Troubleshooting Internet Explorer (A Collection of How To’s)

It is a simple and well-known fact of life — sometimes things go wrong with computers.

When that something is your web browser, and you cannot surf the ‘net, or log in to your email, or Google Docs, well, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a computer these days.

Causes: There can be many reasons your browser can get ‘corrupted’ and stop functioning properly – from viruses, to Updates failing to install properly, and also “cookies” can ‘go bad’ – and so there is no 1-click-cures-all, (wouldn’t that be great?) but here are some things you can do to try to get Internet Explorer working like it should, and/or working like you want it to .
[note: most of the practical steps described in the article links below can be applied to other web browsers.. (Firefox, Chrome, etc.) ]

Restore Missing Favorites In IE*

Internet Explorer Runtime Error!!*

Quick Tip: Turn on ClearType in Internet Explorer

Can’t Download? Reset IE

How To Clear Your Cache

View Multiple Mail Identities in One Browser

Extracting text from Web pages*

Precautions for your Internet privacy*

Quick Tip: Customize new tabs behavior

IE’s Menu bar, Taskbar icons, and bad Updates*

Internet/E-mail Troubleshooting – JavaScript

What is a “homepage”?

How to use tabs in IE 7

Saving webpages as files

I hope you found this collection of How To articles helpful.

Today’s quote: “Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.” ~ Thomas Carlyle

Bonus tip: If you are in a position where you need to get your Dear Sweet Aunt Martha (or other utterly tech unsavvy type) a computer so that they can have email, do yourself a favor, spring for an iMac.

Bonus reading:

* Infographic: Spam Olympiad

“Spammers and “slammers” took advantage of world-wide attention on the London 2012 Olympics to flood us with junk and fill the social media streams with abuse. Here’s a snapshot of their activity.” Read more

* Are You Forwarding Hate Email As A Political Propaganda Tool?

“Have you noticed that as the we ramp up for the U.S. Presidential election the hate email propaganda starts to roll in. I have been getting so much of it (mostly from personal acquaintances) that it actually makes me very uncomfortable and has me questioning the  stability and IQ of our population. I sometimes feel […]” Read more..

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories. Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Safe Browser Rebuttal + More

The other day I mentioned a study which concluded that Internet Explorer by far and away blocked more malware than the competition (see Which Browser Blocks The Most Malware? Surprise!). Today I noticed a fresh article which takes quite a different view..

• Internet Explorer is the safest Web browser!? Ha!

“Microsoft is trying again to con people into thinking that Internet Explorer is the safest browser around. It’s not. At best, it’s tied with Chrome.” Read more..

Some other items of interest..

• Google engineer calls Google+ a “pathetic afterthought” and “knee-jerk reaction”

“A Google software engineer who accidentally broadcast a 4,578-word rant about the company’s failings saved his toughest criticism for the Google+ service. A list of features can’t make up for a…” Read more..

• New UK ISP porn filter: a tragedy of transparency, privacy and security

“UK government will hold ISP’s responsible for filtering internet content to appease a Christian charity. There is no technical or peer scrutiny in filter implementation.” Read more..

[What? Government does something stupid? No!]

Oh. Yes. There’s a new iPhone. (Yippee.)

• iOS 5 breaks down upon arrival for some mobile users

“iOS 5 is here…at least for some iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners.” Read more..

(Oops..)

• RIM ramps apology parade for outage: Lazaridis up to bat

“The timing of RIM’s outages couldn’t be worse with the launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S and a new BlackBerry 7 cycle.” Read more..

(Oops)

• Again? Sony’s PlayStation Network hit with another attack

“Sony’s PlayStation Network, the gaming and entertainment platform knocked offline for weeks this spring, has been hit again. … Read more..”

(Oops)

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Firefox 6 Reviewed, iPhone Tips, Facebook, Chatter, And More

Loyal readers know that I use Mozilla’s Firefox as my web browser. And they know I have chosen it simply because of the many Add-ons available – mainly Internet Safety (privacy and security) tools. If these “Add ons” were not available, I would not use Firefox. It’s that simple. (To see my choice of Firefox security add-ons, click here.)

What they may not know is, like many people, I got really turned off by Firefox’s new policy of a rapid release cycle and constant updates and ‘upgrades’ to new versions. And, I did not like the “minimalist look” of version 4, which is a direct rip-off of Google’s Chrome browser (if I wanted Chrome, I would have installed Chrome. Duh.)

Every time I turned around, Firefox wanted to update.. and, in fact, since I wrote Firefox 3, or 4 (or 5)? + Turn Off the “Upgrade” Nag back in May, they are now up to version 6. Let you in on a secret: I am still using version 3.

Yesterday, though, I read a detailed review by FOTIS-winning Seth Rosenblatt of version 6, which most Firefox users (if they agreed to the upgrades) already have. This has me rethinking, particularly what he said about Firefox 6 on Android, and I will be putting it to the test this week. In the meantime, you can read his review and analysis of the latest release here, (Find out why it earns 5 stars..) and if you already have it, learn some new features.

• 5 awesome Mozilla Firefox secrets (photos)

Firefox is packed with useful, built-in features you might have missed. Customize Firefox with these five helpful tips. View images

Further Brain Food:

• Salesforce abuzz over social networking software

“Metallica playing a trade show? It’s the kind of deliciously strange bit of news a person might share on Facebook – but Salesforce.com would rather see it posted on Chatter.” Read more..
(Never heard of Chatter? Me neither. Read the article.)

• The complete list of Windows Logo keyboard shortcuts

“The Windows Logo key can be a powerful tool if you know the right shortcuts.” Read more..

• 10 wacky IT office pranks

“An office without practical jokes would be a mighty dull place to work. Luckily, legions of IT pranksters have kept things lively over the years.” Read more..

• Tips and tricks to improve your iPhone experience

“A few simple tricks can make a big difference in how well your iPhone serves your needs. Calvin Sun shares some basic tips he’s discovered.” Read more..

• Can you tell a real Facebook e-mail from a phishing attempt?

“Notification e-mails from social networking sites like Facebook can be dangerous; if you’re fooled by a phisher, you can click your way into big trouble.” Read more..

• Recently, Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple. I wrote about that (see my Steve Jobs Steps Down, if you missed it) the day after. Since then, many more articles have been published, and the speculation continues. Probably the best of these I saw is Without Jobs as CEO, five reasons Apple won’t be the same

“Lots of people are talking about why Apple will continue its momentum even without Steve Jobs as CEO. Here’s the counterpoint.” Read more..“

Related: Only one minor, teensy-weensy, little problem.. 

I never joined Facebook..!

Yeah. It’s Monday again… yippee.

Today’s quotable quote: “Make somebody happy today. Mind your own business.” ~ Ann Landers

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Firefox 3, or 4 (or 5)? + Turn Off the "Upgrade" Nag

A reader wrote in and asked a good question. The answer(s) will be good “general knowledge” even for those of you who are not currently running Mozilla’s Firefox web browser.

Q: “If I may impose on you for information, have you upgraded Firefox to version 4.0.1? I keep saying no when the browser asks me, but my Mom let it upgrade.

Several things won’t work with V 4… Such as the ZoneAlarm browser toolbar and her HP All-In-One printer plugin.

She wants me to roll her FF version back to V 3.6.17 so those items will work, but I’m concerned about potential security issues.

Thank you“

A: Dear Reader,
Yours is a very good question, and poses an interesting choice. And, it shows how two “rules of thumb” can sometimes contradict.

* For security, you always want to be running the latest version (and promptly apply any “updates”) of any software.

* Don’t buy version 1 of anything (aka “wait for the service pack”) unless you enjoy being a product guinea pig (aka “bug finder”).

In my mind, Firefox 4 (and the new beta of 5) is enough of a change as to qualify as a ‘new product’, (and also has compatibility issues with some of my add-ons) and so I will not install it until version 4.1 (or 4.2) is released (give the product some time to mature).

Yes, this (staying with FF 3) may (probably does) pose some security “risk”, and is certainly not a long-term answer — bullet point 1 should not be ignored and bullet point 2 will become ‘false’ as newer version of FF 4 are released (and the Add-ons authors update theirs to better work with FF4). In the meantime, while I await v4.1, I have turned off the “upgrade now?” prompt.

To avoid being nagged:
1) Click on the Tools menu, then click Options.

2) Click on the Advanced tab (gray gear icon).

3) Click on the Update tab in the Advanced window.

4) Un-ckeck the “Firefox” checkbox, and then click OK.

That’s it. Now the automated “there’s a new version” prompting will stop (Firefox’s updater will now be in “manual mode”… meaning it is up to you to check the availability of new versions. You can do this anytime by clicking the Help menu, then “Check for updates”).

* 5) [at some future date] When I do install a newer version, I will make sure the automatic update checking is re-enabled (by reversing these steps), as the first bullet point stated, I normally want automatic updating.

Today’s free download: If you find that you too want to revert to the last version of Firefox 3 (or.. contrarily, get the beta of 5) the download site FileHippo is my choice. FileHippo’s right-hand column contains a string of downloads, starting with the most recent, and (usually) going back all the way to the original release. Click here and scroll down that list to “version 3.6.17”. FileHippo is where I go when I need an older version.

Today’s quotable quote: “If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.”  ~ Author Unknown

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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How To Set Internet Explorer As Your Main Browser

Quick Tutorial: How To Set IE As The Default

If you have been using an “alternative” web browser (such as Firefox or Chrome), but now that IE 9 is out, you want to switch back.. and you want Internet Explorer to be the one that opens automatically when you click on hyperlinks, etc., you need to set it as what is called the “default” browser. Here are the steps to do so in Vista and Windows 7.

To make Internet Explorer your default web browser:

1) Click the Start button, then click Control Panel, then click Network and Internet, and then click Internet Options.

2) Click the Programs tab, and then click the Make default button.

3) OK, and then close Internet Explorer.

Okay. That’s it. You’re done.

You can still use your other (installed) web browsers – simply open them – but Internet Explorer will be the one that your machine goes to first. And, you can always change your mind and make some other browser your “default” at some future date.

Friday Fun:

Today’s quote: Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.  ~ Anthony J. D’Angelo

Today’s free download: MailWasher allows you to preview multiple accounts and all aspects of your e-mails before you download them. It also allows you to delete and bounce e-mails back to the originator. The sender will receive an e-mail saying the address was unknown. Another feature helps identify and mark e-mail as normal, virus, possibly virus, possibly spam, probably spam, chain letter, and blacklisted, so you can deal with the e-mail as you wish. Other features are comprehensive customizable filters, use of MAPS RBL to identify spammers, multiple accounts, visual and auditory notification of new e-mail, minimization to system tray, and much more. It works with Outlook, Outlook Express, Incredimail, Thunderbird, Windows Mail, GMail, Hotmail and every other email program..

Limitations: Will only monitor one email account. A Pro Version is available without restrictions.

Today’s reading reco: Google’s Blogger outage makes the case against a cloud-only strategy

“The same week that Google made its strongest pitch ever for putting your entire business online, one of its flagship services has failed spectacularly. There’s a lesson here.”

(I find that hilarious..)

Just because:

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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What Is A "Browser"?

A long time reader of this series sent me a ‘heads up’ on this video.. which I will now share with you, Dear Reader. Someone from Google made it.

“What is a browser? was the question we asked over 50 passersby of different ages and backgrounds in the Times Square in New York. Watch the many responses people came up with.”

Did you catch the little blurb at the end?

Today’s free link: For those of you unsure yourselves, the Official Google Blog has a one-minute video explanation, here.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Worldwide Telescope Now In Your Browser

A while ago now, I shared with my readers my visit to Microsoft Research headquarters here in the Silicon Valley, where I witnessed the “unveiling” of a new application called “the worldwide telescope”.
(please see, The WorldWide Telescope: An amazing app)

IMHO, this is simply the best exploration and education tool for astronomy (though you can explore our Earth quite impressively too) available.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Worldwide Telescope Now In Your Browser“, posted with vodpod

So, I was rather pleased to read on C/Net’s News that this terrific program has been ‘ported’ for use via a Silverlight-enabled web browser (Internet Explorer). Download the “client” (a plug-in) and you can now browse the heavens anywhere, anytime.

Instead of Copy > Paste-ing, I’ll just refer you to the C/Net article, for details.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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