United Communications Association's WebsiteCompass - Your Guide to Understanding and Using the Internet

CONTENTS:
	Table of Contents
	Cover Story
	Different Strokes
	Internet Connections
	Browser Basics
	E-mail Basics
	Back to Basics
	Frequently Asked Questions
	• FAQ Archive
	Website Reviews
	Glossary
	Tutorials
	Helpful Sites
	Broadband Basics
RECENT ISSUES:

What You Need To Know Before You Call Your ISP's Help Desk

1. Know your user name.

2. Know your password.

3. Know your e-mail address.

4. Know what brand and model of computer you have ... IBM compatible, Macintosh, etc.

5. Know what browser you are using ... Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape Navigator 4.5, etc.

6. Know what operating system your computer uses ... Windows 98, Mac OS 8, etc.

7. Know what e-mail software program you are using ... Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, Eudora, etc.

8. Know what brand and model of modem you use. (The problem you are having may be due to outdated software controlling your modem.)

9. Write down any error messages that may be appearing when you are online.

10. Review the Glossary of Terms of Website Compass. Knowledge of computer and Internet terminology will be helpful to you as the Help Desk answers your questions.

11. If possible, be at your computer with it on and running when you call your ISP's Help Desk.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Is there an Internet question you'd like to see answered in a future edition of Website Compass? E-mail your question to DrWebbie@WebsiteCompass.com.

Be sure to tell Dr. Webbie what web browser you are using (Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape's Navigator, etc.), AND what type and version of e-mail software you are using (Microsoft's Outlook Express 5.5, Netscape's Communicator 4.7, etc.) to assist him in answering your question as specifically as possible.

Q: I only want to accept cookies from certain websites which I trust. Is this possible? I have Internet Explorer 6.

A: You’re in luck. In Internet Explorer 6, it’s fairly easy to do this. Here’s how to only accept cookies from trusted websites in Internet Explorer 6:

1. With Internet Explorer 6 open, click on “Tools” in the menu bar. Select “Internet Options” from the drop-down menu.
2. To get rid of any existing cookies click the “Delete Cookies” button under the “Temporary Internet files” section. (Note: If you have any cookies you want to keep, you may want to skip this step.)
3. Click on the “Privacy” tab in the “Internet Options” window.
4. Under the “Settings” section, click the “Advanced” button. The “Advanced Privacy Settings” window will open.
5. Check the box next to “Override automatic cookie handling.”
6. Make sure “Prompt” is selected under both “First-party Cookies” and “Third-party Cookies.”
7. Click “OK” to close the “Advanced Privacy Settings” window.
8. Click the “OK” button to close the “Internet Options” window.
9. Visit a site from which you want to accept cookies—such as amazon.com. If the site uses cookies, you’ll be prompted with a “Privacy Alert” warning.
10. In the “Privacy Alert” dialog box, check the box next to “Apply my decision to all cookies from this Web site.” Then click the “Allow” button. (You may be presented with more than one “Privacy Alert” warning since some sites use cookies from multiple domains.)
11. Any time you visit a new site that uses cookies, you’ll be asked to accept or block them. If it starts to get annoying, you can go back into your “Internet Options” settings, click the “Privacy” tab and change your privacy settings again.

There are also several third-party cookie managing applications available for different browsers. If you’re interested in using any of these, do a Web search (at a search engine like Google.com) for “cookie managers” and browse through the results.

Q: How do I “format” a CD for use as a backup device?

A: I’m assuming you already own a CD-R (R=recordable) or CD-RW (RW=rewriteable) capable drive. If you only have a CD-ROM (ROM=
read only memory) you can only read from discs and not write to them.

To write (or burn) data to a CD, use the software that came with your CD drive. If the CD burner was bundled with your computer, chances are you already have this software installed. A few examples of such software are Toast, Easy CD Creator and Nero. If you have a newer operating system like Windows XP or Mac OS X, you can also use the system’s inherent burning software.

Here’s how to burn a data CD in Windows XP:

1. Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc in your CD drive. (Remember you need a CD-R or CD-RW drive.) A dialog box will open and ask if you want to open a writable CD folder. Click “OK.”
2. On the Start menu, click “My Computer,” then navigate to the drive and folder where the files you wish to copy are stored.
3. Choose the files you want to copy, and copy/paste or drag/drop them to the open CD recording folder.
4. In the left pane of the CD folder window, click “Write these files to CD.”

Q: How can I set my computer to automatically download Internet files when the Internet is not crowded (i.e., 1:00-5:00 AM)? I have a slower modem, so large files can take a while to download.

A: To schedule automatic downloads of files during non-peak hours of Internet use, you’ll need a progam called a “download manager.” There are numerous such programs available and they vary in features, price and ease-of-use. Some of the features you’ll want to keep an eye out for include: download scheduling, the ability to resume stopped or interrupted downloads and simultaneous connections for speedier downloads.

For a fairly comprehensive list of download manager programs, visit http://www.download.com and search the site for the phrase “download manager.” You’ll be presented with a list of such programs to choose from– both freeware and shareware. This list can then be sorted by user ratings, total number of downloads and the date the program was added to the site. You can also read reviews of different download managers. (Note: Some of the free ones are ad-supported and will serve banner ads in their interfaces.)

Q: How do I delete an e-mail message that I sent that was undelivered? It keeps coming back and is becoming a nuisance.

A: There are various reasons for undeliverable e-mail. These can range from things like having an invalid e-mail address, being too large for the recipient’s mailbox, getting blocked by spam filters, or many other “technical” difficulties.

If it’s your e-mail program warning you that the message is undeliverable, the message may be in your e-mail program’s “Outbox” folder and your program is trying to automatically resend it periodically. If this is the case, simply open up the “Outbox” folder and delete the culprit message from the list.

Otherwise, if you are receiving an “undeliverable e-mail” message from an e-mail server, you may have to just wait it out. Some servers are set to attempt delivery several times before cancelling the message. Here are a few steps to make sure “undeliverable mail” doesn’t happen in the future:

1. Make sure you have the correct address in the “To:” field.
2. Make sure your outgoing mail server settings are correct.
3. Make sure your message (including attachments) isn’t too large for the recipient’s mailbox. Many people only have a maximum mailbox size of a few megabytes which may be full of other messages or too small for your message.
4. Make sure the recipient isn’t using a spam filter which causes your e-mail to bounce back for one reason or another. This is somewhat rare..

Q: When I’m on the Internet and visit certain sites, some links don’t work, while other pages work fine. What could be the problem?

A: It sounds like you might be at a site that uses “scripting” for their navigation links. Here are a couple of possible remedies if this is the case:

1. Make sure “scripting” is enabled in your browser. You can check this by clicking on “Tools” in the menu bar, selecting “Internet Options,” clicking on the “Security” tab, and then clicking on the “Custom Level” button. Then scroll down to the “Scripting” section and check the “enable” button.
2. If you have an older browser and the website uses a newer version of scripting than your browser can handle, upgrade to a newer browser.

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