program for displaying web pages, but perhaps the most important application on the entire computer.

After all, with its help we not only travel across the Internet, but also perform a lot of tasks. necessary actions: we work and pay for purchases, communicate with friends on the other side of the world, and also write applications to government authorities.

It is not surprising that many users constantly wonder which browser is best for Windows 7 and others. operating systems. After all, not only the convenience of everyday work, but also its safety depends on the correct answer to this question. Let's look at the most common types of Internet browsers, discussing their advantages and disadvantages.

Internet Explorer

Perhaps almost all users ten years ago began their acquaintance with the World Wide Web with this browser. The reason is simple - Explorer is installed as standard means for viewing web pages on the vast majority of computers in our country.

To be fair, it is worth noting that in 2001, when Windows XP was released, Internet Explorer 6, which was part of this OS, was not just good, but was the best solution at that time. In any case, all other Internet browsers could not offer such capabilities. For Windows 7, IE is no longer so relevant, since competitors have not stood still.

Reasons for “loss of trust”

Relatively high speed and security quickly made this program one of the most popular in the world. Unfortunately, Microsoft completely forgot that the browser needs to be updated from time to time. IE 6 was released in 2001, but IE 7 appeared only in 2006. In five years, competitors have made a huge leap forward, and the former world leader in the browser market is now in the role of always catching up.

By the way, which browser is better for Windows 7, if we talk specifically about the IE family? Oddly enough, Internet Explorer 11 is quite good. Of course, rumors about its incredible speed are somewhat exaggerated, but this program actually works quite quickly.

Unfortunately, normal versions (IE 9-11) are available only to owners of Windows Vista/7 and older. XP owners will have to switch to something more modern, or choose a different browser. So which browser is best for Windows 7?

Google Chrome

This browser appeared relatively recently. Since Google Corporation has worldwide recognition in the global IT community, few doubted its ultimate success when its specialists announced the start of work on creating their own browser.

Google’s need for this has been long overdue: despite the excellent relationship with Mozilla, the corporation was interested in promoting its own products and services. In addition, Google pays millions of dollars annually for the right to be the default search engine in Firefox, so it would be beneficial for its creators to “pull aside” the competitor.

All these plans were only partially successful.

Advantages of Chrome

Let's start with the fact that today Chrome is indeed the most popular browser. It has outperformed Firefox and IE and is recommended by leading IT publications. Chrome is not only a functional, but also the most simple and secure browser.

This is what attracted newcomers to it: minimum settings, security and high speed. In addition, various extensions are supported, with the help of which this browser for Windows 7 can seriously expand its functionality.

Of course, we should also note the high speed of page rendering. It is this positive feature that first catches your eye.

Some negative aspects

Unfortunately, this simplicity is the cornerstone of Chrome. Yes, many people like a lightweight interface that is not overloaded with details. But for some reason, the developers decided that this minimalism should extend to everything else: the browser does not have advanced settings, and many menu items are overly simplified.

For example, why can’t you put the picture you like on your desktop by simply selecting the appropriate item in It’s strange that when developing this browser for Windows 7, the developers somehow did not pay attention to such a banal thing.

Regarding the undemanding system resources, then you can safely forget about it. Thus, an almost pure browser (with three or four extensions) takes almost three times (!) longer to launch than IE on the average computer.

The distribution of resources across several processes also does not look very good. Just three or four tabs with photos can completely hang a computer with 2 GB of RAM, while the aforementioned FF works in this mode without any particular complaints. Once upon a time, only the Safari browser had lower requirements. For Windows 7, its development has currently ceased.

Another unpleasant feature of Chrome is its active reluctance to work normally offline. Simply put, when you try to open saved web pages without an Internet connection, the browser often produces errors.

And one more minus concerns those who like to change the browser design to their liking. The Blink engine, which was developed by Google, supports virtually no customization. All “themes” that can somehow change the appearance are banal color options.

Yandex Browser

The Russian “Yandex” did not stand aside either: they created their “best browser” for Windows 7. Of course, they didn’t think about the name for a long time, calling the new browser “Yandex.Browser”. However, it can only be called “new” formally, since it is entirely based on Chrome.

However, in the latest versions the situation with this clone began to change dramatically: support for mouse gestures appeared, and the design was significantly improved. So many people are already unofficially comparing Yandex.Browser for Windows 7 with the old Opera, which will be discussed below.

Opera

Just five or six years ago, when even ADSL was considered a luxury, and 3G technology was considered an overseas wonder, advanced users in our country had Opera as their No. 1 browser. And this despite the fact that throughout the rest of the world the creation of Norwegian programmers was known, but did not become particularly widespread.

This is due to the prevalence and technical quality of the Internet in our country. When the vast majority of users still used Dial Up, and the cost per megabyte mobile Internet more reminiscent of a barcode from a distant country, every kilobyte of mobile traffic counted.

"Opera", which had a "Turbo" mode, was a real salvation. When the user turned it on, traffic began to flow through third party servers, simultaneously shrinking. Some pages were reduced by 40% or more. It's easy to imagine how much money this fast browser for Windows 7 saved.

In addition, many users unanimously admitted that Opera is the most convenient browser, which supports almost complete customization of the program’s properties, and has in its “repertoire” numerous mouse gestures that are quickly learned to the point of automaticity, helping you surf the Internet comfortably.

Unfortunately, it was not without its shortcomings. Many experienced users say with displeasure that with each new version"Opera" became more and more clumsy. At first, I was also very unhappy with the update mechanism, which did not automatically search for and download them.

Not all changes are for the better...

By the 12th version, the slowness of the browser and its demands on system resources had already completely tired of most of the users, and then Opera Software prepared another “surprise” for its fans.

The new owners of the company announced with pomp that own engine Presto will no longer be developed, and will be replaced by Blink from Google. As a result, the browser was essentially rewritten from scratch, losing up to 70% of its native capabilities. The developers promise to gradually return them. So, relatively recently they took a truly “revolutionary” step by returning bookmarks to the unfortunate “Opera”.

So now Opera can be considered just another clone of Chrome, with all the advantages and disadvantages inherent in the latter.

Firefox

Legendary browser based on the defunct Netscape Navigator. The first versions were terrible, but already releases 2.14 and later releases finally confirmed that the company is on the right track.

All latest browsers for Windows 7 they copy each other in some ways, but Ognelis has always stood apart. His distinctive feature There were additions with which you can make something special out of a not very remarkable browser, completely adapting it to your needs.

Everything is adjustable: appearance and sizes of controls, embedding new functions and even small stand-alone programs. Moreover, the developers tried to please everyone: for advanced users there are advanced settings, and beginners are offered a fairly simple browser that does not make it difficult self-study its capabilities.

conclusions

So which browser is best for Windows 7? Based on the foregoing, we can draw a simple conclusion that for regular user The best options are Google Chrome or Firefox. They are developed and supported by a huge number of specialists and volunteers, develop quickly and offer their users the widest possible possibilities.

What's more important is that all of these browsers are officially supported by all major third-party software developers. You will not have problems integrating a plugin for downloading files into Chrome or FF, special application for antivirus or something similar.

Unfortunately, there is also back side: Almost all malware is easily embedded in them if the user does not bother to acquire an antivirus program.

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 comparative characteristics the most popular applications and give some tips on using a particular browser on your 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 plugins, 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 then became firmly established in world wide web. The browser itself a little later received the name Nexus, but was never widely used.

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 focused on operational UNIX-like 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 a 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 received quite strong development only in last years and, I must say, showed quite serious and impressive results, beating its closest competitors - Google Chrome, Opera and Mozilla Firefox. On this moment it boasts a fairly high Internet speed and 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 the minimalist, even completely Russified interface, in which additional settings and the elements are not displayed on main panel, but 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, in terms of convenience and speed of operation it looks quite impressive. Basically, what attracts users to this program is that it has reliable system security. 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 carry out Fast passage to search results directly from the query string.

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 like Odnoklassniki or VKontakte and the ability to quickly access 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 others Chinese fakes, the quality of which raises legitimate doubts, it works quite quickly (according to 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 it 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 is 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. Besides, latest versions They obviously don’t want to work with browsers 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 Corporation, originally developed for Macintosh systems, and a little later implemented as beautiful application for Windows.

Everything about it is extremely simple and beautiful. Distinctive feature This application can be called a unique font smoothing system, as well as the ability to comfortably view large text sizes. Another innovation is a built-in password manager with an impenetrable security system. In general, security is considered one of the most strengths"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 bookmarked, all sorts of unnecessary interesting things, etc. Moreover, it is on home page address bar is located 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, give advice on installing this or that software product- 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 is the same and many others, no less 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.

There are many Internet browsers available today, making it difficult to choose the one that's best for you. Below we will look at the most popular browsers and try to choose the best one for the job.

1. Google Chrome browser

One of the most popular browsers, supporting all modern technologies, thanks to which it can open almost any website. This program is very demanding on the resources of a personal computer, so it is not recommended to run it on outdated technology.

Benefits of Google Chrome

• Availability of versions for any existing platform (Windows, Linux, Mac OS, iOs, Android, Windows Phone).
• High speed.
• The browser does not slow down when working with several heavy sites.
• The program has its own task manager built into it. If any contribution or plugin freezes, it is not necessary to restart the browser; just close the frozen element.
• Nice, minimalistic design.
• Availability of built-in Google services, which will be useful to users of these services.
• The computer version has extensive support for plugins that expand the functionality of the browser.
• Built-in Flash support Player, which is required to watch videos on many sites.

Disadvantages of Google Chrome

• Increased consumption of RAM, which is why it slows down on frankly weak computers.
• Mobile versions do not support additional plugins.
• When you first launch the program, Google services are imposed even on those who do not use them. This does not happen on subsequent launches.

2. Browser Yandex Browser

The official browser from Yandex, completely merged with Google Chrome. The built-in services in the browser have been changed, the design has been slightly redrawn and the system requirements, making it work better on weak computers.

Advantages of Yandex Browser

• High speed.
• Integration with Yandex services.
• Good support additional plugins.
• Works well on weak PCs.
• Reduced RAM consumption.

Disadvantages of Yandex Browser

• The imposition of Yandex services begins already during the installation process of the program.
• Advertising is built into the browser, which somewhat reduces the speed of opening sites.
• There is no built-in task manager; if one site or plugin freezes, you will have to completely close the program.

3. Mozilla Firefox browser

Browser developed by Mozilla Firefox. Previously it had its own engine, but at the moment it is based on the same engine as the browsers listed above.

Benefits of Mozilla Firefox

• High speed of operation and opening of sites.
• Support for a large number of plugins (unlike Google Chrome, mobile version Firefox supports plugins).
• Availability of versions for any existing operating system.
• Pleasant to the eye design, not overloaded with unnecessary elements.
• The browser does not impose additional services.
• Works well on weak computers.

Disadvantages of Mozilla Firefox

• Lack of built-in Flash Player, which means it needs to be installed separately.
• After Flash installations Player, the browser starts to slow down noticeably.
• Freezes and slowdowns when opening several particularly heavy websites (pages with videos).
• Occasionally there are problems with scalability.
• Lack of task manager.

4. Internet Explorer browser

Browser from Microsoft, installed by default on all Windows versions and Windows Phone. It is an outdated solution, however, it is still used by a large number of people.

Advantages of Internet Explorer

• On computers under Windows browser does not need to be installed as it is present by default.
• Good support for old sites.
• Low requirements for PC characteristics.
• RAM consumption is lower than that of other existing browsers.

Disadvantages of Internet Explorer

• Poor plugin support.
• The use of outdated technologies, which is why modern sites may not open correctly.
• Very slow speed.
• Poor compatibility between different versions browser.
• Lack of versions for Android, MacOS, Linux and iOS.
• Lack of support from the developer.
• No task manager.

5. Microsoft Edge browser

A browser that is a replacement for the outdated Internet Explorer. The program comes bundled with Windows 10 and is the default browser.

Advantages of Microsoft Edge

• Works better and faster than its predecessor.
• The browser does not need to be downloaded and installed separately.

Disadvantages of Microsoft Edge

• Quite poor support for plugins (there are plugins, but not all of them).
• The browser can only be installed on Windows 10.
• Huge consumption of RAM.
• Terrible search system, which is the default.
• There is no built-in task manager.

6. Chromium browser

The browser on which Google Chrome was based. Also the Chromium browser engine was used Mozilla companies and Opera to translate their developments to it.

Benefits of Chromium

• The browser does not impose any additional services.
• High speed.
• Availability of versions for all desktop operating systems (Windows, Linux, MacOS).
• Most supported big number additional extensions.
• There is a built-in task manager.
• Low RAM consumption.
• Highest security.

Disadvantages of Chromium

• Quite a difficult process of installing the program.
• Installing extensions is somewhat more difficult than in other browsers.
• There are no versions for mobile devices.

7. Tor Browser

A browser designed to bypass various blocks. Using Tor, you can access absolutely any Internet page blocked in our country. This is possible due to the fact that the program actively uses proxy servers.

Advantages of Tor

• Ensuring absolute anonymity on the Internet, it will be almost impossible to identify you.
• The ability to access a site that is blocked in your country.
• There are versions for most operating systems.

Disadvantages of Tor

• Due to the use of proxy servers, pages open very slowly.
• The browser cannot work without using a proxy server.
• Difficult installation process.
• Virtually no plugin support.
• Consumes too many system resources.

8. Which browser is better?

There is no clear answer to this question; it all depends on personal preference. For active users of services Google good The solution is to install the Google Chrome browser. This browser will provide convenient use of mail, search engine and other Google systems.

For users of the search engine and mail from the Yandex company, we can recommend the browser of the same name (Yandex Browser). Mozilla Firefox - great choice for those who do not like the imposition of additional services. Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge are chosen by those who do not want to install unnecessary programs to your computer. In addition, Internet Explorer is the only browser that works correctly with legacy banking clients, which is why it is actively used in some commercial organizations.

9. Rating of the best browsers in 2017

LiveInternet website statistics allow you to see how many users used which browsers. As of 2016, we receive the following rating:

It can be seen that the clear favorite among browsers is Google Chrome (it occupies 52% of the total browser market). Among desktop browsers, Yandex Browser takes second place (with only 7.4% of the market).