Tips and Tricks - Internet

Internet
Subject	Detail
Modem Log File Usage	To capture all internet usage for a disconnection fault or to confirm your ISP billing, you can record you modem usage. Enter Dial Adapter \| Properties, choose Modem Configure, Connect, Advanced and click 'Append Log'
NZ Companies	All NZ incorporated companies (Ltd) are listed on the Internet with up to 2 directors names for free. Also, you can pay extra service fees and have more detailed searching and information. See Companies Office
Online Trade and Exchange	Need to buy something Second hand ?. Check out the Online Trade and Exchange. They have separate issues for Manawatu, Taranaki, Wellington, Christchurch as well as Auckland Trade and Exchange
News and information	Try these sites for online news: NZ Herald or NewsTalkZB and for music try ZMonline
Chat with friends & family on the Internet	Have you ever wondered if your best friend or relative is online while you are. Well there is a way where the Internet will tell you. The Microsoft Messenger can be set up so that you store one or several peoples names. Then if they are online while you are, you get a message telling you. You can then send them messages, and they can reply. What's best is, its all instant, private and FREE. Check out www.microsoft.com
Online Telephone Directories	Need someone's telephone number or address, in another town or city? Try the online White Pages at www.whitepages.co.nz or for the Yellow Pages www.yellowpages.co.nz
Check your email when you are away from home.	Some Internet providers (Xtra in my case) have web based email. This allows you to go to any computer that is logged onto the Internet, and from in the browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape) you can access the web page, enter your login name and password, and receive your emails. In the case of Xtra, the web address is www.xtramail.co.nz If you are with a different Internet Provider, then contact them for more details.
Taking too long to log on to the Internet ?	Some default settings are not necessary, but get set by Windows, and tend to slow down the login procedure. You can check and change these as follows: Double Click "My Computer", double click "Dial-Up Networking", Right click on the Icon which dials the Internet, choose "Properties", click "Server Types" and then check that "Log on to Network", "NetBEUI" and "IPX/SPX Compatible" are all not ticked. These options are not used for Internet dial-up access.
Tip to avoid getting a Virus in your email (Outlook and Outlook Express)	Generally, viruses come as an attached file in your email. You have to open the email, and then the attachment may do the damage before you know about it. The best way is to turn the Viewing Pane off, so that mail does not open automatically, and when you receive an email that you are suspicious of, and not sure who it is from or where it has come from, Right Click on it, and view the properties. You can then view the details, see who it is from etc, without opening it and infecting your computer.
Configuring Internet Explorer for disconnecting from the Internet.	A feature exists that allows your PC to automatically disconnect from the Internet if you stop using it for a set amount of time. This can be aborted at the time, if you want to stay connected, but is a good safeguard. You can also set it to disconnect as soon as you close Internet Explorer. Follow these steps: Open Control Panel, Internet Options, Click on Connections tab, Settings, Advanced. In this dialogue box, there are several options, but the ones we cover here are: Disconnect if Idle x minutes - Click here and enter an amount of minutes to pop up a disconnect box when the timer detects inactivity. Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed - Click here if you want to be prompted with the disconnect box when you close Internet Explorer. Once you have made the desired changes, Click OK to accept and close each box.
NZ Sites of interest	Good site for maps. http://www.wises.co.nz Interesting NZ Census results. http://www.stats.govt.nz/
Useful file for Web developers	This file is a nice little animated gif, with the word "New". A good little trick for web developers. It is from Microsoft, so full credit to them please. Download Here.
Data keeps transferring over your modem, when you aren't doing anything.	One thing that can cause this is having Windows XP Auto-Update active. This can cause continuous downloading of data, and even drop connections if you try to download something at the same time. Turn it off with the following steps: Control Panel \| System \| Automatic Updates \| Click to turn off "Keeping computer up to date..."
IE7 Opens Word or Excel documents in application rather than in Browser Window..	Not sure what makes this happen on some computers, but is changed as follows.My Computer \| Tools \| Folder Options \|File Types \| Browse to the file extensions, eg .DOC and .XLS. Click Advanced And tick in the box "Browse in same window"
favicon does not work in IE sometimes.	This can be very frustrating. Many people find that the favicon works in firefox and not IE. You search the internet, and people write stuff like, delete your history, refresh your browser, reboot your PC etc etc. None of this makes any difference, and what use is it anyway, after all, do you really think all your customers are going to do that ? I finally found the answer. Yes, how to make IE recognise the favicon. Firstly, you may have already read stuff about making the icon (16 x 16 etc). I am not covering that here, as plenty have written about it. The key problem is the original IE favicon has been cached on your PC, and refresh does not download it again. The solution is to change the name of your favicon, eg faviconctas.ico and change the html code to use that name. Ie href="faviconctas.ico" (see this page for real example), then upload both to the web site, and simply close and reopen the browser. Wait a few seconds, and it will download the new favicon file, and presto.
Need a good system for alerts, reminders, retaining customers ?	Are you a small business looking to attract customers back on a recurring basis or a large business requiring automated notifications, reminders and appointments, then AlertManager is the cost effective solution for you. AlertManager has been designed to provide a flexible, effective reminder system, for business or home use. It is free to join, or we have fixed rate plans if you prefer to operate with regular costs. SMS txt is 25c/txt on the PayPerAlert Plan but on some Prepay Plans can work out as low as 10c/txt. Other options such as txtmail, email, calendar are all free.
Sierra Wireless USB TStick not working.	This problem can happen if you have had a previous Sierra Wireless device, or your computer had trouble when first installing. You plug in the device, and the computer recognises a port, but the Watcher does not run. When you try to run it manually ( C:\Program Files\Sierra Wireless inc\TRU-Install\TRU-Installer.exe ) it says there is no USB device, but there is. In the same directory as the exe, there is a TRU-Install.cpl file. If you run that, it asks you if you want to go into Installer mode. Select OK, and then run the exe again, and follow the prompts. This will solve this problem.