Do you ever feel that the web is breaking? When shopping online for a toaster, you can expect an ad for that thing to stalk you from site to site. If you have just a few web browser tabs open, your laptop battery drains rapidly. And don't get me started on those videos that automatically play when you're scrolling through a webpage.

You’re probably used to bookmarking your favourite sites for easy access, but the web goes much deeper than the top domains you’re familiar with. From your social networks to your email box, having the right URL to hand can enable you to jump right into the page, feature, setting, or search you need. Here are 10 of the most useful ones.

My web browser of choice is Google Chrome, but I'm always on the hunt for a better browser. After all, it's the app I use most often on pretty much any computer. If a browser can perform faster and more efficiently than Chrome, I'd absolutely consider it. So I decided to give Firefox a try.

We all rely on web browsers to get us through the day, so a serious problem with your browser of choice can have a serious impact on productivity, or peace of mind, or Netflix binge watches. Here are some of the most common problems you might come across in your browser, and what you should do to fix them.

Google Chrome comes with its own built-in security measures to warn you about dangerous websites and weed out phishing scams, but it never hurts to have more (or better) safeguards when you're browsing.

Clicking a link in Apple's Safari app achieves one of two things: the new page temporarily takes over your iPhone while it loads, or you waste precious seconds long-pressing the link so you can load it in a background tab instead. As it turns out, there's a third option that's been hiding in iOS for almost a year, and it's even better.

Sometimes, you just don't feel like waiting for a video to stream. That, or a video is so compelling, you want to make an offline copy so you can pull it up (and show your friends) at a moment's notice.

For three days last week I received a push notification every time Space.com posted a story. While I definitely like my share of space stories, I'm not a huge enthusiast. The notifications started when I accidentally misclicked on a push notification asking if I wanted them and then was too lazy to change it until it got so annoying I couldn't take it anymore.

Hi Lifehacker. When I was looking for browsers I discounted a lot because I didn't know who made them and what information they collected and how trustworthy they are. Could a dodgy company be selling information I entered into my browser, or my browsing history? Should I reconsider Opera? How do all these companies making browsers make money?

We wrote about Vimium, the Chrome extension that adds customisable keyboard shortcuts, back in 2010 and 2012. But I think we buried the lede: If you install Vimium, you can open links without using your mouse, and without hitting the tab key over and over.

iOS/Android: I hate mobile browsing. When I open Safari, I'm usually trying to google something quickly, then go back to my other apps. Lately I've been trying the mobile browser Cake, publicly released for iOS and Android today and it's made searching much faster.

Unless you protect yourself, as soon as you open up an internet browser, you begin to leave digital footprints behind you that the sites you visit can use to track your activities and recognise who you are. We're not talking about some crazy government data mining operation. This is totally legal, above board tracking done by the sites and services you use every day. Data collected includes your current location, which links you're clicking on, whether you're on desktop or mobile. And that's just the beginning.

Following a public preview program, Microsoft has released everyone's favourite tool for downloading Chrome to mobile devices. Microsoft Edge is now available through the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. As you'd expect from a modern mobile browser, it delivers Favorites, Reading List, New Tab Page, Reading View, and Roaming Passwords so you can maintain some continuity when you switch from between your desktop and mobile devices.

In the nine years that it's been around, Google Chrome's speed and simplicity convinced most of us to make the switch from whatever browser we were using before (though not everyone is a Chrome fan). With a new overhaul and some streamlining, Firefox is hoping to claw back some of that market share.

Video: Everyone has used their phone to settle disputes over trivia. You whip it out, punch in a few keywords and there's your proof that Geoffrey Rush won an Oscar for Shine. The makers of Cake, a new mobile browser, think they can make this process better.

Google cleverly designed Chrome to prevent inevitable website crashes from bringing down the entire browser. But that stability comes at the cost of tremendous RAM usage when you have countless tabs open. There are tools you can use to help curb Chrome's memory appetite, but turning tab maintenance into a game might be the best solution.

Asking someone what the best browser is can be a great way to start an argument. For what it's worth, I don't find a lot of difference in the performance and features of the main browsers on the market although I do have some preferences when it comes to their interfaces. Brave browser is a multi-platform app that promises to protect your privacy and block ads. Here's what I found after a few days of use.

Looking up directions on Google Maps is a little clunky on the desktop. You have to select your starting location, your destination and your method of transport. But if you're on Chrome, you can build three shortcuts to get directions right from the address bar, without a single click.

Just because your site is fast and functional in the top five browsers in the West, doesn't mean it'll load the same way worldwide. Other regions have different names filling their pantheon of top browsers, and it might be worth a little bit of effort to make sure you're presenting well there, too.