Net Help: Technical Stuff

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Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt book cover

Go to the internet links for this book or find out how to buy it.

 

Piano classics book cover

Listen to the tunes in this book or find out how to buy it.

 

Encyclopedia World Geography book cover

Go to the internet links for this book or find out how to buy it.

 

Florence Nightingale book cover

Go to the internet links for this book or find out how to buy it.

Click on the links for help on the following topics:

Web browser settings

Your web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox, is the software that enables your computer to display information from the Internet.

To use Usborne Quicklinks, your web browser security settings must be set to Medium. (If your settings are on High, your browser will not display links to external websites.) To check your security settings, click on "Tools" and then "Internet Options" in the menu at the top of your browser. Click on the "Security" tab and set the slider to "Medium High".

Make sure, too, that your pop-up blocker settings are set to Medium. To do this, click on Tools/Pop-up blocker in the menu at the top of your web browser.

Help using your browser

For help using your browser, click on the "Help" button in the toolbar at the top of the browser. Then click on "Contents and Index" for a searchable database of useful information.

The BBC Website has lots of useful information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce/

Keeping your computer up-to-date

To keep your computer secure it is essential to regularly download the free software "patches" provided by the manufacturer of your computer's operating system, e.g. Microsoft or Apple.

Updating a PC
Click on the "Start" button, then choose "Help and Support". Click on the link for "Windows update" then follow the online instructions.

Updating an Apple Mac
Choose "Software Update" from the Apple menu then review and install the latest downloads for your computer.

Plug-ins

Plug-ins enable your browser to display video, animations, sounds and 3-D images. If you visit a website and you don't have one of the plug-ins you need, there will usually be a message on the site, and a button to download the plug-in. Once you have downloaded a plug-in, you don't need to do it again, but you do need to make sure you have the latest versions of plug-ins, so you can view the most recent material on the Internet.

You may need more than one plug-in to display, say, video, as different websites use different plug-ins. Here is a list of the most popular plug-ins, with links to download them.

Shockwave

Displays animated multimedia features programmed in Shockwave or Flash (see below).
Download or update Adobe Shockwave Player

Flash

Displays animated website content.
Download or update Adobe Flash Player

Quicktime

Plays video, music, sound, animations and 3-D scenes.
Download or update Quicktime

RealPlayer

Enables you to watch video clips and listen to audio in the Real Player format.
Download or update RealPlayer

Windows Media Player

For watching video clips and playing audio files. If you are using Windows you should already have this media player.
Download or update Windows Media Player

Adobe Reader

Adobe Reader, is a free program that enables you to read and print out documents created in the Adobe .pdf format. As usual, make sure you have the most up-to-date version.
Download or update Adobe Reader

Computer Viruses

A computer virus is a small program that can seriously damage your computer, or enable a "hacker"' to see inside your computer and monitor what you are doing on the Internet.

There are several ways in which your computer can pick up a virus:

  • from a floppy disk already infected with a virus
  • in an attachment that arrives with an e-mail
  • by browsing an infected website and downloading a virus

The best way to avoid viruses is to install anti-virus software on your computer. You need to update the anti-virus software regularly, so it can protect you from new viruses.

To avoid receiving a virus via an email, never open an attachment unless you know what it is, even if it is from someone you know. (Many viruses are programmed to automatically send themselves to everyone in the address book of an infected computer.) You cannot pick up a virus from an ordinary email message. A virus is a program and it has to be transmitted as an attachment to the email, or embedded as a "macro" in a document attached to the email. (A "macro" is a small program to carry out a specific task, such as a calculation.)

Watch out, too, for "virus hoaxes". These are emails with urgent information about virus alerts, and what you should do about them. To check whether a virus alert is a hoax, see the Mcafee Website

For more information about viruses, and virus protection software, go to the How Stuff Works Website

JavaScript & Java

JavaScript is a programming language that enables your browser to carry out additional simple tasks, such as changing the colour of buttons when your mouse passes over them. It is different from Java, which allows developers to create complex applications, such as animated games, that can be downloaded over the Internet and played in your browser.

Most browsers are now distributed with Java and JavaScript "enabled", but if you visit a website and receive an error message about Java, you may need to make some changes to your browser settings.

Enabling Java on Microsoft Internet Explorer

Go to Tools/Internet Options/Advanced. Scroll down to Java VM and make sure the box next to "JIT compiler for virtual machine enabled" is checked. For more information, click on "Help" in the menu at the top of your browser.

Enabling Java on Netscape

Java is enabled as standard on Netscape. For more information, click on "Help" in the menu at the top of your browser and do a search for "Java".