A BRILLIANT NEW TOOL

All of you know of Google as a search engine; you probably use it. For a long while Google also has had a free toolbar for download. It appears as a toolbar on the top of your Internet Explorer page, along with Internet Explorer’s own toolbars.

The Google toolbar enables searches without having to navigate to www.google.com. While convenient and useful, I normally wouldn’t mention it in these columns, because it hadn’t until recently enhanced your computer’s security.

Google has come out with a second edition, and among several new features, it includes a pop-up killer.

I haven’t yet discussed pop-ups. A pop-up is an extra window that opens when you link to a website. Even respectable sites like those of large corporations and newspapers employ pop-ups. Normally they advertise features or products offered by the site. Often there’s a pop-up message that the site’s javascript (instructions to form the page) didn’t work. The message asks if you’d like to debug the script.

Few people have the skills to debug javascript. Those who do don’t have the time. So you have to waste time clicking no. Every time I link to the Jerusalem Post Online I get two javascript errors. With Ha’aretz (another newspaper’s online site) I get one javascript error. This can be frustrating.

I have been using an excellent product called Pop-Up Washer by WebRoot. I anticipated recommending it in a future column. WebRoot can describe the value of a good pop-up washing better than I:

Why do you need Pop Up Washer?

• Delivery of pop-up ads has grown by 400% in recent months.
• Intrusive pop-ups pollute your online world, impeding productivity and detracting from the enjoyment of your favorite sites.
• Pop-up ads consume bandwidth, slowing your Internet connection.
• New delivery methods defeat many pop-up stoppers.
• Controlling the pop-up windows you do and do not see is essential for an optimal online experience.

Pop Up Washer Snapshot

• Transparently blocks pop-ups and pop-unders without visible screen "blink" distractions.

• Works seamlessly with Internet Explorer. (Not compatible with other browsers at this time).

• Installs quickly and operates without impeding system resources.

• Intelligently delivers user initiated and navigational pop-ups and gives you the option to allow pop-ups from trusted sites.

But I’m not going to suggest you buy the Webroot program because the new version of Google’s toolbar offers all these functions. Further, the Google toolbar is free, and offers so much more than pop-up washing..

If you already have the Google toolbar, the new version has been installed automatically. If not, please follow these instructions. Link to the following http://toolbar.google.com/ to bring up this page.

Choose your language and click ‘Download Google Toolbar. You’ll get a dialogue box in which you can select a folder for the download. Normally you should choose c:\\downloads. In my case it’s H:\\downloads. That’s because I have several hard disks and they are all partitioned.

Once the installer is downloaded, navigate to the target folder and double-click the download to install the toolbar.

Please keep in mind that after the install, the Google Toolbar will not appear on websites already opened. The toolbar will appear on any new pages opened. Or you can refresh the current pages by pressing the F5 key or by selecting Refresh in Internet Explorer’s View menu.

My Google Toolbar looks like the screenshot below. Yours will have fewer options unless you select them from the options menu.

Now let’s configure the toolbar.

You can see I’ve enabled everything. You can choose what you like. For information on the various items, click the Help button on the bottom. When you’ve decide what you wish to enable, check the items’ boxes then click Apply. I recommend that you enable the Options button so you can change your choices easily.

Next click the More tab.

This column would get too long if I discussed the various choices. You’ll have to use the Help button. Most of the choices are self-evident. You can change your options at any time by clicking the option button on the toolbar.

One very convenient addition to Google’s toolbar is the AutoFill feature. Often you need to fill out your name, address, telephone number, credit card information and more in order to download a trial application or buy something over the internet or join a forum. Whenever Google detects a form on a page the autofill feature completes the items it recognizes. Read the help file for details..

Lastly, if you wish to use Google at a particular country site, click the options button. Then click the down arrow on the combo box to the right of Use Google site:

If for any reason you do not want to install Google’s toolbar, please go the Webroot’s Pop-up Washer’s Home Page at: http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/popupwasher/index.php

At $29.95 it’s well worth the aggravation it saves you. But free is better.

See you next week.

Dennis Turner