Five hacks for Nigerians who are addicted to the internet

By Nkem Ndem

The internet has completely changed the way things are done. From schools, shops and even offices, almost every task that needs to be completed is best achieved with the help of the internet. Most Nigerians understand the essence of the internet and its importance in ensuring they reach their goals and targets and as such, you find most of them addicted to it.  Despite the immensity of time that they spend online on the internet, however, it is surprising how many of them are unaware of the simple tricks that can make their online experience faster and smoother.

To help enlighten this breed of workaholics, Jumia Travel, Africa’s No.1 online hotel booking service has some tips they may want to try the next time they hit the internet.

Use the internet browser shortcuts

There are so many browser shortcuts that apply to the internet via the different browsers available. Learning them certainly makes the entire experience smoother. Some of the key Internet browser shortcuts include:

Alt + D or Ctrl + L to move the cursor into the address bar.

Ctrl key and the + or – to increase and decrease the size of text.

Ctrl + 0 to reset the text.

Backspace key or Alt key + left arrow to go back a page.

Press F5 or Ctrl + R to refresh or reload a web page.

F11 to make the internet browser screen full screen. Also, press F11 again to return to the normal view.

Ctrl + B to open your internet bookmarks.

Ctrl + F to open the find box to search for text within the web page you are reading.

Take advantage of tabs

Sometimes, you need to work on a multiple internet pages at the same time. Rather than clogging your task bar and switching back and forth between several windows, take full advantage of your ‘tab’. All you need to do to open a new tab without a link is click on Ctrl + T. If however you have a link you want to view in a new tab, just hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on the link address.

Try alternative browsers

Although it comes pre-installed on most computers as the default browser, the most popular browser, especially on Microsoft Windows, is Internet Explorer. While the browser is highly efficient, there are other great browsers available for free that often work much faster and feature great add-ons and plugins to personalize your Web browsing experience. Some of the favorite options include Chrome, Opera or Firefox. Rather than stick with one single browser, try another browser. Have more than one on your system so you easily switch to another when one is a bit slow or does not allow you access certain page or keeps on hanging.

Use the online Cloud backup

Almost every workaholic has to deal with information and data on a regular basis, and depending on how important or sensitive the information is, they often time have to save it and possibly back it up on different disks. While flash drives and hard disks can be handy, they can be easily stolen, tampered with or destroyed with a virus. To take out this risk, try any of the cloud storage solutions available on the internet. Some examples include Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. Backing up to the cloud is a seamless process and it offers twice the advantage any hard storage disk could offer.

 

Nkem Ndem, PR Associate at Jumia Travel