In the modern world, the Internet is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, one should not be surprised at the fact that the browser today is not just a program for displaying web pages, but perhaps the most important application on the entire computer.
After all, with its help we do not just travel around the expanses of the network, but we carry out a lot of necessary actions: we work and pay for purchases, we communicate with friends on the other side of the world, and we also write statements to state authorities.
It is not surprising that many users are constantly wondering which browser is better for Windows 7 and other operating systems. Indeed, not only the convenience of everyday work, but also its safety depends on the correct answer to this question. Consider the most common types of Internet browsers, discussing their advantages and disadvantages.
Internet explorer
Perhaps, almost all users ten years ago began their acquaintance with the World Wide Web from this browser. The reason is simple - it is Explorer that is installed as a standard tool for viewing web pages on the vast majority of computers in our country.
In fairness, it should be noted that in 2001, when Windows XP came out, Internet Explorer 6, which was part of this OS, was not just good, but it was the best solution at that time. In any case, all other Internet browsers could not offer such capabilities. For Windows 7, IE is no longer so relevant, as competitors did not stand still.
The reasons for the "loss of confidence"
Relatively high speed and security quickly made this program one of the most popular in the world. Unfortunately, Microsoft completely forgot that the browser needs to be updated from time to time. IE 6 came out in 2001, but IE 7 only appeared in 2006. Over five years, competitors have made a huge leap forward, and the former world leader in the browser market is now in the role of always catching up.
By the way, which browser is better for Windows 7, if we talk about the IE family? Oddly enough, but Internet Explorer 11 is quite good. Of course, the rumors about its incredible speed are somewhat exaggerated, but this program works and is really quite quick.
Unfortunately, the normal versions (IE 9-11) are available only to owners of Windows Vista / 7 and older. XP owners will have to switch to something more modern, or choose a different browser. So which browser is better for Windows 7?
Google chrome
This browser appeared relatively recently. Since Google has worldwide recognition in the global IT community, few doubted the ultimate success when its specialists announced the start of work on creating their own browser.
Google’s need for this is long overdue: despite the excellent relationship with Mozilla, the corporation was interested in promoting its products and services. In addition, for the right to be the default search engine in Firefox, Google pays millions of dollars annually, so it would be beneficial for its creators to "push" a competitor.
All these plans were only partially successful.
Advantages of Chrome
To begin with, today “Chrome” is indeed the most popular browser. He overtook Firefox and IE, it is recommended by leading IT publications. That Chrome is not only functional, but also the most simple and secure browser.
That is what he liked the newcomers: a minimum of settings, security and high speed. In addition, various extensions are supported by which this browser for Windows 7 can seriously expand its functionality.
Of course, one should also note the high page rendering speed. It is this positive feature that catches the eye in the first place.
Some negative aspects
Unfortunately, this simplicity is the cornerstone of Chrome. Yes, many people like the lightweight interface, which is not overloaded with details. But for some reason, the developers decided that this minimalism should apply to everything else: there are no advanced settings in the browser, and many menu items are oversimplified.
For example, why can’t you put the picture you like on your desktop by simply selecting the appropriate item in the
context menu? It is strange that developing this browser for Windows 7, the developers somehow did not pay attention to such a banal thing.
As for the undemanding system resources, you can safely forget about it. So, an almost clean (with three or four extensions) browser runs almost three times (!) Longer than IE on an average computer.
The distribution of resources across several processes does not look too good. Only three or four tabs with photos are able to tightly "hang" a computer with 2 GB of RAM, while the aforementioned FF works in this mode without any complaints. Only the Safari browser once differed in smaller requirements. For Windows 7, its development has already been discontinued.
An unpleasant feature of "Chrome" is its active unwillingness to work offline normally. Simply put, when you try to open saved web pages without an Internet connection, the browser often gives errors.
And one more minus regarding lovers to change the design of the browser to their liking. The Blink engine, which was developed by Google, practically does not support customization. All “themes” that can somehow change the appearance of the browser are commonplace color options.
Yandex browser
The Russian Yandex did not stand aside: they created their "best browser" for Windows 7. Of course, they did not think about the name for a long time, calling the new browser Yandex.Browser. However, it can only be called “new” formally, since it is entirely based on Chrome.
However, in the latest versions, the situation with this clone began to change dramatically: support for mouse gestures appeared, the design was significantly improved. So many people are already unofficially comparing Yandex.Browser for Windows 7 with the old Opera, which will be discussed below.
Opera
Five or six years ago, when even ADSL was considered a luxury, and 3G technology was considered an overseas curiosity, advanced users in our country had Opera No. 1 browser. And this is despite the fact that in the rest of the world the creation of Norwegian programmers was known, but it was not particularly widespread.
This is due to the prevalence and technical quality of the Internet in our country. When the vast majority of users still used Dial Up, and the cost of a megabyte of mobile Internet was more like a barcode of a distant country, every kilobyte of mobile traffic was on the account.
The Opera, which had the Turbo mode, was a real escape. When the user turned it on, traffic began to go through third-party servers, simultaneously compressing. Some pages were reduced by 40% or more. It’s easy to imagine how much money this quick browser for Windows 7 saved.
In addition, many users unanimously recognized that Opera is the most convenient browser that supports almost completely customizing the program’s properties for itself, which has in its “repertoire” numerous mouse gestures that quickly learned to automatism, helping to surf the Internet with comfort.
Unfortunately, there were some shortcomings. Many experienced users say with displeasure that with each new version of Opera, it has become more and more slow. At first, the update mechanism, which did not involve automatic search and download, was also not very pleased.
Not all changes for the better ...
By the 12th version, the slowness of the browser and its exactingness to system resources had already completely bothered most of the users, and here Opera Software also prepared another “surprise” for its fans.
The new owners of the company with fanfare announced that their own engine Presto will no longer develop, and it is replaced by Blink from Google. As a result, the browser was actually rewritten again, losing up to 70% of its own capabilities. The developers promise to gradually return them. So, relatively recently, they took a truly “revolutionary” step, returning bookmarks to the unfortunate “Opera”.
So now Opera can be considered as just another clone of Chrome, with all its inherent advantages and disadvantages.
Firefox
Legendary browser based on the late Netscape Navigator. The first versions were terrible, but already releases 2.14 and later releases finally confirmed that the company is on the right track.
All the latest browsers for Windows 7 copy something in some way, but Ognelis always stood apart. Its distinguishing feature was the additions with the help of which one can make something special out of a not-so-remarkable browser, fully adapting it specifically to one's needs.
Everything is regulated: the appearance and size of the controls, the integration of new functions and even small independent programs. Moreover, the developers tried to please everyone: advanced users have advanced settings, and beginners are offered a fairly simple browser that does not make it difficult to independently study its capabilities.
conclusions
So which browser is better for Windows 7? Based on the foregoing, we can draw a simple conclusion that for the average user the most suitable options are Google Chrome or Firefox. They are developed and supported by a huge number of specialists and volunteers, are developing rapidly and offer their users the widest possible opportunities.
More importantly, all of these browsers are officially supported by all major third-party software developers. You will not have problems with integration into the "Chrome" or FF plug-in for "downloading" files, a special application for antivirus or something like that.
Unfortunately, there is a downside: almost all malware is just as easily implemented in them if the user does not bother to get an antivirus program.