Internet Explorer 8 Quick Tour (part 3) - Adding Sites to Your Favorites

Browsing with Enhanced Privacy and Security

The Internet is becoming an increasingly rich connective space where much personal information is given and sometimes taken. Users aren’t always aware that when they browse the Internet the websites they visit might be tracking their browsing habits. IE8 safeguards your personal browsing information from other people entrusted with access to your computer and from sites you aren’t aware are attempting to pilfer your data.

IE8 includes a series of security and privacy features, one of which is called InPrivate Browsing. An InPrivate session captures all traces of your personal browsing activities—including those deemed Not Safe For Work (NSFW)—and erases those details when you close the browser. All cookies, temporary Internet files, browsing history, form information, submitted usernames, and typed passwords simply vanish. To enable InPrivate Browsing, either click the Safety button in the toolbar and select InPrivate Browsing or press Ctrl+Shift+P.

New malware protections such as the SmartScreen antiphishing filter prevent those most prolific online scams from fooling you into revealing sensitive information to unauthorized parties. SmartScreen warns you when you select a site deemed harmful (for example, known to harbor malware or to be posing as a false front for a financial institution) with a constantly updated database of bad sources.

InPrivate Filtering is designed to deter sites from sharing your browsing habits without your knowledge. InPrivate Filtering enables selective site blockage so that the places you visit cannot harvest your information and pass it along to third parties. A small lock icon with an arrow (at the lower right of the browser window; see Figure 5) indicates that InPrivate Filtering is active. To enable InPrivate Filtering, either click the Safety button in the toolbar and select InPrivate Filtering or press Ctrl+Shift+F. You can also access InPrivate Filtering settings from the Safety menu. If InPrivate Filtering blocks from display third-party data that you need, you can specify custom feature settings as a workaround.

Microsoft also includes additional safety features. IE8 blocks common forms of cross-site scripting attacks and provides better protection against malicious ActiveX controls. It also attempts to prevent click-jacking, which is when an attacker places invisible buttons above or below legitimate buttons, thereby duping unsuspecting users into activating malicious code or revealing private information. And unlike previous browsers, IE8 offers the Delete Browsing History screen so you have granular control over cookies and temporary Internet file deletions. To access IE8’s improved browsing deletion tools, click the Safety button and choose Delete Browsing History or simply press Ctrl+Shift+Del. If you check the box titled Preserve Favorites Website Data, no information related to your bookmarked sites will be erased.

Adding Sites to Your Favorites

It’s very inefficient (not to mention annoying) to type the URL in the Address box every time you want to access your favorite sites. It’s also difficult, if not impossible, to remember all your favorites. Fortunately, IE8 lets you add, save, and categorize your favorites so you can access them in the Favorites pane, which now entirely replaces the Links bar (and all related functionality). The Favorites Bar contains the Favorites button, a quick Add To Favorites button, the Suggested Sites Web slice, and a Get More Add-Ons Web slice.

The process of adding a favorite is fairly simple. Your first step is to browse to the website you want to make one of your favorites. For best results, open the main or index page of the website first. Now try the following:

Now that you’ve added a favorite to the list, you can view the favorite by opening the Favorites Center pane. Here’s how:

1.	Click the Favorites button in the toolbar. The Favorites Center pane appears on the left side of the window, as shown in Figure 9. Notice that the Favorites Center pane overlaps the web page you’re viewing. Figure 9. The Favorites pane keeps your most favored websites in order.
2.	Click the folder that contains the favorite. The favorite appears underneath the folder name.
3.	Click the favorite name to open the web page in the right pane.
4.	Close the Favorites Center pane by clicking the Favorites button.