Yandex Browser

Yandex Browser (Russian: Яндекс Браузер) is a freeware web browser[5] developed by the Russian technology corporation Yandex that uses the Blink web browser engine and is based on the Chromium open source project.[6] The browser checks webpage security with the Yandex security system and checks downloaded files with Kaspersky Anti-Virus.[6][7] The browser also uses Opera Software's Turbo technology to speed web browsing on slow connections.[8]

Yandex Browser
Developer(s)Yandex
Initial release1 October 2012 (2012-10-01)
Stable release(s) [±]
Windows, macOS

21.5.2 (May 31, 2021 (2021-05-31)[1])

iOS

21.5.1.845 (June 2, 2021 (2021-06-02)[2])

Android
21.3.4.59 (June 3, 2021 (2021-06-03)[3]) [±]
Written inC++, JavaScript
EngineBlink
Operating system[4]
PlatformARM, IA-32, x86-64
Available in14 languages
List of languages
English, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek.
TypeWeb browser
LicenseFreeware[5]
Websitebrowser.yandex.com

The browser is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.

The browser is the second most popular desktop web browser (the third as a mobile browser) in Russia at 21.5%,[9] while it is less popular in most other countries, e.g. in Ukraine fourth at 4.45%[10] and globally has less share than Internet Explorer (which is ninth at 0.64%).

Distinguishing features

Distinguishing features of the Yandex Browser include the following:

  • Different "new tab" screen with a Windows 8-style interface and specialized widgets for popular services (e.g., the gmail widget shows number of unread messages).[11]
  • Integrated keyboard layout switcher in omnibox: e.g., if a user often uses gmail.com and starts typing "пьф" ("gma" with Russian keyboard layout) and presses Enter, the user will then be taken to gmail.com and not to the search page for "пьф" (as is the case in Chrome, for example).[11]
  • On Android it provides ability to install chrome extensions on a mobile browser.[12]
  • Supports browser extensions from the Opera add-ons website.[13]

Security

DNS spoofing protection

Protect active security technology scans files and website for viruses, blocks fraudulent webpages, protects passwords and bank card details, and keeps online payments safe from theft.[14][15]

DNSCrypt

Yandex Browser was the first browser to implement DNSCrypt technology, which encrypts Domain Name System (DNS) traffic.[16] For example, it protects from a trojan DNSChanger, a tracking Internet provider, or hackers. This option must be enabled in the browser settings.[15]

Protecting Wi-Fi

When connecting to open Wi-Fi networks or access points that use a weak WEP-defense, Yandex Browser encrypts data to and from a Yandex server. The Yandex server acts as a channel between the browser and the HTTP sites.[16]

Privacy concerns

According to Douglas J. Leith, a computer science professor at Trinity College, Yandex Browser not only sends a hashed hardware identifier to Yandex, but also every letter typed in the address bar and every URL visited by the user.[17]

Company background
Main article: Yandex

Yandex was created by Ilya Segalovich and Arkady Volozh while working for Arcadia in 1993. It was named Yandex as an abbreviation for Yet Another Indexer. They named it Яndex, using Я as a shortened version of Ya. Yandex was unveiled on September 23, 1997. At that point it had indexed the entirety of the Russian internet. The following year, Yandex began showing advertisements. Their first advertisement said, "Ваша киска купила бы Cisco," meaning, "Your kitty would buy Cisco." In the year 2000, Yandex was registered as a company. Volozh became the CEO. In 2001, Yandex started to place advertisements directly into pages themselves. 2500 advertisers joined. A year later, the company became profitable. That same year, Yandex.Images and Yandex.Market started. Later that year, Yandex.money (a payment system) started jointly with the PayCash group. In 2003, Yandex started issuing dividends. That year, they issued $100,000 of dividends. Yandex also changed their advertisement system to a pay-per-click model. In 2004, Yandex.maps started. They had detailed maps of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Kyiv. It could not be used to search for addresses, just establishments. That year, Yandex created a separate search engine for blogs, that no longer exists.[18]

Market share
Further information: Usage share of web browsers

According to LiveInternet analytics, Yandex Browser reached 2.3% market share in Russia two months after its release.[19] As of June 2022, Yandex Browser held 16.47% market share in Russia.[20]

Yandex is facing web search competition in Russia from Google Search.[21] Google Chrome, Russia's most popular web browser, uses Google Search as its default search engine. In June 2012, Mozilla Firefox, the world's third most popular web browser, signed a deal to replace its default search engine Yandex Search with Google Search.[21] As Yandex Browser's "Smartbox" uses Yandex Search as its default search engine, the browser will help Yandex compete for Russian search market share.[22]

References
  1. "Download Yandex Browser". Yandex. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  2. "Yandex Browser on the App Store". App Store. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  3. "Yandex Browser with Protect". Google Play. June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  4. https://browser.yandex.com/help/about/install.html#system-requirements System requirements
  5. ""Yandex" Browser Software License Agreement". Yandex. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  6. Lunden, Ingrid (October 1, 2012). "Yandex Gives Google A One-Two Punch In Russia: A New Browser And App Store For The Local Search Giant". TechCrunch. AOL Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  7. "Reliable protection from viruses". Yandex. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  8. "Yandex launches its own browser targeting Russian market". Engadget. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  9. "Desktop Browser Market Share Russian Federation". StatCounter Global Stats. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  10. "Desktop Browser Market Share Ukraine". StatCounter Global Stats. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  11. Sørensen, Sven. "Yandex.Browser Review". Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  12. "How to install extensions to the mobile "Yandex.Browser" for Android". edwardsrailcar.com.
  13. "Extensions". yandex.com. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  14. "Protect: безопасность в интернете – Браузер (классический интерфейс) – Яндекс.Помощь". yandex.ru. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  15. "Yandex – Company blog – Yandex Browser Pioneers Built-in DNS Security". yandex.com. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  16. "Protect: защита соединений Wi-Fi – Браузер (классический интерфейс) – Яндекс.Помощь". yandex.ru. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  17. Tim Anderson. "If you're serious about browser privacy, you should probably pass on Edge or Yandex, claims Dublin professor". www.theregister.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  18. "Yandex — History — History of Yandex". Yandex. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  19. "Liveinternet.ru analytics".
  20. "Browser Market Share Russian Federation". StatCounter Global Stats. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  21. "New Yandex browser escalates Russia's search-engine wars". Net Prophet. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  22. "Yandex Starts Own Internet Browser to Challenge Google". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
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