Did You Know June 2002

Did You Know

Did You Know . . .

.....that you can eliminate the character that accompanies WindowsXP search? Open a folder, press F3 to start search, and look for the Search Companion pane on the bottom left. Click on Change Preferences. Click on Without an animated screen character.

.....that WindowsXP groups applications that are similar under one button on the taskbar? This means you have to choose from a pop-up menu to reopen an application. If you want buttons for each open application, right-click the taskbar, choose Properties. Uncheck Group similar taskbar buttons. Click OK.

.....that you don’t need to enter a password each time you deactivate your screen saver in WindowsXP? Right-click the desktop and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Click on the tab Screen Saver, uncheck the box labeled On resume, password protect or On resume, display Welcome screen [depending on your log-on configuration], then click OK.

.....that you may be using more memory than necessary if you have your color set too high? Right-click the desktop, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Click on the Settings tab. On the left bottom side you will see the current setting. If it is 32 bit true color, reset it to 16 bit high color [in WindowsXP the settings are labeled "Medium" for 16 bit and "Highest" for 32 bit]. You may need to reboot in order for the change to take effect.

.....that Microsoft’s Media Player can track your movements on the Web? If you have version 6.4 through 7.1 of Media Player you can disable the tracking devices [called "supercookies"] by selecting Tools|Options and then deselect Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player. If you have older versions, upgrade to 7.1. For more info see www.find.pcworld.com/21981 for the upgrade and www.find.pcworld.com/21706 for Richard Smith’s diagnosis of the problem.

.....that there is a security flaw in Netscape Navigator [versions 6 through 6.2] that could allow unscrupulous web site operators to see your cookies. Download the upgrade [6.2.1] which fixes that flaw and also adds some new security features at www.pcworld.com/22461

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