The following is a list of Advanced Settings. They will provide the answer to some possible problems, and will improve the chances of a transaction made through StartHere.com.au being tracked successfully:

• Does your computer have security software that blocks advertisements or cookies?
  This type of software is designed to protect your privacy by hiding your internet activities from websites. However, when you make a purchase through a StartHere.com.au link your purchase needs to be tracked in order to credit you with your cash refund. Ad and cookie blocking must be disabled for tracking to work. You should check any internet security, anti-spyware, anti-virus or firewall software for settings that mention 'ad blocking, cookie blocking, ad tracking, image blocking' or similar.
• Do you use parental controls within your browser?
  Parental controls are incorporated into browsers to protect against certain forms of inappropriate or unpleasant content. Some parental controls, however, are a little overzealous and prevent users from accessing perfectly safe sites via our affiliate networks. If you are having trouble following a StartHere.com.au link to a merchant, consider disabling your parental controls while shopping with that store.
• Do you use a pop-up blocker or third-party toolbar?
  Pop-up blockers will stop websites automatically opening additional web pages. This causes a problem with some merchants who open extra pages in order to confirm or complete an order. Some websites also need pop-ups to work, in order to refer users onto the store site. Other less common pop-up blockers also block cookies, which will prevent successful tracking. Some third-party toolbars, such as the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer, also includes a pop-up blocker.
  
  If you are being left with a blank page when accessing a store through StartHere.com.au, are having trouble confirming / completing an order, or are repeatedly placing orders that fail to track, then try disabling your pop-up blocker. Please note that the Firefox pop-up blocker is enabled by default.
• Does your computer access the internet through a hardware router or firewall?
  Some networking hardware / software have functionality to block cookies or site referrals. Often universities or corporate networks have these kinds of connections to the internet. If you are having difficulties with tracking, consider disabling hardware security agents or firewalls. If you are using a computer at university or in a company where you do not have control over these networking components, you will need to make your StartHere.com.au purchases from another location.
• Has your HOSTS file been altered or added to?
  Now we're getting very technical! The Windows HOSTS file is a little known file to most of us. Basically what it does is resolve an internet URL to a local location so that it won't load. If you are experiencing pages that do not load or give a 404 error when you click on a merchant's link, this is probably the culprit.
  
  The HOSTS file should be an empty file, however some anti-virus or internet security programs can overwrite it. Also, some malware and spyware programs will overwrite it. Fortunately if you're technical it is very easy to check and clean. You may also wish to run a regular anti-spyware checker, but we recommend disabling these while actually using StartHere.com.au, as some of them may incorrectly block our tracking and cookies.
• Do you regularly run an up-to-date virus scanner?
  Some viruses embed themselves in web browsers, adding malicious tracking information in an effort to steal commission for online purchases. It is always best practice to protect your PC with an up-to-date virus scanner. It's also worth running an anti-spyware program regularly to clean any infection, but as mentioned above, we recommend disabling these while you're actually using StartHere.com.au to make purchases.
• Do you run Windows with the latest service packs and updates?
  Problems have occurred in the past with Windows and Internet Explorer that have prevented successful online purchasing or tracking. It is always best practice to use the latest service pack and run Windows Update frequently.
• Have you installed any peer-to-peer file sharing software?
  Some peer to peer software bundles (for example Kazaa) include a modification to your network settings (hosts file) called 'supertrick' which stops you browsing some advertising sites. As some of our store programs are based on advertising referrals, you may find that some merchant links will give you an 'Internal Server Error' or 'Server Cannot be found'. Supertrick can be difficult to get rid of, but luckily only affects a small number of stores. We suggest searching online for an update on the Supertrick situation and possibly uninstalling software that you can identify as being the source of the Supertrick installation.
• Do you use IP Camouflage or Internet Shadowing software?
  Software that provides you with a false or changing IP address may cause tracking to fail with certain merchants. As the mechanism for tracking varies, this is not always a problem. To be sure IP Shadowing does not cause tracking to fail, you should disable any camouflage / shadowing software.