15 steps to control Internet Explorer 8

[TechyGuy]

IE8 is finally available in final version. Faster, more ergonomic and safer, the new Internet Explorer defends supremacy facing an ever larger and more leathery. IE8 brings many new features to catch up but also offer users a comfort in their daily web crawl.

Installation

IE8 installs under Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. There are 32-bit and 64-bit version (for 64-bit systems). As a first step, you must choose the version appropriate to your system by following this link.

Once downloaded, follow the step by step installation accepting the default settings. Allow a small ten minutes for IE8 installed. Once installation is complete, restart the PC; its required to finalize and start IE8 in the system.

After restarting the PC, launch the browser. For this first launch, an assistant to welcome you. Engage him step to indicate your preferences.

[TechyGuy]

Compatibility

The notion of compatibility can take various aspects. Thus, Internet Explorer, which has always been the worst performers in terms of compliance with the Web, is now very much closer. But compatibility is also the option to display the current Web pages, mostly designed for specific features of IE6 and IE7.

Also Microsoft has decided to incorporate into both engines of IE8 display. The first meeting the standards (with respect most of the standard CSS 2.1 as you'll see by following this link), the second meets the existent. By default, IE8 will use its new engine. But, at the request of the user or automatically (when it detects the need), the browser can switch from one engine to another without rebooting.

Tips:

1. The icon magic: If a page seems to be poorly displayed (with texts that are beyond frameworks or overlap, for example), force the passage in compatibility mode by clicking on the icon Display compatibility.
   
2. Memory useful: IE8 automatically remembers the sites you click on the icon of compatibility to display automatically the pages of these sites in Compatibility mode at future visits. The list of saved sites and is accessible from the Settings Display compatibility on the Tools menu.
   
3. Force the display mode compatibility: Pending the final release of IE8, the bulk of the Web is mostly compatible with IE7. It can therefore make their life easier by requesting that all pages are displayed in IE Compatibility mode:
   
   • Go to the Tools menu and select Settings Display compatibility
   • Check the box "Show all websites in compatibility view"

[TechyGuy]

Auto Suggestions

IE8 benefits from subtle improvements in ergonomics. They essentially seek to simplify your explorations of the Web and your use of Online Services.

IE8 introduces a new concept: self-suggestion. We'll see a little further than it takes many forms and it is contained in the address bar and search.

But the auto-suggestion the more surprising is the very community based "Suggested Sites". This function displays a page telling you the other websites that people who viewed the same site as you have loved.

To view this page suggestion:
- Click the button to display the Favorites pane
- Click on the link See the sites suggested in the section
- The page of suggested sites is shown. Note the presence of a Web Slice (press [Alt] + [X]) and click on "Suggested Sites". Now you can also access the sites suggested through this Web Slice, rather than via the Favorites pane.

Tips:

1. Indiscretion controlled: Technology "Suggested Sites" is obliged to send to Microsoft information about the site being visited. Even if this shipment is limited, some users may be shocked by such a feature. That's why Microsoft application, at the time of installation, whether or not you want to activate this feature. It can be disabled (and again) at any time simply by going to the Tools menu and unchecking (or checking to enable) the option Suggested Sites.
   
2. A tool for technology watch: Suppose you're researching a new technology. If a page you want, you will find problematic other interesting pages on the same subject with the "Suggested Sites". Then clicking Add Suggested Sites in the Favorites pane, you trigger the activation of a "Web Slice" which will automatically update and inform you - over the days and months - of the appearance on the new web pages interesting on the same subject.

[TechyGuy]

Productivity Accelerator

IE Accelerator (or "Web accelerator") is one of the most exciting innovations of IE8. Their concept is quite simple and visual although a little tricky to explain: the principle is to simplify access to interactive Web services. For example, an address to locate a restaurant, you should generally select the site of this restaurant, copy and paste it on the Google Maps or Live Maps. Not difficult, but not very practical. In IE8, just select the address and click on the accelerator, which automatically appears to display a tooltip with the map to locate this address.

Accelerators can be used for all types of Web services: geographical, economic or stock information, news related to the selection, translation, weather of the city selected, offers of eBay, offers of travel, etc.

To use them is simple:

- On the Web page, select a word, name or address
- Accelerators icon appears near by.
- Click it and the mouse pointer over the desired accelerator: You will see the result displayed in a bubble.

Tips:

1. Customize the accelerator: By default, IE8 Accelerator offers some basic services related to Windows Live. But there are already many accelerators offered by other departments and developers.

• Deploy the Page menu
• Deploy the submenu All accelerators
• Select Search other accelerators
• A page appears with the existing accelerators (Blogger, Encarta, Google, Yahoo, etc.).
• Click on the accelerator you are interested
• Click Add to Internet Explorer
• Click on Add

2. Translate your selections with a single click: Accelerators are very useful in everyday life. For example, you can use to instantly translate a sentence or paragraph that we have just outlined.

• Deploy the Page menu
• Deploy the submenu All accelerators
• Select Search other accelerators
• Click on Live Search Translator in the list
• Click on Add the engine
• Click Add
• Open a page (e.g. http://news.google.es)
• Select a paragraph
• Click on the icon Accelerators
• Place the mouse on "Translate with Windows Live"
• After a second, a bubble appears with the translation.

[TechyGuy]

Web Slices

Another key innovation of IE8, the "Web Slices" are favorites dynamic update automatically when the contents of the site to which they point is updated.

The "Web Slices" are a derivative of the RSS technology. As for RSS, they are only available on their sites with content adapted to this technology.

They reside in the bookmarks bar and allows users to subscribe to a "portion" of a website to monitor changes.

They are ideal for monitoring an auction, follow the changes in the weather, stay informed, follow the news of his favorite club, etc..

• When you encounter a page with a "Web Slice", an icon appears.
• Click on this icon in the toolbar (or press the key combination [Alt] + [X]) and select the desired Web Slice (there may be several "Web Slices" by site/page, as there may be several RSS feeds).
• A box then asks if you want to subscribe to the "Web Slices"
• Click Add.
• It appears as a special link in the bookmarks bar.
• This link will change color when an update will be received
• Click it to view - in the form of bubble - the new information without leaving the page currently visited.

Tips:

Find your new Web Slices: Until all sites make the IE8 mode, few people have "Web Slices". But Microsoft has a gallery of "Web Slices" available to help you find them easily: gallery web slices.

[TechyGuy]

Private navigation

You know, browsing the Web leaves traces on the user's machine. By the way behind you, another user or another member of your family can easily tell the last sites you've visited or recent purchases.

Like Safari, IE8 has a function of "private browsing" (also known as "Porn Mode" by the Anglo-Saxon). When enabled, IE8 opens a new browser window "InPrivate" browsing and done since this window will not leave any trace of history or cookies.

To enable this mode:

• Go to the Security menu
• Click on Browse InPrivate
• Note the presence of the logo "InPrivate" in the navigation bar

As we will see in step 14, the "InPrivate" is another security called "Filtering InPrivate."

Tips:

1. Public Safety: Remember to activate InPrivate mode whenever you are surfing on a friend's computer or a Web Cafe!

2. Shortcut practice: To open at any time a window navigation, simultaneously press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [P].

[TechyGuy]

Bars and research

In the same spirit as the "Suggested Sites", Microsoft has brought the concepts of auto-suggestion in the navigation bar and search.

Thus, the new address bar is openly that of Firefox 3. Called SmartBar in IE8, it allows you to instantly find a site already visited (in history, in favorites or in RSS feeds). It is true that 80% of the time users visit a site or a page on which they are already gone. Thus saving time not having to type in the URL and can be content with a few letters:

- Place the cursor in the address bar
- Start typing a couple letters
- A menu presents you with hits from Favorites, history and flows.

A similar principle is adopted in the search bar, but this time IE8 does not just dip into the history: it suggests, demands very popular, like the "Google Suggest"!

- Place the cursor in the search bar
- Start typing a couple letters of a keyword
- A menu comes you suggest an application or a site already visited

The search bar also offers a very convenient technique to switch from one click of an engine to another. Called Quick Pics, this technique will be unveiled in the next step ...

Tips:

Access to the address bar: To access the SmartBar and enter the keyword to a URL without having to play with the mouse, just use the shortcut [Alt] + [D] and enter the first letters of the keyword.

Access to the search bar: To search through the Web without changing the page or use the mouse in hand, just press [Ctrl] + [E] and enter the first letters of your query.

[TechyGuy]

Quick Pics of the research

We have seen that the new search bar was able to suggest queries automatically, just how "Google Suggest".

This new research goes further. Thanks to its icons "Quick Pics" it will automatically target research on a subject or a motor. We can target your search (and therefore the suggestion queries) on Wikipedia or Amazon for example.

To activate the "Quick Pics", add search engine to IE8:

- Click on the small arrow at the right end of the search bar
- Click Search other search engines
- Click on a Search Engines (Amazon, CDiscount, EBay, Wikipedia ...)
- Click Add to Internet Explorer
- Repeat for each engine that can help.
- Then press [Ctrl] + [E] to move the cursor to the search bar
- Press [Delete] to erase the search box
- Then start typing a few letters or a word search
- Then click on small icons of the engine to switch from one to another.

Tips:

Add Engine Visual: You find very quickly that some engines show the results in more or less visual. These visual are very practical in everyday life. Feel free to focus on engines that provide the most visual.

Note also that it is possible to create its own search engine if it is not listed. Click on the arrow in the search box, select Search other search engines, go down the results page and select the link Create your own search engine.

[TechyGuy]

Enhanced protection

On IE8, the security was further strengthened. Two improvements deserve your particular attention.

The first is called "SmartScreen Filter". It is a modernized version of the anti-phishing protection already present in IE7. Now, this protection extends to download malware and blocks the download code and programs deemed dangerous. It also prohibits download of Rogues (programs that pose as antivirus protection, but traps are idiots). In addition, IE8 now detects one of the favorite techniques of infiltration of cyber criminals: the "Cross Site Scripting (XSS).

The second is called "Domain highlighting", or "discovery" of the actual domain. A typical phishing tricks is to use web addresses extension so that the user does not know too recognize the address and does not reflect any "spelling errors" in the name.

IE8 in the address bar all that gray is not the domain, i.e. the actual address of the site. Only the area where you are connected is in bold! At a glance, you know immediately if someone tries to trap you!

Of course, none of these protections is 100% reliable nor sufficient in itself. But they contribute to a safer Internet and are able to help you avoid many dangerous situations for the safety of your personal data and your system.

Tips:

Systems anticrash: IE8 features two innovations designed to protect against the browser crashes. The first is a mechanism that isolates the tabs from each other. If a tab comes to crash, others are not affected. In addition, if one or more tabs just to crash, it will (or will be) automatically reloaded by the browser.

If you think an extension installed in IE is the source of these crashes, try to launch the browser without extensions:

- From the desktop, press the key combination [Windows] + [R]
- Enter: iexplore.exe -extoff
- Validate by pressing OK

[TechyGuy]

Colored tabs and better managed

IE8 offers a very original management tabs. All tabs open in one place are automatically grouped and assigned the same color. Thus, one can immediately see for example the tabs that correspond to a search, and those with another. You can also close a whole group with one click of right mouse button.

Another innovation, when opening a new tab, IE8 provides us with a dynamic home page from which you can reload the last tab closed (useful if they were closed by mistake!), Revive the last browser session (useful after a crash), start a session "InPrivate" or launch an accelerator.

Tips:

Quick Tabs: To display miniature views of all open tabs, simply press [CTRL] + [Q].

Show the list of tabs: To view a list of open tabs, a feature useful when the number of open tabs than the dozen, press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Q]

[TechyGuy]

Search within a page

Finally! Yes, finally! Finally, IE is with a search function in the open pages worthy of the name, non-blocking and able to highlight occurrences. And Microsoft did not go very far to seek his inspiration. Its search function on the page works just like Firefox. It is therefore practical and effective:

- Press [Ctrl] + [F] to display the new search bar in the page
- Start to enter the first few letters of a keyword
- Automatically, the first case was reported
- Note that the bar indicates the number of occurrences
- If you have not already done so, click the highlighter to highlight all occurrences.

Tips:

Criteria developed: By clicking the Options button you can specify whether the search should be done on the whole word and only if case (uppercase/lowercase) must be taken into account.

[TechyGuy]

The traces

IE7 has a useful function to delete at once all traces of navigation. Unfortunately, Microsoft realized that most people reluctant to use it, because this cleaning also meant the effective loss of cookies and preferences related to your favorite sites. What often forced to reenter the Login or words of password that you registered to simplify using them.

Now, IE8 has a much more intelligent cleaning: if a site is one of your favorites, cookies are not deleted. They are preserved even if the cleaning of cookies has been requested.

- Expand the Security menu
- Click on Delete Browsing History
- Check the box that Keep the data of favorite Web sites is checked
- Check the types of tracks to be erased.
- Click on Delete

Tip:

Abuse of cleaning: Feel free to clean spaces and temporary browser cookies very frequently. Many web attacks exploit these areas. Take the habit of regularly press the [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Del] followed by [S] to quickly clean all unnecessary traces and resume without mouse.

[TechyGuy]

Browse Keyboard

Of the notebooks in a mobile situation, especially on the netBook, it is generally impossible to use a real mouse, and the "pad" which is often replaces the vague and impractical.

That's why IE8 includes new navigation function on the keyboard. It allows you to use the keyboard to move a cursor on the page and navigate easily.

- Deploy the Page menu
- Click on the keyboard navigation
- Check Enable keyboard navigation for the new windows.
- Click Yes
- A cursor (as assigned to the text input) appears on the page
- Use the cursor keys and the Home, End, Page Up and Page Down to navigate.

Tip:

Keyboard: Use the [F7] to enable/disable keyboard navigation.

[TechyGuy]

Filtering InPrivate

We saw IE8 offered a private browsing mode which avoids leaving traces on the machine from which you access the Internet. But the "InPrivate" goes far beyond the navigation without trace! It is actually a set of protections that includes two additional security features: "InPrivate Blocking and InPrivate Subscriptions."

InPrivate Blocking is a feature that prevents Web sites you visit to share your private data with third-party sites (typically, banner advertising or malicious code infiltrated pages) seeking to monitor your navigation. In fact, most Internet users do not realize that their activity is analyzed and monitored by different agencies sometimes legal, sometimes less. "InPrivate Blocking" gives the user control over these watches and allows you to define the information that or not you want to share with these sites. And IE automatically blocks sites that are a little too curious.

- Launch a private browsing by pressing [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [P]
- Open the Security menu
- Click Filter Settings InPrivate
- A box displays the list of "spies" detected
- By default, blocking is handled automatically. But you can manually authorize some "spies" by clicking the Select content to block or allow, in selecting the site detected and clicking Allow.

InPrivate Subscriptions are an additional option, which allows Internet users concerned about their privacy to subscribe to protective services to manage them automatically for the blocking of sites too curious. But these services are not yet available, it will have to wait for the final judging.

Tip:

Community Spirit: Respect for privacy is an area that fascinates some users. Microsoft is counting on them to track the sites moved to the curiosity and produce block lists easily exchangeable. It is therefore possible to import and export such lists:

- Go to the Tools menu
- Click on Manage Add-ons
- Select Filtering InPrivate
- Click Import and select the XML file containing the list of blocking.

[TechyGuy]

Solving Problems

If IE8 seems to have erratic behavior if the bubbles accelerators or suggested sites appear blank or error, it is possible to perform a reset of IE8 that will fix all these problems.

If you directly updated over the IE8 Beta and RC distributed in advance by Microsoft, you're likely to encounter malfunctions mentioned above.

Here is how to solve these problems:

• Close all Internet Explorer windows
• Run only one instance of Internet Explorer
• Go to the Tools menu
• Select Internet Options
• Open the Advanced tab
• Click the Reset button
• Select "Delete personal settings"
• Click Reset
• Close IE8
• Restart IE8.