Netscape

Netscape Communications Corporation was an American company important to the early internet. It started as Mosaic Communications Corporation and had offices in Mountain View, California and later in Dulles, Virginia. Its most famous product was the Netscape web browser, very popular in the mid-1990s. At one time, over 90 percent of people used it, but later many switched to competitors like Internet Explorer.

An early employee, Brendan Eich, created the JavaScript programming language, still widely used today to make websites interactive. Another engineer, Lou Montulli, invented HTTP cookies, which help websites remember user information. Netscape also helped create SSL, a way to keep online communications safe, later known as TLS.

Netscape's stock was sold from 1995 to 1999 when the company was bought by AOL for about $10 billion. In 1998, Netscape shared its browser's source code and started the Mozilla Organization, leading to the Mozilla Foundation and eventually the Firefox browser. Netscape stopped making its browser in 2007, but the name was used until 2025 for an internet service and a special browser by a UK company. This service ended on November 30, 2025.

History

Netscape wanted people to think of the Internet like a big encyclopedia full of colorful pages, with email, news, and shopping. The idea for Netscape started at the University of Illinois and became a company in 1994. Its first web browser, called Mosaic Netscape, quickly became very popular.

Netscape had big success when it offered its shares to the public in 1995. But later, a competitor named Internet Explorer started to grow, and Netscape lost many users. In 1998, Netscape was bought by America Online. The company made changes over the years, but in 2008, they stopped making new versions of their web browser.

Software

Classic releases

Netscape Navigator (versions 0.9–4.08)

Netscape Navigator was the company's web browser, starting from versions 1.0 to 4.8. The first test versions were called Mosaic and later Mosaic Netscape. Because of a legal issue, the name changed to Netscape Navigator. It became very popular quickly because it was advanced for its time.

The browser grew in features and popularity. Version 2.0 added an email reader called Netscape Mail, turning Netscape into more than just a web browser. Version 3.0 faced competition from Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 but was still the most used browser then.

Netscape Communicator (versions 4.0–4.8)

Netscape changed the name to Netscape Communicator for versions 4.0 to 4.8. This version added new features and was successful even with competition from Internet Explorer. In 1998, Netscape announced it would make its software free and open for anyone to help develop, called Mozilla.

Netscape 5

In 1998, a group called the Mozilla Organization tried to create Netscape 5, but the old code was too hard to work with, so they decided to start over.

Mozilla-based releases

Netscape 6 (versions 6.0–6.2.3)

Netscape 6 was built using the Mozilla web browser. It had some problems at first but improved with updates.

Netscape 7 (versions 7.0–7.2)

Netscape 7.0 came out in 2002 and included a popular internet radio feature. AOL stopped some features, but later changed their mind. In 2003, AOL closed the Netscape team, and development slowed down.

Mozilla Firefox-based releases

Netscape Browser (version 8.0–8.1.3)

Between 2005 and 2007, Netscape used the popular Mozilla Firefox for its browser. This version only worked on Microsoft Windows and had some problems with security and user experience.

Netscape Navigator (version 9.0)

Netscape Navigator 9 was planned to work on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X and support add-ons. A test version came out in June 2007, and the final version was released in October 2007.

End of development and support

AOL said it would stop supporting Netscape Navigator on March 1, 2008, and suggested users switch to Flock or Firefox.

Mozilla Thunderbird-based releases

Netscape Messenger 9

In June 2007, Netscape announced an email client called Netscape Mercury, later renamed Netscape Messenger 9. Development was canceled in December 2007.

Product list

Netscape made many tools to help people use the internet. At first, they made a web browser called Netscape Navigator for computers like Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. They also made servers to host websites and manage online services.

Later, Netscape made a full suite of tools called Netscape Communicator. This included the browser, email, calendar, and tools to create web pages. They also made servers for news, mail, scheduling, and more. One of their big ideas was JavaScript, a language that makes web pages interactive.

Prior services

Netscape Internet Service

Netscape once had a dial-up Internet service that cost $9.95 each month. Verizon later took over this service. It started in 2004 and ended in 2025.

Netscape.com

Netscape used links in its browser to bring people to its own websites. It had special parts like a blog, news, and community pages. These are harder to find now on the AOL Netscape site, which changed in 2007. Today, Netscape.com and Netscape.co.uk go to AOL's websites.

DMOZ

Main article: DMOZ

DMOZ, also called the Open Directory Project, was a list of websites made and kept by volunteers. Netscape owned it, but it closed in 2017.