Which different internet browsers are there?
There are many different computer browsers on the market and, rather pleasantly, they’re all free. So how do you know whether the one you’re using is right for you, and how do you go about getting another one?
If you bought a PC with Windows before February 2010, there’s a good chance it had Internet Explorer set as the browser. If you bought it after February 2010, there’s a very good chance it asked you whether you wanted to change your browser when you first switched it on.
If you have an Apple Macintosh computer you’re likely to have a browser called Safari as your built-in option.
Plenty of choice
There is nothing wrong with these browsers. If you’re happy with your one, don’t feel you have to change it. There are, however, a number of alternatives. They include:
- Firefox, from Mozilla - a free download which is good for people who want a lot of specialist ‘plug-ins’ (see our article on plug-ins). Various people have reported Firefox as being faster to run than other browsers.
- Google Chrome - like the search engine its owner makes, this one sells itself on simplicity and speed of loading. It looks less slick than a lot of the competition whilst doing the same thing.
- Safari - the Apple Mac browser, also available on the PC for download.
- Flock - which is aimed specifically at people who want to use social networking the whole time. It will pick the pictures out of everything you’re reading so that you can share them, plus show you a real-time feed from Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Gmail and others. If you don’t need all of this then it’s not a great option.
In this BBC News video technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones looks at how Microsoft is offering users a choice of browser.
Personal preference
A problem with choosing the right one for yourself is that you might have different needs at different times.
Another issue is that fans of each browser tend to be a bit tribal – there are people who simply can’t stand Microsoft or Apple, and therefore won’t use Internet Explorer or Safari on principle.
Fortunately, you’re not tied to a single browser and they’re all free. So although one of them will always be the default – the one that fires up when you hit a web link in text – you can have as many (or as few) as you wish.
Guy Clapperton
Guy Clapperton is a journalist specialising in writing about technology as well as small business for several major broadsheets. He broadcasts occasionally on BBC Radio stations and reviews the newspapers on the BBC News Channel.
