OAKHURST, CA – May 7, 2004 – Sierra Tel Internet’s Help Desk answers Internet related questions every day. Here is a recent question and answer about a browser plug-in.
Question: I have heard people refer to plug-ins on browsers. What is a browser plug-in?

Answer: A browser plug-in is an application that works with your Web browser to either display certain types of web media or add some functionality that was not originally built into the browser. For example, some Web site 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 are going to need to add to your browser? No worries. When you come to a Web site that requires a plug-in, generally they are already pre-installed on your browser and run automatically. If the plug-in is not already installed on your browser, instructions for downloading will automatically display (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 will be prompted by the plug-in application when it is time to do so.

If you have an Internet related question, please email Sierra Tel Internet’s Help Desk at support@sti.net.

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