Browser Internet For Mac

Safari is the default browser in macOS and has been ever since Apple first built its own web browser. Before that, for a while, it was Internet Explorer — but the less said about that the better, and before that, it was Netscape Navigator. Remember that?

Safari is a perfectly good web browser and offers most of the features of its competitor web browsers, including autofill for forms and credit card details, secure password storage, and the ability to request that websites do not track you. Given Apple's recent focus on privacy, it's not unlikely that Safari will soon be the best option all around for Mac users who want to surf the net securely.

However, there are perfectly good reasons why you might want to use a different browser. Performance is one of them. While Safari is pretty speedy, for some users in some circumstances it's slower than Chrome or Firefox. Or it might be that there are extensions you need that are only available in Chrome, or perhaps a website you use regularly doesn't work properly in Safari. So, here's how to open a different browser on Mac and set it default.

What is a default web browser?

Spelling dictionaries for Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview. Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview brings the 'best in class' spelling engine and dictionaries used by Microsoft to the browser. Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview also supports autocorrection or 'correction-while-you-type'. Get more done with the new Google Chrome. A more simple, secure, and faster web browser than ever, with Google's smarts built-in.

Before we get to how to change your default web browser, it's worth considering what a default web browser is and does. Put simply, it's the web browser that opens a link when you click on it in an email or other document. If you use Spotlight and click on a result from the web, it will open in your default browser. In fact, any task that opens a URL will be performed in that web browser. It doesn't mean, of course, that you can't use other browsers to surf the net.

So, if you just need to access specific sites in Chrome or Firefox, you don't need to change your default browser. Even if Safari is your default browser, you can open any link in another browser, by holding down the Control key when you click on it and selecting Copy Link, then paste it in the address bar of any browser you like.

Clearing cache and cookies can remove outdated information and fix possible bugs on websites. CleanMyMac X automates the cleanup: it lets you clear all browsing data at the touch of a button. Additionally, you can run a full system scan to optimize and maintain your macOS. It's free to try the app, so you don't lose anything!

How to set the default browser on Mac through System Preferences

Apple changed the way you set the default browser in OS X Yosemite and it has remained the same since then. Previously, as you'll see below, you had to open Safari to, say, make Google Chrome the default browser. As Apple realized, eventually, that's plain daft. Here's how to do it now.

Internet Browser For Mac Os 10.7 5

1. Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
2. Choose the General tab.
3. Just over halfway down, there's a menu next to the 'Default web browser.' Click on it and choose the browser you want to set as the default.

How to change the default web browser from the browser's settings

Samba server for mac. Every browser wants to be the default — it's the most obvious way to increase user numbers. And so whenever you open a browser that's not the default, you'll see a pop-up window asking if you want to set it as your browser of choice. If you choose so, it will change the System Preferences setting and position itself as the default.

If you refuse and later decide you want to make it the default, after all, that's easy too. Here's how you do it in some of the more popular browsers for macOS.

Safari

1. Launch the Safari browser.
2. Go to the Safari menu and choose Preferences.
3. In the general tab, press the Set Default button.
4. Press Use 'Safari' to confirm.

Chrome

1. To make Chrome the default browser, first of all, launch it.
2. Click on the Chrome menu and select Preferences.
3. On the web page that opens, scroll down until you see the 'Default browser.'
4. Click 'Make default' and confirm.

Firefox

1. Launch Firefox.
2. In the Firefox menu, click Preferences.
3. At the top of the page, you should see 'General' and underneath it, a message saying that Firefox isn't currently your default browser. To the right of that, click Make Default.

If you want to change your default browser to any other browser not mentioned in this article, you can take a similar route: browser menu > Preferences > Make (Set) default.

3 quick tips to make your browser faster

Whichever web browser you use, there are some tips you should remember in order to keep it running optimally.

1. Always use the most up-to-date version.

Safari updates with macOS system updates, so make sure you install system updates when they become available. Most browsers automatically update themselves when you close and reopen them. But if you keep them open permanently, they won't update. So the easiest way to keep them updated is to quit them every now and again.

2. Don't keep lots of tabs open at once.

Open tabs, even those that are hidden, consume RAM, processor cycles, and energy. The more you have open, the slower your Mac will become. So close tabs you no longer need.

3. Keep your Mac clean of junk

Unnecessary files, including cache, cookies, language files, and old updates can slow down your whole system, as they take more and more space. The simplest way to get rid of them is to use a dedicated app like CleanMyMac X. To quickly delete useless files on your Mac, follow the steps:

1. Download CleanMyMac X and launch it.
2. Click Smart Scan.
3. Click Run.

As you can see, setting your default web browser in macOS is very easy — choosing which browser to use maybe less so. Whichever browser you choose, you should maintain it to keep it running optimally, CleanMyMac X can help do that easily.

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Once upon a time, Internet Explorer was the default browser on all Apple Mac devices. Until 2003, when Apple released Safari, which eventually resulted in Microsoft discontinuing any support for Internet Explorer for Mac from 2005 onwards.

After that, the agreement that Apple and Microsoft was dissolved and any download links from official sites were removed. Getting IE or a newer Microsoft browser, Edge, on a Mac, simply isn't possible unless you want to download a potentially risky version from Torrent sites (not recommended).

So unless you are still running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and earlier versions, you won't be able to get and operate Internet Explorer, and the only versions you might be able to access have been unsupported since 2005.

For anyone with a passing familiarity with computers, that sounds like a major security breach waiting to happen. You don't want to be attempting to run a browser that hasn't benefited from any official support and upgrades for over a decade; so for those who need access to IE, this article is about how to get Internet Explorer for Mac.

How to get Internet Explorer for Mac?

As we mentioned, IE and Microsoft's more evolved browser, Edge, is not directly available for Mac users. It isn't as though there aren't plenty of other browsers around, including Safari, Firefox and Chrome.

Safest Mac Browser

However, for those who develop apps and web-based technology, it can be useful - if not essential - to view how something is going to look and function on other web browsers, including Internet Explorer. It could be detrimental, especially if you've got users or customers of a web-based product, to launch it with no knowledge or testing of the user-experience across a range of browsers, including Internet Explorer.

Thankfully, there is a way to simulate having Internet Explorer on a Mac without downloading a security risk or using a Mac which is running Snow Leopard. Here is how you can get Internet Explorer on a Mac:

1. Open Safari (this can be used to test the browser experience from other operating systems)
2. Go to Preferences > Advanced
3. At the bottom of this is a checkbox: Tick it: 'Show Develop menu in menu bar'
4. Now this gives you access to Developer Tools (known as the Develop menu in Safari's menu bar);
5. The Develop Menu is accessible through the top toolbar when Safari is open
6. Go to User Agent
7. Within that, you should be able to select a number of Internet Explorer and Edge browser versions to experience on a Mac, which should give you the user-experience required to test a new web-based product on those browsers on a Mac
8. Whatever website you are on will automatically refresh to mirror an IE or Edge experience, on Mac. Do remember to switch back to Safari after you've visited that website using the User Agent option in the Develop menu.

If, for any reason, you need to take the IE experience to the next level on a Mac, you could download a virtual machine (such as VMware Fusion, which has a Windows license), therefore creating a Microsoft environment on a Mac, which would allow you to download Internet Explorer.

Before you do that, it can be useful to make sure your Mac is running at peak performance and not cluttered up with unwanted system junk. Here is how you can do that:

1. Download CleanMyMac X (for free, here)
2. Click on the Systems Junk tab
3. Once your systems have been scanned, you can safely delete anything taking up space and slowing your Mac down.

Run Internet Explorer on a virtual machine

For those who need to take this one step further, here is how you can use Internet Explorer and run other Microsoft programs.

1. Buy and download virtual machine software (such as VMware fusion)
2. Now download a Windows ISO file (from the relevant Microsoft website)
3. Launch VMware Fusion
4. During the installation sequence, click 'Create a new custom virtual machine'
5. Drag and drop the Windows ISO file into the dialogue window
6. Click Finish
7. Then relaunch the Virtual Machine
8. Now you can download Internet Explorer, Edge and any number of web or app-based Microsoft products.

When you want to go back to running software on macOS, remember to close the virtual machine and revert to your Mac how it usually is. For those who want to improve their overall Mac experience, the app we mentioned - CleanMyMac X - is well worth downloading. CleanMyMac X was created to make your life and work easier, and make your Mac operate as good as new.