Articles in Category: Internet

The Internet – the global network of networks and one of the most significant and powerful things to have come along ever.

How Do I Change My Website to Be an https Secure Site?

Setting up an https-secure website is both simple and complex. The HTML doesn’t change, but you’ll need different hosting for the secure layer, as well as a certificate, to provide the security of https.

Supercookies and Evercookies and No Cookies at All: Resistance Is Futile

So-called “supercookies” and “evercookies” track the websites you visit even if you regularly disable or flush normal cookies.

Is Copyright Still an Issue If Something’s Not Available Anywhere?

Copyright is a complex topic, but the practical implications are simple. I’ll look at availability, copyright, and more.

How Do I Clear the Browser Cache in Mozilla Firefox?

It’s fairly easy to clear Mozilla Firefox’s cache. Here’s how… and why you might want to.

How Do I Clear The Browser Cache in Microsoft Edge?

Clearing the Edge cache is a simple process. While you’re clearing the browser cache you can also clear a few other items.

How Do I Clear The Browser Cache in Google Chrome?

It’s fairly easy to clear Google Chrome’s cache. While you’re clearing the browser cache you can also clear a few other items.

How Do I Clear The Browser Cache in Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE)?

Clearing the Internet Explorer cache is a simple process. While you’re clearing the browser cache you can also clear a few other items.

How Do I Get My Web Browser’s Menu and Toolbar Back?

The menu bar and toolbars in web browsers are very easy to hide, often by accident. I’ll show you a couple of ways to get them back.

How Do I Remove Myself from the Search Engines?

The internet has a very long memory. Removal from search engines is practically and perhaps literally impossible.

Back Up Smartphone Photos Using OneDrive

Smartphones are a popular way to take snapshots and videos. Tools like OneDrive are great for making sure those are backed up automatically.

What’s the Difference Between the Web and the Internet?

“Internet” and “web” are often used interchangeably, but technically they’re very different things.

How Do I Uninstall and Reinstall Internet Explorer in Windows 10?

Because Internet Explorer is really a component of Windows itself, uninstalling and reinstalling, while possible, is somewhat different than other applications and has different implications.

What Are Browser Cookies and How Are They Used?

Browser cookies are a simple and powerful way websites can leave information on your computer to use when you return.

How Do Chrome and Chrome Relate?

Another case of bad tech terminology leads to more than one kind of chrome, some of which have no relation to the others.

Is Online Document Conversion Safe?

Online document conversion services can be safe, or they can represent a real privacy risk. I’ll look at the options.

What’s Your Take on Firefox Quantum?

Firefox Quantum is the latest revision of the Firefox web browser. It claims to be faster and less memory-hungry. I tried it.

What Does It Mean to Register a Domain?

A concept we often take for granted is that of internet domains. I’ll look at what they are and how to purchase one and set it up.

Pinboard – Never Lose Bookmarks Again

Pinboard allows you to save bookmarks once and use them across multiple machines, operating systems, browsers, and devices.

Is It Time to Start Using an Adblocker?

Advertising on the internet is broken. It might be time to think about using adblockers and supporting your favorite websites in other ways.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is the latest buzzword for something we’ve been doing for a long time: using applications that live on the web instead of our PCs.

Why CAPTCHA?

You’ve probably seen CAPTCHAs and not even realized it. CAPTCHAs are used to make sure systems aren’t gamed or spammed by machines.

Why Can’t We Use https for Everything?

HTTPS provides validation and encryption, two important pieces of security. Using it for everything is possible but costly, and issues would remain.

Where Do You Get Your Answers?

There are many ways to find information on the internet, and here are a few tricks of mine that can work for you.

Why Do Websites Use Pop-ups?

Pop-ups driving you crazy? Let’s look at why they exist and how they “pay for” some of the best free information on the internet.

Does cleaning cookies force me to re-verify my bank log-in?

It’s a pretty quick process to identify all the internet domains that need to be listed in CCleaner as exceptions so that you can easily log in to your favorite sites.

How Do I Download a File from a Webpage?

We’re often given the opportunity to download a file from the internet, be it pictures, music, ebooks, programs, and more. The assumption is that you know how. If you don’t, I’ll show you.

Why is a website trying to open a file on my machine?

If clicking on a link causes a request to open a file on your machine, chances are the web page author made a simple, and common, mistake.

Why Is There a Slash Through the https in My Browser’s Address Bar?

A slash through the padlock, the https, or the https appearing in red all mean one thing: something’s wrong. Exactly what’s wrong can vary.

How do I view cookies in IE 11?

View cookies in IE using the normal easy-to-remember way, or the quick way.

A New Unit of Measurement?

In which we use the world’s best-selling book to make gigantic numbers a little more tangible.

Why I’m (slowly) Switching to OneDrive

I’m slowly switching to OneDrive because I realized there was a fundamental difference between Google Docs and Microsoft Office Online.

How Does Flushing a DNS Cache Help Resolve Some Issues, and While You’re at It, What’s DNS?

DNS transforms domain names into IP addresses. A DNS cache remembers DNS information… but sometimes it needs to forget.

What’s the Difference Between “Save” and “Run” When Downloading?

You can Run a download or you can Save it, or you can even Save and Run it. I’ll review what Run and Save each really mean.

Searching precisely

Start broad and refine is typically the best search strategy, unless you have something very specific to look for. I’ll show you how being more specific from the start can lead to finding the exact results you want.

Why Is Chrome Automatically Filling in Forms?

Web browsers like Google Chrome try to be helpful by recognizing commonly used forms and fields and remembering previously entered information for you. It’s no conspiracy, but it can seem spooky.

Internet Explorer crashes, how do I fix it?

IExplore.exe, aka Internet Explorer or ‘IE’, can crash, but it’s not always its fault. We’ll look at some of the things that can cause IExplore.exe to crash, and steps you can take.

How do I get the old msn.com homepage back?

It appears that the look and feel of msn.com is changing yet again. To many that have msn.com as their home page, this change may or may not be welcome.

What makes a site secure?

A secure website means the site owner has jumped through the technical hoops necessary to qualify for https. Safety is another thing all together.

Why Do Some Web Pages Never Finish Loading?

The little wheel on web pages can certainly get stuck spinning. Websites, these days, are so complex that sorting out the cause will take some digging.

Just What Is Port 80?

To understand how ports work, we need to step back just a little and first understand what happens when computers attempt to communicate with each other on the internet.

Can We No Longer View Websites without Getting Pop-ups?

Free information on the web isn’t free; there are costs to provide it. Pop-ups: advertising, offers, and social media, are all part of the “cost” of free.

Do I Need More than One Browser? Why?

As you’ll see, website-browser compatibility is a bit of a mess. The solution is just what you suggest: have more than one browser ready to go on your computer.

Who’s responsible for monitoring misleading advertising?

If an ad claims that they will fix your computer for free, be skeptical. You know they are trying to make money, and besides you may be able to handle the problem yourself, for free.

Why Do I Need to Change Passwords After HeartBleed?

Heartbleed: what it is, what it isn’t, why it’s important, and of course what you need to do.

How Do I Control What Sites My Child Can Visit?

Besides not being a parent myself, there’s a reason why I don’t talk very often about parental control software and internet filters: I don’t have much faith in them. And honestly, I don’t believe that they really work. I’ll review a few of those reasons. I’ll also recommend one approach that, while it doesn’t address … Read more

Why Would a Website’s Automatic Sign-in Suddenly Stop Working?

A website’s automatic sign-in may suddenly stop working when cookies are deleted from your machine.

How Do I Make a Change to Chrome that Sticks?

The Google Chrome browser has a sign in feature that remembers your settings and can sync across numerous computers. It may be getting things confused.

Why Am I Getting Empty Form Submissions from My Website?

Spam, spammers, and hackers. They make website management quite difficult, and you may be experiencing this with your web form.

Is requiring a Facebook or Google Account fair?

Free is never really free. Just like everywhere else, the information delivered online has been created using basic business principles.