Internet Tips December 2006

Auto summarize

There is an excellent feature in MS Word that most people do not know about. You might not find that you have a use for it very often, but someday it might come in handy.

What this little trick can do is automatically summarize a complete Word document. In other words, it will look for the key points (or what it thinks are the key points) in your document, and create a brief summary of them for you.

Try it out. Find the longest MS Word text file you have on your computer. If you don't have any that are very long, just go online and find some text to copy and paste into Word.

With the document displayed, click on Tools - Autosummarize. Then, choose the type of summary you want (there are four options, which are all explained in that window). Click OK and see what happens.

Like I said, this is probably not something you will use every day. But, if you have a document that is quite long and you just want to display the highlights, the Autosummarize tool can be quite valuable.

Firefox 2 and IE 7 security settings

There are two new browser kids on the Web block: Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla's Firefox 2. Whether you use one or both browsers, it's time well-spent checking security settings.

Internet Explorer 7

If you have used Internet Explorer in the past, it works pretty much the same. But Internet Explorer 7 reorganizes its options menu. Visited sites, cookies, and temporary files are now all under the heading "Browsing history." Here's how to access it:

1. Open Internet Explorer 7 and click Tools>>Internet Options.
2. Select the General tab.
3. Click the Delete button. You'll see options to delete different types of files. The familiar items here include Temporary Internet Files and Cookies. The option to erase visited addresses has been moved to the same list.

You can also delete form data and passwords. These are transplants from the old AutoComplete menu. These are the account numbers and user names along with passwords that you enter while using the Web.

Near the bottom of the window, you'll see a "Delete all" button. It allows you to clear everything on the list in one shot. This is handy if you're using a public computer. Otherwise, you may want to save convenient cookies and form information.

The dangers of ActiveX are given more attention in Internet Explorer 7. The browser gives clear indications of potentially unsafe security settings. To see for yourself, click Tools>>Internet Options. Select the Security tab. Then click Custom level.

Potentially unsafe settings are marked "(not secure)." And if these settings are selected, they'll be highlighted in red.

Internet Explorer 7 also offers better indication of secure (encrypted) sites. A highlighted padlock icon now appears at the top of the window. You can click the icon to check the name on the site's certificate. The name should match the site you're viewing.

Finally, Internet Explorer 7 includes a phishing filter. It can notify you of reported spoofed sites used in phishing scams. To check a site, click the shield icon at the bottom of the window. You also can opt to have every site checked automatically.

Internet Explorer 7 is available for download from Microsoft's site. It is also being offered as an update through Windows Update. IE7 works only on Windows XP.

Firefox 2

Firefox 2 makes privacy and security options easier to find. Each has been promoted to separate tabs in the Options menu. Like Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2 provides a way to erase your tracks with one button. However, the task is not as straightforward in Firefox 2.

1. Open Firefox 2. Click Tools>>Options.
2. Select the Privacy tab. Under Private Data, click Settings. You can select which items will be erased by Firefox's Clear Private Data.
3. After you've made your selections, you can erase those items at any time. To do it, click Tools>>Clear Private Data.

Firefox 2 passwords are now listed on the Security tab of the Options menu. Also on the Security tab are options for the new phishing filter. By default, the sites you visit are compared to a list of reported phishing sites.

Mozilla provides a Web page that demonstrates the phishing filter's warning. Including a pop-up and a blacked-out window, the warning is hard to miss.

Firefox 2 uses the same indicators of secure sites as the previous version. A padlock icon is displayed in the address bar, which becomes highlighted. A slight improvement makes checking a site's certificate easier. Just click on the padlock icon.

You can get Firefox 2 here: http://tinyurl.com/yzer9b

It works on Windows 98 and newer versions.

How to clear out saved passwords in your browser

In Firefox, click Tools>>Options. Click Privacy and open the Passwords tab. Deselect Remember Passwords. Also, click View Saved Passwords and click Remove All on the Passwords Saved tab. Click Close. Click OK. You can also set a master password; your passwords won't be accessible until you enter the master password during your session.

In IE, click Tools>>Internet Options. Open the Content tab and click AutoComplete. Deselect "User names and passwords on forms." Then click Clear Passwords. Click OK. Click OK.

Protect your PC from holiday visitors

With Thanksgiving (and Christmas) just around the corner, families are coming together. If you're playing host, you'll probably be sharing your computer. Prepare the PC to keep it safe.

One easy way is to strengthen Internet Explorer's security settings. In Internet Explorer, click Tools>>Internet Options. Select the Security tab. Under "Select a zone," click Internet.

Under "Reset custom settings," select High. Then click the Reset button. You'll be prompted to confirm the choice. Click Yes. Then click OK>>OK.

The High security setting disables ActiveX, among other things. Another way to avoid ActiveX is by using the Firefox browser. You can get Firefox here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Browser settings can protect against infectious Web sites. However, visitors could still download and install programs. Even savvy Web surfers may be fooled by a Trojan horse.

The handy Guest account

To avoid the risk of harmful programs, have visitors use the Guest account. The Guest account is built into Windows, but it's initially turned off. To turn on the Guest account, click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click User Accounts.

You'll see a list of accounts, including the Guest account. Click the Guest account icon. Then click "Turn on the guest account."

The Guest account allows normal access to programs and Web browsing. However, the account does not allow new programs to be installed. It also cannot access the My Documents folder. So your private documents stay private.

Be sure to lock up any other accounts with passwords. Otherwise, visitors may simply log into your account. To add a password, first log into your account. Click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click User Accounts.

Click your account. Then click "Create a password." Enter your password twice. You can also enter a hint, in case you forget your password. The hint is viewable by anyone, so avoid anything obvious. Finally, click Create Password.

Privacy protection when you step away

If the house is crowded, a visitor might jump on the computer while you're in the restroom. To guard against that, lock the desktop. Hold down the Windows logo key and press the L key.

Windows will hide your on-screen activity and prevent use of the computer. Enter your password when you return. The computer will resume just as you left it, open programs and all.

You can also lock the desktop with your screen saver. Right-click an empty area of the desktop and select Properties. Select the Screen Saver tab. Under "Screen saver," mark the checkbox labeled "On resume, password protect." Then click OK.

When your screen saver activates, it will remain until you enter your password.

Until the screen saver takes over, the computer will be available to anyone. However, the screen saver is something you don't have to remember. It comes in handy if you forget to lock the desktop manually.

USB and Flash drives need defragmentation

With the increasing popularity of flash or USB drives there are reports of early drive failures. Some of this is being brought about simply due to quality control issues as the drives become less and less expensive; however, most of this early failure can be prevented by defragmentation. Flash drives and USB drives are no different than any other storage drive on your PC in that as documents are created, saved, and erased, the content on those drives become fragmented. This causes not only severe performance loss but eventually failure due to wear caused by unnecessary writes to the media. So don't forget your USB and Flash drives when doing your hard drive maintenance. Your USB and Flash drives need regular defragging.

Which files should you back up?

Every computer owner should back up important files. The minutes spent backing up can save you the heartache of losing irreplaceable documents.

Backups are as simple as copying and pasting files to an external hard drive. For small backups, you could even use thumb drives.

The tougher question is this: Which files do you really need to back up? That largely depends on you. But there are categories of files that most people should include.

The priorities should be files that are both important and irreplaceable. Those include photos and financial records. End your list with items that are convenient but not vital.

Files to save

Following is a list of file types that should be backed up.

Photos, music and home video
Financial statements
Personal writing and art
E-mail, contact list and calendar
Web browser bookmarks (or Favorites)

You can cover a lot of ground by backing up My Documents. That folder contains the My Pictures and My Videos folders. Most people also keep their written documents in My Documents.

Saving e-mail

E-mail, contact and calendar information can be harder to find. The following are backup steps for some e-mail programs.

In Outlook, click File>>Import and Export. Select Export to File and click Next. Select Personal Folder File and click Next. Select your inbox or other items you want to save and click Next. Click Browse and locate the place where you are storing your backup. Then click Finish.

Outlook Express lacks an export feature for messages. You can find a workaround on the Microsoft site.

To find Thunderbird data, click Start>>Run. Enter "%APPDATA%" (without quotes) into the box and click OK. Back up the Thunderbird folder.

Saving Favorites (bookmarks)

Web browser bookmarks are also typically outside the My Documents folder. But they're easy to back up. Start by opening your browser.

In Internet Explorer, click File>>Import and Export. A window will pop up with a few questions. Choose to Export Favorites and click Next. Highlight the Favorites folder to select all your Favorites and click Next.

Under Export to a File or Address, click Browse. Then find the location of your backup and click Save. Click Next and, finally, Finish.

In Firefox, click Bookmarks>>Manage Bookmarks. Click File>>Export. Find the location of your backup and click Save.