Configuring Internet Explorer Options

Internet Explorer has many options that can be configured to make it work best to suit your
browsing needs. Here we will go over the options that you should know how to configure.

If you open Internet Explorer and go to the Tools menu and then click on Internet Options you will
see the following screen. There are 7 tabs that contain options for various functions of Internet
Explorer (IE).

The General tab allows you to set your home page, which will open every time you start IE or click
the Home button within IE. The middle section allows you to delete cookies and temporary Internet
files to free up space on your hard drive. The history section determines how long to keep track of
pages you have been to previously. If you click the History button within IE you can see a listing of
previously visited pages. The Colors button allows you to set the colors for text, the background
and links. The Fonts button sets the font for pages that do not have a specified font. The
Languages button sets the languages displayed and their priority of usage. The Accessibility
button controls features to ignore fonts and colors on pages.

Next is the Security tab which allows you to set the security for Internet and Intranet sites as well
as adding sites that you trust to be opened and sites you do not trust.
You can use the default level or choose a level such as medium, medium-low and low or change
individual settings to customize the security level. If you cannot get on a certain site, lowing the
security settings may help but be aware then it may make your computer more vulnerable to
attack.

The Privacy tab is where you can tell IE what kind of cookies you will allow and also what sites to
reject or accept cookies from.
The Import button lets you import a previously configured privacy preference and the Advanced
button allows you to override automatic cookie handling. The Pop-up Blocker section is for
entering in sites that you want to allow pop-ups from and whether or not you want a sound or
warning displayed when a pop-up is blocked. You can disable the Pop-up Blocker from here as
well.

The Content tab has three areas of configuration that you can use if needed. Most people do not
change any of the settings here.
If you enable the Content Advisor you can have IE block certain pages that contain content such
as violence or sex. The pages will only be blocked if they are rated by the author of the page.

Certificates are used as a method of telling the person on the other end that you are who you say
you are. You can view the trusted and un-trusted certificates that are on your computer from this
area.

The Personal information area is used to make it faster to do things such as fill in forms on web
pages. Windows can remember login names and passwords as well as addresses that can be
filled in automatically when needed. The Profile Assistant stores information that is used to identify
you when a website requests information when you visit it.

The Connections tab is where IE keeps its setting for the type of connection used to connect to
the Internet. You can add, remove or modify your connection settings here.
If you use a proxy server then you can enter the information here as well as setup your Local Area
Connection (LAN) settings if you connect through a network or broadband connection.

The Programs tab tells Internet Explorer what programs to use for what functions such as when
you click on an email link or join a newsgroup.
You can change the default programs to other programs as long as you have them installed on
your computer. If you have installed another web browser then you can click on the Reset Web
Settings button to change everything back to its default and make IE the default web browser for
your computer. The Manage Add-ons button shows the installed IE add-ons and plug-ins installed
for Internet Explorer. Here you can enable, disable or update the components.

The Advanced tab is used mainly for troubleshooting web browser issues.
If you are having a problem such as sounds not playing within IE or not being able to get to secure
(SSL) pages then you may want to check here for the answer.