General Internet Tips

Beginner's helpful tips, tricks, and techniques for general Internet use.

If you're tired of checking up on your favorite web pages just to see if they have changed since the last time you visited them, why not let URL-minder (a free service provided by the nice folks at NetMind) do the checking for you?

Disabling Call Waiting - If you carry the call waiting feature in your phone line(s), your dial-up connection to the Internet (or any other online service) may be interrupted if you receive a call in the middle of a session. The good news is that it's easy enough to disable this feature every time you dial out by adding *70, in front of your number. Of course, this code depend on the phone company, so make sure that it's the correct code for your calling area/telephone service provider specially if you're not in the USA. For example, if your current dial-up number is 123-4567 change it to *70,123-4567 *70 actually does the disabling of the call waiting feature, and the comma (,) afterwards simply adds a delay to bypass the acknowledgment of the command. If your dialer doesn't understand commas in the phone number, try using just *70. To re-enable call waiting, simply dial *72.

Find out where a particular site is located. Wondering which country or state a particular Internet site is located at? Try http://205.177.25.9/cgi-bin/whois? For example, to find out where Netscape (netscape.com) site is located, point your browser to the following address: http://205.177.25.9/cgi-bin/whois?netscape.com

Ever log on to your ISP and discover that things aren't moving along very fast? Maybe you've even experienced a dropped connection. Windows 95 can be configured to keep a running log of your modem's activity. You can open it in Notepad or your favorite text editor and find what went wrong. To make Windows record a log file for your modem right-click on the icon for your dial up connection, then choose Properties, Configure, Connection. Click the Advanced Button and check the Record log file box. You'll find a MODEMLOG.TXT file in your Windows subdirectory. Double-click to open it in Notepad.

Get to a favorite site almost instantly with Windows 95's Run program. From the Start button, select run and type the complete URL for a favorite site -- including the http://. Windows will launch your default Web browser and go right to the site.

You can use almost All the popular search engines on the Web to search for a phrase IF you place all the words in quotes. For instance, a search for the words site promotion will bring results for the individual words. If you submit the words "site promotion" you'll get results on the entire phrase.

Yahoo is a great search engine. Problem is, for most searches it may be too good -- it will bring up sites you search for no matter how old they may be. You can reduce the return of your searches by limiting them to only return the more recent pages relevant to the subject by clicking on Options (Right next to the search button). Then limit your searches by whatever length of time you want.

Windows 95 users can get more browser room on their screens by hiding the taskbar. (The bar at the bottom of the Windows 95 screen that shows the applications you have running.) Click on the Start button, select Settings, Taskbar, and check the Auto Hide checkbox.

AOL 3.0 users can click on the sunglasses icon to go directly to Yahoo's top sites.

While searching on Magellan you can limit searches to content that is appropriate for kids by marking the "Green light sites only" box.

The arrival of spring also signals an increase in thunderstorms and other severe weather. Lightning can induce currents along power and phone lines even from miles away possibly entering your home through the drop line. Even a small spike in line voltage could cause unpredictable problems. When thunderstorms and lightning threaten your area, it's a good idea to turn your computer off and disconnect the power plug from the wall until after the storm passes. Remember too to unplug the modem from the phone line. This prevents any voltage anomalies from entering your PC's electronics. Better safe than sorry.