This page contains some tools and tips to help your Internet experience.  Since many sites incorporate these features, they are well worth the time to download.  Sirius Programming is just providing links to the sites that supply the software and makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, that your computer will function properly or that it meets the requirements of each of these software packages.

Tools

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Allows for the displaying and printing of documents in the original, designed format without the need for the original software.  Useful for forms to be printed and later mailed.

Macromedia Flash Player

Allows for the viewing of Flash movies, which are quick loading, interactive, animated graphics.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Allows websites to utilize more advanced features such as Active X Controls, Dynamic HTML, etc.

Firefox

A Mozilla-based web browser that offers an alternative to IE.

Window Media Player

Allows for the playing of streaming media, audio files, etc.

RealPlayer^®

Allows for the playing of streaming media, audio files, etc.

Tips

Screen Resolution and Color

Setting your display screen to at least 800 x 600 pixels and 24-bit color will allow for more detail and information to be viewed.  You can change the settings by opening the Windows Control Panel and selecting the Display Icon.  Consult your computer User's Manual or Windows Help for more information.

Also, please set your browser to view graphics.  In the days of slow connections, too many graphics would take a very long time, so people would turn off graphics to get to the text that they wanted to read.  Nowadays, connections are faster, so graphics will load faster.  So many websites are not just text anymore, but contain graphics to enhance the information provided to you.

Browsers

Since all the major browsers are free, it is best that you keep your browser up-to-date.  While some operating systems cannot handle the very latest browser versions, most can use 4.0 or higher.  It is to your advantage to use the latest versions because of new features and corrected problems.  Certain browser features need to be enabled for many websites to function correctly.  These include having cookies and Java enabled.  Some security settings can prevent sites from working correctly, but it is recommended that you be cautious about changing these settings.  Browse safely.

Search Engines

Search engines are very useful for finding information on the Internet.  They are many different  types of search engines.  Some of them will index your site by using Meta Tags that are embedded in your homepage.  These tags indicate a description and keywords for your site.  Repeating keywords multiple times or using unrelated keywords (a practice known as spamming) causes the usefulness of the search engine to be reduced.  Most search engines are now rejecting sites that use these attempts to get a better position in the index.  Sirius Programming will not engage in the practice of spamming.  Other search engines require the keywords and information to be entered into a form on their site.

Some search engines are now starting to charge fees to be listed.  This is partly due to the steady decrease in revenue from advertising.  The list of search engines that your site is submitted to will vary as the search engines change their policies.  If you desire to be listed in a search engine that charges a fee, the fee will be in addition to the fees already listed on this site.

Firewall and Anti-Virus Protection

It is highly recommended that you use an Anti-Virus software package to protect your computer while you are browsing and receiving email.  Keeping the virus definitions up-to-date should also be part of your regular computer maintenance program (Along with ScanDisk and Defrag features built into Windows.)

A firewall software package will help keep hackers out of your computer.  It is especially recommended if you have a DSL or Cable connection as these are always online as long as your computer is powered up.

If you have a home network running, make sure that you have drive sharing either disabled or with very difficult-to-guess passwords.  You should also not share the entire drive, but just a "shared folder" that is not related to the operating system folders.

Having a hardware firewall is another possibility, especially if you have more than one computer.

Personal recommendation is software from Symantec at http://www.symantec.com.  You can also go there to test if your computer is vulnerable to attack.

Be Patient

Unless you have a very high-speed connection, please wait for graphics to load.  Many hours of work are put into the design of websites to give you, the visitor, a memorable experience.  While we try to attain the goal of fast loading graphics, sometimes quality is chosen over speed for a better visual look to the site.

When Pages Don't Load