z/OS Software, Mainframe Software

About Web Browsers

Information about configuration and security for Firefox and Internet Explorer

Get a New Browser

The latest version of the Firefox browser is available free-of-charge at www.mozilla.com

The latest version of the Internet Explorer browser is available free-of-charge at www.microsoft.com/downloads

Trusted sites

Naming trusted sites lets you specify looser security standards for web sites you know, without doing the same for strangers.

In Internet Explorer...

  1. Select Tools, Internet Options, Security.
  2. Mouse-click on the Trusted sites icon , then on the Sites... button.
  3. At the first field, Add this Web site to the zone, enter the URL where you access the SDS Product Server, for example, www.yourCompany.com:8080.
  4. Mouse-click on the Add button.
  5. Do not check the box labeled Require server verification (https:)...
  6. Mouse-click on OK and OK (IE 6) or Close and OK (IE 7).
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ActiveX

ActiveX is the part of Internet Explorer that enables JavaScript to communicate with Java applets, and to create and submit HTTP requests, among other facilities.

If an SDS Product Server shows you a message about a failure of ActiveX, proceed as follows:

In Internet Explorer...

  1. List the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.
  2. Make sure that trusted sites are allowed to use ActiveX. See Security for Internet Explorer, below.
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AJAX support

AJAX, meaning Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is an architecture or strategy for pulling new information into an existing web-browser display.

It relies on the relatively new ability of JavaScript to send HTTP requests to servers, then use the response to alter the browser display, without reloading the web page.

The SDS Product Server uses AJAX methods to acquire information about the SDS products installed on the Server. And the on-line help systems in SDS products often use AJAX methods to present help for whatever the product is currently displaying in a browser window.

Like cookies, AJAX methods cannot cross domains. A web page at yourCompany.com can use AJAX methods to send requests to yourCompany.com only. It does not pose a security risk.

When an SDS Product Server gives you a message about a failure to find any SDS products on that server, or some other message about a failure regarding AJAX, HTTP requests, or XML parsing, proceed as follows:

In Internet Explorer...

  1. List the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.
  2. Make sure that trusted sites are allowed to use AJAX. See Security for Internet Explorer, below.
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Java Applets

SDS products employ Java applets, small Java programs linked into web pages for display by web browsers.

Running applets requires that the client browser can access a Java Runtime Environment (JRE), also called a Java plug-in or Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

SDS products further require that the client's JRE and the browser's JavaScript interpreter can communicate with each other.

Enable applets as follows:

In Firefox...

  1. Intall or re-install a JRE at the client machine. For instructions, see About Java
  2. In a Firefox window, see Tools, Options..., Content.
  3. Check Enable Java.

In Internet Explorer...

  1. Install or re-install a JRE at the client machine. For instructions, see About Java
  2. List the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.
  3. Make sure that trusted sites are allowed to use Java. See Security for Internet Explorer, below.
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Cookies

Cookies are short text strings that a browser writes to a cache file on the host's file system. They provide a way for the browser-client to save session data as you navigate from one web page to another. Most cookies are associated with the domain names of the web pages that write them—yourCompany.com, for example—and such cookie data cannot pass from one domain to another. Third-party cookies, however, are an exception to that rule.

Enable cookies for SDS products as follows:

In Firefox...

  1. See Tools, Options..., Privacy, Cookies.
  2. Click on the Exceptions... button.
  3. At the first field, Address of web site, enter the URL where you access the SDS Product Server, for example, www.yourCompany.com:8080.
  4. Click on Allow, Close, and OK.

In Internet Explorer...

First, list the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.

Second, proceed as follows:

  1. Select Tools, Internet Options, Privacy.
  2. Click on the Sites button.
  3. At the first field, Address of Web site, enter the URL where you access the SDS Product Server, for example, www.yourCompany.com:8080.
  4. Click on Allow, OK, and OK.
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JavaScript

The procedure described below will allow a browser to process JavaScript codes in web pages on an SDS Product Server.

JavaScript runs within the browser only; it does not have any power to otherwise affect your machine. JavaScript is not the same as Java. It is similar, but not identical to, Microsoft's JScript.

In Firefox...

  1. See Tools, Options..., Content.
  2. Check Enable JavaScript.

In Internet Explorer...

  1. List the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.
  2. Make sure that trusted sites are allowed to use JavaScript. See Security for Internet Explorer, below.
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Meta Refresh

The procedure described below will very slightly loosen browser security. For an SDS Product Server, it will allow your browser to read a meta-refresh tag like the following:

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;url=test.htm">

then send the browser forward to the page test.htm.

In Internet Explorer...

  1. List the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.
  2. Make sure that trusted sites are allowed to use meta refresh tags. See Security for Internet Explorer, below.
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Pop-up Windows

SDS products require that a browser allow them to create new browser windows, a.k.a. pop-ups.

Pop-ups may open in a new browser window, or in a new tab of the existing window. See the instructions below regarding Tabbed browsing.

Set your browser to allow pop-ups as described below.

In Firefox...

  1. Select Tools, Options..., Content.
  2. At the first field, Block Popup Windows, click on Exceptions or Allowed Sites.
  3. At the first field, Address of web site, enter the URL where you access the SDS Server, for example, www.yourCompany.com:8080.
  4. Mouse-click on Allow, then Close, then OK.

In Internet Explorer...

First, list the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.

Second, proceed as follows:

  1. Select Tools, Pop-up Blocker, Settings.
  2. At the first field, Address of website to allow, enter the URL where you access the SDS Product Server. For example, www.yourCompany.com:8080.
  3. Mouse-click on Add, then Close.

The Google Toolbar may also block pop-ups, in addition to and regardless of pop-up settings in IE itself. If you have a Google Toolbar installed, prevent it from blocking a pop-up as follows:

  1. Navigate IE to the website in question, i.e. the site where the desired pop-up is blocked.
  2. Mouse-click on the pop-up icon and select from the menu: Always allow pop-ups from host.name.

Other tools added onto IE may cause the same problem as the Google Toolbar. You can disable all such add-ons, also called "browser extensions," as follows:

  1. Select Tools, Internet Options, Advanced.
  2. Scroll to Browsing, Enable third-party browser extensions*
  3. Mouse-click on the box to un-check it, Enable third-party browser extensions*
  4. At the lower-right of the dialogue box, mouse-click on Apply and OK.
  5. Shut down and re-start the IE browser.
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Security for Inernet Explorer

When a client-server application fails to work properly with Internet Explorer, the first step is to adjust IE security as follows:

First, list the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.

Second, set the security level for trusted sites to Low:

  1. Select Tools, Internet Options, Security.
  2. Mouse-click on the Trusted sites icon .
  3. At the lower-left of the panel, drag the slider downward.
  4. Mouse-click on OK.

Or you can manually adjust IE's security parameters, as follows...

  1. Select Tools, Internet Options, Security.
  2. Mouse-click on the Trusted sites icon (assuming the SDS Product Server is listed among the trusted sites).
  3. Mouse-click on the Custom level... button.
  4. At a minimum, SDS products require that you select for the following options:
  5. ActiveX controls and plug-ins
      Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins
          Allows Java applets to load, the Java JRE to run, and AJAX scripting to create HTTP requests.
        If not enabled, and a page includes an applet, IE presents a warning bar at the top of the window.
      Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting
          Allows JavaScript to communicate with Java applets and the JRE.
  6. Miscellaneous
      Allow META REFRESH
          For details, see the heading Meta refresh, above.
  7. Scripting
      Active scripting
          Allows JavaScript to run.
      Allow status bar updates via script
          Allows JavaScript to write brief messages to the status bar.
  8. Mouse-click on OK, Yes, OK to return to the main browser window.
  9. Shut-down the browser and re-start it.
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Status Bar

The status bar is the gray bar at the bottom of the browser window.

If it is not displayed, select View, Status Bar.

In Internet Explorer 7...

Typically, web pages can use JavaScript to write brief messages to the status bar. But that access may be denied in Internet Explorer 7.

To allow JavaScript access to the status bar...

  1. List the SDS Server among your browser's Trusted Sites, see Trusted Sites, above.
  2. Make sure that trusted sites are allowed to use Java. See Security for Internet Explorer, below.
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Tabbed Browsing

When an SDS product opens a new browser window, that window might open in a new tab of the current window, or in new window separate from the current window. You can specify which you prefer.

In particular, you may find it helpful to turn off tabbed browsing in order to use the help system built into SDS products. The help windows are intended to be read along-side live product displays, so that you can read the help and the data display at the same time. That's only possible if you disable tabbed browsing.

In Firefox...

  1. Select Tools, Options..., Tabs.
  2. See New pages should be opened in:
  3. Select the option you prefer.
  4. Click on OK.

In Internet Explorer 7...

  1. Select Tools, Internet Options, General.
  2. See Tabs near the bottom of the window. Click on Settings.
  3. See Enable Tabbed Browsing and When a pop-up is encountered. Select the options you prefer.
  4. Click on OK and OK, then re-start the browser.
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