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1.  Have alternative startup page ability.   If you have your startup page set to open Excite, MSN, Yahoo, etc., it is very rare, but if their server is temporarily down, you will not be able to open your start page, and could be blocked from getting to the World Wide Web.  Have a couple back ups to use in an emergency or just because they are handy.  For example:

The next time you are at a favorite site, maybe a search engine, click on the little page icon in the address bar in front of the address.  Drag it down and drop it on your bottom task bar.  The next time you want to open that page, or if your start page hangs up - you're ready!

            
51K.  Download the MSNBC news alert from here by clicking on the red target.  It will rest on your task bar, announcing breaking news and will be available if you need quick access to open your browser.   NewsAlert is a valuable tool in any case, if you like to keep up with the news.  (Windows 95, 98 and NT)

Click the red target to download, or read more about it, and download from MSNBC.  
Either download's setup will take you to MSNBC.  Use your back button to come back.

You can also click your Start button on the bottom left of the bottom task bar, then click Run, then enter the web address you want. You don't need to type http, but do type the www, such as www.zdu.com .  And you're in!  
You can try this now (but do come back!), and you can use it when you are not yet connected to the Internet.  The connection box will automatically come up to make the connection and retrieve the page you typed in. You might use it occasionally so you will remember it in the event you really need it.

2.  Trace the route on the Internet used to find a page.  If you're having trouble accessing a page, or it's very slow to come up, you can see the "hops" it is taking to be found.  You might be able to tell if it is your ISP server or another on the route that is hanging things up.  Or do it just for fun, because it's interesting.

You can try this at this Web page, http://www.va.pubnix.com/bin/tc, which has a form set up just for this.

Or, you can do it in DOS:

Access DOS on the Start, Programs menu.  It may come up with a prompt of C:>Windows.  If it does, change it to the C:> prompt by typing in cd\ and enter.  At the C:> prompt type tracert and hit the spacebar once for one space.  Then type the address of the page you want to check.   Include the www. and the .com, .org, etc., such as www.cnn.com .  It will look like this:

C:>tracert  www.foxnews.com

The computers connected to along the path to reach your page are shown along with the milliseconds it took to get there.

 

3.  Add Free PowerToys to your Internet Explorer 4.0  browser.  Download this little 235 KB free progam that adds useful items to your browser. It should not take more than 2 minutes to download even with a 28,800 modem.  This is only for version 4 Internet Explorer browsers.

When prompted, Open the File From This Location.  When it's done, close and reopen your Internet Explorer 4 browser for the changes to take effect.

Read more about it below, then

Click the yellow box to download from here - for 4.x version browser

or read more about it at Microsoft and download from there. -> 4.0

Update - PowerToys for version 5.0 is available for download from the Microsoft site here.  They call it Web Accessories now.

Some PowerToy features:

My favorite - Open a frame in a new window. With PowerToys, you can right click a frame with your mouse and select "open frame in new window."  It is very handy when you run across a page with a small frame section that is difficult to scroll through, and when you are stuck in a Web site that has framed another company's page.

Another PowerToys feature is an Image Toggler.   You can turn pictures and graphics off and save time loading pages, and ink when printing them. 

You can also select key words as you're reading a web page - right click - and choose Web Search.  The words you selected will go to a search engine.

There's more - try it!

 

4.  To open a web page in a new window Hold down Shift while clicking the link with your mouse.  (MS IE only.) This is very useful when you are on a page you don't want to lose track of or leave completely, but you want to check another page.  The new page will open, with your original page behind it. You can go back to the original page by just closing the new page with the x at the top right of your screen.   Or, you can open the original page from its button found on your bottom task bar.

5.  Find your Desktop!  Not really Internet Explorer, but Windows.

If your keyboard has the Microsoft Windows key - the flying window symbol - usually found between the control and alt keys - you have quick access to your desktop.

Do you have several Web pages open, your e-mail program open, a Word doc and more, and now you want to see or access something on your desktop?

While holding down the Win key, press D and all your windows will minimize and you will be at your desktop.  You won't lose anything; they don't close, they just minimize.   To put everything back the way it was, hold down the Win key, press D again.  You can toggle back and forth.  Just remember D for desktop.

6.  Use keyboard shortcuts to save your wrists and time.  Give your hands and mouse a rest occasionally. 

Back and Forward

You don't always have to find that back button on the page, or at the top of your browser.  You can move back and forth to previous and next Web pages by holding down the Cntrl (control) key and pressing the left (back) or right (next) arrow key.

Back to Top

You can usually, but not always, just press the Home key to go to the top of a page.  We have always used this feature in word processing and other software programs, but most people don't think about it when they are on the Internet. If you have scrolled down quite a ways, don't use your mouse to scroll all the way back up!  Just Home.

You can also press End to go to the bottom of the page.

Sometimes, if it doesn't work, if you click with the mouse on a blank spot on the page, it will "reset" your mouse, and it will then work.

Try it right now. :-) Press home.  When you get to the top, press End, to come back here - because this is the End! 

Check back for new additions,

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top or  home key

Instead, just hit your escape key!
Amazing! :-)

This works in MS IE, and Netscape browsers.