Web Browsers

A web browser is a software application that runs on a user’s computer or other Internet-capable device through which users can retrieve, view, and interact with web-based multimedia content such as webpages, images, or videos. Examples of web browsers that have been popular since their inception include Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and the Apple’s browser Safari, all from U.S.-based developers; Opera, a commercial web browser first introduced in 1995 and originally developed by the Norwegian telecommunications provider Telenor; 360 Secure, developed by the Chinese company Qihoo; and UC Browser, a mobile browser developed by UCWeb, a Chinese mobile Internet company owned by the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba. This entry provides a brief overview of how web browsers function, followed by the ...