Cookies are the small pieces of text stored on a computer by a web browser. A cookie consists of information such as user preferences, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or other data used by websites.

As far as cookies contain personal information it is important to protect it from unwanted sharing. All web browsers has cookie management tools. It is usually referred to privacy settings.

This article describes how to Block or Allow Cookies for certain web sites.

In order to Block or Allow cookies for certain site in standard Windows browser Internet Explorer do the following.

1. Go to Start and open Control Panel.

2. Choose Internet Options applet and open it. In Internet Options go to Privacy tab and click on Sites button:

 3. In the opened window you can add or remove sites to the list with Allow or Block setting:

 4. After adding necessary sites click OK twice.

Note: these settings will override all other privacy settings for these sites. Allow Cookies for the sites that is known and trusted.

WinRAR is one of the most popular archive management tools. It provide support for RAR. ZIP and other formats.

Great feature of the WinRAR program is that it allows to protect the archives with the password.

This article describes a process of creating a password protected archive. You should have WinRAR installed in order to be able to create WinRAR archive.

WinRAR lets you encrypt your archive with a 128 bit key. It is recommended to set the password with more than 8 characters.

1. Select the files  you want to add to the archive and right mouse click on them. Choose "Add to archive" option.

 2. In WinRAR dialog window go to Advanced Tab and choose the option "Set password"

 3. Enter your password.
If you choose the option "Show password", you'll be able to read the password and it will not be marked with asterisks.

The option "Encrypt filenames"; will show a password prompt right when the archive is opened, without showing the files it contains.

 4. Now you have password protected archive. This type of archives are marked with asterisks.

If your Windows security settings were changed by some software, script or a virus there is a way to reset it back to defaults. Different security changes might have negative influence on PC performance. However it is hard to clarify if security changes led to certain PC problem.

Note that this technique does not restore all security settings that are applied when you install Windows. Also this technique do not apply to Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions.

Steps to restore security settings:

1. Open Command Prompt:

 In Windows XP:

Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER.

In Windows Vista:

Click Start and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as administrator.

2. In the command prompt do the following:

In Windows XP:

type the following command, and then press ENTER:
secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose

In Windows Vista:

type the following command, and then press ENTER:
secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

You receive a "Task is completed" message and a warning message that something could not be done. You can safely ignore this message.

Now your system security settings have default values.

 Windows Vista has the System Beep enabled by default. Every time you encounter an error or security warning you will hear a beep. If it becomes very annoying to you there is a way to disable it.

Steps to disable system beep:

1. Go to Start menu and right click on Computer. From the context menu choose Manage.

2. In the Computer Management window go to System Tools and choose Device Manager.

 3. Go to the View menu and select Show hidden devices.

4. If you return to the Device Manager you will see a category of devices called Non-Plug and Play Drivers. Expand that list and select the Beep, as shown in the figure below.

 5. Right click on the Beep and select Properties.

6. In the Beep Properties window go to the Driver tab. From the Startup scroll down list, select Disabled and press OK.

 7. Restart your PC.

Dealing with regional options varies depending on what version of Windows you run.

This article describes the process of adding input language in Windows Vista.

Step by step instruction:

1) Click 'Start' and click 'Control Panel'.

2) Click 'Clock, Language, and Region'.

3) In the opened window click 'Regional and Language Options'.

 4) Choose the 'Keyboards and Languages' tab and press Settings button.

 6) Under 'Installed Services', click the 'Add' button. The 'Add Input Language' dialog box will appear.

7) Expand the appropriate language and select the text services you want to add.

8) Click 'OK'.

Windows Remote Assistance is a tool that allows to connect remotely and control the other operating system. Remote Assistance is a very useful tool for providing assistance when users need help. Remote Assistance sessions require password authentication. In addition, Windows Remote Assistance sessions are secured and encrypted.

You can launch Windows Remote Assistance by clicking the Start menu and typing Windows Remote Assistance and clicking Enter. Windows Vista will automatically launch Windows Remote Assistance. Click Invite someone you trust to help you.

You can send invitation through instant messaging or through email.

Then you must setup a password for your guest user. Please note that the password will not be included in the email invitation. You must manually send the password to the invitee. Enter a password twice and click Next.

Windows Vista will draft the following email:

"Hi, I need help with my computer. Would you please use Windows Remote Assistance to connect to my computer so you can help me? After you connect, you can view my screen and we can chat online. To accept this invitation, double-click the file attached to this message. (If you are running Windows Vista, you can also save the file to a location on your computer. Then you can open Remote Assistance, click Offer to help someone, and then open this file.) Thanks. Note: Do not accept this invitation unless you know and trust the person who sent it."

After your email has been sent, the Windows Remote Assistance dialog will wait for an incoming connection.

You must keep Windows Remote Assistance open or your invitee will be unable to connect.

When your invitee double-clicks the file attached to the message and enters the password they will be able to remotely control your computer.

Initial problem:

Internet Explorer (IE) doesn't start when opening it with the shortcut or launching with the command line. The only thing that is happening is the short blink of Internet Explorer window right after doubleclicking the shortcut.

System specifications:

Operating system: Windows XP Home edition SP3;

IE version: 7.

Customer use AOL browser and never used IE before.

Troubleshooting steps:

1. Performed Selective Startup (without loading startup items);

2. Reset IE to defaults;

3. Deleted temporary Internet files;

4. Scanned system for spyware and malware;

5. Installed latest version of IE with the latest updates.

Solution:

Solution to the problem was installing the latest updates for IE.

Here is the resolution steps:

1. Download latest IE version:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Internet-explorer/default.aspx

2. Run the downloaded file to install IE.

3. Follow the wizard to install IE. Make sure that Install latest updates checkbox is checked.

Internet Explorer gives you quick search capability using Search Providers. Search providers are the services that provide searching using certain search engine.

You can choose which provider to use when you browse the Internet. You can change search provider for current browsing session or choose default search provider. When you install Internet Explorer, you have at least one provider installed.

Some search providers offer search suggestions to improve searching speed. When you start typing a search term into the search box or Address bar, a list of other search terms will appear (similar to autocomplete function).

To add new search providers do the following:

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click the arrow to the right of the search box.

3. Click Find More Providers.

4. Click the search provider you would like to add. This opens the  Add Search Provider dialog box.

5. If you want the provider that you just added to be used by default when you search from the Address bar or search box, select the Make this my default search provider check box.

6. If the search provider offers search suggestions, select the Use search suggestions from this provider check box to receive search suggestions.

7. Click Add.

8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 for each provider you want to add.

To change the search provider temporarily (this session only)

 1. Click to open Internet Explorer.

2. Click the arrow to the right of the search box.

3. Click the search provider you would like to use.

4. In the search box, type the word or phrase you want to search for, and then press Enter.

This search provider will be used until you close Internet Explorer. When you restart Internet Explorer, the default search provider will be used.

To change the default search provider

 1. Click to open Internet Explorer.

2. Click the arrow to the right of the search box.

4. Click the search provider you would like to set as the default, click Set as default, and then click Close.

Using Accelerators to find addresses, define words, and do other tasks with selected text

3. Click the Accelerator button to display a list of Accelerators.

4. Click the Accelerator to open the web service using the highlighted text.

You can also use an Accelerator from the new tab page with text you've copied to the Clipboard, such as from an e-mail message or word-processing document. For example, if you receive a street address in an e-mail that you want to get directions for, you can copy the address to the Clipboard, open Internet Explorer, and open a new tab. On the new tab page, under Use an Accelerator, click Show copied text if you want to check the text you copied, and then click the Accelerator you've chosen for mapping.

Windows 7 has a brand new look as the new system suppose to have. It has new task bar navigation and functionality. However if you are uncomfortable with this new task bar and its new options you can customize it to have more usual look.

This article is describing the process of adding standard for XP and Vista systems Quick Launch bar to the Task Bar.

Steps to add Quick Launch bar to the Task Bar in Windows 7:

1. Right-click on an open area of the taskbar, choose Toolbars and then choose New Toolbar from the menu.

2. Now you should navigate to Quick Launch folder. In order to do that paste the following string to the address bar of Windows Explorer window:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Make sure that the location bar shows the full path before you choose the “Select Folder” button.

You’ll immediately notice the Quick Launch toolbar on the right side of the taskbar. You can click on the dotted lines and then drag the toolbar all the way to the left. Note that you’ll need to right-click and unlock the taskbar before you can move the toolbar.

3. To hide the text from the toolbar right-click on the dotted lines and uncheck “Show Text” as well as “Show Title” from the menu.

4. The last thing is to Lock your Taskbar again and you will get your "favourite" Quick Launch back.