Internet Explorer Tips and Tricks
Surf Fast
Few cyberlife experiences are more annoying than a slow-loading Web
page. That's why we've rounded up a few performance tweaks and browsing
tricks to get the fastest possible performance out of your browser. If
you're working on a 14.4-kbps modem, however, we have one word for you:
upgrade.
Disable Animated GIFs
Animated gifs may make your browsing experience seem more like TV,
but they can also bring your browser to a virtual standstill. So, if
you're sick of constant distractions and slow downloads, stop them from
loading altogether. Head to Tools/Internet Options and click the
Advanced tab. Scroll down to the Multimedia section, deselect the Play
Animations option, and click OK. From now on, you'll see only the first
frame of each animated GIF that loads.
Cut Down on Multimedia
Likewise, do away with bandwidth-eating streaming video and audio.
Select Internet Options from the Tools menu and click the Advanced tab.
Scroll down to the Multimedia segment and uncheck the boxes in front of
Play Animations, Play Sounds, Play Video, and Show Pictures. To restore
these settings, just recheck the boxes. To turn off Java, select
Internet Options and the Security tab, then click the Custom Level
button. Check the Disable box to turn off ActiveX Controls and Java
applets, or check Prompt to have IE warn you when an applet tries to
load.
Use a Blank Home Page
Every time you boot up IE, the browser takes you straight to
whatever home page you set. But it takes time to load any Web page--time
you might not want to waste. So, eliminate a home page altogether and
start up on a blank page. Here's how: Pull down the Tools menu and
choose Internet Options, then click the General tab. In the Home Page
area, click the Use Blank button, et voilą, no more home page.
Increase Your Cache
If you often revisit one site several times per surfing session,
this tip will save you lots of time. When you visit Web pages, your
browser stores HTML code and graphics from those sites in a folder
called a cache. The cache helps you get files fast when you hit
the Back button because they're coming from your hard disk, not over
your Net connection. For best surfing speeds, we recommend you allocate
at least 10MB of your drive to the browser. From the Tools menu, select
Internet Options and choose the General tab. In the Temporary Internet
Files section, click Settings. Under "Amount of disk space to
use," drag the slider to the right; you should choose about 5
percent of your hard disk.
Stop Long Downloads
This tip may be obvious, but it's also highly effective. If you're
waiting for a page to load and it's taking forever, push the Stop
button. Then hit Refresh to start over. Sometimes the path the page
takes to get to your PC contains Net burps that slow it down, and
refreshing will send it back to you via a new, clear route.
Navigate With Just One Word
Don't bother typing entire domain names (for example, www.cnet.com)
into your browser. Instead, simply type the site's name (cnet) in
the Address bar and press Ctrl-Enter to automatically add http://www and
.com on each side of the word--a real time-saver.
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