Who doesn't remember that famous video: an office worker gets frustrated at the apparent ineffectiveness of his computer and gets into a fight with it… More than 30 million visits They attest that managing a computer can sometimes get on anyone's nerves. A pop-up window in the middle of a restaurant table reservation or bank transfer can ruin the entire process. A conflict that ruins the user experience and can be frustrating. Why should I validate the hated cookies every time I enter a new web page? Why do I have to solve complicated captcha puzzles to prove I'm human?
Managing interactions with the world from a computer can be extremely frustrating, especially in times of hurry or need. To avoid those interruptions that can disrupt all plans, we go through the most desperate moments in front of the screen with tips to try to avoid them, although it is not always possible.
Cookie harassment
It is an all too common nightmare: accessing a web page and a notification occupies the screen urging us to accept the already hated ones. cookies. This interruption, although regulated and necessary by privacy laws such as the GDPR, disrupts the flow of our activity and can be infuriating. However, we ignore a necessary part of them: “They maintain security and user privacy on a positive level,” defends Fernando Suárez, president of the General Council of Computer Engineering Colleges.
Suárez refers to the cause that caused this annoying interruption to appear. What exactly are they? A tiny data file that is saved in your browser during your visit to a web page. This file makes it easy to track and memorize information about user activity. Although the cookies They help optimize the browsing experience by adapting content and preserving your preferences, raise serious privacy concerns. This is because they collect personal information and behavior patterns on the network, often without clear and explicit consent from the user.
“Users practically indiscriminately accept all the conditions of use imposed on them,” warns Suárez. And does anyone really read the conditions of the cookies? In the end, they are managed as a small letter which is accepted to avoid the annoyance of the message. “I think that users look for agility and speed much more than security,” she concludes.
There are browser extensions specialized in managing user consent. cookies automatically and save the hassle of having to accept (or reject) this annoying message. These tools allow the user to enjoy more fluid and uninterrupted browsing, although they are not always effective. The most popular are: I don't care about cookies and Consent-O-Matic.
The captcha labyrinth
If the cookies They are quite a challenge for the patience of the Internet user, captchas raise this bar even higher. The name itself comes from the acronym for the fully automated public Turing test to differentiate computers from humans. These verification tests can be cumbersome and confusing. Their function, however, is necessary: they are the only barrier that keeps bots at bay. What does it consist on? These are tests for whose resolution human intervention is supposedly essential. They are the classic puzzles that you see on the screen that you have to solve or messages like “check all the boxes that contain traffic lights.” When they are image recognition or text distortion tests, they are not always clear and easy to pass, leading the user to waste time on multiple attempts.
“They are annoying, but necessary,” says Suárez, “therefore, as a user, I am in favor of this type of tools, but above all I think that we should influence collective awareness of their importance, of their necessity.” Can they be avoided? The bad news is that, at the user's level, there is no choice but to pass these tests to achieve safe browsing and ensure that the Internet is not invaded by bots.
In any case, biometrics is gaining ground as an interesting alternative: facial recognition or fingerprint technologies could replace both passwords and captcha, streamlining the verification process.
The invasion of pop-ups
Pop-ups that ask for our email address or ask us to enable notifications break our concentration and add extra steps to access the desired content. Sometimes their presence is necessary, but in most cases, they are alerts that, paradoxically, seek to know the user's satisfaction. Can they be reduced? The good news is yes, and in a very simple way: browsers like Chrome and Safari offer pop-up blocking functionalities.
In Chrome, this option is located in Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Pop-ups and redirects, where you need to make sure it is set to block pop-ups. In Safari, it is available in Preferences > Websites > Pop-ups and select the option Block.
The whirlwind of automatic updates
Just when we are in the middle of an important task, the system decides to install updates, which can cause the computer to slow down or even restart. How to avoid it? The user can schedule updates to occur at times when the computer is not being used, this is a way to avoid inopportune interruptions. In any case, it can be configured so that the system does not update itself without user permission.
To prevent automatic updates in Windows, the user must access Settingthen Update and Security to pause or modify updates. On macOS, the user can disable automatic updates from System Preferences/Software Update and uncheck the box Keep your Mac up to date.
Videos that do not finish loading
Nothing more irritating than a video on YouTube that constantly pauses when the connection is poor and seeing the charging clock spinning. Almost worse still, the system proposes as an alternative to lower the playback quality to an insulting 480p. In reality, the system offers the user the data flow they enjoy at that moment, but, despite this, you can try to trick the platform so that it continues offering content in HD (at least in 720p).
As? The simplest solution is to go to the checkout and pay at the premium service of the platform, which precisely allows you to download the content in the browser and thus avoid connection problems. For those who don't want to spend, the low-cost solution is to pause the video and wait for the buffering Store the content and click on “play” again. If the problem is temporary and due to a peak in devices connected to the network, it is advisable to disconnect these devices to give priority to the one that is playing videos.
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