Finding Your Way on the Web 564 Another way to revisit a page you’ve looked at in your current session is to use the Recent Pages menu. In Internet Explorer 7, you find it in the Favorites Center section of the browser; it uses a yellow five-pointed star as an icon. You can also jump directly to the Favorites Center by typing the key combination of Ctrl + H. At the Favorites Center, click the down arrow in the History section and then select a page from the list. You can look by ✦ Date ✦ Site ✦ Most visited ✦ In order for visits made today See Figure 4-1. Setting or changing your Internet Explorer home page To set a particular web site as your home page in any current version of Windows Internet Explorer, do the following: 1. Click Tools ➪ Internet Options. 2. Click the General tab. See Figure 4-2. 3. In the Home page section, do one of the following: • Type the web address for the page you want to set • Copy and paste the address from an online source. • Click Use Current to assign the Web page you’re currently viewing. Hyper indeed One of the original concepts for what we now call the Internet was something called hypertext, which was a way to think of data in three dimensions. A reference to something you found on a page did not exist in a vacuum; clicking it would link to a definition or to a page with a great deal of detail about the subject. In 1987, Apple introduced a version of this pre- cursor to the Internet with its “HyperCard” application for early versions of the Macintosh computer. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 564 Book VIII Chapter 4 Spinning the Web Finding Your Way on the Web 565 • Click Use Default to reset the home page to the one recommended by your browser or laptop maker or whichever group of programmers has inserted its preference into the coding for the browser. • Click Use Blank to open your browser with a clean, meaningless white page. This allows the browser to load slightly faster, but some users get the added advantage of being able to instantly blank the screen if someone approaches the workstation unexpectedly; then again, you could also quickly jump back to The New York Times if you don’t want someone to see your real interests. Note that in Windows Internet Explorer 7 (and later editions to follow) you can create more than one home page, with each one assigned to its own tab on the browser screen. To do so, 1. Type each address on its own line. When you open IE, each web site you listed as a home page is available on its own tab 2. Click between them. You can close any of the tabs without affecting its assignment as one of your regular home pages. Figure 4-1: The History submenu of IE7 allows you to pick from recently visited sites to jump directly to them. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 565 Finding Your Way on the Web 566 Problems with home pages You turn on your browser, expecting to see on your home page all the latest news and stats for the Boston Red Sox but instead there is something quite unpleasant and unwanted; it could be the New York Yankees home page or it could be something even more unwanted. What has happened? ✦ Your system may have a virus. ✦ Some web site you visited may have changed your home page without your permission. ✦ Someone else might have been using your machine and made a change without checking with you first. The first step to try is to reset the home page to the one you want. 1. Navigate to that page. Or follow the instructions in the previous section, and select Use Current. 2. Go to the Internet Options page. 3. Type the Web address for the site you want. 4. Close Internet Explorer and reload it. Figure 4-2: You can set the home page for Internet Explorer on the General tab of Internet Options. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 566 Book VIII Chapter 4 Spinning the Web Finding Your Way on the Web 567 If it now goes to the home page you have specified, the problem may be fixed. If that doesn’t work — or if the problem recurs later on — your computer’s software may have been changed without your permission. Here’s how to deal with the situation: Install and run a capable antivirus program. (Make sure you keep it up to date; most such programs download the latest alerts and repairs daily, anytime you are connected to the Internet.) According to Microsoft, a number of viruses include, as one of their annoy- ances, a change to your home page. Another possibility is that third-party software (that is, software that does not come from the Microsoft mother ship) might have taken over control of your browser. Programs that may do this, according to Microsoft, follow: ✦ Xupiter toolbar from Xupiter.com ✦ SecondPower Multimedia Speedbar from SecondPower.com ✦ GoHip! Web browser enhancement from GoHip.com An antivirus program should remove malicious code. Run a full scan of your system and follow instructions for cleaning and removing any viruses it finds. If you installed one of the browser “enhancements,” you should be able to remove them with this: 1. Go to the Windows Control Panel. 2. Select the icon in your operating system: • Windows XP and earlier: Add or Remove Programs icon • Windows Vista: Programs and Features icon If you are running an older version of Internet Explorer (version 6 or older) consider updating your system to the latest edition of the browser (version 7 as this book goes to press, with version 8 expected to be released soon). Don’t perform an update before you’ve checked for viruses. Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP and Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista include some security improvements that Microsoft says make them less susceptible to spyware and to malware. They also include a feature to allow quick reset of browser settings (to get past changes made without your knowledge or permission). To use reset Windows Internet Explorer 7, do the following: 1. Click Tools ➪ Internet Options. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 567 Finding Your Way on the Web 568 2. Click the Advanced tab. 3. Click Reset. The Reset Internet Explorer Settings dialog box opens. 4. Click Reset. Let Internet Explorer 7 finish restoring the default settings 5. Click Close. 6. Click OK, OK. You exit the configuration screen. 7. Close Internet Explorer 7. 8. Reload Internet Explorer 7. The changes take effect. If the problem with your Internet Explorer 7 browser is so severe that you can’t start the program, try resetting: 1. Go to the Windows Control Panel. 2. Select Internet Options. 3. Click the Advanced tab. 4. Click Reset. This option’s in the section of the window called Reset Internet Explorer Settings. Searching the web Imagine if the billions of Web pages and hundreds of billions of words and images on those pages were just scattered about . . . like the pages on the real wood desktop in my office. That’s a frightening thought . . . and more to the point . . . it would be a useless pile of stuff. The utility that makes the Web work for us is the search engine, a form of software robot that searches through all of the material on the Internet to construct a giant index of subjects and content. If you want to find out whether there ever was a left-handed catcher in Major League Baseball (a very rare athlete) all you have to do is to go to a search engine and type in something like left-handed catcher. Click . . . and you get a list of hundreds of web sites and individual pages about the subject. I learned that in the course of baseball history there have been only five lefties who caught at least 100 games, led by Jack Clements who was behind the plate for the Philadelphia Phillies for most of his career from 1884 to 1900. Who knew? 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 568 Book VIII Chapter 4 Spinning the Web Finding Your Way on the Web 569 Choosing a search engine Dozens of companies and organizations offer search engines that promise to uncover the hidden, obscure, and distant corners of cyberspace. That’s both the good news and the bad news. Think about it: If a search engine were perfect, you’d need only one. The facts are that different search engines use differing methods and produce varying results. There are three basic ways search engines work: ✦ A crawler system with robotic spiders or other computer-based methods ✦ A library-like system based on squadrons of humans who hunt for data ✦ Hybrid systems that augment the computer’s findings with human editing In my experience, I can find just about anything on the Internet through any of the major search engines; it’s more a matter of learning how to use each of them in the best way. Microsoft is pushing to make its Live Search a major competitor to Google. (That system began as MSN Search, but was renamed as part of the company’s major shift to the Live brand and package of services.) See Figure 4-3. Figure 4-3: Microsoft’s Live Search is based on a computer- driven crawl of the Internet. As with Google and others, you can search for data, images, video, maps, and other specific types of content. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 569 Finding Your Way on the Web 570 For most people, the best-known search engine is Google, which uses spiders that crawl through the Internet constantly in search of new or changed infor- mation or web sites. The company’s work has become so popular that its name has become an informal verb: “I Googled your name before I went out with you on a date. What was it like to be the son of a famous embezzler?” In the end, I suspect that most users will follow the same sort of pattern that I do: I have one favorite search engine (it happens to be Google) that I con- sult first and I usually find what I am looking for there. But if the results I get aren’t good enough, or if I want to see if another utility comes up with some alternate suggestions, I move on to a second (and sometimes a third) search engine. Here are some places to try: ✦ Altavista. Born at Digital Equipment Corporation, the Altavista search engine was adopted by Yahoo for its offering; after DEC was sold to (and consumed by) Compaq and that company’s eventual merger partner Hewlett-Packard the search engine continued as an independent offer- ing. Today it uses technology from Yahoo. www.altavista.com ✦ A9. A search engine offered by the Internet shopping site Amazon, it is a combination of a traditional search engine with product links. www.A9.com ✦ Dogpile. A self-described metasearch engine, Dogpile checks the results from a number of other search engines in responding to your request. www.dogpile.com ✦ Google. The hugely successful and very useful search engine from Google is now the tip of the sword of the offerings of that company; Google is hoping to grow even larger with offerings including “cloud” computing (Web-based applications). www.google.com ✦ Live Search. Microsoft’s search engine is growing and improving as the company pours resources into its Live brand. Like Google, Microsoft hopes to offer a suite of applications and utilities that build on the search engine. www.live.com ✦ Lycos. One of the original search engines, it has made forays into serv- ices including Web portals and provision of other services. http://search. lycos.com ✦ Yahoo! Another “old” company in the search engine field, Yahoo also offers mail, news, and applications. http://search.yahoo.com Using a search engine At its most basic level, using a search engine is as easy as apple pie. As a matter of fact, I just typed the words “apple pie” into Google and in one-tenth of a second my screen was filled with the first 10 of approximately 4,720,000 different web sites or references to that particular dessert. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 570 Book VIII Chapter 4 Spinning the Web Finding Your Way on the Web 571 And just as I should have expected, most of the initial listings were recipes for pies made with apples. But there is no way that I have the time to go through all 4.7 million of the listings — at least not today. One other thing: In general, a search for apple pie gives you all web sites in which both the word apple and pie appear. This includes recipes for apple pie as well as an article about using an Apple computer to create a pie chart. To search for the exact phrase in Google (and most other engines), put it in quotes. For example, “apple pie” only returns pages that have those two words next to each other and in that order. That reduced the number of pages by a few hundred thousand. If I wanted to be more specific (say I’m looking for French apple pie), I could put those words in quotes. I just did, and by gosh, there were only about 18,800 pages to look at. Consult the help pages for whichever search engine you use. You’ll find many ways to be more specific in your searching, including the use of exclu- sionary symbols. (You could search for pie recipes but not those with apple in their name.) There are ways to add operators including “or” and “not” to a search. And some web sites, including Google, allow you to search by filling in a form that permits all sorts of specificity. A few seconds spent using Google’s Advanced Search page may save you minutes or hours in reviewing the results of a query. See Figure 4-4. About search results How does a particular result rise to the number one position in a search results screen? In a truly honest world, that would be because it is the best possible answer to your question. If you have been very specific in your request that may be true. However, more often a particular web site is at the top because its designers have worked hard to include various tags and codes that increase the chances for a high “ranking” in a search. And because of the unregulated and unedited nature of the Web, there is also the chance that a search will turn up a page with phony tags and headlines masking content unrelated to your search; that’s where the human librarians at some search companies are supposed to exercise judgment. And finally, most search engines also sell advertising to pay for their expen- sive operations. Google, for example, sells “sponsored links” that run down the side of the page with your search results. You can ignore them; I know that I do. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 571 Finding Your Way on the Web 572 Beware, though, of some search engines that might not be quite as forthright in their labeling of paid advertising. Exploring with the Instant Search Box and more Windows Internet Explorer includes an Instant Search box alongside the Web address box at the top of the browser screen. 1. Type a keyword or phrase. 2. Press Enter. The engine searches for results and displays them on the current page of the browser. To display the search results on a new tab in the browser, enter the terms, and press Alt + Enter. You can jump from anywhere on a browser page directly to the IE search page by pressing the Ctrl + E key combination. Microsoft, as you might expect, would hope that all users employ the Live Search engine (or its MSN Search predecessor) and Internet Explorer as delivered will have Live Search designated as the default place for searches. You can, though, change which search engine to use as the default utility by clicking the down arrow alongside the search box. Figure 4-4: The Advanced Search page of Google allows you to make very specific requests of the index of web sites. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 572 Book VIII Chapter 4 Spinning the Web Finding Your Way on the Web 573 You can also perform certain types of searches directly from the Internet Explorer address bar. To do so, follow along: 1. Type one of the following in the address bar: • Find • Go • ? 2. Also in the address bar, type a search term or web site name. 3. Press Enter. To have the results shown in a new tab in IE7, press Alt + Enter. Dealing with pesky pop-ups Somewhere, someone out there is perfectly happy with pop-ups — small spe- cial windows, usually selling something or otherwise seeking to distract you from whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish — that appear on top of or within Web pages. Internet Explorer 7 and later editions include a utility that will block most pop-ups. Why only “most” of them? Because advertisers are constantly look- ing for new ways to get around attempts to stifle their attempts to divert your attention from whatever it was you really wanted to see on a Web page. If Microsoft (or one of a number of third-party software utility makers) comes up with a mechanism that blocks pop-ups that try to insinuate themselves onto an Internet page the cat-and-mouse game is under way; sometimes the loophole exists for just a few days before an update is sent to Windows users and sometimes it takes longer. In general, you shouldn’t run two or more pop-up blockers on a single com- puter. That’s an open invitation for conflicts and crashes. Choose either the built-in facilities of Windows Internet Explorer 7 or those from a third-party company (including standalone products and those that are part of a security suite). Using Internet Explorer’s pop-up blocker To enable or disable the built-in pop-up blocker of Windows Internet Explorer 7, do this: 1. Click Tools. 2. Hover your pointer over the Pop-up Blocker menu item. A window opens. See Figure 4-5. 42 140925-bk08ch04.qxp 4/8/08 12:52 PM Page 573 . expected to be released soon). Don’t perform an update before you’ve checked for viruses. Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP and Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista include some security. real wood desktop in my office. That’s a frightening thought . . . and more to the point . . . it would be a useless pile of stuff. The utility that makes the Web work for us is the search engine, a form. in search of new or changed infor- mation or web sites. The company’s work has become so popular that its name has become an informal verb: “I Googled your name before I went out with you on a