Browser Central: How to use Internet Explorer like a pro

Internet Explorer recently received a huge overhaul that brought its speed and functionality in line with competing browsers. Internet Explorer 9 isn't quite as fast as Chrome, and it isn't quite as flexible as Firefox, but it's an excellent all-rounder with unique features that both Chrome and Firefox lack.

First of all, before we dive into the tips and tricks, you need to make sure you're using Internet Explorer 9. Click Help (or the Cog icon) and then About Internet Explorer. A box will pop up, and if it says Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8, go and download version 9.

Key features
The first thing to note about Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) is that it tries to get out of your way. The interface is very svelte, with just a single text box and a few visible buttons. To the naked eye, it appears that the only thing you can do with IE9 is surf — just start typing in that single text box at the top — and this is both its main strength and its biggest weakness.

IE9 has plenty of features, but they're buried away in places that you'll probably never look.

Pinned sites
If you grab a website's tab and drag it to your taskbar (the bar at the bottom of your screen), it will become a pinned site and act like a normal application icon.

Using pinned apps can completely change how you interact with the web and your computer. Most web users only visit a few sites on a daily basis — Facebook, email, a news outlet — and if you drag them onto your Windows taskbar, you can quickly and directly access those sites with a single click.

The other amazing thing about pinned sites is that they give you two-click access to specific areas within websites. If you look at the image on the right, you can see that I can jump directly to the Messages section of Facebook. Likewise, the Hotmail icon (to the right of Facebook) lets you jump straight to your inbox, calendar, contacts, or send an email. Not every site has these additional features, incidentally — but almost every major website does.

The One Box
Believe it or not, that single text box at the top of IE9 is used to enter website addresses, search the web, and search through your favorites! Just start typing, and IE9 will work out what you're looking for.

By default, IE9 uses Bing for search, but you can add Google by clicking the little down arrow and then clicking Add (see below).

The Internet Explorer Gallery will load, and a ton of search providers will appear. To find Google, click "search," and then type in "google" and press Enter. You can add IMDB if you often search the web for movie info, or eBay if you're a fan of online auctions. There are hundreds of search providers — go wild and add a few!

To switch your default search provider to Google, just click its icon (see above) — and to search something like IMDB or eBay, click its icon, and then just start typing.


Tracking Protection
If you're worried by the fact that almost every website tracks your surfing and search behavior, you really should enable Internet Explorer 9's Tracking Protection. Click the Cog icon (top right corner), point to Safety, and click Tracking Protection. On the panel that pops up click "Get a Tracking Protection List online..." and then click Add for the EasyPrivacy Tracking Protection List. Click Add List if a warning dialog pops up.

For an added layer of privacy, you can also enable Your Personalized List, which automatically blocks websites that are overzealous with their tracking cookies.

Hidden gems
If you want to surf the web without leaving any telltale traces — if you share a family computer and want to buy Little Timmy a birthday present, for example — then hit Ctrl+Shift+P to open InPrivate Browsing. No cookies or any other kind of temporary files are stored on your hard drive when using InPrivate Browsing. When you're finished, close the window and whistle nonchalantly.

Despite not having access to add-ons in the same sense as Chrome and Firefox, Internet Explorer does have toolbars; check our list of the best ones.

Finally, if you've been using Internet Explorer 8 for a long time and don't like IE9's slim, in-line tabs, right-click any empty space at the top of the browser and click "Show tabs on a separate row." If you want to go one step further and assume the total retro look, you can also right-click any empty space at the top of the browser and click "Menu bar." This will make the menu bar sticky and make IE9 look very IE8 indeed. 

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