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Customize Firefox using about:config

One of the best things about Firefox is its flexibility and extensibility. Here's how you can tweak settings inside of Firefox using about:config. This article is also available as a TechRepublic download.

Internet surfers everywhere seem to be taken with Mozilla's browser offering, Firefox (now in release 2.0.x). This is partly due to the browser's speed and extensibility; but Firefox also has the ability to completely customize its configuration. This article will cover the last of Firefox's hidden pages, about:config and some of the tweaks it allows the user to make.

Accessing the configuration

To access the guts of the Firefox browser, enter about:config into the Address bar and press [Enter]. This will bring up a long list of customizable preferences for the current installation of the browser. The default configuration is similar the one shown in Figure A.

Figure A

Some options available in the default configuration of Firefox.

No Comment | Posted in » browser, Excel tips, Firefox, Internet  

Active Directory Tip: Kerberos basics for Windows authentication

KERBEROS PROTOCOL: WHAT EVERY ADMIN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WINDOWS AUTHENTICATION

Kerberos can be a difficult protocol to understand for some Active Directory admins, so it's best to start at the beginning. Expert Gary Olsen describes the basics of how Kerberos authentication and authorization works for Windows.

erberos is a protocol that, prior to Windows 2000 Server, Windows NT admins could ignore. At that time, Microsoft used NTLM for authentication, which was fine for the Windows world -- but nowhere else.

With the inception of Windows 2000, Microsoft adopted Kerberos as an authentication protocol. Not only was it much more secure and efficient than NTLM, but it also played nicely with other operating systems such as Unix.

1 comments | Posted in » Active directory, Domain, Kerberos, Microsoft, security software  

How to find Windows Vista drivers for all your hardware

If you have a new Windows Vista-based computer, here's how to find drivers for all your hardware.

Welcome to the 21st century

Fortunately, finding drivers isn't the chore it once was. When Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001, it also introduced Windows Update, a website for finding and installing important software and driver updates. With Windows Vista, Microsoft has simplified the process of finding and installing drivers even more.

Windows Update is now a fully integrated part of Windows, and Microsoft has worked with hardware manufacturers to make sure plenty of new drivers are available. More than 31,000 updated drivers were ready when Windows Vista was completed—far more than the 12,000 that were available at the completion of Windows XP—and more are becoming available every day through Windows Update.

In many cases, you don't even need Windows Update to install new devices. Often when you plug in a new device or install a new add-on card in your computer, Windows Vista will detect the hardware and automatically install the correct driver in less than a minute. A notification lets you know when installation begins and when it's complete. You don't have to do anything.

Please click here for full article

No Comment | Posted in » Driver, Microsoft, Windows vista  

What is a cookie?

Cookies are small files that Web sites put on your computer hard disk drive when you first visit.

Think of a cookie as an identification card that's uniquely yours. Its job is to notify the site when you've returned. Cookies should not be confused with viruses. While it is possible to misuse a cookie in cases where there is personal data in it, cookies by themselves are not malicious.

Many Web sites, including Microsoft's, use cookies. Cookies tell us how often you visit pages, which helps us find out what information interests you. In this way, we can give you more of the content you like and less of the content you don't.

Cookies can help you be more efficient. Have you ever put something in a virtual shopping cart in an online store and then returned a few days later to find that the item is still there? That's an example of cookies at work.

Cookies let you store preferences and user names, register products and services, and personalize pages.

But if you never register or leave personal information at a site, then the server only knows that someone with your cookie has returned to the Web site. It doesn't know anything else.

No Comment | Posted in » Computer, cookies, Internet, security software  

How to limit your personal data in online directories

Internet phone books, people-finding services, and other online directories make it almost impossible to keep your personal contact information entirely off the Web.

It's fairly easy for anyone to find your name, phone number, home address, or e-mail address—for business or social purposes, advertising or marketing, or even criminal intent.

Here are a few ways to help control the amount of personal information you give to the world.

No Comment | Posted in » personal info, security software  

Use index sheets to quickly navigate in an Excel workbook

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When working with large workbooks in Microsoft Excel, you can spend a good deal of time navigating through dozens of sheet name tabs to find the one you need. One method for making this task easier is to build an index sheet that contains hyperlinks to every worksheet in your workbook.

To create the index, follow these steps:

1. Insert a new worksheet at the beginning of your workbook and rename it Index.
2. Right-click on the sheet tab and select View Code.
3. Enter the following code in Listing A.
4. Press [Alt][Q] and save the workbook.

The next time you open the workbook, the Index sheet will contain a list of hyperlinks to each worksheet in the workbook. Each worksheet also contains a hyperlink back to the Index sheet. In this example, the link back to the Index is contained in cell H1, but it can be in any cell that is blank for all worksheets.

No Comment | Posted in » Excel, Excel tips, office 2003  

10 key enhancements in Excel 2007

Given the learning hurdle that comes with an entirely revamped (albeit improved) user interface, Excel 2007 must offer significant enhancements to encourage you to upgrade. Herewith, my top 10.


To read this please click here

No Comment | Posted in » Computer, Excel, Excel tips