Tweaking Internet Explorer

Hopefully this will be a pretty simple guide to follow to help your PC run a little faster and save you from getting some nice little roaches that like to run around on the Net while you are using Internet Explorer J

First thing we need to do is throw up some shields (like Star Trek) to help prevent (along with your anti-virus software of choice) getting some vicious little data mining programs that like to slide though when surfing. So go to this site and download this little free software called “Spyware blaster” http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/ and let it help shield your PC.

Next piece of software is called Ad Aware. Now think of Ad Aware and a clean up program for what Spyware blaster might miss. So go to this site and download this free program http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/ and let it run it’s routine after installing it.

Now the 2 important things to remember about both of the above programs is to update them and run them both at least once a week to help keep your system all nice clean.

Next thing I do is drag a copy of the “Internet Options” icon from the control panel onto your desktop. This way you will always have quick access to change your privacy settings. Remember (very important), when your blind surfing on the Net and looking for something, if you turn your cookies setting to “Block all Cookies” you will save yourself a lot of grief in the long run. You can then return your privacy settings to “Medium High” (the lowest you should ever need to go) to access your checking account, Hotmail, and other sites that require you to log in (just remember to turn I.E. off and back on after each change) to access those other features on those pages. I though would never go any lower than “Medium High” for my everyday surfing at “known” sites.

Now comes to the settings in I.E. (Internet Options again) that I set to help prevent other issues from happening while allowing others to work as designed that may be turned off if left in its “stock mode” by Microsoft.

First thing I do is

set my number of days of history to store to zero

This is also the location (in home page) that you copy and paste the address of your favorite web page to always show when you start up Internet Explorer such as.

This is also the same screen that I use to clear the past history, delete any cookies and delete any stored files. It is VERY important that one also clears all offline content that may also be stored on your local PC by checking this box at the same time

This so that you get “everything” that is stored removed from your PC. Many times just clearing these options (History, Cookies, and Files) will correct many issues with your PC when going to different sites and getting errors. Just remember to run through this cleaning process with I.E. shut down first for it to the most effective J

The next round of settings controls how I.E. reacts when going to different sites and (more important) blocking certain routines from running and installing items (though not all) onto your PC.

So now inside the “security tab” this is how I have my browser set to allow routines to run that I deem safe yet still block items I feel could cause harm. Instead of explaining all of them (would take forever) I will just show you the screen shots and leave it up to you to change yours or not J

And that should just about take care of that section. Remember that these are my settings and you may need to either revert back to “Medium” or change a few of them to suit your needs J

Next we have the “Advanced” Tab that we need to make a few changes in also

And that should just about take care of all the generalized settings for I.E. Just remember to run Windows Update manually at least once a month to secure all the needed file and security updates your PC may need. Once again remember that these are “my settings” and you may need to either revert back to your past ones using the “Restore Defaults button.

Now after making some of these changes Spyware blaster my not like some of them and show you this screen.

But not to worry much, I.E. is only going to run those controls that are “signed” to run (one less window to have to answer a question in) and prompt (ask me) me to run Active X controls that are not marked as safe. Not everybody runs controls that are “marked as safe” like I do when programming, but IF I know the source (programmer) of the page then I may elect to run them. Here again, it is your PC and you have the choice how to handle all of these items.

Hope this helps!

Dave