Internet Secrets: Browsing the Web

Where to get a file- When downloading a popular file like game installers, you’re often presented with a long list of sites. The best site is usually the one closest to you. If there are problems with the site closest to you, try a site in a time zone that’s out of business hours.

Cut Searching and Browsing Time in Half- Don’t wait for pages to load; run multiple browser windows at the same time. Read a page in one window while a second page is retrieved in the other.

Server Status- Can’t get to a site and want to know if it’s service is down? Just open a DOS window and type in ping www.site.com, substituting the name of the site you’re trying to reach. If the site is up and running, you’ll get some numbers back. If the traffic is slow or the site is down, ping reports a REQUEST TIMED OUT.

Take Two- Believe it or not, you often get better performance when your internet connection is doing two things at once. So just keep surfing while you download or set another large file downloading at the same time. Both downloads take time retrieving data so there’s a less chance of either timing out.

Power Web Research- Here’s a trick that let’s you consolidate data from many search engines into one place. First, create a search-hits folder on your hard drive then perform your web search and right-click on any returned links that look promising. Choose save link as to save that links destination page to your new folder and give each file a relevant name. Now you’re able to use Windows Find or any search tool to perform full-text searches on all the pages in your folder.

Like Minds- Alexa.com is a free navigation service that analyzes surfing patterns and then recommends other sites you may be interested in.

Who Am I? – If you’re not sute of your current IP address, there’s a quick way to find out. While connected, click on START, RUN then type Winipcfg.