Anyone who wants to surf the Internet has heard the term “browser” at least once. But really what is a browser? Where can you find it on your computer, smartphone, or tablet, and how do you use it? In this article, we will seek to answer these questions in simple and comprehensive language, in order to clear any doubts even for those who want to start using the Internet for the first time.
What is a browser and what are the most popular ones
The browser (pronounced bràuser), also known in computing as a “web browser,” is nothing more than a specific program whose main function is to show us on the screens of our computers (also on smartphones and tablets) the sites present on the Web; this operation is commonly described as “browsing the Internet.” In addition to websites, we can also view images, videos, music, and many other types of content on the Internet.
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Each site can be accessed via a link or a URL; for example, the URL of the site where you are reading this article is “https://www.orasai.com/cos-e-il-browser/.”
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The operation of a browser on computers, smartphones, and tablets is always the same, meaning that by entering the link or URL of the site into the browser, we can browse different websites, search for information, watch videos, and more.
There are more than 20 different types of browsers, which all perform practically the same task but differ only in aesthetic appearance and certain features. The main browsers used are three:
- Google Chrome
- Internet Explorer
- Mozilla Firefox
These three browsers together are used by more than 90% of people browsing the Internet, while the remaining browsers account for just over 1%. In the link below, you can read information about the best browser currently available.
How to use a browser
As mentioned above, with a browser, we can view a website on our computer over the Internet. To display a site, you use a URL address, such as https://www.orasai.com. This URL must be typed into the address bar of the browser we are using, which is the space we always find at the top of the browser. After that, you need to click the “Enter” button on your keyboard.
The browser often also uses a search engine, such as Google (pronounced gùgol), which returns a series of sites as results based on a search term (or keyword) where we can find the answers to our queries.
Each browser also has a number of features offered by some of the buttons it contains, regardless of the browser used. The most important ones are:
- Two arrow buttons, one to the right and the other to the left, allowing you to navigate to the previous or next site;
- A button with a circular arrow, with which we can refresh the content of a site currently displayed;
- A button shaped like a house, which allows us to go directly to the homepage set in your browser;
- A button in the shape of a star, which allows us to save the address of the site or content we are viewing, in order to add it to the list of favorite sites;
- A button in the form of vertical dots or vertical lines (depending on the browser), with which we can change the settings present in the browser.
You can better understand what a browser is, thanks to this video created by the Associazione Culturale Maggiolina, which explains its operation in detail.
When you browse between different sites, the browser stores the sites you visit. If you want to avoid this, you can follow our guide on how to clear your browser’s cache.
Where to find the browser
Finding the browser on your computer is simple. Usually, you can search in the lower left corner of your screen, next to the “Windows Start” button (the large one you see on the left in the image below):
In this example, you can see all the icons of popular browsers: (1) Internet Explorer, (2) Mozilla Firefox, and (3) Google Chrome. Just click on it with the left mouse button, and the browser will start. These icons are not always present, so if you can’t find them, I recommend following the next method.
A sure way to find the browser on your computer is to search for it among the installed programs. All you have to do is:
- Click the Windows Start button
- Type the name of your browser, such as Chrome
- At this point, if you typed the name correctly, you will see the browser you were looking for
What is the difference between a browser and a search engine?
The terms “Browser” and “search engine” are often confused, but their meanings are very different from each other. The browser, as explained in the previous paragraphs, is the program that allows you to browse the Internet, view videos, images, and much more. In contrast, a search engine is nothing more than a site through which to perform a search. By typing a word, for example, “facebook,” and clicking the “Search with Google” button (see image below), the search engine will return results that we can consult. One of the most famous search engines is Google. To load the search engine, it will be enough to type the address www.google.it in your browser.
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