browser – Objective Technologies

Microsoft Edge: 9 Most useful features

Objective — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 20:00:08 +0000

There are plenty of reasons why Microsoft Edge is a great choice for professionals: its speed, security, and compatibility with Microsoft Office make it an ideal choice for business users. If you’re one of those who prefer Edge over other browsers, you might find more reasons to like it when you realize that it can do even more. Here, we list some of its most notable features and updates.

Browser tab sharing

Edge Workspaces is a new feature that enables teams to share browser tabs. This function makes it easier to share files and links within teams. Instead of giving members individual access to files and links, teams can simply save a single link on an Edge Workspace. This functionality will come in handy for teams that usually collaborate on projects and are bringing in new members to work on them.

Vertical Tabs

You’ll find Vertical Tabs to be a very useful feature if you often open numerous tabs at once. Instead of hovering over or clicking on a tab to see which page it’s on, you can easily find the tabs on the left edge of the browser where they’re much easier to see and manage. This makes opening and moving pinned tabs as well as creating new tabs much easier, so you never have to accidentally close or lose track of tabs again.

With the recent Microsoft Edge update, users will be able to conceal the horizontal title bar at the top of the screen, giving them more vertical space to work with. To enable Vertical Tabs, go to Settings > Appearance > Customize toolbar and toggle on “Hide title bar while in vertical tabs.”

Tab groups

Microsoft Edge allows you to categorize related tabs so you can better organize your web browser. For instance, you can group all project-related tabs together and designate another tab group for YouTube video watching.

To use tab groups, right-click on an open tab and select Add tab to a new group. Then, create a label and choose a color to identify the tab group. When the tab group is set up, you can add tabs to the group by clicking and dragging.

Collections

Collections allows you to gather information from different sites, then organize, export, or return to it at a later time.

To use Collections, click on the Collections button at the top-right corner of the screen and a pane will open on the right side of your browser window. You can then drag and drop web pages, text, images, videos, and other elements into a group, which you can then import into an Excel workbook or a Word document.

Tracking prevention

Whenever you visit a site, online trackers can collect information about your internet activity, including the pages you visit, the links you click on, your search history, and more. Companies can then use the data collected to target you with personalized advertisements and experiences.

The tracking prevention feature in Microsoft Edge is designed to keep you from being tracked by sites that you aren’t accessing directly. It’s enabled by default, and it gives you control over the types of third-party trackers to be detected and blocked, thereby enhancing your online privacy.

Typo protection

Users who type in the website on a browser’s address bar may sometimes misspell the website URL and be led to a fraudulent site. To prevent this, Microsoft Edge has introduced typo protection for website URLs, a security feature that many users will find most useful.

Password Monitor

Due to data breaches, millions of online personal credentials are frequently exposed and end up being sold on the dark web. To keep your online accounts safe from hackers, Microsoft developed the Password Monitor. When enabled, this feature notifies you if the credentials you’ve saved to autofill are on the dark web. It then prompts you to take action, allowing you to view a list of all the leaked credentials and then leading you to the respective sites to change your password.

Immersive Reader

Immersive Reader makes reading online easier and more accessible by removing clutter from the page and simplifying web page layouts. Built into the new Microsoft Edge, this feature also provides access to a variety of capabilities, including hearing text read aloud or adjusting the text size. This feature is specially designed for those who have dysgraphia and dyslexia.

Easy switching

You can download Microsoft Edge on your Windows, Mac, iOS, and/or Android device. What’s great is that you can easily copy or migrate your bookmarks, form-fill information, passwords, and basic settings to the new Microsoft Edge with just a single click.

To learn more about the latest features of Microsoft Edge and how to enjoy their benefits on your business computers, give us a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Windows 11 settings you should turn off

Objective — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 21:00:35 +0000

Do you feel like your online activity is being spied on? That’s because it probably is — but not by cybercriminals as you might think. It’s more likely that it’s your operating system that’s tracking your information. Learn more about Windows 11’s not-so-private settings and how to fix them to ensure your privacy.

Turn off personalized advertising

Windows 11 features targeted ads as suggestions, recommendations, and tips on your device’s user interface. The operating system personalizes the ads a user sees based on computer activity and browser history. While personalized ads may direct users to helpful content, they can also be a hindrance to their productivity. To remove these distracting ads, here’s what you should do:

Click Start > Settings > Privacy & security.
Go to Diagnostics and feedback.
Find the Tailored experiences menu, and toggle it off.
Then, go back to Privacy & security and select General.
From there, turn off the “Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID” option.

You can also remove ads in Windows 11 notifications by doing the following:

Go to Start > Settings > System.
Select Notifications.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and disable the “Get tips and suggestions when it uses Windows” and “Offer suggestions on how I can set up my device options”.

Disable Cortana

Cortana is a personal assistant that allows users to set reminders, schedule events, and send emails, among other tasks. Every time you use Cortana, it collects information about your computer activity — “learning” it, so to speak — to improve user experience. But if you find this feature intrusive, you can disable Cortana completely with these steps:

Go to Settings > Apps > Apps and Features.
Find Cortana and open Advanced options by clicking on the three-dot icon.
Turn off the Run at log-in option.

Change Microsoft’s Edge settings

The Microsoft Edge web browser is chock full of features, such as web experience personalization and typing prediction. Such features may make you uncomfortable since they all send back data to Microsoft. Here’s how to turn them off:

Open Edge and click on the menu icon (three dots) in the upper-right corner.
Next, click on Settings > Privacy and services. Scroll down and switch on the “Send ‘Do Not Track’ requests” option.

There’s also a bunch of Privacy and Services settings that you may want to disable, such as tracking services, navigation error resolution, blocking potentially unwanted apps, and more.

For more tips on how to safeguard your security and privacy, drop us a line today. Our experts will be more than happy to help!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Useful Microsoft Edge features you should know about

Objective — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 20:00:46 +0000

Microsoft Edge is a web browser that boasts faster loading times, better support, and stronger security than its predecessor, Internet Explorer. However, these improvements merely scratch the surface of what Microsoft Edge is capable of. Here are a few great features available in the newly updated web browser.

1. Vertical tabs

Vertical tabs are a handy feature if you often find yourself opening dozens of tabs at once at any given time. Instead of having to hover over or click on one to see which page it’s on, you can easily find and manage your tabs on the side with a single click. You’ll never have to lose track of or accidentally close tabs again.

With the recent Microsoft Edge update, users will now be able to hide the horizontal title bar at the top of the screen so there’s additional vertical space to work with. To enable this feature, go to Settings > Appearance > Customize toolbar and select Hide title bar while in vertical tabs.

2. Tab groups

Microsoft Edge allows you to group related tabs so you can better organize your web browser and workspace. For instance, you can have all project-related tabs grouped together and designate another tab group for recreational YouTube video watching. Using tab groups is as easy as right-clicking on an open tab and selecting Add tab to a new group. From there, you’ll be able to create a label and choose a color to identify the tab group. When the tab group is set up, you can add tabs to the group by clicking and dragging.

3. Collections

Collections allows you to gather information from different sites, then organize, export, or return to it at a later time. Doing these can be especially difficult if you’re working across several sites and multiple devices. To use this feature, simply click on the Collections button and a pane will open on the right side of your browser window. Here, you can easily drag and drop web pages, text, images, videos, and other elements into a group, which you can then import to a Word document or Excel workbook.

4. Tracking prevention

Whenever you visit a site, online trackers can collect information about your internet activity, including pages you visit, links you click on, your search history, and more. Companies then use the data collected to target you with personalized advertisements and experiences.

5. Password Monitor

Millions of online personal credentials are frequently exposed due to data breaches and sold on the dark web. To keep your online accounts safe from hackers, Microsoft developed the Password Monitor. When enabled, this feature notifies you if the credentials you’ve saved to autofill are on the dark web. It then prompts you to take action, allowing you to view a list of all the leaked credentials and then leading you to the respective site to change your password.

6. Immersive Reader

Built into the new Microsoft Edge, Immersive Reader makes reading online easier and more accessible by removing distractions on the page and creating a simplified environment that helps you to focus. This feature also gives you access to a variety of capabilities, including hearing text read aloud or adjusting the text size.

7. Easy switching

Microsoft Edge is available to download for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. What’s great is that you can easily copy or migrate your bookmarks, form fill information, passwords, and basic settings to the new Microsoft Edge with just a single click.

If you want to learn more about the latest features of Microsoft Edge and how to enjoy these benefits on your business computers, give us a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.