Browsers

Browsers

If you're looking for browsers or browser extensions, CNET Download.com has you covered. We feature all the latest versions of Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and more, as well as Firefox extensions, Internet Explorer add-ons, even RSS readers. If you want to surf the Web, CNET Download.com is the place to start. See all 1,304 products in this category.

for the week of: December 27Downloads

1.
Flash Player Mobile
Web Browsers11,860
2.
Opera Mini
Web Browsers8,407
3.
Opera Mini
Web Browsers5,621
4.
Adobe Flash Player 7 for Pocket PC
Web Browsers2,715
Visual Studio Pro 2010

Write better-quality code, reduce security-related issues, and avoid bugs later in the development lifecycle.

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5.
Kinoma FreePlay
Web Browsers1,180
6.
Bolt Mobile Browser
Web Browsers995
7.
Windows Media Player (Windows CE)
Web Browsers952
SugarSync Manager for Windows Mobile

Sync your files across Windows PC, Mac, or Windows Mobile Phone.

Download Now
8.
Windows Media Player (Pocket PC)
Web Browsers921
9.
Viigo for BlackBerry
Newsreaders & RSS Readers847
10.
Sompy Media Player
Web Browsers739

See all most popular software

CaptureWizPro

Capture screen images, video and audio

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Release date

EZ Search Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
EZ News UK Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
EZ News Canada Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
Extra! Extra! Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
Executive Press Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
EvriVerse Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
EveryBlock Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
Eurovision 2009 Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
European Business And Economy News Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers
Euro Millions Dec 27
Newsreaders & RSS Readers

See all new releases

1.
Viigo for BlackBerry
Access news, weather, entertainment, live sports, markets and stock portfolios with a single click.
2.
gDocsBar
Quickly upload, access, and manage Google documents from a handy Firefox sidebar.
3.
Skyfire for Windows Mobile (Touch Screen)
Browse your favorite Web sites exactly like you do on your PC.
4.
NYTimes for iPhone
Enjoy The New York Times on your iPhone.
5.
Ziibii (iPhone)
Read RSS, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook feeds and more in a unique way.
6.
Newsstand for iPhone
Read all your news feeds in an iPhone RSS reader that also syncs with Google Reader.
7.
Opera Mini
Opera Mini is a fast and tiny Web browser, that allows you to access the full Internet on your Palm OS device. Take all your favorite Web sites on...
8.
Opera Mini
Browse the Web quickly with your mobile device.
9.
PocketMusic
Play your favorite MP3 files on your Pocket PC.
10.
Super Mario Bros. 3 Firefox theme
Add a retro videogame theme to Mozilla Firefox.

See all editor's picks

an introduction to Browsers

Browsers, often called Web browsers, are software clients that allow users to navigate to sites on the World Wide Web. The majority of these Web sites use the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), but many browsers can also interpret other protocols, including FTP, RSS, and P2P protocols such as BitTorrent. Hypertext pioneer Tim Berners-Lee created the first ever Web browser, WorldWideWeb, in 1990, but the software didn't become popular until the release of NCSA Mosaic, the first graphical client.

Browsers truly hit the mainstream with the launch of Netscape Navigator, which was later shortened to simply Netscape, though the free client's popularity was radically affected by the 1995 release of Internet Explorer, Microsoft's entry into the browser market. In the years since, IE has completely dominated the market, only recently losing ground to alternative browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Opera.

Aside from general Web browsers, various subsets of the category offer special services. Offline browsers cache content from the Internet for future reference when you're not connected to a network. Newsreaders manage content from Usenet newsgroups and syndicated feeds.

In recent years, the open-source browser Mozilla Firefox has earned praise for the ability of third-party developers to easily create extensions that add functionality. Among the thousands of home-brewed add-ons for Firefox, we've narrowed down our favorites in a collection of the best. The Microsoft browser also allows for IE add-ons, but its closed framework makes it a bit more difficult for developers.

from the download blog

Best new Windows software of 2009

an introduction to Browsers