If you’re looking for Internet shortcuts that can make your Web browsing a little bit more streamlined, you’re in the right place! This list of ten internet shortcuts will save you time, get you where you want to go faster, and make your online experience even more enjoyable.
1. Use your mouse across multiple monitors
Copy text, drag files, and have as many browser tabs as you can handle, all from one master control center.
2. Unblock a blocked website by using an IP address
Is there a blocked website that is not coming up for you? The first step is to always check with the person in charge of Internet access; however, if this is not a viable option, there is a perfectly legal and easy way to get around most restrictions:
- Open the Command Prompt (On Windows, open the start menu, type ‘cmd’, hit enter)
- type in ‘nslookup google.com’
- You’ll see an IP address of whatever site you type in (substitute google.com for whatever site you’re trying to access). You can now use the displayed IP address in your browser to access the website.
3. Install and update multiple programs at once with Ninite
Once you’ve used Ninite, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it. This simple website makes it possible to install and update software programs in the background, with no intervention from you whatsoever other than initially. Simply select your list of software, click the download button, and Ninite will put a very small software program on your computer that runs, downloads, and installs all your chosen programs in the background, saving you precious time.
4. Skip the first part of any YouTube video
Annoyed by the beginning of a YouTube video you’re trying to watch? Add &wadsworth=1 to the end of the YouTube URL and the first 30% of the video you’re watching will be skipped. Alternatively, you can just hit the number 3 on your keyboard and the video will (usually) skip to the 3-minute mark.
5. Easily recover a lost browser tab
It’s happened to all of us – we accidentally close a browser tab and try in vain to remember where we were. There’s an easy way to solve this problem: ctrl + shift + T will open up the last tab you closed, as well as the history of that tab. Did you close a window? Try ctrl + shift + N to recover where you were.
6. Highlight what is in your browser’s address bar
Need to highlight the URL in your browser’s address bar? You can drag your mouse pointer across the URL (which is time consuming and doesn’t always work correctly), or you can simply hit ctrl + L. This simple trick highlights whatever is in your browser’s address bar.
7. Use keyboard shortcuts for common tasks
Along with Internet shortcuts, there are keyboard shortcuts you can substitute for many different tasks we take for granted online. Here are just a few (these are specifically for Windows operating systems):
- ctrl w closes windows or tabs
- ctrl t opens new tabs
- windows key+ d minimizes all tabs
- windows key + down minimizes window
- windows key + up maximizes window
8. Weed out non-helpful responses when looking to solve a problem
If you’ve ever tried to look up the answer to a problem – say, a mechanical engine issue – you’ll find hundreds of thousands of results that consist of other people asking the same question you are. You can weed these out pretty simply in Google by typing in your issue with the word “RESOLVED” afterwards.
9. Instantly create a URL
Instead of typing out the entire URL for your favorite online destination, you can simply type out the name in your browser’s address bar and then hit ctrl + enter. www and .com will be automatically appended to whatever you typed in.
10. Track down the original source of an image
Want to know where that image came from – or other places it might be showing up online? In Google Chrome, hold down the letter S and right click on the image to execute an instant reverse image search. You’ll be amazed at what comes up.