Question: I've heard people refer to plug-ins on browsers? What is a browser plug-in?

STI and Cornerstone Publishing Answers: A web browser plug-in is an application that works with your browser to either display certain types of web media or add some functionality that was not originally built into the browser. For example, some website creators use Shockwave to allow users to view interactive 3D simulations or to participate in interactive games. In order to view the 3D simulations or play the games, the user needs to have the Shockwave plug-in downloaded onto his/her browser. Other common examples of plug-ins are QuickTime and Windows Media Player which both allow users to listen and/or view audio and video Web media, Flash which allows browsers to interact with web applications (mainly animations), and Acrobat Reader which allows users to read PDF documents.

So how do you know which plug-ins you're going to need to add to your browser? No worries. When you come to a website that requires a plug-in, either the plug-in is already pre-installed on your browser and will run automatically or, if the plug-in isn't already installed on your browser, instructions will be automatically displayed regarding how to download it. Most plug-ins have free versions.

For the most part, newer browsers come with the most common plug-ins. You may need to update to the latest version from time to time, but you'll be prompted by the plug-in application when it's time to do so.

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