Yandex Browser
Yandex Browser is a cross-platform freeware web browser that uses the Blink web browser engine and is based on Chromium. Yandex Browser checks downloaded files with Kaspersky anti-virus and it checks webpage security with the Yandex security system. The web browser is developed by the Russian web search corporation Yandex.
How to Install the Yandex Browser:
You can go to https://browser.yandex.com/ to download the latest version of the program.
You can go to https://browser.yandex.com/ to download the latest version of the program.
Click on Other to download the most recent .deb or .rpm versions of the program.
This will download the installation file to your Downloads folder.
Locate the file you downloaded and double-click on the Yandex.deb file.
The file should open in your Package Installer. Click the Install Package button to start the installation process. Enter your password when the Authentication dialog box appears. Then click the Authenticate button.
Do not shut the Package Installer until you see the two buttons Reinstall Package and Remove Package buttons.
You can also install it using your Terminal.
1. Open the Terminal (Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T)
2. Type the following: sudo apt update
3. Type the following: sudo apt upgrade
4. Type the following: sudo apt install wget apt-transport-https gnupg2
5. Type the following: echo deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/yandex.gpg] http://repo.yandex.ru/yandex-browser/deb stable main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yandex-stable.list
6. Type the following: sudo wget -O- https://repo.yandex.ru/yandex-browser/YANDEX-BROWSER-KEY.GPG | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/yandex.gpg
7. Type the following: sudo apt update
8. Type the following: sudo apt install yandex-browser-stable
Yandex will create an extra repository during installation, so you will need to remove one to prevent an error with your next update.
9. Type the following: sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yandex-browser*.list
1. Open the Terminal (Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T)
2. Type the following: sudo apt update
3. Type the following: sudo apt upgrade
4. Type the following: sudo apt install wget apt-transport-https gnupg2
5. Type the following: echo deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/yandex.gpg] http://repo.yandex.ru/yandex-browser/deb stable main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yandex-stable.list
6. Type the following: sudo wget -O- https://repo.yandex.ru/yandex-browser/YANDEX-BROWSER-KEY.GPG | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/yandex.gpg
7. Type the following: sudo apt update
8. Type the following: sudo apt install yandex-browser-stable
Yandex will create an extra repository during installation, so you will need to remove one to prevent an error with your next update.
9. Type the following: sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yandex-browser*.list
How to Uninstall Yandex Browser:
1. Open the Terminal (Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T)
2. Type the following: sudo apt autoremove yandex-browser-stable
3. Type the following: sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yandex-stable.list
4. Type the following: sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/yandex.gpg
5. Type the following: rm -r /home/*/.config/yandex-browser*
1. Open the Terminal (Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T)
2. Type the following: sudo apt autoremove yandex-browser-stable
3. Type the following: sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yandex-stable.list
4. Type the following: sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/yandex.gpg
5. Type the following: rm -r /home/*/.config/yandex-browser*
You should see the Yandex Browser icon in your menu.
The first time you run the browser you'll see a small dialog box asking if you want to Make this my default browser and Send usage statistics to Yandex. I recommend that you uncheck both boxes until you learn how to use the browser and tweak all the settings before you make the decision to make it your default browser.
You'll probably notice the language will be in Russian until you make changes. You notice the first time homepage loads the website browser.yandex.ru which is a Russian website.
Unless you can read Russian, I recommend that you change the website from browser.yandex.ru to browser.yandex.com before you go into your settings.
You may be prompted to Make Yandex your default browser. Again, I recommend that you select the No, thanks button until you learn to use the new browser.
Once you get everything set up and tweaked, you'll have a nice web browser.
Yandex.com has a similar look to Google and it has a lot of the same features. You don't need to use your cell phone number to create a Yandex e-mail account.
You will receive 10 GB of online storage when you create a Yandex account.
You can customize the look of your new email (mail.yandex.com), similar to the way you can customize Gmail. Make sure you are accessing your email by using the mail.yandex.com link instead of the mail.yandex.ru if you are using English as your default language.
The Yandex Calendar (calendar.yandex.com) is similar to Google Calendar.
Yandex Notes (disk.yandex.com) is a great online note taking app.
You have over 1500 addons or extensions from Opera that are compatible with the Yandex Browser. I only use Lightshot (screenshot tool), AdGuard AdBlocker, Popup Blocker (strict), Evernote Web Clipper, and SaveFrom.net helper. Too many addons or extensions will slow down your browser.
Accessing the Settings
You can access the Settings and a lot of other features and commands by clicking the hamburger menu in the upper right corner.
You can access the Settings and a lot of other features and commands by clicking the hamburger menu in the upper right corner.
You should notice the Settings tab selected at the top and the General settings tab selected on the left. At the top you'll see a gold button (Yes, do it button) that you can click to make the Yandex Browser your default browser. Under the General Settings you'll see a Users section that will allow you to add or remove users and make adjustments to a user by clicking Settings. You then have options to adjust Syncing and Search features of the browser.
Next, you have the Interface tab. This section allows you to make adjustments in the General settings. You can select a preset theme or adjust the browser with a particular color under the Color scheme. You can adjust how things are displayed in your tabs under the New tab and Tabs sections. If you have an old and very slow computer then I recommend that you uncheck Use high-resolution animated background.
As you scroll down within the Interface section you'll notice three more subsections: SmartBox, Bookmark bar, and Side panel. The items selected below are my personal preferences.
Next, we have the Tools tab or section. You can enable Autofill to help speed up those online forms that ask for infomation you commnly type. You can enable the Ad blocker to Block offensive ads to could possibly damage your browser or computer. You can enable Alice -- virtual assistant. Alice is similar to Cortana in Windows 10 that is a voice-activated personal assistant. I prefer to uncheck or disable this feature to prevent the browser from using my microhone and eavesdropping. You also have three subsections to make additional adjustments: Mouse gestures, Downloads, and Context menu.
After scrolling down you'll notice the Tools tab or section has several more subsections. Since this is a Russian developed browser I recommend that enable most of the options under Translate. You also cam make adjustments under View videos on top of other tabs and programs, Turbo, File viewer, and Search on page.
The last subsection with the Tools section is the Yandex.Collections. You can enable or disable these settings to meet your needs.
Websites tab or section is next. This section allows you to adjust your notifications and size of text and images displayed in the browser. The first part is Requests to send notifications, Notifications, Font size, and Page zoom. You also have the ability to make adjustments by clicking on Advanced site settings.
Under the Advanced site settings you can make adjustments to the following: Automatic file downloads, Pop-up windows, Access to your camera, and Access to your location. The selections below are my personal preferences. I selected Not allowed under the Access to your camera to prevent the browser from accessing my camera without my knowledge. If I ever need to use my camera or microphone in this browser then I can temporary enable them.
Then you have: Access to your microphone, Access to your MIDI devices, Access to your USB devices, and Plugin access to computer.
Next you have: Protected content, Protocol processing, Image display, Background syncing, and Cookies.
Under Cookies you have: Flash and JavaScript subsettings under the Advanced site settings.
The last tab or section is System. You can launch the browser everytime your computer turns on by enabling Automatically launch browser when Windows launches. You also can make adjustments under the Network and Performance subsections. You can Clear search history by clicking the blue link. You can select your language and region by clicking the blue Language and region settings and select your native language and location. This will help keep the default language in English or your perferred language in the browser. You can make some personal changes by clicking the blue Personal data settings link. You can restore all the settings back to the original or default settings by clicking the blue Personal data settings link.
The Yandex Browser is a very active program. In the short period of time that I've been using it I've noticed it has already received an update when I ran my Software Updater.
If you are a Windows 10 user and you have the Yandex Browser installed then you may notice a message saying, "Yandex is using your microphone" and you see a small microphone icon. Don't panic, I'll show you how to prevent Yandex from using your microphone without your knowledge.
First thing you need to do is to make sure you have the most current version installed. Next, you need go into your Settings and click on the Interface tab or section on the left and then locate the Side panel subsection. Make sure that the option Show side panel is unchecked. Then click on the Websites tab or section on the left and then locate and click on Advanced site settings. Within the Advanced settings locate Access your camera and uncheck Not allowed. Next, locate Access your microphone and uncheck Not allowed. Finally, click the Tools tab or section and locate Alice -- virtual assistant and make sure that Set phrase for voice activation is unchecked or grayed out. When you close all the tabs and restart the Yandex Browser, you should notice that message is gone and you no longer see the microphone icon in your system tray.
I think the Yandex Browser is a great browser and https://yandex.com/ is a great search engine. There is so much more to this browser, so install it and discover them for yourself. It may take a while to tweak it until you have it customized to the way you like, but the time will be well spent.
Aug 5, 2020