The internet is a wonderful thing. Not only does it allow us to have information at our fingertips, it also makes connection with friends and family a much easier experience. And that’s not even mentioning all the opportunities for keeping busy during slower parts of the day!

Make sure you’re getting the most out of your internet experience with these nifty tips and tricks.

1. Incomplete phrase search – If you’ve ever wanted to Google a song or quote but can’t quite remember the lyrics then this one is for you! Putting an asterisk (*) in a quoted sentence will indicate that a word is missing (replaced with the asterisk). This makes it much more likely that the specific term you are looking for will be returned, rather than results which just happen to include the other words or rest of the sentence.
2. Incognito windows – If you’re using a public computer, using incognito mode is important. All major browsers offer incognito or private browsing mode, which means that your previous activity will not be logged and stored in history. Here’s how to do it for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer.
3. Mute an email thread – If you’ve opened an email thread that is now starting to annoy you, you can mute the correspondence without the awkwardness of having to ask to be removed. If you’re using Gmail, click on the “more” tab at the top of the email, and then the mute option. In Outlook, the mute function can be found via the home tab (the feature is called ignore in Outlook). Muted email threads can be unmuted if you ever want to rejoin the chatter.
4. Lock down distractions – If you’ve got a project that you really need to focus on, or just want to get a block of something done online then you’ll know how easy it is to become distracted. Software, like Cold Turkey, can be downloaded and will prevent you from visiting the sites that tend to distract from the task at hand. It even has a timer setting to completely ensure you stay away from distraction. Cold Turkey is a great free option with plenty of others available via a Google search.

What do you use the internet for primarily? Share with us in the comments below.

Related links:

10 great new features on Apple's iOS 10

The simple way to protect data on your phone

How to get more out of Facebook Messenger