Internet & Internet Explorer Issues

Internet Explorer is the leading Internet browser that is used by most of the Internet service providers, however there are a large number of issues surrounding using Internet Explorer, some of which are explored below.

1) Content Advisor – Content advisor is Internet Explorers built in safety feature to stop unauthorised users accessing unsuitable sites and relies on a site rating system that can be updated over the Internet. On occasions I have come across users with problems, especially if the password is forgotten; however there are known registry fixes, to turn off content advisor settings in an emergency. Other similar Internet protection products are available from Norton & McAfee.

2) Solving problems by upgrading – Internet Explorer is a bundled product with Windows and can be freely upgraded from Microsoft’s Web-site. A free upgrade is an ideal way of resolving issues, as upgrades often include fixes to known issues, as well as offering the latest security enhancements. Alternatively Internet Explorer 6 has a repair feature that can be accessed by selecting Add/ Remove Programs & Internet Explorer in Control Panel.

3) Cookies – Cookies are temporary files that are dropped by web-sites to enable you to be recognised by the site the moment you return. Cookies can be safely deleted by going to the Tools menu, selecting Internet Options and clicking on the Delete Files button.

4) Firewall – A firewall is a program that stops unauthorised access via the Internet to your exposed computer entry points, such as COM ports. If you have sensitive data that could be vulnerable to outside hackers, a firewall is a must. Windows XP now has a built in firewall which offers ideal basic firewall protection. Reports in the press have also indicated a potential risk to email being read in transit and that they have reason to believe that many personal email messages are now actually being read. A firewall program will also enables messages to be encrypted in transit, so that the messages become scrambled to anyone trying to read them before their destination. Outlook and Microsoft Exchange also offer email message encryption.

5) Credit card – Credit card details should never be sent by email for the above reasons and should only be given out over the Internet to known companies offering to process details over a ‘secure transaction’, which then eliminates the risk of a third party being able to access the information. At a recent computer show presentation, statistics showed that only about 1% of credit card fraud took place over the Internet.

6) Anti-Virus – There are currently thousands of viruses around today and only recently one appeared in my email offering a picture of an African village !? Anti-Virus protection is now very cheap and usually also comes with a years free updates from the Internet. It is best to choose a market leader and to keep the protection up to date, as a myriad of new viruses are appearing daily! I have seen viruses cause anything from insignificant messages come up on the screen to disabling a computer’s hard disk. Viruses are small programs that attach themselves to files, which then run whenever the infected program is opened. It is possible to come across them from web sites of unknown origin and from e-mails. Files passed on by disks or CD’s from another computer should always be treated with caution. Anti-Virus software is ‘memory resident’ which means it automatically checks any file being opened, providing of course the anti-virus software is turned on !

7) Connection Information – Connection information to your service provider is held in the dial up networking folder in my computer. Occasionally a service provider may change their telephone number, or the dialling code may change, in which case the telephone number will need to be changed manually by updating the service provider’s number here. If a network or router based connection is in place then the Internet Explorer connection setting will need to be set to LAN.

8) Downloading an unknown file type – Windows keeps a database of all the different programs installed on a computer and this enables it to instantly recognise a downloaded file when the corresponding program is installed on your computer. However sometimes Windows displays a ‘open with’ dialogue box when it is unsure of the file type downloaded. Usually this requires the file to be imported from a program already installed on the computer, or a file viewer program to be downloaded first before the file can be opened. Occasionally a new program may need to be purchased before the file can be opened. It is important that when the ‘open with’ dialogue box is displayed that the downloaded file is NOT associated with the wrong program. Doing this will only cause the wrong program to open up the file in gobbledegook and this process will repeat whenever the same file type is downloaded again. However most versions of Windows do have a folder options and file types settings area, where file type settings can be changed back.

Please email support@ITCroydon.co.uk for questions or support on Internet Explorer issues.