The web browser remains central to modern life. Most of us these days depend on the World Wide Web to bring the world’s information to our fingertips, and put us in touch with people and events across the globe instantaneously. These powerful online experiences are possible thanks to an open web that can be accessed by anyone through a web browser, on any Internet-connected device in the world.
Whether it’s enhanced security, improved speed, or greater flexibility through customizable options and plugins, the right browser can have a huge effect on your online life. Let’s take a look at several major browsers to find out which suits your needs best.
Google Chrome
Google’s Chrome browser is speedy, includes leading standards support, strong security features, and a clean interface. But there are downsides, and potentially big ones. It’s among the heaviest browsers in terms of resource use, so it’s not brilliant on machines with limited RAM, and its performance doesn’t quite match up to others in bench-marking terms.
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox can’t be beat when it comes to customizability and features. It’s also fast, secure, and protects your privacy. It’s Editors’ Choice for Web browsers. For users who love extensibility but want greater privacy than a Google-made browser can provide, the open source Mozilla Firefox is your best bet. Firefox paved the way for other browsers to become extensible, and while Firefox’s add-on catalog is pretty good, it now pales in comparison to the Chrome Web Store. Like Google, Firefox has a sync feature.
Opera
It’s sad that Opera makes up only around 1% of the browser market, because it really is a quality browser. It launches fast, the UI is brilliantly clean, and it does everything its rivals can do with a couple of extras thrown in for good measure. The Opera browser has some new tricks up its sleeve. Notable additions include a built-in VPN, an ad-blocker, and a battery-saver mode, all of which make it well worth downloading.
Maxthon Cloud Browser
Maxthon cloud browser is a suite of state-of-the-art, cloud-power, next-generation web browsers that work in concert, making it easy for users to maintain a continuous experience, un-tethered to a single device or operating system. Maxthon Cloud is not limited to a single device ecosystem or operating system: It moves files, data and web session information from browser to browser, unconfined by a single set of cloud products or devices.
Vivaldi
From the creators of Opera, a Vivaldi Browser that is fast, but also a browser that is rich in functionality, highly flexible and puts the user first. Vivaldi brings customizability and geekiness back to the Web browser. It lacks some basic features offered by its more mature competition, but it’s fast and fun to use.
