Browsers, add-ons and cookies

A web browser is software for viewing web pages: Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari and others. (One of the earliest was Mosaic, from NCSA.)

Browser settings let you customise it. In Firefox, the settings panels are General, Home, Search, Privacy and Security, and Sync.

Browsers can be extended:

• a plug-in is a complete program that the browser (and other programs) can use, for example to play certain kinds of media;
• an add-on (also called an extension) adds one particular function to the browser itself, like an ad blocker or a dictionary.

A cookie is a small text file that a website stores in your browser. It helps the site recognise you and remember your choices, like your login or the items in your shopping cart. Cookies cannot read other files on your computer. You can disable them in the Privacy and Security settings. Settings, extensions, cookies.