Pinellas Computer Club
A Free Community of Residents, Non-Profits and Small Businesses.
| Internet & Email Basics ~ PCs 101, #3 |
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This article assumes you have read and understand these other articles first: Computers 101 - #1 - Hardware & Software Basics Computers 101 - #2 - Windows Basics Internet: The term "Internet" is short for "Interconnected Networks". It refers to the global electronic telecommunications network that connects all the little networks in the world together. It connects everything to everything. The Internet does not actually contain anything nor does it actually do anything except connect things together. Think of the Internet as a bunch of wires stretched across the globe. Network Interface Card (NIC): The NIC or network card is a piece of hardware that physically connects your computer to any standard network including the Internet. This means that any NIC will connect with any other NIC. This type of connection is called "Ethernet". It's that socket in the back that looks like an over-sized telephone jack. It is high-speed (also called broadband) and can handle up to 1000 Mega-Bits-Per-Second (Mbps). The connection is always on, and very few ISPs require a login to connect. Modem: It's short for "MODulate & DEModulate" referring to it modulating data to and from a remote modem. Dial-up modems actually dial a phone number to connect, and were the first to be used by the general public. Now we have high-speed cable modems and dsl modems. Dial-up Internet access has become too slow by comparison, and isn't very practical for anything more than email. Connecting to the Internet is a physical process that involves plugging a wire into a socket or dialing a phone number to connect with the global network. ANY computer with a network card or modem can connect to the internet. There is no minimum speed, power or other requirement. Once you are physically connected to the Internet (aka "the network") there are many things that you can do across the connection. Remember that the Internet is only the connection, and what you do with it is up to you. WWW: The phrase "World Wide Web" refers to all the content that is contained on all the systems connected together by the Internet. Since web pages have links to other web pages, they create a "web" of links that allows people to navigate around. In other words, the Internet is the physical thing that connects you to the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is made up of pages that contain information, video, audio or whatever the creators of that particular page choose to publish. Anyone can create a web page and any computer can be a web page server. When you type in a web site address, your web client program sends a command to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) who then relays it to the server that holds that site. The server then sends the page you asked for back to your computer where you can view it. Email: Short for "Electronic Mail", it actually existed long before the Internet or the WWW. Businesses originally used it to communicate between offices on their private networks. Now we all use the Internet to send and receive Email. Email messages can only contain text, but we can attach files of any kind to send along with an email. Email attachments are the most common method that viruses use to spread. Never open an attachment that you were not specifically expecting. Email addresses provide a unique name for every user by using their username separated by the "@" (AT) symbol from the domain name (the system on which their email account is located). This creates a logical way of describing the user as " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ". The domain name can be any valid domain setup for email, but ALL email addresses will have an @ between the username and the domain name. When you send an email, it first goes from your computer to your ISP or email service, which then sends it on to the address you put in the TO: box. The receiving system (usually another ISP or email service) verifies the recipient address and saves the message for that user to read the next time they check their mail. There are two different ways to view and manage email. "Webmail" (like Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc.) lets you view your email directly on the provider's webpage, in your browser. The advantage of Webmail is that it works from any computer with any standard browser and does not leave any personal information on that computer. Webmail is best used when you are away from your favorite computer. The other method uses software installed on your computer called an "email client" to send and receive messages. The most common email client is called "Outlook Express" which comes included in MS-Windows. An email client downloads messages onto your own computer where you then read them. The advantage to this method is that your messages are saved on your own machine for future reference and archiving. Email clients also give you the ability to fully automate the monitoring and control of as many email accounts and addresses as you like. A properly setup email client is the key to organized communications with no spam and no junk (see "Email for Grownups"). It's worth mentioning that what you type is what your reader will see. Most email clients have spell-check, but also failing to use capital letters, punctuation, proper grammar, paragraphs and formatting can make reading your messages a tedious chore. Give your reader a break and "give it the old college try". You will be respected and appreciated more for it in the long run. Spam: Any solicitation you did not ask for is spam. To fight spam, keep your email address private. (see "How To Stop Spam") Server / Host: Any computer or program that contains content to be viewed by others is a server. Any computer can be a server with the proper software. Most web pages are stored on very large servers designed specifically for that. Client: Any computer that views content from a server is a client. The term also refers to any program that connects to a server for a specific reason. Internet Explorer is a web client (it views web pages). AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is a chat client (it sends and receives instant messages). Web Browser / Client: On Windows computers, Internet Explorer is the name of the included web client or browser. A browser is any program that can view web pages. FireFox is another good and free web browser. Web Site: A web site is simply a collection of web pages or content contained on a server that is given a name. The name is made up of a few pieces. They are: Domain Name: The domain name is the name of the site, like PinellasComputerClub. Right after the domain name comes the TLD (Top Level Domain) or extension. The TLD designates the type of site or the country of location, like .com, .org or .us, .uk. The www. in front of the domain name is called the sub-domain. Usually, any web site intended for public viewing will have the www. at the beginning, but not always. Put it all together and you get a complete web address, like this: www.PinellasComputerClub.org HTTP:// This just tells your browser what type of content you are looking for. HTTP is "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol" and is used for web pages. FTP is "File Transfer Protocol" and is used to upload files to a server or download them from a server. There are others, but most info can be found with HTTP. If you don't put in anything before the www. your browser will assume you mean http. URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or Link (Hyperlink): The URL is the complete web address that appears in your browser's Address Bar. It includes all the pieces discussed above; http://, www., domain name, TLD, etc., but also has a "forward slash" ("/") after the TLD, followed by the specific page information which may look like gibberish. The whole thing altogether tells the server exactly what to show. Home Page: Your "home page" or "start page" is the page your browser shows if you open it without a URL, - like from the START Menu - and when you click the home button. The term also refers to the beginning or entrance page of any website or the first page you get to when you type in the address. We highly recommend that you set your home page to: http://www.pinellascomputerclub.org It's a great place to start your web experience. When typing in a URL or email address, it's critical that you spell and format it exactly right. Even one character off, and the server will not understand what you are telling it, and you will get an error. When you get an email address wrong, you may get an error message in return or nothing at all. When you get a web address wrong, you may get a different web page or an error like: "The page cannot be displayed." That just means that your browser cannot find what you typed, and does not necessarily mean that your connection is down. Many web addresses are very similar and may be only one character different. The same domain name with a different TLD extension may be a completely different site (example: the .net may have a different owner than the .com of the same name.) Virus: A computer virus is a piece of software written by a criminal intending to either damage or break into a remote computer. Viruses can get onto your computer through email attachments, infected websites, downloaded files and disks or other storage media. Windows does not include any anti-virus software, so it's critical that you install it and keep it running. Ask us about anti-virus software. Spyware / Adware / Malware: These nasty little bad guys are not necessarily made by criminals, but they are unwanted programs designed to bring advertisements to your computer in some form or another or do something to your computer that is undesirable. They are much more common than viruses and therefore harder to control. Ask us about anti-spyware software. Security & Privacy: It's important to remember basic privacy and security on the internet. Never type personal or private information into a web page unless you are sure you can trust it. Never give out your email address unless you can be sure it will be kept private. Many sites that give away free stuff also give away your email address to spammers or will spam you themselves. You should treat Internet communications like any other. Never trust strangers, and always keep your information private. Windows and software updates: All computer software has bugs. When a problem is found, it often requires an update to correct it. Some problems can create a security hole that could allow someone to attack your computer from the Internet. Getting all the latest updates for all your software is critical to keep your system safe and stable. NEVER avoid updates. Remember that anyone can put anything on the web. Just because it is published doesn't make it real or right. Be careful and cautious just like you would in the real world.
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