NetSurf is a small and efficient cross-platform web browser for fans of Linux, Unix and RISC OS. Whether you want to check your email, post comments on forums, or read the news, NetSurf is a great option. This interactive web browser comes with a wide range of features such as mouse gestures, access keys, ad filtering, and high portability. NetSurf has its own layout engine licensed under the GPL version 2.

This open source web browser is completely free. The project was started in 2002 in response to a discussion about the shortcomings of existing web browsers on the RISC OS platform. The complete browser and all its features are approximately 5 MB. NetSurf supports HTTPS, CSS 2.1, HTML4 and Unicode content. This program is ideal for users who don’t have gigs of memory to spend browsing the Web. Its developers continue to squeeze more speed out of their code.

NetSurf is standards compliant and comes with many great features such as:

• Search text search highlighting as you type
• URL completion
• Text selection
• Supports JPG, PNG, MNG, JPEG, SVG, BMP, and GIF files.
• HTTPS for secure online transactions
• High portability
• High speed
• Friendly interface
• Tabbed browsing
• Incremental finding
• Pop-up blocking
• Page zoom
• Spell check
• Form input
• Compatibility with HTML 4 and CSS 2.1
• Bookmark Manager
• Global history
• Fast and light engine
• Compliant with standards

This lightweight browser has pioneered the concept of web page thumbnails. Its intuitive interface is designed by RISC OS users to integrate well with the desktop. Installing NetSurf is quite easy. All you have to do is download a copy of the browser from its official website, open the file and install the supplied programs. When you first load this browser, you will be automatically redirected to your home page.

NetSurf has several options, including page, display, navigation, object, utilities, help, and NetSurf options. Users can save web pages to their computers or export them as text files. You can view the HTML source code of the current web page, get information about the images displayed on a page, and move through the pages you have visited. This compact browser allows users to scale the view of the current page and customize the NetSurf toolbar by adding or removing buttons and icons. By using NetSurf, you can see all the websites you have visited during a certain period of time. Users can also view and delete cookies. NetSurf features an interactive help option as well as a comprehensive help section.