Computer and Web Articles

Question: Very often when I’m online (using Internet Explorer) my work is interrupted by an insidious message in a square box about 2 x 2”inches or so. “ERROR” is in the upper left corner under which is a large red circle with a white X through it. Under the X is the message: “A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to Debug? Line:12 (although this number varies a great deal) Error: ‘com’ is undefined.” Under this message are two boxes: “Yes” and “No.” This message is very hard to get around. Even after clicking the “NO” button and trying to get away, the message continues to pop up over and over again precluding navigating anywhere else. Do you know what causes this, or how to get rid of it permanently? Thanks so much for your help! — Annieb, Silverthorne Colorado

Answer: Hi there Annieb. Yes, I do know this error; I’ve repeatedly seen it slowly drive people toward madness with its ridiculously annoying tendencies. Thankfully the problem isn’t serious and it’s an easy one to solve.

The error you’re seeing (over and over and over again) is actually an error message that’s intended specifically for web developers who are testing and debugging their sites. And of course, I know of a solution.

To prevent the error from appearing in the future, you’ll need to open Internet Explorer, look up near the top of the page, and then click Tools, then Internet Options, then the Advanced tab. You should now be looking at a long list of options and associated checkboxes. Scroll through these options and make sure the following two are checked:

• Disable script debugging (Internet Explorer)
• Disable script debugging (other)

Then, make sure the option below these two (Display a notification about every script error) is *not* checked.

Last, click OK to close the dialog box and your problem should be solved. Bye-bye, annoying ERROR message.

Question: Dear Erin, how come most websites are not clear upfront about shipping methods? It’s frustrating to enter my PO Box blah blah only to have the screen come back with a red notation “We can’t ship to PO boxes.” I try to make it a habit of looking at the shipping information when that’s an option, but even then, a number of companies don’t have the information clearly listed. Is there a secret to figuring it out before all my info gets wiped clean and I have to type again?

Answer: While there’s no secret to avoiding the occasional frustration inherent with having online purchases shipped to Summit County (where the PO box vs. physical address dilemma lives strong), I can tell you what I do whenever purchasing products online.

Before checking out, I always attempt to learn how a particular company ships; do they ship USPS? UPS? Fed Ex? If I can find a “Store Policies” or a “Shipping” page providing that information upfront, checkout is usually quite painless because I know exactly what address to use for my mailing address.

If I’m unable to locate an online store’s shipping policies, I’ve found that entering either my PO box and physical address separated by a slash or my physical address in the “Address 1” field and my PO Box in the “Address 2” field usually works without a hitch.

Question: Hi Erin. I have a secure wireless connection at my home and in my office but when I’m on the road I tend to use a lot of public wi-fi spots. My question is: Is it safe for me to access my bank account information and conduct online banking transactions if I’m not on a secure connection?

Answer: Great question.

The answer is yes, it’s safe.

While it may seem like a frightening concept to access your banking info from an unsecured wireless connection, you’re actually totally, completely fine in doing so. This is because financial institutions encrypt all online banking sessions, meaning that other people cannot access your info while you’re logged in — that’s what the little “lock” at the bottom of the screen means when you login to your bank site.

Just remember that with the exception of when you’re actually viewing these secured pages (ones displaying the lock icon that also have URLs starting with https:// instead of just http://), you should always operate under the assumption that anything you view and send online could potentially be read by others.

Question: Hi Erin. I have a question relating to technology.  I was wondering what is the easiest and cheapest way to start a personal weblog/blog? Thanks.  -Tara

Answer: Two of the quickest, easiest, cheapest options to start your own personal blog would be:

1. www.wordpress.com (see the big shiny “sign up now” button?)
2. www.blogger.com/start

Both options are totally free.

Just take a look around the two sites to determine if one solution appeals to you more than the other.  And when I say these options are easy, I mean e-a-s-y.  You can have your very own blog up and running within minutes. Have fun.

Question: I read a fair share of lengthy online articles each week and when doing so, I normally use my mouse’s scroll-wheel to move down the page as I read. My son has mentioned he prefers using the “Page Down” key on his keyboard. Out of curiosity, what method of scrolling do you use when reading online long articles?

Answer: If I’m scanning through content, I’m a huge fan of my mouse’s scroll-wheel.

When I’m doing more thorough readings of web page content, however, I use … the spacebar. When viewing websites, the spacebar typically functions just like your keyboard’s Page Down key; it’s just bigger and much easier to use.

When I want to move up instead of down, I just hold down the Shift key with my pinky before tapping the spacebar. Very easy.

Question: I often use AOL Instant Messenger to chat with contractors and clients living in other parts of the world. However, because many of these conversations contain sensitive information, I’m concerned about the security of my chats. Is there a way to encrypt Instant Messenger conversations? Even better, is there a free way to do this?

Answer: Yep, there sure is. Visit this link: http://tinyurl.com/3mskdq; it’ll take you to a page on the Download.com where you can download a program called Trillian (for free, of course). Trillian is a full-featured, stand-alone chat program that will let you connect to AOL Instant Messenger and then encrypt your chat conversations so that they can’t be read by others.

As a side note, in addition to AOL Instant Messenger, Trillian supports ICQ, MSN, IRC and Yahoo Messenger.

Question: Hello Erin. Here’s a situation I often encounter when using Internet Explorer that may also be “bugging” some of your readers. On some sites I see a tiny box with a little “x” inside of it, instead of the information I am seeking. Is this a problem with my software compatibility? Can I do something to open the box and release the contents?

Answer: Not to worry; it’s unlikely you’re experiencing software compatibility issues. For one reason or another your browser is simply being stubborn and has decided to hide certain images from you, replacing them with those little red x’s.

There are a several possible causes of this problem, but the great news is that (just about) all of them are easily fixed with one of four simple setting changes.

To view the four methods that’ll likely solve your issue, visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283807.

Question: Hello Erin. I use the “Print Screen” key on my keyboard regularly to take a snapshot of what’s on my monitor - I often send these images via e-mail to friends and employees.

Lately I’m finding it annoying that my entire screen is always captured because sometimes I only want a part of the screen to be captured, something like a dialog box or error message.

Is there a way to have more control over my images when I use Print Screen? Thanks.

Answer: You bet. And it’s easy.

As you know, pressing the Print Screen button on your keyboard takes captures an image of your entire screen.

If you hold down the Alt key the next time you press Print Screen, the active window (the window on your screen that has focus) will be copied to your clipboard, ready for you to paste into whatever program you’d like. Pretty easy, eh?