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Like most people, you likely use web browsers every day to access the internet and view web pages. Without these software programs, you can't watch YouTube, send emails, or shop online.
The most common browsers are Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. But dozens more exist, and each one provides different features and levels of privacy.
Keep reading to find out more about how web browsers work and how to make them more secure, like using a virtual private network (VPN).
Web browsers act like translators, taking the code that creates web pages and using the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to show us images, text, and videos. HTTP is basically a set of rules that determine how those images, text, and videos are transferred across the internet.
This means you don’t need to understand hypertext markup language (HTML), JavaScript, or other code to navigate the internet. For example, here’s the HTML code for our ExpressVPN review:
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And here's the view of that same ExpressVPN review we see when our browser loads the page:
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When you type a web page address or uniform resource locator (URL) — such as www.allaboutcookies.org — into your browser or click on a link, you’re giving your browser directions for where you want to go.
Once it knows your destination, your browser sends a request to the server or servers where the web page’s content is stored, then retrieves that content and displays it to you. In other words, you're actually calling up a list of requests to get content from various resource directories or servers on which the content for that page is stored.
The web page you requested to see may be made up of content from different sources. Images may come from one server, text content from another, scripts from a third server, and ads from a different server.
Your browser then retrieves the data from each server and uses rendering engine software to translate the web page’s HTML and other code into images and text.
HTTP is the primary communication protocol, or set of rules, for internet surfing. Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is similar to HTTP, as both translate web page code into the more visual elements we’re familiar with.
The difference is, HTTPS encrypts any data transmitted from the web page to you (or vice versa) using secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TSL) technology.
Web browsers have several important controls and features that you may or may not be familiar with yet:
There are plenty of browser options and most are fairly similar to each other. However, some are open-source software, while others offer additional features that you might like:
Digital cookies are created by websites to personalize your web experience better. Cookies allow a site to remember information you’ve shared, including who you are, your login info, what you’ve left in your shopping cart, your IP address, and more.
Due to privacy laws such as the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), websites need to ask your permission to use cookies. We recommend considering every cookie request before you accept it. It’s best to avoid accepting third-party and tracking cookies if you can, as these can continue to collect your data even after you leave the website.
You can easily update your browser’s privacy settings, but the steps may change depending on which browser you’re using. We’ll show you how to update your privacy settings in Google Chrome:
1. Go to the top right of the browser and select the three dots. Then choose Settings from the drop-down menu.
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2. Choose Privacy and security. Once here, we recommend going into the Clear browsing data option to delete your browser history, clear your cookies, and clear your cache.
If you choose the Cookies and other site data option, you can tell Chrome to block third-party cookies, block all cookies, or allow cookies. You can also tell Chrome to send a “Do Not Track” request while you browse different sites.
Under Security, you can choose which level of protection Chrome should use against malicious websites and downloads.
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Chrome and other browsers allow you to secure your online experience by selecting different levels of protection or using certain features. Here are the five browser privacy and security tips we recommend most.
If you want additional privacy, many browsers offer an incognito or private browsing option. Incognito mode doesn’t record your site history, cookies, or cached content. Instead, this data is deleted once you end your browsing session and close the private window.
On Chrome, you can open up an incognito window by going to File > New Incognito Window.
You can add another level of security by using a VPN. VPN clients establish an encrypted connection between your device and the website you’re connecting to. This encryption masks your internet protocol, or IP address, and could also let you access otherwise restricted sites, such as U.K. television shows on Netflix.
Some of our favorite VPN providers include:
Ultra-secure, high-speed VPN complete with malware protection and automatic blocking of intrusive ads and third-party trackers
Other benefits include a premium password manager, dark web monitoring, and access to IP-restricted content
3 plans to choose from for custom protection on up to 10 devices
The standard search engines are Microsoft, Bing, and Google, but you might prefer to use a private search engine instead.
Private search engines, like DuckDuckGo and Qwant, don’t track your searches or sell your personal data.
Some pop-up ads are harmless, but some are created by hackers and designed to trick you into giving up your personal information.
You can block pop-ups and redirects inside your browser settings. Third-party ad blockers such as Total Adblock work effectively too.
Removing cookies is recommended for anyone who wants additional privacy and security. You also have the option to opt-out when websites request permission to use cookies.
How have web browsers evolved?
Prior to the commercial side of the internet in the late 1990s, only universities, governments, and global think tanks accessed the internet in order to send files to each other. Information was almost all text-based and quite simple, as you can see on this replica of the very first web page, which was hosted on Tim Berners-Lee’s (inventor of the internet) NeXT computer.
Because web pages started out simple, it makes sense that many of the first web browsers were simple, too. The first browsers had a very specific purpose: to make web page code readable and understandable.
As web developers created more web objects and software libraries, browsers needed to be updated quickly to keep up. Eventually, plug-ins were also developed to add capabilities to existing browsers so they could render new types of objects on web pages.
Browsers have changed and continue to change in order to support everything from shopping carts to embedded videos. Private browsers have also started popping up to address concerns over data privacy and cookie tracking.
Here’s a list of some of the more well-known browsers and the year they were created:
To close your web browser, look at the top right or top left of your browser window and click the red button or “X” button. This closes your browser window. You can also press Alt + F4 on your keyboard.
Closing a browser could log you out of a website, but your login session could stay active thanks to session cookies. But session cookies are set to time out or expire after a certain amount of time, so you won’t stay logged in indefinitely.
It’s a good idea to close all your browser windows because that forces all of your online sessions to end or timeout.
Closing your browser window or tabs can also free up system resources becuase multiple open browser tabs can impact your memory and CPU usage. If your browsing experience or computer seems slow, make sure you don’t have multiple browser windows or tabs open.
Closing your browser window is also good practice because you likely use your computer to log into banking and other personal sites. If you get up for a moment and walk away from your device with a tab still open to your bank account, someone could access it and steal your personal information.
Web browsers play an important role when it comes to navigating the internet. No matter which web browser you use, it's important to update the privacy settings so you don't accidentally share your personal data with websites.
You can also protect your online privacy by using one of the best VPNs.
Ultra-secure, high-speed VPN complete with malware protection and automatic blocking of intrusive ads and third-party trackers
Other benefits include a premium password manager, dark web monitoring, and access to IP-restricted content
3 plans to choose from for custom protection on up to 10 devices
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