Internet Explorer Tutorial - Modify Basic Settings

The most common place to make changes to how Internet Explorer looks and functions is the Internet Explorer settings.

These settings are very easy to access. This article will show how to access the settings and will give a brief description to what you can change and what some of the different Internet Explorer settings actually mean.

1. Open Internet Explorer

There is a way to access the Internet Explorer settings through the Control Panel, but the easiest and most common way to access the settings is through an actual open window of Internet Explorer.

2. Click Tools -> Internet Options

You will get to a window titled "Internet Options". This is where you will make any changes to the settings for Internet Explorer. Below is a list of each tab that is available and what options you have. You have the ability to modify anything in any tab in this Internet Explorer settings window.

General

In the General Internet Explorer settings, you can set your home page, clear the IE cache, delete the stored cookies, change colors and fonts, and clear your browsing history.

Security

On the Security tab, you can set a custom or default level when it comes to permissions and trusted sites that are allowed to run certain controls on your Internet Explorer web browser. You can modify the settings for the Internet, Intranet, Trusted sites, and Restricted sites.

Privacy

In the Privacy tab of the Internet Explorer settings, you can set managed sites, import privacy settings, use pre-defined levels of privacy, define how cookies are handled, and specify popup blocking options.

Content

The Content tab lets you use the Content Advisor which lets you set what type of content the users of Internet Explorer can see and can't see, view the certificates you have used for sites you navigated to using Internet Explorer, create an address book, and modify the Autocomplete option to delete the history or disable/enable Autocomplete.

Connections

The Connections part of the Internet Explorer settings lets you change how a connection to the internet is made, and modify the LAN/proxy settings for advanced connections.

Programs

The Programs tab lets you change what programs opens what kind of information such as email, html editor, internet calls, and calendars.

Advanced

The Advanced Internet Explorer settings lets you make changes to some of the advanced features of Internet Eexplorer related to browsing, accessibility, and security.

For most Internet Explorer settings, you should be able to make changes using the Internet Options window you can access through the Tools menu.