The freedom to surf on-the-go is still fairly new and so are the challenges associated with doing so.  One problem that crops up occasionally is finding a site that you have already visited.  Maybe you were out gymnastics practice with the kids, surfing the web with your CLEAR USB modem, or sitting in a movie theater playing on your iPhone (before the show started of course),  when you went to Google and searched for something that caught your eye.  Three days later, you realize that you want to revisit that site, but you can’t remember the URL or enough information to locate it again via a Google search.  You also find yourself lost in the “where was I and which device was I using when I looked at….” struggle.

Mobile

Thanks to some incredibly smart minds at Google, this battle can come to an end.  The new Search History link  (announced via the Google Mobile blog) “helps you quickly get back to sites you’ve been to and see items you have starred from your Android, iPhone, or desktop searches.”  Using this feature could not be easier.  Simply log into Google on your mobile device and the new History link will be there.  The one prerequisite is that you must have enabled “Search History” from the Settings area.

Google Mobile Search History

The History link will take you to a page that details the sites you have visited as well as Starred Items.   Starred Items are web sites or pages that you have specifically chosen as “your favorites” while surfing at home or on-the-go.  If you see a site that you simply must research later, tag it by clicking on the star icon (in Google search) and it will be waiting for you the next time you visit your history page.

Note: The Google mobile experience is available on the iPhone and for Android users.  However, if you are one of the daring few that have switched to Opera on your Android device (61 million people and counting), you may see limited functionality.  I’m sure this will be taken care of in an update, but for now you’ll have to use the default browser to take full advantage of the History link.

From Your Computer

The new History link on your mobile device is not the only area you can use to view your search history.   It simply “completes the circle” for your browsing experience.  The idea of capturing your search history has been around for some time in the PC world and Google has another set of tools for those who want to use the Search History feature at their PC, laptop or other non-mobile device.

Search History is Available for Non-Mobile Devices As Well

Web History is available to everyone and you don’t need a mobile device to benefit from this wonderful tool.  Even if you only surf the web from your home computer, you’ll find the History page helpful and easy to use.  Your past searches and followed links are presented by day and time.  In addition to what you would expect to find, Web History provides some additional functionality:

• Manage your history and delete if necessary
• Get search results relevant to you (based on your history)
• See trends in your surfing habits

To view or enable your Google search history on a PC, simply visit http://www.google.com/psearch

“The truth is that the security team at Facebook works hard to counter threats on their site — it’s just that policing 350 million users can’t be an easy job for anyone…” said Graham Cluley (Sophos) in a recent CNET article.  That is where Norton Safe Web steps in.  The new tool works much like Web of Trust (WOT) and has already been available as an online service for some time.  The folks over at Norton have just integrated it into Facebook for the specific purpose of testing your feed for links to unsafe/malicious content.  There are some limitations to this new application, but it is a step in the right direction for Facebook users and their computers.

Using Norton Safe Web

“Installing” the app and testing your feed takes only minutes and a few clicks of a mouse button.  First, you’ll need to click on the application page link : http://apps.facebook.com/nortonsafeweb.  You’ll be asked to let Norton Safe Web access your profile and feed information (ironic isn’t it).  On the first screen, simply click Allow.  When prompted about “additional permissions,” you’ll need to grant permissions to Norton by clicking on the text that reads “grant us permission to access your News Feed and Wall.”  Finally, you can click on Allow Access to finish out the installation process.

Once installed, Norton Safe Web will automatically run a scan of your feed for the last 24 hours and return the scan results for you to review.

Scanning .....

Results

There are several items in the results that stand out.  Of course, the green check marks (Safe) and red X’s (Warning) are important and represent the safety of a link within your feed, but that is not all you get.

• Untested – Those question marks (gray circles) indicate that the site has not been reviewed by anyone yet.  This doesn’t mean that the link is dangerous, simply that there is no information either way.  All of the results from the Norton Safe Web program are taken from user feedback about the site in question.
• Full URL – Often, Facebook users and programs will post a shortened URL on FB.  These shortened URLs point to real sites and unfortunately that is how most of these malicious links make their way around the internet.  The Safe Web results show you the full URL, in case you are interested in where the link will take you.
• Norton Safe Web Report – If you see a Warning message or simply want to know more information about a link in question, you can click on “See Norton Safe Web Report” to visit the Norton web site and see feedback from users who have posted reviews of the site.  The report will have information on computer threats, identity threats, e-commerce safety and annoyance factors.

How to Use Norton Safe Web

The idea of Norton Safe Web (NSW) is great, but the implementation is a little lacking.  I don’t think this is Norton’s fault in any way, but simple a restriction of the Facebook design.  The problem is that you can only test and see results when you take the time to visit the application.  These scans of your feed will not take place automatically and results will not show when you simply visit your Facebook page.  Instead, users will have to remember to test their links before clicking on them.

In order to get the most out of this tool and actually remember to use it, I recommend the following steps.

1. Click on the Add Bookmark option within the application (shown in the Results image above).
2. Then, edit your bookmarks (under your image on left0hand side) by clicking More and then Edit
3. Click and drag the Norton Safe Web line up as far as you can take it, then let go
4. Click Less and make sure that you can see the bookmark for NSW without expanding your bookmarks

Each day (or session), before clicking on any links that have been shared with you, simply click on the bookmark and Norton will run a complete scan of all of the links in your feed.  The test takes a few seconds and won’t really slow down your Facebook experience.

Pre-Scanning Integration

One tool from the Norton Safe Web application that was integrated very well is the Pre-Scanning feature.  As someone who shares links and sites in your feed, you can do your part to reduce dangerous site visits by checking your links as you post them.  The feature is available under the “Attach:” dropdown box (shown below).

Pre-Scan Feature

When you click on Safe Web Link Post you’ll be prompted for the URL you want to share and Norton will do the rest.  Your link, your message and a Seal of Approval are all posted in the format shown here:

Pre-Scanned Link via Norton Safe Web

Verdict

All-in-all, I think Norton has really helped Facebook and it’s users with this FREE step in the right direction.  As I mentioned above, the integration could have been a little better and helped all of us who will forget about testing links before clicking on them, but I still feel that the strict rules of Facebook are to blame for that.  Add this application to your Facebook bookmarks today and help rid Facebook of the dangerous links and malicious sites.

We all find new and exciting sites as we explore the internet.  These aren’t necessarily our “favorites” or sites we want to “bookmark” but sites we just want to investigate later and now there is a way to save the links for these pages without destroying our desktop.  SaveLink is an add-on for Firefox that incorporates a new option to your File and right-click menus.  That option, shown as “save link as file” allows the user to save an entire page or an individual link as a shortcut in a folder of their choosing.  Below, we have some screen shots of this great Firefox add-on in action.

Installation

First, you’ll have to install the add-on for your copy of Firefox.  Head over to this link and click on Add to Firefox.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/14019

SaveLink Add-on Web Site

Use

Once you’ve installed and restarted, you can begin using SaveLink in one of two ways.

Entire Web Pages – Simply navigate to the page you want to save, then go to File/Save link as file…

Go to File if You Want to Save an Entire Page

You’ll be asked where you want to save the file and what you want to name it.  Pick any folder you like and then name your file, or use the default name that pops up.  You can create a folder on your hard drive for “Sites to Research Later” or even put the new shortcuts into a Dropbox folder and access them on the go.

Individual Links – Right-click on any link within your browser and choose Save link as file …

Save a Link from A Web Page or Article

Now, you can go back to your newly created folder and access these shortcuts any time you want.  Your desktop will thank you.  Your friends and family will thank you.  Best of all, you’ll actually be able to find that link again, without straining your eyes or your nerves.

First and foremost, be careful.  There are some very easy ways to shop safely on the world wide web:

1) Stick with large companies – If you stay on Main Street USA and shop the big companies like Target.com, Amazon.com, Buy.com, etc. you are already ahead of the game.  These large businesses have spent tons of money on protecting you (their cash cows) from internet fraud.  They are not going to take any chances.

2) Always go to sites directly – Even if you receive an email from Target, stating that they have the deal of a lifetime, don’t follow the link.  Instead, open up your browser and go to Target.com yourself.  You will be able to find the same deal on their web site or they will provide you with a code of some sort to get these fantastic deals.  It doesn’t take much for a smart criminal to create a fake web page that looks just like the real thing, which leads us to number 3.

3) Look for the “s” – This is the most important rule of all.  If you are going to enter your credit card information on a web site, there is one sure-fire way of knowing you are shopping safely.  Look up in the address bar and make sure that the URL, for the page you are on, starts with “https://“  That “s” means secure.   This technology was invented to scramble sensitive information, such as your credit card number, so that it can be read only by the merchant you are dealing with and your credit card issuer. This ensures that your payment information cannot be read by anyone else or changed along the way.

4) Look for the lock – Somewhere in your browser (depends on company and version), you will find a lock icon to indicate if a site is secure or not.  Typically the icon will appear in the bottom right hand corner and will only come up when you get to the checkout portion of your shopping.  This icon will ALWAYS be a part of the browser and not a part of the web page itself.

Lock Icon Examples - Explorer and Firefox

Check back often, as we will soon be tackling subjects like “Using Coupons Online” and “Best Web Sites for Saving Money.”  As always, we want to make your PC a useful tool.  What’s more useful than saving you a ton of money?

Until recently, people have shared web site addresses (URL’s) via email or even verbally.  With the success of Facebook and Twitter, millions have found new ways to share information with friends and family.  And now, there are hundreds of sites that allow you to quickly share information with others on their “network.”  There is one tool however that combines all of these ideas and more.  That tool is ShareThis.

ShareThis is a web site and/or a tool you can use to share links with others.  It is very easy to use and does some incredible things.  After reading this article, you will no doubt become aware of how often you actually see the ShareThis icon.  It is available on thousands of internet sites, blogs and can even be a part of your browser (Explorer, Firefox or even Chrome).  I have tested this service for months and I cannot imagine life without it now.

Here is how it works.
Option 1: You are “surfing” the web and come across something you want to share with Aunt Mary.  You notice the ShareThis icon on the page and click it.  The handy-dandy ShareThis pop-up box opens and you select the method in which you want to share this information with Aunt Mary.  Options include email, text, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace… You know Aunt Mary is not very computer literate, but she checks her email, so you select email, type in “M” to bring up Mary from your pre-populated list of friends, enter a message and click Send.  Mary receives an email moments later.  Time to complete: 15 seconds.

ShareThis Pop-Up Box

Option 2: Just like in Option 1, you find something you want to share.  Only this time, there is no ShareThis icon on the page and you want to share it with everyone on your Facebook friends list.  No worries, you have already installed the ShareThis “button” in your browser.  You click on the button (now found at the top of your screen, near the search box) and see your standard ShareThis pop-up box.  You select Facebook (which opens a new tab or window, with your Facebook “Post to Profile” page), enter a message and click Share.  Your post is complete and your friends can now see the link you posted, along with a picture and pre-filled description of what the link is.  Time to complete: 15 seconds.

As with any other service, there are a few things you will need to do to get started.  The ShareThis web site is easy to follow and guides you through these steps perfectly.  My recommendation is that you go ahead and install the ShareThis button (takes 30 seconds) and import your contact list (time varies), after you register (1 minute).  Go ahead and try it today.  You’ll notice that we have added the ShareThis button to every page on our site, as well as each and every article we post.

ShareThis article with your friends and family.  It’ll be a great way to test the service and we would appreciate the link back to our site.