You can run any Web browser on Windows XP, but chances are you'll end up using the pre-installed Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6) for your surfing. IE 6 is an excellent browser, even if it has a few quirks. And, of course, it dovetails beautifully with the rest of Windows XP. IE 6 is also available as a download to run on other versions of Windows, but when run on XP it inherits a completely new look.
If you're familiar with earlier versions of IE, you'll have no problems adjusting to IE 6. The main changes, apart from the new XP-ified look, are enhanced privacy and security settings, a new Media Bar, and better support for browser standards.
A familiar environment
For most users, IE 6 will provide a familiar browsing environment. Along the top, underneath the menus, are the Standard, Links and Address toolbars. Beneath these is the main browser window, where the current Web page is displayed.
Type a Web address, such as www.pcuser.com.au, in the Address bar and press Enter to go to a site. The browser comes with a home page pre-set. An easy way to change this home page to your favourite location, is to visit that site then click-and-drag the little IE icon within the Address box onto the Home icon on the Standard toolbar.
The toolbars are locked into place. To tailor a toolbar to your needs:
-
Right-click it and deselect the Lock The Toolbars option.
-
Select Customize to change the toolbar's appearance and contents.
If you click the Search, Favorites, Media or History buttons on the Standard toolbar, an Explorer pane will open on the left of the browser window, allowing you to search for a site, check through sites you've already visited and perform other functions while still viewing the current Web page.
To make the currently viewed page your home page, drag the icon in the address box to the Home icon.
The Media Bar
The most noticeable addition to IE 6 is the Media Bar. Click the Media icon on the toolbar and the Media Bar panel opens on the left of the browser window. From it you can listen to music clips and radio stations and view video clips. The content of the panel is dynamic and drawn from Microsoft's own WindowsMedia.com, making it somewhat limited.
Whenever you connect to media on the Web, such as an Internet radio station, IE 6 offers to play the content within IE 6 itself, instead of loading up an external media player, such as Windows Media Player. If you say yes, the content will appear in the Media Bar itself.
It's quick and convenient, but not always the best place to view it, especially for video which gets scrunched down in size in the Media Bar. At the bottom of the Media Bar panel is a mini media player. Click the double-headed arrow icon in the media player to undock it and view content in its own window, which is much more expansive than viewing within the Media Bar.
Undock the mini media player from the Media Bar when you want to focus directly on what's playing.
What's really nice about playing content in the Media Bar is that once it's started playing, you can close the Media Bar and continue to surf while the content continues playing in the background. To stop the content, reopen the Media Bar and click the Stop button.
The Image Toolbar
IE 6 has some nice touches when it comes to handling images. Chief among these is the Image Toolbar.
This little toolbar appears when you hover your mouse over a graphic on a Web site. From the toolbar, you can print, e-mail or save the image to your My Pictures folder with a single click.
For large images, IE 6 automatically shrinks them to fit into your browser window. If you want to see the full-size image, move your mouse pointer over the image and a resizing control will appear; click it to enlarge the photo to full size.
Print Preview has been enhanced, too. In the Print Preview screen there's now a drop-down box which lets you select whether to print the page as it appears on the screen, frame by frame, or by single selected frame.
Taming the cookie monster
They may not be as snazzy as the new Media Bar, but the really bright spots in IE 6 are the vastly improved privacy controls. Chief among these is improved handling of cookies.
Cookies are little files Web sites drop on your computer so they can recognise you on return visits. Many cookies are quite useful – for example, those that let sites identify you and log you in automatically to private member areas. Others are not so benign, gathering information without your knowledge and tracking your Web usage.
Use the Per Site Privacy options to block all cookies from a particular site, or to allow all cookies.
The best cookie controls let you choose which cookies to allow, either site by site or cookie by cookie, and that's just what IE 6 lets you do.
To adjust your cookie settings:
-
Select Internet Options from the Tools Menu.
-
In the Internet Options dialog, click Privacy tab -> Advanced button.
-
In the Advanced Privacy Settings dialog click the Override Automatic Cookie Handling to adjust the settings. You can Accept, Block or be Prompted about both first-party and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are those used by the site you're actually visiting. Often these are benign and you'll want to allow them. Third-party cookies are those planted by sites external to the one you're visiting. For example, sites such as www.ninemsn.com use third-party cookies for advertising purposes. The Always Allow Session Cookies option lets you permit the creation of session cookies. These are cookies that are used purely during your current IE browsing session; as soon as you close the browser, all session cookies are deleted.
-
If you want more specific control, return to the Privacy tab and, under the Web Sites section, click the Edit button. This opens the Per Site Privacy Actions dialog, where you can specify site addresses and allow or block cookies on a site-by-site basis.
Privacy reports
Internet Explorer takes your privacy protection one step further. While you're browsing, you'll sometimes notice a small icon (an eye with a red minus symbol superimposed) in the status bar. This icon's appearance indicates a privacy report is available for the page: That means IE has blocked some cookies which the page tried to set. You can double-click the icon to see a privacy report and, from the Privacy Report dialog, you can click the Settings button to immediately adjust your cookie settings.
Microsoft has adopted a privacy standard called Platform for Privacy Preferences Project – P3P for short. Under P3P, every site can establish a privacy policy which can be read automatically by the browser. You can check a site's privacy policy by opening the View Menu and choosing Privacy Report. As this is an emerging standard, many sites don't yet have a conforming privacy policy, but this doesn't mean they don't have any privacy policy at all. If you'd like to see an actual privacy policy, visit www.microsoft.com or www.ibm.com, select Privacy Report from the View Menu, select a cookie from the list, and click Summary.
Outlook Express 6
IE 6 also includes Outlook Express 6. There's not too much new in this update, although Outlook Express gets the same makeover as IE 6, with friendly looking icons.
The one improvement is an enhanced way of dealing securely with e-mail attachments. Choose Tools Menu -> Options and click the Security tab. From there you'll be able to adjust virus protection and set up a digital ID to encrypt and secure e-mail you send and receive.
Outlook Express 6 can block attachments, although the rigidity makes this a doubtful option.
One word of warning: The Do Not Allow Attachments To Be Saved Or Opened That Could Potentially Be A Virus option is somewhat draconian. It can block attachments which come from trusted sources and which you're quite happy to receive. It's a good setting to enable if you don't usually receive any attachments apart from the usual junk and humour that gets passed around the Net every day. If you prefer to stay in charge of attachments yourself, a better option is to leave this setting unchecked and use your own anti-virus software to check all incoming attachments.
© 2002 Rose Vines
Support geekgirl'sDo you find the tutorials on this site useful? If so, please show your support by kicking in a few bucks to sponsor an orphanage for Afghan refugees. For a small amount, it is possible to make a difference in an area of the world which is hurting badly. |
|
|
| Want to know more? Read this post on my blog. |
| top | home | windows xp menu |