INTERNET OPTIONS  -  CONTENT TAB

The fourth TAB (window) on the Internet Options window is the Content TAB. It enables you to control, to a certain degree, the type of content internet explorer is allowed to view via conditions set in the Content Advisor. Before I explain Content Advisor there are two other settings on the content window that need explaining. The first is the CLEAR SSL STATE button in the Certificates section and the second is the SETTINGS button in the AutoComplete section.


Fig 4.0  Click on CLEAR SSL STATE to clear your Secure, Online-Payment, Form Data.

Clicking on the CLEAR SSL STATE button will clear (delete) any Secure, Online-Payment, Form Data you have submitted to a Bank website or PayPal payment website for example. This is ideal if you are in an Internet Cafe and do not want the next customer to be able to see and use your online-payment details. For example. Using the same Internet Explorer - If you leave an online-payment website (after paying) to go to another "normal" website, view that normal website and then leave open that internet explorer before leaving the Internet Cafe you are asking for trouble. This is because the next customer could easily flip BACK a webpage or two until he/she lands back on your online-payment details webpage. Not all website clear their form data from your computer, because they have a certain Time-Out (Keep The Details) period before those details are cleared. Hence why the quickly flipping BACK a couple of pages technique works.

A secure website, such as an online-payment website, always has a Padlock icon on or next to internet explorer's Address Bar edit box. This only means it secures (encrypts) your form data when sent from your computer to the Bank's computer for example - It does not mean the form data is protected/encrypted as you type it into the form itself though. To stop any secure online-payment form data from being stored on your computer in the first place tick the DO NOT SAVE ENCRYPTED PAGES TO DISK advanced setting, found in the Security section of the Advanced TAB.


Fig 4.1  Click on the SETTINGS button to bring up the....

Fig 4.2  ....the AutoComplete Settings window.

AutoComplete is a feature of Internet Explorer that automatically completes a word, or sequence of words, for you based on a word or sequence of words you have typed before. For example. If you are writing a book and for the first time type CHAPTER you must type CHAPTER out completely. However. If you were to then type CHAPTER again, this time around you would only have to type CH for example before Auto Complete would automatically complete CHAPTER for you - as it knows you have typed CHAPTER before. If you have typed CHARLIE before, when you start typing CH Auto Complete will give you a choice. CHAPTER or CHARLIE.

Clicking on the SETTINGS button (Fig 4.1 above) brings up the AutoComplete Settings window (Fig 4.2 above). On this window you can decide what AutoComplete completes. For example. I have chosen to have AutoComplete switched on when I type out Website Addresses, fill in Forms and type out Usernames and Passwords - By putting a tick next to each AutoComplete option (Fig 4.2 above). When you have finished setting up AutoComplete click on the OK button to continue.

If I wanted AutoComplete to save any typed out Passwords I would of put a tick next to the PROMPT ME TO SAVE PASSWORDS option as well, but I did not. Why? Because it is better to type out your passwords rather than have AutoComplete save them on your computer. For example. If you check your e-mail with the username and password already filled in, it means the username and password is being stored somewhere on your computer. Either inside a file or inside a Registry Value. Whereas if you have to type out the password each time you check your e-mail the password goes straight down the telephone line for verification. With a saved password your E-Mail software just uploads the saved password file to its server before verifying it. So the disadvantage of password files are that they can be attacked much easier than a typed in password going straight down the telephone line.

If you need to clear the AutoComplete history you should use the options available to you in the Browser History section of the General TAB.


Fig 4.3  Click on the ENABLE button to enable Content Advisor

At the top of the content window is a button that links to the Parental Controls control panel. You can ignore this button as I have explained Parental Controls in the Parental Controls sections.

Content Advisor is similar to Parental Controls in that it can limit what is viewed when using Internet Explorer. Parental Controls is aimed more at Windows Vista and its components generally, whereas Content Advisor is aimed purely at Internet Explorer and more specifically at the Internet in general. To enable Content Advisor click on the ENABLE button (Fig 4.3 above) which will immediately bring up a UAC (User Access Control) security requester.



Fig 4.4  Click on CONTINUE to continue

User Account Control (UAC) is a feature of Windows Vista that helps to prevent unauthorized changes to the computer, such as deleting a system file or enabling Content Advisor. When attempting to enable Content Advisor UAC automatically blocks you off with the security requester below, because it wants to know if you are the one attempting to enable Content Advisor and not a piece of malicious software for example. In this case simply click on the CONTINUE button to continue.

The content that Content Advisor refers to (Fig 4.5 below) is Language, Behaviour, Feelings, Bad Examples, Nudity, Sex, Violence, Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling and Weapons. This means Content Advisor tries to limit the portrayal of this kind of content when you have set a content category to NONE.


Fig 4.5  The Content Advisor window

To change a category's setting simply click on that category, move the Slider button left/right (Fig 4.6 below) until you are happy with a setting and then click on the APPLY button. The APPLY button only becomes available when you change a setting. All of the categories have a NONE, LIMITED and UNRESTRICTED setting but some of them also have a SOME setting. Basically, read each setting's description and then decide which one best suits your needs.


Fig 4.6  Click on a Category and then move the Slider button

After clicking on the APPLY button for the first time you will be prompted to create a Password (Fig 4.7 below), in order to enable Content Advisor. And even if you have not changed any of the settings, therefore not clicked on APPLY, but have clicked on OK instead you will still be prompted to create a password simply because you asked to enable Content Advisor. So when prompted fill in the edit boxes with the relevant information. You can also create the password by going to the General TAB (of Content Advisor) and then clicking on the CREATE PASSWORD button (Fig 4.8 below).


Fig 4.7  Create a Password, with Hint, to enable Content Advisor.

Fig 4.8  Create a Password

Although a Password Hint is not needed it is strongly recommended you use one, as forgetting your password with no Hint to fall back on can mean you being locked out of the internet.

When you have finished typing out your password details click on the OK button. A password acknowledgement Message Requester will appear (Fig 4.9 below). Click OK on this message requester to take you back to the Content TAB.


Fig 4.9  Click on the requester's OK button, after reading its message carefully.

With content advisor enabled Internet Explorer can check each website to see if it is labelled. If a website is labelled you will be allowed to view its content, but if a website is not labelled you will have to enter your content advisor password before being allowed to view that website's content. This is if the USERS CAN SEE WEBSITES THAT HAVE NO RATING setting is not ticked (Fig 4.8 above - General TAB) - If it is ticked all websites without a rating will be viewable, which kind of defeats the point of having Content Advisor enabled.

ICRA is the organization dealing with labelling. Basically, a website owner registers his/her website content with ICRA and ICRA then sends them a label (internet file) to put inside their website. For example. If a website contains no scenes of violence the website owner declares so and if it does the website owner also declares so. Why? Because the website might be a Games website full of fighting scenes or a website about Domestic Violence. By registering a website with scenes of violence inside it, depending on your content advisor settings, the website owner has left you to decide whether or not his/her website is suitable for your viewing and/or your family members viewing and so on. In Fig 4.4 above I chose to limit scenes of Alcohol so that they are only shown in the context of Artistic, Medical, Educational and Sports/News websites because I might want to view websites dealing with the affects of Alcohol in a documentary/educational kind of way, therefore I would not want to allow all Alcohol websites but at the same time I would not want to disallow all Alcohol websites.

When you exit Internet Options (not now), by clicking on the OK button for a last time, you need to close down all opened Internet Explorer windows. This will activate Content Advisor. Once activated, as an example, open a new Internet Explorer window and type www.microsoft.com into its Address Bar edit box. Then click on the blue Right-Arrow (GO) button or press the ENTER keyboard key. This will take you straight to the Microsoft website with no content problems at all, simply because the Microsoft website has been labelled. If you now go to another website such as www.google.co.uk you will find that it is not be labelled. In which case a content advisor window will appear asking you for your password, with an option on what to do in future for that website as well as an option for the current webpage.


Fig 4.10  Type your password, choose an option and then click OK

As you can see http://www.google.co.uk/ is not labelled (Rated), so the question you must ask is "Can this website be trusted?". If you think "NO" click on the CANCEL button and the website will not be displayed. However. If you think "YES" type your password and then choose one of the three options by clicking on its radio (circle/dot) button. If you trust the whole website (because you have visited it before in an internet cafe for example) choose option 1 (ALWAYS ALLOW THIS WEBSITE TO BE VIEWED). If you have never visited the website before (perhaps you were sent to it via a link on another website) choose option 3 (ALLOW VIEWING ONLY THIS TIME). And if you know a website can only be trusted on a particular page (i.e its index page) choose option 2 (ALWAYS ALLOW THIS WEBPAGE TO BE VIEWED). After selecting an option click on the OK button. Depending on the option chosen you might have to click CONTINUE on a UAC security requester that appears - The same UAC security requester as in Fig 4.4 above.

In Fig 4.10 above I chose to allow the Google (http://www.google.co.uk/) website simply because I know its content can be trusted. How do I know? Because I visit it on a daily basis with no problems to my computer, because Millions of computer users also trust it and because it is recommended by many computer magazines. When a website has been allowed with option 1 or 2 it is put on the Approved Sites list (Fig 4.11 below).


Fig 4.11  The Google (www.google.co.uk) website has been approved

Websites can be denied access, given access or be removed - The choice is yours. In Fig 4.11 above I have typed this website's address into the ALLOW THIS WEBSITE edit box and then told Content Advisor that I NEVER want the website viewed. However. Even though clicking on the NEVER button puts the website's address into the list, as disapproved, the website is not actually disapproved until I click on the APPLY button - The APPLY button becomes available after clicking on the NEVER button.


Fig 4.12  This webpage is disapproved, so I need to approve it.

Content Advisor in general is a good thing if you only want to have access to your normally visited websites, and/or if you have children, and if more websites were using the voluntary ICRA labelling system. But if you go to different websites on a daily basis then Content Advisor will be no good for you.



I.O Privacy TAB Index I.O Connections TAB