Below is a listing of various tips that can be used while on the Internet. Some of the below tips may list a date next to them for the month and year that they were featured in our monthly tip section.
Google 10 tips
Below is a list of our top ten Google tricks many users don't know about.
- Definitions - Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want the definition for. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.
- Local search - Visit Google Local enter the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.
- Phone number lookup - Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.
- Find weather - Type weather followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions and forecasts for upcoming days.
- Track airline flight - Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.
- Track packages - Enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number to get a direct link to track your packages.
- Pages linked to you - See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.computerhope.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.
- Find PDF results only - Add filetype: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" filetype:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.
- Calculator - Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing: 100 + 200 would display results as 300.
- Stocks - Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft will display the stock information for Microsoft.
Create short Internet addresses
Create easy to read and type Internet addresses from long convoluted addresses often found on popular sites such as Amazon, eBay, MapQuest, etc. by using online services that shrink the address. For example, the URL: http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/c/cmos.htm would become: http://tinyurl.com/ynkjhp. Below are examples of sites that allow you to copy and paste any URL into them to make them smaller.
Move back quickly
The most commonly used feature in Internet browsers is the back button. However, all browsers also have a small black down arrow to the right of the back button. This button allows you to easily see the history of the last 5-10 pages you've visited and quickly get back to them. This feature is especially helpful for those pesky pages that forward you back to a page each time you press the back button or for when you wish to move back several pages but don't want to have to press the back button several times.
Tabbed browsing
With the introduction of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 all major browsers now support tabbed browsing. Below are various tips to improve your browsing using tabs.
- Clicking on any link with your middle mouse button or wheel will open that link in a new tab. Alternatively you can hold down your CTRL key in IE and Firefox and click a link to open that link in a new tab.
- Clicking on an open tab with your middle mouse button will close that tab.
- Mozilla Firefox users can middle-click the back button to open a previous page in a new tab.
- Pressing CTRL + T will open a new tab in IE, Firefox, and Opera.
- Firefox and IE users can hold down CTRL and press 1 through 0 on their keyboard to open that respected tab.
- Right-clicking the active tab will give you an option to close all other non-active tabs.
Google tips
Below are some basic tips as well as some secrets that can be used on Google to help improve your search results and find things you may have never thought of.
- Group your search query to find better results. For example, if you're searching for computer help, you'll find better results if you search for an exact phrase by surrounding it in quotes: "computer help".
- If a lot of your results have keywords you're not search for use a minus sign. For example, if you're looking for computer help but don't want pages containing Windows type: "computer help" -windows
- Google supports number ranges, for example, if you're searching for computer help between the year 2000 to 2005 you can type: "Computer help" 2000..2005
- See the Google operators page, which lists dozens of the available operators Google allows. For example, the below search would search for URL that contains the word computer: allinurl: computer
- Visit the Google Features page, which lists hundreds of different examples of the type of things you can find through Google and how to find them.
- See our Google dictionary definition for a listing of dozens of other Google services.
Below are some more advance searches people are commonly looking for and what they do.
intitle:index.of + mp3 -asp -html -htm -php -pls -txt
In the above example, when entered into Google this search result looks for any index of MP3 files that does not contain the standard web pages like HTML, PHP, etc. or any other non-related pages. In the above example you can replace mp3 with avi or other file extension to search for these types of files.
intitle:index.of + mp3 "<artist name / track / group>" -asp -html -htm -php -pls -txt
In the above example you could replace "<artist name / track / group>" with the artists name, track, group, or name of the MP3 you're looking for. Keep in mind when downloading MP3 that you should own the track or song you're downloading otherwise it's considered illegal.
inurl:"ViewerFrame?Mode="
In the above simple example, Google will return results of insecure live web cams and with some of the services even allow you to control the cameras over the Internet.
The above three examples are just a few more advanced searches used to help illustrate how many different things can be found through Google.
Internet and Spyware
Spyware, malware, and other adware is becoming an ever-growing threat on the Internet. We highly recommend users who have not already installed spyware protection on their computer do so immediately. An excellent example of a free spyware program is Spybot Search & Destroy. A listing of other spyware protection programs and information about browser hijacking can also be found on document CH000578.
Internet Users and Google
Google is arguably the most popular search engine on the Internet. However, many users do not take advantage of all the other features it offers. Features such as a calculator, news headlines, price lookup, spell checker, travel information, and web page translation are just a few of the numerous features Google has available. See our Google dictionary definition for a large list of available Google feature pages.
Sending a web page to a friend
Internet Explorer users
Send a friend the web page you are viewing by clicking File, Send, and "Page by E-mail".
Netscape users
Send a friend the web page you are viewing by clicking File, and "Send Page".
Stopping Internet pop-up ads and windows
See document CH000491 for additional help and information on stopping Internet pop-up and pop-under ads and windows.
Google Toolbar shortcuts
This month we mention several helpful shortcuts for the useful Google Toolbar. Quickly access the Google Toolbar by pressing ALT+G or open a new browser window by pressing Shift+Enter,
Internet and the Google Toolbar
Google is one of the most powerful search engines on the Internet. Using the the Google toolbar allows users to quickly search the complete Internet or the page you are currently on. Get the Google toolbar at: http://toolbar.google.com.
Create a shortcut key for Internet Web pages
Create a PC shortcut key to a favorite web page by creating a shortcut to the web page or URL. Users using Internet Explorer can quickly do this by right-clicking on an empty spot of a web page and click 'Create Shortcut'.
Once the shortcut has been created locate the shortcut and right-click or view the properties of that shortcut.
In the shortcut properties assign a new shortcut key and click OK. Now when the shortcut key is pressed the web page will be automatically loaded. |
