Add-ons for IE

Mozilla Firefox is the most popular browser in terms of extensions and Add-ons and this is the reason why its the most preferred browser among bloggers. But Internet Explorer users, need not worry as IE too have some good add-ons to customize the features. Here is the list of top 8 useful and popular add-ons for Internet Explorer.

1. IE7Pro: IE7Pro is an add-on for IE 7 which adds lots of features and extras to make your IE easier, more useful, secure and customizable. IE7Pro includes Tabbed Browsing Management, AD Blocker, Flash Block, Super Drag Drop, Crash Recovery, Proxy Switcher, Mouse Gesture, Tab History Browser, Inline Search, User Agent Switcher, Webpage Capturer, Greasemonkey like User Scripts platform, User Plug-ins and many more power packed features. You can customize not just internet Explorer, but even your favorite web site according to your need and taste using IE7Pro.

2. IE Spell: IESpell is a add-on for Internet Explorer v6 and v7. It checks the spelling of almost any text that you enter in IE, whether it be Web-based email, blog entries, forums, dairies and so on. The add-on also lets you look up the meaning of a word in your choice of several online dictionaries. This add-on is especially useful for bloggers composing and publishing posts through IE. Firefox has an in-build spell checker.

3. Inline Search: Inline Search is an add-on which allows you to easily find words or phrases within a web page. This is similar to the Firefox’s search behavior which searches for the word as you type. The keyboard shortcut for search is CTRL+F, which brings up a toolbox in the status bar.

4. Google Preview IE: GooglePreviewIE is a toolbar for Internet Explorer which inserts thumbnail images of web sites directly into both Google and Yahoo search results. It also features a pop-up blocker and enhanced search functionality, the toolbar lets you easily preview the look and feel of a site without actually visiting it.

5. IE7 Open Last Closed Tab: IE7 Open Last Closed Tab is a plug-in for Internet Explorer 7 that makes “Alt-X” reopens the last closed tab. This is very useful when you accidentally close a tab that you didn’t mean to close. Instead of trying to find it in your browser history, you hit “Alt-X” and it automatically reopens in a new tab. Alt-Q will give you thumbnails of the previous tabs you’ve closed.

6. Stumble Upon: Stumble Upon is a toolbar for IE which allows you to discover thousands of web sites that match your interests. You can also write reviews about the websites, recommend and share sites with your friends network. It has been a great hit among bloggers. Stumble Upon also supports IE6.

7. Add Search Providers: Add Search Providers allows you to add search engines to the default search in IE. You can also create your own search toolbar (just follow the instructions on the page) if the desired search engine is not featured in the list.

8. Convert & download Youtube: Convert and Download YouTube add-on helps you to batch download and convert Youtube video in a click. With this you can download and convert Youtube flash video (FLV file), flash to AVI (divx, mp3), flash to MOV, flash to MP4 (iPod, PSP), flash to 3GP (mobile), flash to mp3 (audio only), converts FLV to MPEG4 more faster.

ActiveX

What is ActiveX?

ActiveX is a set of technologies from Microsoft that enables interactive content for the World Wide Web. Before ActiveX, Web content was static, 2-dimensional text and graphics. With ActiveX, Web sites come alive using multimedia effects, interactive objects, and sophisticated applications that create a user experience comparable to that of high-quality CD-ROM titles. ActiveX provides the glue that ties together a wide assortment of technology building blocks to enable these "active" Web sites.

A control using ActiveX technologies. An ActiveX control can be automatically downloaded and executed by a Web browser. ActiveX is not a programming language, but rather a set of rules for how applications should share information. Programmers can develop ActiveX controls in a variety of languages, including C, C++, Visual Basic, and Java.

An ActiveX control is similar to a Java applet. Unlike Java applets, however, ActiveX controls have full access to the Windows operating system. This gives them much more power than Java applets, but with this power comes a certain risk that the applet may damage software or data on your machine. To control this risk, Microsoft developed a registration system so that browsers can identify and authenticate an ActiveX control before downloading it. Another difference between Java applets and ActiveX controls is that Java applets can be written to run on all platforms, whereas ActiveX controls are currently limited to Windows environments. Related to ActiveX is a scripting language called VBScript that enables Web authors to embed interactive elements in HTML documents.

The BarCode-ActiveX Control has all the features necessary to easily add professional quality barcodes to any Windows application including Web pages, database reporting and labeling, product packaging, document tracking, postal bar coding and special purpose barcode labeling applications. It is an extremely easy and powerful tool that will work flawlessly with any Windows application that supports ActiveX technology including Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro, C++, Internet Explorer Web pages, Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, etc. Simply insert the Bar Code ActiveX Control into your application and specify a few properties in the properties window and your desired bar codes will be generated automatically.

Primary Benefits:

Active Web Content with Impact that will attract and retain users. Open, Cross-Platform Support on Macintosh®, Windows® and UNIX® operating systems. Familiar Tools from a wide assortment of tools and programming language vendors, including Visual Basic®, Visual C++®, Borland® Delphi®, Borland C++, Java, and Java-enabled tools. Developers can use what they know and be productive immediately. Existing Inventory of ActiveX controls available today for immediate use by Web producers. Industry Standards, with built-in support for key industry and de-facto marketplace standards, including HTML, TCP/IP, Java, COM, and others.

Keyword Importance

Google results are generally based on 4 major criteria:

• Keyword Density
• Keyword Prominence
• Page Rank (Back Links)
• Content

Keyword Density:

The density of keyword affects the ranking of your page. The higher the keyword density the higher is your rank so one should always include a 30-40 word paragraph containing key-word rich content, thus increasing the keyword density.

Keyword Prominence:

The keywords you have chosen should appear in title, Meta and H tags with some occurrence in the body also. So you should not define Google without putting the word Google in the body of the definition. This means H and P tags should go hand shaking with each other.

Page Rank (Back Links):

The more site links to your site better is the page rank of your site and more relevant your site is. Google also takes into consideration the words [or Anchor text] that appear in your back links.

Content:

Some say that the Content of your site is the king, but for me it’s actually the crown which the webmaster wears if his site has the right content. Build the content and users will be interested just be reading it. The best proof of it is you are reading till the last line of this post because it has the content for you to help you.

Tips for Web Domain

Annual Service Fee: The fee you pay to receive Domains or Custom Mailbox service for one year. This fee is paid at the beginning of the term and no refunds are available if you choose to stop using your domain name before the year is over.

A Record: Short for address record, it maps a domain name or hostname to an IP address. You would set an A record if you wanted all traffic for a domain or hostname (pets.domain.com) to go to a specific machine, which is identified by an IP address.

Catch-All Address: With this feature selected, any email that is sent to your domain name is forwarded to an email address. This allows you to have email addresses for yourself, departments (sales@yourcompany.com), promotions and other needs all forwarded to one
mailbox. It also ensures that misspelled email addresses (salse@yourcompany.com) still reach you. Please realize that this is only email forwarding. If you try to reply to a message, the address shown in "reply from" will be the address for your mail account. For full-featured domain mail, which enables you to reply using your new domain name address, you'll need to upgrade to Custom Mailbox.
CNAME Record: A CNAME record maps a hostname to another hostname. For example, you could set up store.widget-designs.com to map to store.wd.com. This means that users will always end up at store.wd.com no matter which hostname they enter in the browser.

DNS Management: DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses, which is how the Internet identifies unique hosts or computers on the network. For example, the domain name http://www.widget-designs.com/ might
translate to 198.105.232.4.DNS files control the functionality of domain names and are made of records including MX, A, and CNAME. Information in these records helps to direct your personal computer to a specific web site and helps deliver email messages to the correct mail server.
Domain Extensions: Domain extensions or TLDs are the necessary suffixes that complete your domain address. At small business, you can choose from the following TLDs: .com, .net, .org, .biz, .us and .info.
Domain Forwarding: Domain forwarding allows you to point a domain name to any other destination web address or URL, which can be a domain name, a hostname, or even a file within a folder. The result is that when a visitor enters your domain name in their browser, they are automatically sent to the destination you've chosen. This feature is often used when customers purchase multiple domain names and then direct them all to the same web site.
Domain Locking: Domain locking is a security feature that prevents your domain name from being transferred to another domain registrar and ensures that no one can modify your name servers without your permission. When you sign up for a domain name, your domain is automatically locked.
Domain Name: The "xyz.com" portion of the URL http://www.xyz.com/ is the domain name. It is a unique web address that can be registered to an organization or individual. It's like having your own personal street name on the Internet. In the same way people can find your home at 1234 ABC Street, they can find you online by typing in your domain name. If you purchase one of our Business Email, Web Hosting or Merchant Solutions plans when you order your domain, your domain name registration and annual renewal fee are included at no charge.
Email Forwarding: Email forwarding will send email messages addressed to your domain name to a free mail address. For example, an email message addressed to you@yourcompany.com will be delivered to you@xyz.com.
Hostname: A hostname is usually composed of a string of letters and numbers, a dot and then a domain name. For example, you might choose to set up a hostname for the shoe department within your online store, e.g. shoes.yourstore.com so that visitors have an easier URL to remember or bookmark (versus www.yourstore.com/pets/).
ICANN: An ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is the governing body for the Internet. As a public service to Internet users, ICANN requires that every new domain must be added to the public WHOIS database, which lists detailed information about each domain owner, including your postal address, email address, and phone number. Anyone can use this database to search for a domain name and discover who owns it. With Private Domain Registration, you can replace your private contact information in the public WHOIS database with generic contact information that points to the offices of our domain name registration partner, Melbourne IT.
IP Address: An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address.
Masking: Masking is an option that small business offers when you choose to forward your domain name. Forwarding your domain name means that when visitors click on a link or type a url into a browser, they are automatically directed to another site. In standard forwarding, visitors will not see the original domain name they clicked or typed in the address box at the top of their browser when they reach the destination site. Rather, the destination domain will be displayed. When you choose masked forwarding, the visitor will see the original domain name they clicked or typed in the address box at the top of their browser when they reach the destination. You may use this feature when you want to "mask" a web address that may not be user-friendly.

MX Record: Short for mail exchange record, it is an entry in a domain name database that identifies the mail server or servers that are responsible for handling email messages for that domain name. You would modify this record if you would like another server, other than one managed by small business, to handle email sent to your domain name.
Name Server: The name server translates a domain name into an IP address. The whois listing for your domain includes the name servers that host your domain name.
Name Server Modification (Redelegation): When you choose to use an existing domain name with small business services, we ask you to contact your current registrar to
change your name servers to small business's name servers. This allows us to host your domain name. Modifying your name servers to small business's doesn't mean that your domain name is managed by our registrar. If you change your name servers, your domain is still managed by your original registrar and you will continue to pay your annual registration renewal fees to them. With the Domains product, we also allow you to modify your name servers so that you can continue managing your domain name through us, but have your domain hosted elsewhere.
Private Domain Registration: When you register a domain using regular domain registration, your contact information automatically appears in a public database of domain owners, called WHOIS. Anyone can look up this information in WHOIS and use it to send you spam. You can help protect your privacy and reduce the likelihood of receiving spam with Private Domain Registration.
Starter Web Page: A starter web page is a bonus feature that you receive when you purchase a small business plan that includes a domain. The starter web page can replace the default "Under Construction" page and act as a placeholder until you decide to build a full web site or store at your domain. A starter web page allows you to post a short, customized message about yourself or your business and choose from a set of standard page templates. You cannot edit these templates, add pages, or include your own graphics.
Under Construction Page: When you register a domain name, we automatically create a placeholder web page for you. Your visitors will see this default "Under Construction" page when they go to your domain until you replace it. This page lets visitors know that you have not yet begun building your site and includes links to advertising-supported search results. When you're ready, you can create your own placeholder page by adding your own text and contact information to one of our predesigned templates. This starter web page is a bonus feature of your small business plan.
WHOIS: WHOIS refers to the public databases that store contact and technical information for domain names. Each domain registrar is required to maintain a WHOIS database for the domains they "host." These databases are accessible by anyone, 24 hours a day, and include information such as the date the domain name was registered, the date the domain name expires, the name servers, and the domain name holder's name, address, phone number, and email address.

Tips for Secure Site

At the very least, an attack could disable your Website and embarrass your company. At the very worst, an intruder could shut down your online store and make off with your customers´ credit card numbers and personal data. No site is absolutely safe from attacks; if you're plugged into the Internet, there's always a chance that an intruder will find a way into your Web server.

There are some simple, commonsense steps you can take to help deter attacks and limit damages:

1. Use a firewall to shield your network. This is perhaps the single most important step you can take to protect yourself against crackers. If you don't know what a firewall is, or if you don't know how to select and configure one, hire someone who does. Many administrators keep their companies' Web servers separate from the rest of the network to provide extra protection against break-ins.

2. Require good passwords. As a rule, people shouldn't use dictionary words, names or other personal data for their passwords--they're too easy for an intruder to guess.

3. Limit server access. Only people who really need it should have access to the server. Even then, carefully control each user's level of access. And make sure you delete inactive users as quickly as possible.

4. Turn off unused services on your Web server. Consider getting rid of FTP, SendMail, gopher, NFS, finger and any other services that might help an intruder break into your server. Also remove shells and interpreters you don't need and delete unnecessary directories. For example, if you don't run Perl-based CGI scripts, remove the Perl interpreter from your server. Keep a complete backup of your website. And keep it on a separate, secure computer. If a vandal does manage to destroy or deface your Website, you'll be able to get a backup version up more quickly.

5. Check your system and Web logs for suspicious activity. Programs such as Tripwire for Unix systems and Internet Security Scanner for Windows NT can monitor your log files and alert you to any unusual behavior. Unusual log file activity might be the first--and only--warning that an intruder is trying to break into your system.

6. Keep your software up to date. Microsoft and all of the Unix vendors periodically issue updates and security patches to their operating systems and Web servers. Understand that different operating systems and Web servers offer different levels of security, and even the best software might not be secure when you buy it off the shelf.

7. Understand how to maintain your server and network. If you don't, hire someone who does or contract with a professional hosting service.

8. Get the right equipment and advice before opening an e-store. E-commerce sites require special protection because they handle customer credit card numbers and other sensitive information. If you open an online store, you'll need a server that supports encrypted connections and additional security measures. When you set up a commerce site, hire a consultant who specializes in Web security issues or pay for a hosting service to do the job for you.

Web Host

ISP:

To create a website for your business, you need to find a place to store your files. One choice is to let your Internet Service Provider (ISP) host your Website--most ISPs provide some amount of server space as part of a standard dialup Internet access account. An advantage to this is that you won't have to pay extra for hosting services, although some ISPs can't provide the bandwidth or the reliability needed for a fully functional business site.

True Web hosting companies resemble ISPs in that they also provide servers connected to the Internet. But good Web hosts invest in more powerful servers and faster, more direct connections to the Internet. A Web hosting service is also likely to offer other features that you can't get from a regular ISP, such as special commerce servers that provide additional security
for online transactions.

Choose Web Host:

Server space. Initially, 10MB of disk space on a server should be enough for a typical business site. If your site has lots of graphics or multimedia files, you may need much more room; many hosts offer 100MB or more of disk space at reasonable rates. Also, find out whether email, log files and other "overhead" files count against your space limit--once you exceed your disk quota, the hosting service will charge a penalty. It's always better to have too much space than too little.

1. Traffic. Your host may impose a limit on how much traffic your site can attract each month before you have to pay a surcharge. You don't want an increasingly popular site to suddenly become a financial liability, so look for a plan that offers unlimited traffic or at least low over-limit charges.

2. Support. Make sure you can get technical support during the hours you're most likely to need it. When you evaluate a hosting service, call its support lines a few times to see how long it takes to get through.

3. Other Features. Make sure you can get your own domain name (http://www.yourbusiness.com/) rather than one incorporating the name of your host (www.hostname.com/yourbusiness). Most hosting sites will register a domain name for you at no extra charge (although you'll still have to pay the standard registration fee). Also check into how many email addresses you get and
whether they support aliases, which allow you to set up addresses such as sales@yourbusiness.com. Ask about programs for managing mailing lists and generating automatic email responses.

You want to find out about the visitors to your site--what links they followed to get there, which pages they view most often--so make sure that your host is equipped to track and provide that information. If you or your Web developer uses Web authoring and management software (such as Microsoft FrontPage) that offers nonstandard features, look for a host that can support that software. And if your site provides interactive functions such as forms or surveys, or if you allow online transactions, you need to ask about features such as CGI script and e-commerce support.

Buyer Beware:

Just as you need to make sure your host can provide the features you need, you want to be equally careful not to pay for ones you don't. If you don't plan to take credit card orders online, for example, you don't need to pay for secure socket layer (SSL) or other special security features. Once you've narrowed your list of Web hosting candidates, ask each service you're considering for a list of the sites it houses. Visit those sites to see how quickly the pages load, especially sites with pages of similar size and complexity to yours. You can also try sending email to the Webmasters at the sites to ask for their opinions of the hosting company. Internet mailing lists, computer user groups and professional associations are other good sources of information on finding the right Web host for your business.

Web Hosting Glossary

Glossary Terms for Web Hosting:

1. Application Server: A type of computer program that provides some basic functionality that can be called upon by customized applications.


2. Bandwidth: Refers to the amount of data that can be transferred during a given period of time.


3. Bulletin Board: An online application that supports threaded conversations among users. Users can browse through previously posted messages or add their own messages.


4. Burstable: Term used to indicate the maximum amount of bandwidth that can be supported during a short period of time.


5. Cage: An enclosed area found at some Web hosting companies that is used to host the computer equipment needed to maintain a Website.


6. Chat: Community software that allows users to message instantly to one another.


7. Cold Fusion: A brand of application software used to develop interactive Websites. Cold Fusion is produced by Allaire Corp.


8. Co-located Server: Type of site hosting where high speed Internet access is provided for a Web server that you provide and set up. Generally, the ISP is responsible for making sure the connection is up, while you are responsible for making sure the site works.


9. Common Gateway Interface Script (CGI Script): A type of script that results in an action based on the user's input.


10. Cookie: A type of file that is deposited onto a user's computer and used to track a user's activities on the Website.


11. Database Server: A computer that is designed to store and run a database.


12. Data Center: A building used to house all the equipment and telecommunications lines necessary to support Websites.


13. Dedicated Line: A type of telecommunications service that involves allocating a specified amount of bandwidth to a given location.


14. Dedicated Server: A type of Website hosting where the service provides site hosting equipment for the exclusive use by the customer. It may or may not include the appropriate software as well.


15. Domain Name: A text-based address used to identify a Website. Domain names provide a user-friendly way to access Websites rather than having to enter in an IP address.


16. File Transfer Protocol (FTP): A standard that allows for the transfer of files between two computers. FTP programs are often used to manage file transfers to Websites.


17. Firewall: A software - or hardware - based solution that is designed to prevent unauthorized access to the Website.


18. Internet Service Provider (ISP): A company that provides Internet access.


19. IP Address: A code used to identify the location of a computer on a network. IP addresses consist of four sets of numbers that are separated by periods, with each number ranging from 0 to 255. The domain name system translates domain names into these addresses, which are represented by a series of numbers looking something like this: 123.123.23.2.


20. Point of Presence (POP): A physical location maintained by an Internet service provider to provide a local connection to the Internet.


21. Rack: Equipment used to house computing equipment.


22. Secure Pages: A type of Web page that has been protected so that the information entered or being displayed on that page can only be viewed by the visitor to that page.


23. Secure Server: A type of Web server that can protect the display and transmission of information over the Internet by supporting major security standards like SSL.


24. Shared Hosting: A type of Website hosting where the hosting service provides all the hardware and software necessary to connect to the Internet.


25. Shopping Cart: A commerce technology that allows users to purchase a specified item from a Website.


26. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): A standard used to send e-mail.


27. Solaris: A UNIX based operating environment developed by Sun Microsystems.


28. Static Page: A web page that consists of a distinct file that resides on a web server.


29. T1, T3 Lines: High-speed telecommunications links. T1 lines convey data at speeds up to 1.544 Megabits per second. T3 lines support data speeds of 43 Megabits per second. They can be used to connect a user to an Internet service provider (typically T1), or to connect an Internet service provider to other locations on the Internet (T3).


30. Telnet: A type of computer program that provides access to remotely located computers. Control of that remote computer occurs through commands entered via text.


31. UNIX: A type of operating system often used in environments requiring robust applications such as site hosting. Multiple versions of UNIX, including Linux, exist.


32. Virtual Domain Name: A shared hosting service feature that allows companies to utilize a domain name as their Website address. Companies that do not offer this will require that the hosting company's domain name be part of your Website address.


33. Web Server: A computer that has been set up to deliver Web pages.


34. Website A discrete collection of pages that can be accessed via the World Wide Web. Websites consist of multiple files that can either be viewed by a browser or provide some back-end functionality.