Internet

&
Email

Intro to Computer Systems and

Application Packages
Lecture 8
By

Flavia Tembo-Kambale
 What is the Internet?
• The Internet, sometimes called the “Information
Superhighway” or “the Net” is basically a global
computer network.
• Computers are connected via wires, cables and
satellite connections so that they can
communicate no matter where you may reside in
the world.
• People from the most remote areas have the
ability to communicate and gather information
from virtually anywhere in the world all within
seconds.
 What is the Internet?
• You can send files, photos, email, letters,
programs, music and much more.
• It allows you to have access to
– current news,
– reference material,
– chat with other users,
– shop, and basically have fun.
• The Internet is always open and available on
any day of the year and at any time.
 What is the history of the Internet?
• The Internet is approximately 30 years old.
• After World War II, The United States Defense Department
decided to create a network of computers so that scientist
and military agencies could communicate quickly and with
ease.
• They wanted a system that would continue to operate even
if our enemies were to destroy a single control center.
• In 1969, the first messages were successfully transmitted.
• By the 1970’s the Internet, known then as the
“Internetwork,” was primarily used by scientists, academics
and students.
 What is the history of the Internet?
• In 1989, the World Wide Web was developed by
Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist.
• New software was developed to make using the
Internet easier for the average computer user.
• By the 1990’s, many more people had access to
computers and were starting to get connected.
People from all over the world were learning and
communicating with each other.
 What is the difference between Dial
Up, Broadband and Wireless?
• To connect to the Internet, you will need a
computer with a modem, a physical connection
such as a cable or phone jack near your
computer, an Internet Service Provider and
Internet software.
• There are three basic options for connecting your
computer to the Internet which are
– dial-up,
– broadband
– And wireless.
 Dial-up
• basically utilizes a typical phone jack and
telephone lines.
• It is relatively less expensive than broadband
or wireless,
• however, it does transmit information much
slower.
• Also, you cannot use your telephone and
Internet connection at the same time
 Broadband connections
• can be up to 100 times faster than regular dialup.
• You may need to purchase different hardware for your
computer to run broadband
• and your monthly service will be more expensive than
regular dial-up service.
• The following are the three different types of
broadband connections:
– DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) which uses your telephone
lines for connection,
– cable services which use fiber-optic cables,
– satellite dish service which uses your satellite dish
connection.
 Wireless connections
• allow you to be more mobile.
• If your laptop did not come with a wireless
network card, you may want to consider
purchasing one. Next, find a location that
provides wireless access.
• Examples of some public buildings with
wireless access are airports, coffee shops,
hotels and libraries.
 Which category is the phone
companies? TNM, AIRTEL, MTL
• Some cell phone companies offer a service that allows
you to have a wireless connection via your laptop.
• This may require a special phone with a modem, and
your cell phone would connect to the laptop via a
cable, infrared or Bluetooth.
• As long as you have a cell phone signal, you would have
a wireless connection for your laptop.
• Please note that this service is an extra monthly charge
on your cell phone bill and not all cell phones have this
capability. Check with your cell phone service provider
for your options.
 What are Internet Service Providers
(ISP)?
• Internet Service Providers such as Tnm, Airtel, MTL,
E&O, GlobeMw make is possible for you to access or
connect to the Internet.
• You simply install their Internet software on your
computer and follow the directions for setting up your
account.
• After the installation is complete, continue to follow
their directions to connect to the Internet.
• In addition to access to the Internet and their software,
ISPs will give you an email account and most will give
you a little storage space to create a Web page.
 charging methods.
• The flat-rate, unmetered subscriptions gives you unlimited
access to the full range of services.
• Metered subscriptions allow you to use the Internet for a
set amount of hours per month or are based on the
amount of transferred information.
• Some ISPs offer a free service called, “Pay as you go.”
• Even though your Internet service may be free for a certain
amount of hours each month, many ads will appear on your
browser and reduce your viewing area.
• These ISPs fund their services by the paid advertising from
vendors, by charging you for technical support, and by
offering more hours per month if you upgrade to their paid
service.
 What are Web Browsers?
• a special software designed to display Web
pages and links.
• A few examples of popular browsers today are
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla’s
Firefox, Safari and Opera.
• Any of those applications will allow you to
search the Internet for particular sites.
 What are Web Browsers? II
• A home page is typically the first page of any
Web site.
• You can also set your own “home page” in
your Web browser.
• If you select a particular Web site to appear
every time you open your Web browser
software on your personal computer, then you
are setting that page to be your browser’s
home page.
 Web browser
• A browser is a software program used to access and
view Web pages.
• Each Web page has a unique address, called
a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), that tells a browser
where to locate the Web page.
• A URL consists of a protocol, domain name, and
sometimes the path to a specific Web page or location
on a Web page.
• Most URLs begin with http://, which stands
for hypertext transfer protocol, the communications
standard that enables pages to transfer on the Web.
 What are Web pages?
• Any document on the Internet is considered a
Web page.
• A Web site is a collection of Web pages which is
owned by an individual, company or organization.
• It is similar to a magazine in that it has a cover
(the home page) and different pages with
graphics. When you click on links found on each
Web page, you instantly visit new pages which
are electronically connected.
• Anyone who knows HTML (Hypertext Markup
Language) can create a Web page.
 Types of Web pages
• An advocacy Web page contains content that describes a
cause, opinion, or idea.
• A business/marketing Web page contains content that
promotes or sells products or services.
• An informational Web page contains factual information.
• A news Web page contains newsworthy material including
stories and articles relating to current events, life, money,
sports, and the weather.
• A portal Web page offers a variety of Internet services from
a single, convenient location.
• A personal Web page is maintained by a private individual
who normally is not associated with any organization.
 Web page Multimedia and Graphic
• Multimedia refers to any application that integrates
text with one of the following elements: graphics,
sound, video, virtual reality, or other media elements.
• A graphic is a digital representation of information
such as a drawing, chart, or photograph. Two common
file formats for graphical images on the Web
are JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), which use
compression techniques to reduce the size of graphics
files and thus speed downloading.
• .
 Animation, Audio and Video
• Animation is the appearance of motion created by displaying a
series of still images in rapid sequence. One popular type of
animation, called an animated GIF, uses computer animation and
graphics software to combine several images into a single GIF file.
• Audio is music, speech, or any other sound. A common format for
audio files on the Web is MP3, a popular technology that
compresses audio. More advanced Web audio applications
use streaming audio, which transfers audio data in a continuous
and even flow, allowing users to listen to the sound as it
downloads.
• Video consists of full-motion images that are played back at various
speeds. Video files often are quite large in size. The Moving
Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) defines a popular video
compression standard. Streaming video allows you to view longer
or live video images as they are downloaded
 How do I access a Web page?
There are three main ways to access a desired Web page.
• Universal Resource Locator (URL) is the exact address
for a particular Web page. An example of a URL
address is: http://www.athensclarkecounty.com
• You will need to type this in the Address bar at the top
of your browser. Next, press enter and you should be
directed to the desired web page.
• Most browsers know that you are looking for a Web
page, so you do not have to type the http:// at the
beginning of each address.
 Search Engines
• allow you to look for Web pages when you do not
know their URL address.
• You can enter words or phrases and click on the
search button. It will post many (sometime
thousands) of various Web sites.
• You will need to click on the ones that interest
you the most. Usually the Web sites that are
visited more often appear on the first page. Some
popular search engines are:
– http://www.google.com
– http://www.yahoo.com
 Search Engine
• A search engine is a software program you can use to
find Web sites, Web pages, and Internet files.
• To find a Web page or pages, you enter a relevant word
or phrase, called search text or keywords, in the search
engine’s text box.
• Many search engines then use a program called
a spider to read pages on Web sites and create a list of
pages that contain the keywords.
• Any Web page that is listed as the result of the search
is called a hit. Each hit is a link that can be clicked to
display the associated Web site or Web page
 Meta-Search Engines
• There are also Meta-Search Engines which
search many different search engines at one
time and display these results.
• Examples of meta-search engines are:
– http://www.clusty.com
– http://www.dogpile.com
 Links
• allow you to move from one Web page or section
to the next by clicking on text or images.
• These are called hyperlinks or links for short.
Usually a link will appear as underlined text or
sometimes the text will be in a different color.
• also, if your pointer turns into a “white hand,”
this indicates that you are hovering over a link.
• Clicking on a link will take you to new Web page
with different information.
What are the parts of a Web Address
(URL)?
• Universal Resource Locator (URL) is the exact
address for a particular Web page.
• The parts of the URL can give you clues about
where a page is located and what type of
company or person owns it.
• For example
– www.google.com
 www - Host name or Web server
• The most widely used service on the Internet
is the World Wide Web.
• The World Wide Web (WWW or Web)
consists of a worldwide collection of
electronic documents called Web pages.
• A browser is a software program used to
access and view Web pages.
Google – Domain Name
 .com – Top level domain name
• The last section, called the top-level domain, (or
sometimes the last two sections) of the URL address
tells you what type of organization owns that address.
• It can sometimes even indicate where it is located.
Some of the most common top-level domains are:
.com commercial site but also used by individuals
.org usually non-profit organizations
.edu educational site
.co.uk commercial site located in the United
Kingdom
.gov government site
• How do I save a Web page?
• How do I print a Web page?
• How do I save a photo or image from a Web
page?
• How Do I Create a Short-cut on my Desktop
of a Web page?
• How do I save and paste a few paragraphs
from the Internet?
 What are viruses ?
• A computer virus is a small manmade piece of
code or a program that is loaded and runs on
your computer without your knowledge.
• A program file usually has certain extensions
such as .exe, .bat, .com, .shs, .vbs or .scr.
• Be careful accepting an attachment or
downloading a file with one of these
extensions.
 Viruses II
• Most viruses are spread through email. Make
sure you have a good antivirus program to check
all the files you download.
• Your antivirus software must be running to detect
a virus and must be up to date and current.
• Instead of opening a program file from Internet
Explorer or your email account, save your
suspected files to your hard disk so that your
virus checker can detect any new virus.
 what is a firewall?
• A firewall may be either software or hardware that is
designed to prevent unauthorized entry into your
personal computer via the Internet.
• All messages entering and leaving your computer will
pass through this firewall for additional protection.
• If your computer is connected to the Internet by way of
a cable modem or DSL, your computer is online 24/7.
• This creates a definite need for a firewall to protect
your computer from hackers or other online threats.
• A firewall will prevent a hacker from taking control of
your computer and will prevent programs on your
computer from contacting outside sources.
• The Rules Of Netiquette
• Netiquette, which is short for Internet etiquette, is the code of
acceptable behaviors users should follow while on the Internet.
Rules for e-mail, newsgroups, and chat rooms include:
• Keep messages brief and use proper grammar and spelling.
• Be careful when using sarcasm and humor.
• Be polite and avoid offensive language.
• Avoid sending flames (abusive messages) and spam (unsolicited
junk mail).
• Do not use all capital letters, which is the equivalent of SHOUTING!
• Use emoticons (such as :) for smile) to express emotion.
• Use abbreviations (such as BTW for by the way) for popular
phrases.
• Clearly identify a spoiler, which is a message that reveals a solution
to a game or an ending to a movie or program.
• Read the FAQ (frequently asked questions) document.
• Do not assume all material is accurate or up-to-date.
• Never read someone’s private e-mail.