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In 1969 the Advanced
Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense began work on
an experimental network to enable scientists to communicate among themselves.
Originally called ARPANET with only four computers by 1972 had grown to 50
military research centers and universities.
One prominent and early
concern of designers was security and reliability. As a result ARPANET was
designed to permit for many different routes so that a message could reach where
it was going. There was no set route for the data to take and there were many
ways to get from “point a” to “point b.” Even if a computer in the
“web” was down, the other computers could simple go around the down computer
and continue communicating.
With all of these computers
connected, designers needed a way for them to speak the same language so they
created the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TPC/IP). In 1983
TPC/IP became the standard for internet communications and remains so today.
During the 1980’s a number of networks developed and eventually they were all
interconnected. By 1987 the number of host computers connecting the internet
exceeded 10,000.
In 1989 a collective of
European researchers proposed a project now known as the Web as a means to
better communicate research ideas among members who were geographically worlds
apart. Before HTTP (Hypertext Markup Language) you had to actually type in the
exact address of what you wanted or spend hours paging through menus. HTTP
enabled links between pages (Hyperlinks.)
In 1993 Marc Andreessen,
working for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, introduced the first graphical Web
browser called Mosaic making it easy for even non-technical people to use the
internet. Andreessen went on to co-found Netscape Communications in 1994. In
1995 the Internet passed from the hands of the government to a consortium of
commercial providers and the rest is history. By 1996 the number of computer
hosts connecting the internet was close to 10,000,000. Estimates place the
number of worldwide users at over 300 million with that number expected to reach
the one-billion mark within the next few years.
Today the internet is
maintained by the companies, institutions, governments, and organizations that
use it. No one organization controls it. The protocols and standards are
overseen by a handful of organizations and consortiums dedicated to internet
communications.
IP Addresses are unique 4
to 12 digit numbers that identify
computers on the internet. Numbers are arranged in four groups from 0-255.
Example: http://123.456.78.910 may get you the same place as http://www.mycompany.com/
Domain Names are the
next level of Internet addressing. A company may have several IP addresses for
different computers on the network. For instance Accounting may have their own
computer, Sales may have a computer, etc. A
domain name creates a single identity for all the computers in the organization,
for example www.mycompany.com.
ISP’s or Internet Service
Providers provide you with a means to connect to the internet. There are several
types of connections…
Dial-up
Using a standard phone line (usually a local number) using your computer
“modem” you dial the phone and connect to an internet computer. This is
slowest and most inexpensive way to connect. Many communities offer free dial-up
access or Freenet’s. Modem speed is measured in thousands of bits per second
or “K.” Dial-up’s provide access at speeds up to 56K.
DSL
DSL stands for “Digital Subscriber Line.” DSL uses your existing
phone lines to access the internet at speeds in excess of 1.5 Mbps (million bits
per second.) The phone line is shared with your standard phone service, so you
can be on the internet and on the telephone at the same time. Your internet
connection is active 24/7, there is no need to login. DSL requires a special
type modem which is usually provided by the DSL company. This type of service is
not yet available in some areas.
Cable
With cable modems you access the internet with the same line as your
cable television. They operate at about the same speed as DSL depending on your
location. In some cases you need an internal/external modem. You can also
purchase “box top” systems to receive the internet on your television and
simply navigate with a wireless keyboard and mouse.
Wireless
Standards are just starting to make their mark on wireless internet
access. Currently programmers are challenged with making web sites accessible
through wireless communications. As the popularity of internet enabled cell
phones and increasingly important email, look for this area of the internet to
grow significantly.
Another advantage to DSL
and Cable Modems in additional to speed is the ability to share internet
connections among a network. For instance, if you family computers were
networked you could all access the internet at the same time while talking on
the phone.
Some internet providers
give you additional content as well as connection. Services like AOL, Compuserve
and MSN let you view certain areas of the WEB not accessible to others. These
types of services provide novice users specially designed web pages for signing
on, searching, email, etc.
Browser
Browser simply refers to the software you use to view internet content.
Internet Explorer and Netscape are the two most popular browser software
products. AOL using their own browser based on Internet Explorer.
Links
An internet “link” or hyperlink simply refers to a shortcut to
another internet address. You will usually see these as underlined text on a web
page or your mouse may turn to a pointing hand when you move it over a graphic
or text on a web page.
Cookies
Cookies are blocks of data a web server stores on your computer so that
the next time you visit the web page the web site knows who you are. Cookies can
contain private information about you and your web habits. It’s usually
recommended these files be deleted from your hard drive periodically. Please see
Maintenance for more information.
Temporary
Internet Files Each time you visit a web page your
computer stores a temporary copy of it on your hard drive. Over time,
considerable space can be taken up on your hard drive. These files need to be
deleted as well. Please see Maintenance for more information.
Firewalls
Firewall software is similar to a conventional firewall in that it stops
potentially harmful information from getting to your computer from the internet.
Firewalls give you the ability to set filters for your browser to accept only
certain websites or security levels, etc.
Plug-ins
There are many “Add-ins” and utilities available for the internet
which will allow you to hear music, listen to the radio, view videos, print
brochures and more. Many times a site will require you to install these
additional components. Programs like Real Player, Macro Media and Adobe Acrobat
are some of the more commonly used.
Search
Engines These
are websites devoted to searching the internet for whatever you need based on
keywords or phrases you enter. Yahoo.com and Excite.com are two examples.
Here are a few shortcuts
and tips to help you navigate the internet.
When surfing the internet
sometimes pages can be cut-off on the sides making it difficult to navigate the
page. In Microsoft Explorer if you click on the view Button you will see an
option for TEXT SIZE. Click here and change your fonts to smallest. Now you can
see the whole page.
Many
times pages get lost as they travel through the internet and graphics or text do
not appear as they should or the page takes much longer to load than it should.
Just click on the refresh button or F5 to reload the page.
To search
for a word or phrase on a Web page, press CTRL+F to open the Find dialog box.
You
can quickly put a shortcut to any Web page on your desktop by right-clicking in
the page and then clicking Create Shortcut.
To
see how any Web page was coded, right-click in the page, and then click View
Source.
Web pictures and
backgrounds make great desktop wallpaper for your computer. Just right-click the
picture you want, and then click Set as Wallpaper.
You can type a word in the
Address bar and press CTRL+ENTER to automatically add http://www. and .com on
either side of the word.
To
display the Links bar, a handy place to keep your favorite Web sites, click the View
menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Links.
You can keep your most
frequently visited Web pages only a single click away by dragging a shortcut to
the page onto the Links bar.
To open a new Internet
Explorer window, press CTRL+N.
To change your home page to
the page you have open, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options,
and then click Use Current.
To gain space on your hard
disk by deleting temporary files, click the Tools menu, click Internet
Options, and then click Delete Files.
You can see a list of Web
sites you have visited recently by clicking the History button on the
toolbar. You can also change how many days of links will appear in this list by
clicking on tools and internet options.
You can tell if the Web
site you're on is secure; a lock icon appears on the status bar. Always ensure
this lock appears before entering any credit card or other highly sensitive
information into a web site. For more information, double-click the icon.
You can add and remove
buttons on the toolbar by right-clicking the toolbar and then clicking Customize.
You can save a Web page for
offline reading by clicking the File menu and then clicking Save As.
You can switch between a
regular-sized Internet Explorer window and full-screen mode by pressing F11
To make Web pages load
faster, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, click the Advanced
tab, then turn off sounds and pictures.
To move to the beginning of
a document press HOME, To move to the end of a document, press END.
You can install more
Internet Explorer components by clicking the Tools menu and then clicking
Windows Update.
It’s a good idea to
periodically check the Windows Update site for software updates to your Windows
operating system. This will help keep your computer running smoothly with all
the latest and greatest, not just on-line but in all your applications. Many
times you will find “fixes” to known problems with the software. So before
you go blaming yourself for the “Illegal Function Call” Check for a software
update. Read more about this in the troubleshooting section.
All of
these tips are based on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer version 5. Different
browser software even different version of the same software will have different
features. Please check out the HELP menu located on the extreme right menu bar
of any Windows software you may be using to get answers to your questions.
Free Computer Support
http://www.helponthe.net
Manuals, Tips and Guides
http://www.help-site.com
For the really curious
http://www.howstuffworks.com
Lots of info and links
http://www.pcguide.com
Email is simply the
electronic version of the postal service (now known as snail mail.) They are
formatted as the user name and then the service (or “domain”) they use to
access their email. For example: ComputerLabs@cs.com where ComputerLabs is the
user name and cs.com is compuserve, the internet provider(IP.)
Many services allow you to
access your email through a web site. You simply point your browser to an
address ie: hotmail.com, then login using your username and password and you can
manage your mail. Many internet based email systems offer free basic service.
Service providers like AOL and Compuserve provide a simple mailbox with just a
click you can manage your mail.
Microsoft Outlook is
separate email software. In other words, it works independently of your internet
browser. This way you can read, manage and compose email while not connected and
once connected you can send and receive mail. Outlook also provides for the
ability to have multiple email addresses. With one click you can send and
receive mail for a number of different email addresses. Outlook has a number of
other features including the ability to share information with other programs
like Microsoft Word and Act! Contact Manager. One of the downfalls to Outlook is
security. Several “holes” in the programming code have enabled malicious
viruses to propagate at alarming rates through Outlook. We’ll cover this more
in the Virus section.
Email Attachments allow you
to send and receive programs, documents, sound files, pictures, etc. over the
internet. Normally when you create an email you will see a button called
attachment or you may have a paperclip (Microsoft Outlook.) By clicking on the
button you will get a browse box enabling you to pick the directory and file
(document, picture, etc.) you want to send.
The most difficult thing
about downloading attachments is knowing where they go once they are downloaded.
Most programs will ask you where you want to download the file to, or
“destination.” Make sure you select something you will remember and be able
to find later. It’s a good idea to create a “sub-folder” in your My
Documents for downloading, ie: C:\My Documents\Download. Usually you will need
the program the email was created with to view it. Double clicking on the file
will normally open the document or run the program.
Many services have files
size restrictions which means if what you are trying to send is too big in bytes
they will stop it from sending. Sometimes they may compress the file (squish it
up to make it smaller) automatically before sending it. In this case they will
give it a new file extension, for example jrpictures.zip where .zip indicates
it’s a Winzip file. Winzip is the software program used to squish the file. In
order to expand (unsquish) you will need the software Winzip. It’s a free
program and is available for download at www.pkware.com.
Once you have this program you can double click on the file name and it will
automatically expand and usually give you the opportunity to save the expanded
files to a different location. Sometimes they expand to a designated file folder
automatically and you may have to hunt for them.
Some common places to find
“lost downloads” are C:\My Downloaded Files, C:\Windows\Temp, C:\Documents
and Settings\Username\Desktop and for AOL users C:\AOL\Download. Also check your
Windows Desktop as this is a common place to automatically download software
program files & updates.
If you have ever received
an email with pages of other peoples email addresses you will appreciate the
BCC: option when sending mail. Blind Carbon Copies means you can send email to
multiple recipients and they will only see their email address when they get it.
BCC: requires that one email be listed in the To: box then you can select BCC:
and list the remaining email addresses there.
Email is by nature a quick
way to communicate. As a result people have created shortcuts to show emotion
and common expressions, for example text all in capitals is considered shouting.
Emoticons (emotion icons) are keyboard symbols combined to show emotions. Some
common shortcuts and emoticons are…
BBFN Bye-Bye
for now
AFIK
As far as I know
BTW
By the way
BCNU Be
seeing you
IMHO
In my humble opinion
TNTL
Trying not to laugh
:~)
Smiley Face
:~(
Sad Face
;~)
Winking Face
:~&
Tongue Tied
:~(‘
Sticking tongue out
The instant delivery and
virtually free cost of email has made it the “junk mail” of this century.
Just like your mailbox at home, your email in box can quickly become full with
emails promising free money, love, and other offers to good to be true. Spamming
is the practice of sending emails to large lists of email addresses without
permission from the recipients, just like traditional direct mail.
While there are a number of
ways to stop junk email, clicking “un-subscribe” will usually only bring you
MORE junk email. By un-subscribing you are letting the sender know they have
reached a valid email address and they pass that information on to other junk
emailers. You are better off simply deleting the emails or better yet, most
email software has options for filtering email or blocking email from certain
senders. Spam Stopping Software is just starting to make an appearance in the
market. Look for it to be part of your anti-virus software soon.
TIP – Have two email
addresses, one for personal email and the other use when you are browsing the
internet and signing up for things or making purchases. That way you have one
for your important emails and the other you can just periodically delete all
messages.
Another phenomenon of the
email community are the urban legends, chain letters, emotional blackmails and
virus hoaxes. Usually these types of messages will start with “Urgent Warning:
forward this to all your friends” or something similar. Resist the temptation!
You will not get free Gap gift certificates, you will not be paid cash by
Microsoft, Brown and Kelsey are not
missing, and the Post Office is not going to charge for email. Several great web
sites are available to check whether an email is a hoax or not, and they almost
always are. Check these sites before circulating rumors.
www.scambusters.com
www.snopes.com
www.urbanlegends.miningco.com
Unsolicited emails will continue to be a problem because, in short,
they work. Operating under the same research powering the direct mail industry,
mass emailing seems to produce results.
Roger Ebert at the Conference on World Affairs at the University
of Colorado
came up with a simple solution to
the spam urban legends problem. He announced this pledge in his column in Yahoo!
Internet Life's December 1996 issue. Keep saying it over and over to yourself.
"Under
no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to me as the result of an
unsolicited email message. Nor will I forward chain letters, petitions, mass
mailings, or virus warnings to large numbers of others. This is my contribution
to the survival of the online community."
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