Windows XP Professional: The Missing Manual

Internet Options

A better name for this program would have been “Web Browser Options,” since all of its settings apply to Web browsing—and, specifically, to Internet Explorer. Its tabs break down like this:

• General, Security, Privacy, and Content. These tabs control your home page, cache files, and history list. They also let you define certain Web pages as off-limits to your kids. Details on these options are in Chapter 11.

• Connections. Controls when your PC modem dials; see Faster Access to Connection Icons for details.

• Programs. Use these drop-down lists to indicate which Internet programs you generally prefer for email, creating Web pages, and so on. For example, the email program you specify here is the one that will open automatically whenever you click an “email me!” link on a Web page. The checkbox at the bottom of the dialog box warns Windows to watch out for the day when you install a browser other than Internet Explorer. At that time, you’ll be asked which program—IE or the new one—you want to use as your everyday browser.

• Advanced. On this tab, you’ll find dozens of checkboxes, most of which are useful only in rare circumstances and affect your Web experience only in minor ways. For example, “Enable Personalized Favorites Menu” shortens your list of bookmarks over time, as Internet Explorer hides the names of Web sites you haven’t visited in a while. (A click on the arrow at the bottom of the Favorites menu makes them reappear.) Turning off the “Show Go button in Address ...