Category: browser

Password Protect Your Browser

password protect your browser

 

Do you need to password protect your browser?

If you happen to be lucky enough to own a PC or laptop that only you use, the answer is no. But not everyone is that fortunate.

Sharing your PC

A lot of families share a single PC. Therefore, user privacy is pretty important. That’s why it’s a great idea to password protect your browser.

It’s not hard to do. Here is a quick guide on how to do it for the most popular browsers: Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox.

Internet Explorer

  • In Internet Explorer click on the cog icon in the top right-hand corner
  • A drop-down menu appears – click on Tools and then in the box that appears click on the ‘Content’ tab at the top
  • Then enable the Content Advisor. Click OK and enter a Default Supervisor password
  • The next step is to set the password
  • To do so, click on Settings and then General tab in the Content Advisor
  • Tick the second user option which says “The supervisor password allows you to…”
  • Click on Change Password and Choose a password
  • There is also a rating slider you can use. If you slide it to ‘None’ no website can be opened without a password

The content control in the Internet Explorer browser is now password protected. It’s also worth noting that you will be prompted for your password every time you access the content control panel.

Chrome

  • Password protecting the Chrome Browser is done by installing a simple extension
  • This is called the Simple Startup Password. Just click on the link and install it
  • After installation click on the spanner icon next to the address bar
  • Then go to Options and then Extension Tab
  • Search for Simple Startup Password, click on the Options for that Extension and then enter your password
  • Next time you use Chrome a box will appear asking you to ‘Enter browser startup password’

Firefox

Firefox provides the option to set up a master password for entering the stored passwords you may have asked it to save for websites or online accounts you use frequently. You can stop other people accessing these stored passwords by setting up a master password.

  • Go to the Menu bar and the three horizontal lines in the far right corner
  • Click on this and from the drop-down menu choose Options
  • In the options window on the left-hand side, you will see Privacy & Security
  • Click on this and tick the master password box
  • In the box that appears enter your password

The next time you open Firefox, you will be prompted to enter the master password when you try to enter stored passwords into websites.

That’s all there is to it.

MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages

Which Is The Best Browser For Your PC?

choosing the best browser

 

In the good old days, finding a browser was simple – your choice was either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Since then the choice has ballooned with umpteen offerings out there catering for everyone’s foibles and habits.

So what’s the difference between them?

They all find and deliver web pages as quickly as possible, which makes finding the perfect one for you rather tricky. It will come down to personal preference in the end, but to help you choose we’ve put a list together of (what we see as) the top 5 browser offerings currently available.

Mozilla Firefox

A firm favourite, Firefox provides constant updates and high performance across all platforms. It’s intuitive and so ideal for beginners, but also caters for the more experienced surfer with its high level of customisation.

Google Chrome

If it’s got Google in its name, you know it’s going to be good. Google Chrome is a joy to use for surfers of all abilities. Simple, intuitive, it does exactly what you expect it to do.

Internet Explorer

If you’re a huge fan of Microsoft you’ll love Internet Explorer, but there is some breaking news. This old favourite is soon to be superseded by Spartan in Windows 10.

Opera

Opera is one of the newest browsers and offers a speedy service with a few extras thrown in to make it a real threat to the three big boys we’ve already talked about. It’s definitely work checking out.

Torch

This is a Chrome-based browser that comes with a range of cool tools already built-in, which means you don’t have to continually find add-ons.

Of course, that isn’t an exhaustive list, but it does cover the main players. The best way to find the right browser for you is to have a play with a few different ones to see which suits your style best.

MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

How to Get Shot of Lenovo’s Superfish Adware

I was interested to read an article that recently appeared on PCPro.co.uk (link takes you to the full article) about Lenovo’s Superfish Adware.

Just in case you didn’t know, Superfish is an adware installed on Lenovo computers that tracks what you do so it can push adverts to you while you browse.

Annoying, but harmless, right?

Wrong.

The danger with Superfish is that it is a way for others to intercept your online communications and hijack your laptop to steal your personal information.

The article went on to say that Lenovo said it:

“…had removed Superfish from the preloads of new consumer systems in January 2015”

It also stated that Superfish was never installed on ThinkPad notebooks, Lenovo desktops or its smartphones. Users with enterprise products (e.g. servers or storage) are also unaffected.

Just in case you’re the owner of a Lenovo machine and are beginning to get a bit twitchy, here’s how to remove Superfish:

  1. Check if Superfish is active on your computer: Go to Superfish CA test to check if it is active on your computer. If it’s not showing up it may be there but inactive, so do step 2 anyway
  2. See if Superfish is installed on your computer: Click the Start button and search for “Add or Remove Programs”, also called “programs and features” if you’re using Windows 10. Scroll down the list and see if you have “Superfish Inc VisualDiscovery” installed on your computer
  3. Uninstall Superfish: If you have Superfish Inc VisualDiscovery installed, right click and select “Uninstall”. Follow the on-screen prompts, entering an administrator password if prompted, and you’ll be free from the first part of Superfish’s gaze
  4. Search and remove old Superfish web certificates: Click the Start button and search for certmgr.msc and launch it – you may be prompted for an administrator password
  5. Locate Superfish Inc certificates: In Certmgr, click on “Trusted Root Certificates” and look for any certificates mentioning Superfish Inc. Remove them by right clicking and selecting “Delete”
  6. Restart all open browsers/restart computer: Make sure you close down all your browsers when complete, or restart your computer if you’d rather be extra safe, then just re-open them and you should be all clear of that nasty Superfish infection

Once that’s done you should be able to browse in safety.

MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

Browsing–Going Chrome

Google chrome

What’s your browsing preference?

Are you a Firefox devotee or do you prefer the good old fashioned Internet Explorer?

Whichever rocks your world, maybe it’s time to consider a change. What about the (not so) new kid on the block?

Google Chrome

Those of you of a certain age may be forgiven for thinking the image above is of that really annoying but highly addictive Simon electronic game.

But no – welcome to Google Chrome.

When it was first launched, Google Chrome didn’t make huge waves. Yes it was very fast but it didn’t offer the user many features.

Well two and a bit years on and Chrome has come of age. It has added features such as foreign language page translation and web apps – but it hasn’t slowed down so it still out performs Firefox and Explorer.

One of the best features of the latest version (10) is the refinement of Google’s instant search. Now, Chrome predicts what site you want to visit and loads the page as you type the URL. Admittedly that can be a bit freaky the first few times you use it but it really is pretty cool.

But one the best things about Chrome is its apps. There are free and paid ones available and range of simple bookmarks to applications such as Tweetdeck.

If you haven’t dabbled in Chrome yet, have a go. Once you’re used to it you’ll probably never want to go back to your old browser again.

Author: MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.