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Better Web Browsing

Tired of pop-up ads? Not sure if you are using the right web browser? Seeing an old version of a web page? Need a plug-in? You have come to the right place.

Current Web Browsers

The companies and groups that create web browsers, like Netscape, Microsoft and Mozilla, continue to improve their products. New browser versions are released around once a year. If you are not using the latest version, you are not seeing web pages the way they are intended to be seen. This is especially true if you haven't upgraded your browser since 2002, when new standards were released. Here are links to web pages where you can download the most recent versions of popular web browsers:

Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape, Opera and Safari all come with tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking capabilities. Mozilla is open source software for web browsing and e-mail. If you are interested in web browsing only, choose Mozilla Firefox.

Your Browser's Cache

Unfortunately, the default settings on most web browsers prevent you from viewing the most recent versions of the web pages you browse, because older versions are stored in your browser's cache or memory. You can do what is referred to as a "hard refresh" to make sure you are seeing the most current version of a page. In Internet Explorer, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking the refresh button in your browser. In Mozilla/Netscape, hold down the Shift key while clicking the refresh button in your browser.

You can permanently change the settings for your browser's cache. The instructions are different depending on which browser you are using:

In Internet Explorer, click the Tools drop-down menu and choose Internet Options. Under "Temporary Internet Files" click on the Settings button. Under "Check for newer versions of store pages" select the first option, "Every visit to the page." Change the amount of disk space to use to 1 MB. Click OK twice.

In Mozilla, click the Tools drop-down menu and choose Options. Under "Privacy" you will see "Use up to __ KB of disk space for the cache." Change that number to 0. Also be sure to click the "Clear Cache Now" button before clicking OK.

Plug-Ins

Do you need a plug-in to view certain content? This list should help:

Older Versions of Web Browsers

Please feel free to e-mail sph.web@umich.edu with questions.