Unit 3

Introduction to Computer Networks

 Introduction to networks,
 Types of network: LAN, MAN, WAN.
 Network Devices: modem, hub, switch, repeater, router, gateway
 Network Topologies: Star, Bus, Tree, Mesh
 Introduction to Internet, URL, WWW, and its applications- Web, email, Chat, VoIP.
 Website: Introduction, difference between a website and webpage, static v/s dynamic web page, web server
and Hosting of a website.
 Web Browsers: Introduction, commonly used browsers, browser settings, add-ons and plug-ins, cookies.

Introduction to networks
A computer network is a set of nodes like computers and networking devices that are connected through
communication for the purpose of communication and sharing resources (hardware/software) among the users.

Advantages of computer network Disadvantages of computer network

 Facilitate communication through email / video  Lack of robustness
conferencing / instant messaging or any other mode.  Security issue
 Share hardware devices like a printer or scanner.  Cost of network
 Enable file sharing
 Share software or operating programs
 Share information

Types of network: LAN, MAN, WAN

1. Local Area Network (LAN) - limited area within rooms / building.
2. Metropolitan area network (MAN) – within city
3. Wide Area Network (WAN) – within multiple city / state / countries

1. Local Area Network (LAN) – LANS are the most frequently used/discussed networks. It is one of the most
common one of the simplest types of network. It is designed for small physical areas such as an office, group
of building. Any of different types of topologies can be used to design LAN like star, ring, bus, tree etc.
Example - a networked office building, school or home. Sometimes one building can contain a few small
LANs (Like some schools have independent LANs in each computer lab.)
Characteristics of LAN Advantages of LAN Disadvantages of LAN
 Private networks mean no need  Resource sharing  High setup cost
of regulatory control.  Software application sharing  Privacy violations
 Operate at relatively high  Easy and cheap communication  Data security threat
speed.  Centralized data  LAN maintenance job
 Ethernet, token ring etc., type  Data security  Covers limited area
media access controls are used.  Internet sharing
 Connects computes in a single
building, block or campus.

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) – Spread within a city. Cover an area of a few kilometres or to a few
hundred kilometres radius. Set up using all types of all guided and unguided media. Owned and operated by
a government body or a large corporation.
Example- a network of schools, or banks, government offices etc. within a city. A MAN is usually formed by
interconnected a number of LANs and individual computers.

1
 3. Wide Area Network (WAN) – Slightly more complex than a LAN, a WAN connects computes across longer
physical distances. The internet is the most basic example of a WAN, connecting all computers together
around the world. Because of a WAN’s vast reach, so it is very difficult owned and maintained by any single
person or owner.
Examples- a network of ATMs, banks, national government offices, international organization’s offices etc.,
spread over a country, continent, or covering many continents.
Characteristics of WAN Advantages of WAN Disadvantages of WAN
 Covers large distances such as  Long distance business can  Need a good firewall to
states, countries, continents. connect on the one network. restrict unauthorised access
 Communication medium like  Shares software and  Settings up a network can be
satellite, public telephone resources an expensive, slow and
networks etc and routers are  Messages can be sent very complicated.
used establish connection quickly to wide range of  Maintain a network is a full-
nodes. time job.
 Hardware devices can be  Security is a major issue when
shared. many different people have
the ability to use information.

Network Devices: Modem, Hub, Switch, Repeater, Router, Gateway

Modem- It is short for modulator and demodulator. It’s an electronic device used to access the internet that
modulates carrier wave to encode information to be transmitted and also demodulates incoming carrier waves to
decode the information they carry. Modulation means digital to analog signal conversion and its vice versa is known
as demodulation.

Hub- It is used to connect multiple computers in a single LAN network of one workgroup. Generally hubs are
available with 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 ports.

When a hub receives signal on its port, it repeats the signal and forwards that signal from all ports except the port on
which the signal arrived. In below diagram leftmost nodes try to send signal to rightmost node, but signals are
distributed to all ports (nodes).

There are two types of HUB-

 Passive HUB- It only forwards the signal on all ports without amplifying the signal.
 Active hub- It forwards the signal with improvement in the quality of data signal by amplifying it. That why
such hubs need additional power supply.

2
Switch- Switch is also used to connect multiple computers together in a LAN workgroup just like hub. Switches are
available with 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 64 ports. Switch makes their switching decisions by using application specific
integrated circuits. Due to switching decision capability, switch sends signal to recipient only that’s why switches are
called as intelligent hub. In below diagram leftmost node sending signal to rightmost node.

Repeater– In a network signal travels a long distance in transmission media. Due to resistance of media signal
becomes weak. Repeater is a networking device which regenerates the signal and forwards these signal with more
power.

Router- Router operates in the physical, data link and network layers. Router is a networking device which chooses
the best optimal path from available path to send the signals. It interconnects different networks. The simples
function of a router is to received packets from one connected network and pass them to second connected
network.

Gateway- A networking device capable to convert protocols, so that two different network architecture based
system can communicate with each other. It works as protocol convertor. We can say different systems work
together.

Hub v/s Switch – A hub works on the physical layer (layer1) of OSI model while switch works on the data link layer
(layer2). Switch is more efficient than the hub. A switch can join multiple computers within one LAN and a hub just
connects multiple Ethernet devices together as a single segment. Switch is smarter than hub to determine the target
of the forwarding data. Since switch has a higher performance, its cost will also become more expensive.

Switch v/s Router- In the OSI model, router is working on a higher level of network layer (layer 3) than switch.
Router is very different from the switch because it is for routing packet to other networks. It is also more intelligent
and sophisticated to serve as an intermediate destination to connect multiple are networks together. A switch is only
used for wired network, yet a router can also link with the wireless network. With much more functions, a router
definitely costs higher than a switch.

Router v/s Gateway – Gateway regulates traffic between two dissimilar networks, while router regulates traffic
between similar networks. A router is a hardware device that forwards data packets between computer networks.
Router performs the traffic directing function on the internet.

3
 Network Topologies: Star, Bus, Tree, Mesh
Structure of a network- The physical arrangement of computer resources, network devices along with
communication channel is known as network structure or network topology. Topology can be physical or logical.

 Physical topology – Physical layout of nodes and cables in the network.

 Logical topology- The way information flows between different components.

Types of physical network topologies-

 Star Topology
 Bus Topology
 Tree Topology
 Mesh Topology
 Ring Topology
 Hybrid Topology

Star topology- Star topology uses a separate cable for each node/workstation. The cable connects the node to a
central device typically a HUB.

Advantages of a star topology Disadvantages of a star topology

 Less expensive than mesh  Everything depends on the hub.
 Easy to install, easy to configure  If hub fails, so entire network will
 If one link fails the network can not work.
still function

Bus topology – Nodes are connected through a common communication media like diagram given below-

Advantages of a bus topology Disadvantages of a bus topology

 Easy to install  Difficult reconnection.
 Minimal cable  Difficult to find the problem.
 Difficult to add new devices.
 Break and stops all transmission
of data

Tree topology - In this, a central root node the top level of the hierarchy is connected to one or more other nodes
that are one level lower in the hierarchy.

Advantages of a tree topology Disadvantages of a tree topology

 It is scalable.
 Easier fault identification and
isolation.
 Maintenance of the network may
be an issue when the network
spans a great area.
 If the backbone fails, the entire
network is crippled.

Mesh topology – In mesh topology, separate cable is used to connect each device to every other device on the
network, providing a straight communication path.
Advantages of a mesh topology Disadvantages of a mesh topology
 Avoid traffic since each link  A lot of cables are needed.
carries its own data and none  Too many cables mean too much
are being shared. cost.
 If one link break, the rest of the  Too many cables means complex
network is still functional network.
 Easy to detect a problem in the
network by discovering which
device is having problems and
examining the link that
connects to it.

4
 Introduction to Internet, URL, WWW, and its applications- Web, email, Chat, VoIP

Internet – In general sense, we can say that internet is network of networks, an example of wide area network.
Means internet is a global network of billions of computers and other electronic devices. With the internet, it’s
possible to access almost any information, communicate with anyone else in the world, and do much more.
We can do all this by connecting a computer to the Internet which is also called going online. When someone says a
computer is online, it’s just another way of saying it’s connected to the internet.
Internet evolution
Years Evolutions
1969-70 ARPANET - sent text message using binary encoding and decoding.
1971 First email @ using notation
1983 TCP/IP protocol invented and DNS was created.
1989 Tim Berner Lee, a British scientist, invented the world wide web (WWW)
1990 Tim Berner Lee created HTML, first static website for CERN.
1993 Static website was made public.
1994 Tim Berner Lee developed URL
1995 Launching of amazon.com
1997 Launching of Google and yahoo search engine
2004 Launching of facebook
2007 Launching of twitter
2009 Launching of WhatsApp

ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency NETwork): In 1969, the US govt. formed an agency named ARPANET
to connect computers at various universities and defence agencies. The main objective of ARPANET was to develop a
network that could confine to function efficiently even in the event of a nuclear attack.
ARPANET adopted TCP/IP on January 1, 1983, and from there researchers began to assemble the ‘networks of
networks’ that became the modern internet. The online world then took on a more recognizable form in 1990, when
computer scientist Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web.

How does Internet works?

Our computer or Smartphone may be link to the internet using phone line/mobile ISP (Internet Service Provider). Our
computer may be part of LAN. Then LAN will be connected to ISP using a high speed phone line like T1 line (1.5
mbps) where as normal phone line or modem typically handle 30000 to 50000 bits per second. ISPs then connect to
larger ISP and the largest ISPs maintain fiber optic backbones for an entire region. Backbones around the world are
connected through fiber optic lines, under sea cables or satellite links. In this manner every computer on internet is
connect to every other computer on internet. So we can say that it is a kind of WAN, working with the help of various
networking devices and the protocols specially TCP/IP to forward data source to destination devices without
constraints of dissimilar devices and architecture.

5
Some Internet applications
 WWW/web
 Email
 Chat
 VoIP

1. WWW/web - Many people think that the internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) is the same thing. While they
are closely linked, they are very different systems.
The internet is a huge network of computers all connected together, the World Wide Web (‘www’ or ‘web’ for short)
is a collection of WebPages found on this network of computers. Our web browser uses the internet to access the
web.
The World Wide Web is a way of exchanging information between computes on the internet, trying them together
into a vast collection of interactive multimedia resources.
World Wide Web was created by Tim burner’s lee in 1989 at CERN in Geneva. World Wide Web came into existence
as a proposal by him, to allow researchers to work together effectively and efficiently at CERN. Eventually it became
World Wide Web.

The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the internet. With a web browser,
one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos and other multimedia and navigate between them via
hyperlinks.

It use a protocol called HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTP defines how message are formatted and
transmitted, and what actions web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.

A Uniform Resource Locator, or URL is the address of a document find on the WWW.

The element in a URL :

Protocol : //server’s address / filename

Example :

http : // www. Google.com / index.html

Types of website :

 Static – A static website is one that has web pages stored on the server in the format that is sent to a client
web broswer. It is primarily coded in hypertext markup language html.
 Dynamic- A dynamic website is ones that change or customizes itself frequently and automatcally, based on
certian criteria.

How does WWW works?

Web is a two- tiered architecture.

 A web browser display information contents.

 Web server that transfers information to the client.

6
DNS – The Domain Name System, translates human readable domain names for example, www.tatadav.com.in to
machine readable IP address. For example 182.156.84.26. DNS servers translate request for names into IP addresses.

A domain name is our website name e.g. in www.tatadav.com.in

Here- .in is primary domain, .com is sub domain of in and .tatadav is a sub domain of .com

Generic domain name - .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, .net, .org etc

Country specific domain name - .in for india, .us for united states.

URL- Uniform Resource Locator is defined as the global address of documents and other resources on the World
Wide Web. The URL is an address that sends user to a specific resource online, such as a webpage, video or other
document or resource.

For example -

http : // www.tatadav.com.in

http – protocol
tatadav – sub domain
.com – domain name
.in – domain name
Is an IP address same as a URL or web address?
No, An IP address is a unique number that’s assigned to each device on a network. On the World Wide Web, a
domain name is assigned a unique IP address and when entered e.g. tatadav.com, DNS translates it into an IP that
routers use to find the web server. A domain name is used instead of an IP address because it’s easier for human to
remember.
2. Email- Short for electronic mail, e-mail or email is information stored on a computer that is exchanged between
two users over telecommunications. It is a fast and efficient way to communicate with friends or colleagues. We can
communicate with one person at a time or thousands; we can receive and send files and other information.

Features of email-
 Automatics/ default reply to messages.
 Auto- forward and redirection of messages.
 Facility to send copies of a message to many people.
 Automatic filing and retrieval of messages.
 Addresses can be stored in an address book and retrieved instantly.
 Notification if a message cannot be delivered.

Basic e-mail functions Email address Example

 Send and receive mail messages someone@mail server
 Save your messages in a file The email address has three parts:
 Print mail messages  A user name
 Reply to mail messages  An “at” sign (@)
 Attach a file to a mail message  The address of the user’s mail
server
someone123@gmail.com
 someone123 -> username
 @ -> separator
 gmail.com –> mail server

7
 Offline email client programs
Email client is a computer program used to manage a
user’s email. Popular email clients include Microsoft
outlook, Pegasus mail, Mozilla’s thunderbird and Apple
Inc.’s mail.
Online email client programs
Web-based mail is an e-mail service intended to be
primarily accessed via a web browser. Web mail is
popular as it allows us to send or receive e-mail from
anywhere. Very popular webmail provider are Gmail,
Yahoo, Hotmail

How email works-

Electronic mail is a facility that allows users to transmit messages across the internet in fast and secure manner.

Email created, using email client program –> on press of send button, it is delivered to sender’s mail server through
SMTP simple mail transfer protocol which further transmit the same through internet to recipient’s mail server –>
whenever recipient’s email client programs’ inbox is opened, that email is delivered to inbox through POP3 (post
office protocols), 3rd version which user will read in email client program.

Email Protocols
SMTP - Most of the internet systems use. SMTP as a method to transfer mail from one user to another. SMTP is a
push protocol and is used to send the mail to email server. It is usually used with one of two other protocols, POP3 or
IMAP, that let the user save messages in a server mailbox and download them periodically from the server. An
alternative to SMTP that is widely used in Europe is x.400. Many mail servers now support Extended Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (ESMTP), which allows multimedia files to be delivered.

The SMTP models have two types-

 End-to-end method - The end to end model is used to communicate between different organizations.
 Store – and – forward method - This method used within an organization.

POP3 – Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3) is a standard mail protocol used to receive emails from a remote server
to a local email client. POP3 allows us to download email messages on our local computer and read them even when
we are offline. Note, that when we use POP3 to connect to our email account, messages are downloaded locally and
removed from the email server. This means that is we access our account from multiple locations that may not be
the best option for us. If we use POP3, our messages are stored on our local computer, which reduces the space of
email account used on your web server.

3. Chat – Chatting is the other method for Internet conversation. It enables people connected anywhere on the
internet to join in live discussion. Chat sessions allow many users to join in the same free-form conversation usually
centred on a discussion topic. Chatting software examples- MSN Messenger, Yahoo messenger, IRC, Pidgin etc.

How chatting software works?

For each chat window a session, is created at
chat server to send and receive message
among the client of common window. Each
session works as a thread at chat server.
There may multiple threads/chat session at
chat server.

8
4. VoIP- Voice over internet protocol is a technology that allows us to make voice calls using a broadband internet
connection instead of a regular or analog phone line. VoIP services convert our voice into a digital signal that travels
over the internet. If we are calling a regular phone number, the signal is converted to a regular telephone signal
before it reaches the destination. VoIP can allow us to make a call directly from a computer, a special VoIP phone. In
addition, wireless ‘hot spots’ in location such as airports, parks and cafes allows us to connect to the internet and
may enable us to use VoIP service wirelessly.
In 1994, two young Israeli computer scientists, Alon Cohen and Lior Haramaty, invent an audio transmitter-receiver
that can send and receive voice data in real time over the Internet and then developed the first Internet telephone
software also known as a VoIP client.

Common examples of VoIP Apps – Nextiva, Aircall, Zoiper, Skype, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Viber, Facebook
Messenger

Services provided by VoIP – Phone to phone, PC to phone, Phone to PC, Voice to email, IP phone, Toll free number,
Call center applications, VPN, Unified messaging etc.

Protocols used for VoIP – SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), H.323, RTP – (Real Time Protocol), RTCP – (Real Time
Transport Control Protocol), SRTP – (Secure Real Time Protocol), SDP – (Session Description Protocol)

Advantages of VoIP Disadvantages of VoIP

 Less cost and Voice quality  Reliable internet connection required
 Flexibility and Accessibility  Power outages/ emergencies
 Extra/less expensive features  Latency

VoIP function – PC To PC Call VoIP function – PC To MOBILE Call

How VoIP works?

Once you initiate a VoIP call the following three scenarios takes place:
1. When we make a phone call- our voice signals are converted to digital packets.
2. Those packets travel via the internet until they reach the final destination (called party).
3. At last the packets convert back to voice signals.
During the above scenarios 2 and 3, here is what happens:
The originated call travels via the internet to your provider’s server /switch our VoIP provider receives the call and by
passes it to a terminator i.e. another provider often a LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) at destination the terminator
receives the call and delivers it to our desired number. All the above happen at a twinkle –of–eye time speed that we
don’t even realize.
9
 Website
One of the most common reasons for us to be using Internet every day, is the information it is loaded with. The
information is generated by multiple sources and is carefully organized in the form of files and web pages, which,
when grouped together to form a single entity, become a website.

So, a collection of web pages which are grouped together and usually connected together in various ways. Often
called a "web site" or simply a "site. “

Website Importance and Uses –

The websites are utilized for various purposes like Web surfing, Email and chatting, Social Networking, Videos, Online
Business, Searching Jobs, News and Information, Classified Ads, Blogs, Downloads, Online payments, Online Banking,
File sharing, Online games etc.
 Open for Business 24 Hours a Day.
 Reach New Markets With a Global Audience.
 Improved Customer Service.
 Save Money on Printing and Distribution Costs.
 Create a Product or Service Showcase.
 Sell Your Products and Services Online.
 Stability.
 Viral Marketing without a Marketing Cost.

Why Do People Visit Websites?

Generally, people look at websites for two primary reasons:

 To find information, they are in need. This could be anything from a tourist searching information of a city or
location, student looking for pictures for a school project, to find the latest stock quotes, to get the address
of the nearest restaurant.
 To complete a task. People may want to buy the latest best-seller of a product or best product, download a
software program, or participate in an online discussion about a favourite hobby.

Components of a good website

 Easy navigation
 Secured contents
 Proper layout
 Proper links
 Effective color scheme
 Fast load time
 Mobile friendly
 Font that suits website
 Good quality images with less size
 Consistency of design among all pages

Things we need in order to build a website

 Domain name (our custom web address, www.OurWebSiteName.com)
 Website hosting (service that hosts our website)
 Website designing tools / languages – tools(Firefox Developer, Photoshop, PanicCoda, Dreamweaver,
Fireworks etc.), languages(html, asp, php, jsp, .net etc)

Two of the most common methods for designing websites that work well both on desktop and mobile are responsive
and adaptive design. In responsive design, content moves dynamically depending on screen size; in adaptive design,
the website content is fixed in layout sizes that match common screen sizes.

Website Structure
Proper structuring of a website and breaking them into sub sections on the basis of file type and subject matter is
very important. Website structure refers to the framework in which the information or content of a website employs
for both usability and presentation.

10
Working of a website
When a user requests the Web page, the browser employed by the user requested the server through DNS server
and by fetching and interpreting the requested files, displays it on users screen. DNS server convert domain name to
IP address (unique address) – this process is known as DNS resolution.

Some examples of websites

 wikipedia.org
 google.com
 amazon.com
 cbse.nic.in
 Facebook.com
 Yahoo.com
 Flipkart.com
Web page
Webpage is a document or html document commonly written in HTML, which is viewed in an Internet browser. A
web page can be accessed by entering a URL address into a browser's address bar. A web page may contain text,
graphics, and hyperlinks to other web pages and files.
A web page is often used to provide information to its visitor, including pictures or videos, to help illustrate
important topics. A web page may also be used as a method to sell products or services to visitors.

Difference between website and web page

Web page Website

Single document on the internet
Development requires minimum amount of time
Web page has content about a single entity
Address of the URL of web page depends on website
It is the content that is to be displayed on a website
Webpage URL has an extension Like
www.tatadav.com/syllabus.html
A collection of related web pages linked together
under same domain
Development takes a long time
Has content about several entities
URL of website does not depends upon webpage
Website is a place used to display the content
No extension used in URL of a website
www.tatadav.com

11
 Static web page
Static Web pages are very simple pages written in languages such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS, etc. When a server
receives a request for a static web page, then the server sends the response to the client without doing any
additional process. And these web pages are seen through a web browser as these were designed. In static web
pages, Pages will remain the same until someone changes it manually and deploy these on the web server.

Dynamic web page

Dynamic Web Pages are written in languages such as JSP, ASP, .NET,PHP etc. In dynamic web pages, the Content of
pages varies as per the requirement of its visitor. For e.g. if we login to any web site then our name is displayed
similarly if other person login on the same site his name will be displayed. It takes more time to load than the static
web page. Dynamic web pages are used where the information is changed frequently, for example, stock prices,
weather information, etc.

Difference between Static Webpage and Dynamic Web Page

Static Webpage Dynamic Web Page

Pages will remain same until someone changes it Content of pages are different for different visitors.
manually.
Static web pages are written in languages such as: Dynamic web pages are written in languages
HTML, JavaScript, CSS etc. such as: CGI, AJAX, ASP, ASP.NET etc.
Less complexity Complicated
Information is change rarely Information is change frequently
less time for loading More time for loading.
Database is not used Database is used

Web Server
Web server is a computer where the web content is stored. Basically web server is used to host the web sites and
deliver the resources requested through web browser.
In more technical term it is a program that uses HTTP for serving files that create web pages for users in response to
their requests that are sent by the HTTP clients of their computer is called a web server.

12
Features of a Web Server –
 Secure
 Fast in speed means high bandwidth
 Able to mitigate bandwidth congestion
 Maximum up time-means always response
 Support most of server site scripting languages
 Easy user interface
 Virtual hosting
Functions of a Web Server –
 Stores and secures website data
 Provides web database access
 Serve the end user requests
 Bandwidth controlling to regulate network traffic
 Virtual hosting
 Server side web scripting
Web Server examples –
 Apache web server - 1996, maintained by apache foundation, most used web server
 IIS – Internet information services by maintained Microsoft
 NGINX- 2002 by igor sysoev, Used for large web sites with too much traffic
 Apache Tomcat - Initiate by sun micro system and in 1999 transferred to apache software foundation
 Lighthttpd - 2003 Uses a very low memory, CPU and disk space, for small web hosting projects
Web hosting
Web hosting is the place where all the files of your website live. It is like the home of our website where it actually
lives.
A good way to think about this is, if the domain name is the address of our house, then web hosting is the actual
house that addresses points to. All websites on the internet, need web hosting.
Domain names and web hosting are two different services. However, they work together to make websites possible.
It is possible with the system known as DNS.
There are following main types of web hosting:
 Shared hosting – share by multiple domains/web sites.
 VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting - The main server is split into multiple virtual servers — hence the name.
These virtual servers can be customized by individual websites.
 Dedicated hosting - Websites being hosted on a dedicated server have complete technical control over the
server settings. We choose the software, configurations and anything else we need.
 Cloud hosting - Cloud hosting plans come with multiple remote servers. Each server has different
responsibilities. If one of the servers is compromised or has a problem, the other servers on the network will
take over those responsibilities and pick up the slack.
 Reseller hosting and WordPress hosting – These are also specific types of hosting.

13
 Web Browser
A browser, short for web browser, is the software application that is used to search for, reach and explore websites.
The primary function of a web browser is to render HTML code (the code used to design or "mark up" web pages).
Each time a web browser loads a web page received from web server, it processes the HTML, which may include
text, links, and references to images and other items, such as cascading style sheets and JavaScript functions. The
browser processes these items, and then renders them in the browser window.
Basic Features of a good Web browser

 Speed - A browser should be able to quickly load Web Pages including multimedia files, no matter how dynamic
the content. Nowadays images and videos dominate online platforms which require too much data to be
processed.
 Simplicity - A browser should have easy and simple user interface. The user interface shouldn’t take up a lot of
screen space, which would be better used for the content that a user is trying to consume.
 Security - Browsers should also be very secure, as there are number of security threats available on internet,
which can lead to serious data breach and leakage.
Major functions of a typical Web browser

 Send and receive internet resources

 Access web pages, render and display them
 Select and save our favourite pages
 Print documents
 Keep records of our activity
 Store information in the cloud
 Install applications
How web browser works?

The User Interface: space where User interacts with the

browser.
The Browser Engine: it queries and manipulates the rendering
engine.
The Rendering Engine: It interprets the HTML, XML
documents and images as per CSS and generates the code to
display.
Networking: handles all aspects of Internet communication &
security using http(s)/ftp.
JavaScript Interpreter: interprets and executes the JavaScript
code embedded in a website.
UI Backend: for drawing basic widgets like combo boxes and
windows etc.
Data Persistence/Storage: It manages user data such as
cache, cookies, bookmarks and preferences.

14
 Commonly Used web browsers

Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Internet Explorer

Google Inc. has developed Google This web browser is free and open This web browser was developed by
chrome web browser. It is an open source developed by the Mozilla Microsoft Corporation, integrated
and free source. It runs on different Corporation and the Mozilla into the Microsoft Windows
operating systems, like Microsoft Foundation in 2002. It works on operating system in all its versions. It
Windows, Mac OS X, Chrome OS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and was launched in 1995 and was the
Linux, Android and IOS. It was Linux operating systems. Firefox most popular web browser until it
launched in 2008 and since then it features a pop-up blocker, anti- was moved by Google Chrome in
has become the most popular web phishing and anti-malware warnings, 2011. It supports add-ons, improved
browser in the world market. Google making it easy to validate a website security and power saving features.
Chrome is very strong in its before we enter.
application performance and
JavaScript processing speeds. It
allows users to create local desktop
shortcuts which will open the desired
web page quickly and easily.

Apple Safari Opera

This web browser is free and closed source, developed Opera is a web browser developed by the company
by Apple Inc. It works on OS X, IOS and Microsoft Opera Software. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows
Windows operating systems. Its market launch in 2003. and Mac OS X operating systems mainly. Although it also
Works on web kit to render graphics and run JavaScript works, in older versions, on Linux. It was launched in
Safari is faster and more energy efficient than other 1995. It provide integrated ad blocker, faster with opera
browsers. turbo, sidebar extension for multitask.

15
 Add-ons/Extensions

Add-ons are tools which integrate into our browser. They're similar to regular apps or programs, but only run when
the browser runs. Add-ons can allow the viewing of certain types of Web content, such as Microsoft's Silverlight
necessary for Netflix movies.
How Add-ons are installed?
There are two key ways in which add-ons become installed – through an external installer and through the browser’s
own add-on service. The add-on service is the most reliable way of installing an add-on, with the browser service
providing a relative “vetting” process for the general safety of the add-on. Outside programs can also install add-ons
in web browser as part of its separate installation process. Microsoft Office, for example, may place an add-on which
speeds up the in- browser opening of office documents.

How to remove Add-ons?

Add-ons can be removed in one of two ways. Some add-ons, particularly ones installed outside of the browser,
create an entry in the “Programs” portion of the control panel. Removing these is done in the same way we uninstall
any other program. Many add-ons, however, can only be removed through the browser’s add-on manager.

Add-ons manager in
 Google chrome - /more tools/extensions
 Mozilla Firefox -/add-ons option or Ctrl + Shift + A
 Internet explorer - /tools/manage add-ons
 Opera - https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/
Plugin
A plugin is a piece of software that acts as an add-on to a web browser and gives the browser additional
functionality. Plugins can allow a web browser to display additional content it was not originally designed to display.
An example of a plugin is the free Macromedia Flash Player, a plugin that allows the web browser to display
animations using the Flash format.

Most Plugins are available as free downloads. To install the plugin, we visit the website of the Plugins developer and
click on a link that will download the installer for the plugin we have selected. We can save the installer to an easy to
find location such as the Desktop or a specific folder we have created to organize all of our downloads. Once we have
downloaded the installer, we can open it and follow the prompts to install the plugin on our system.

Difference between add-ons and plugins

Plug-in is a complete program and add-on is not a program. For example Flash is a plug-in made by adobe is required
to play a video in flash player. Also Java is a plug-in made by Sun Microsystems which is used to run programs based
on Java. Plug- in is not bounded for browsers only. Flash can be installed in computers to play flash files. Similarly
Java can be installed to run Java files.
On the other hand add-on is not a complete program. It is used to add a particular functionality to a browser. If we
suppose to install add-on on other work environment, say, operating system, we can’t do it. It means, add-ons are
limited to a certain boundary.

16
 Cookies

Cookies are small bits of data stored as text files on a browser. Websites use those small bits of data to keep track of
users and enable user-specific.
What's in a Cookie?
Each cookie is effectively a small lookup table containing pairs of (key, data) values. Once the cookie has been read
by the code on the server or client computer, the data can be retrieved and used to customise the web page
appropriately features.
Suppose we want to have a counter for a webpage to access it three times only, this value can be stored over users
computer at first attempt it will be 1 then 2 and then 3 on next time server will not allow to access that page.
When are Cookies Created?
Writing data to a cookie is usually done when a new webpage is loaded with code to create cookies.
Why are Cookies Used?
Cookies are an easiest way to carry information from one session on a website to another, or between sessions on
related websites, without having to burden a server machine with massive amounts of data storage. Storing the data
on the server without using cookies would also be problematic because it would be difficult to retrieve a particular
user's information without requiring a login on each visit to the website.
How long does a Cookie Last?
The time of expiry of a cookie can be set through using server site scripting language, when the cookie is created. By
default the cookie is destroyed when the current browser window is closed, but it can be made to persist for an
arbitrary length of time after that.
How Secure are Cookies?
Cookies are not a threat to privacy, since they can only be used to store information that the user has volunteered or
that the web server already has.
What are Tracking Cookies?
Some commercial websites may include embedded advertising material which is served from a third-party sites, and
it is possible to store a cookie for that third-party site, containing information fed to it from the containing site - such
information might include the name of the site, particular products being viewed etc. Then third party can advertise
you in future with the help of tracking cookies.
Are Cookies enabled in my Browser?
When a webpage with cookies is opened a popup appears to enable cookies, if browser setting is disabled for
cookies. We can also check it through browsers setting options.

17
 Google chrome browser settings

1. No More Notification Requests - chrome://settings/content/notifications

2. Get Around Ad Blocker Blocking - chrome://settings/content/javascript

3. Font and Sizing - chrome://settings/fonts

4. Review Passwords - chrome://settings/passwords

5. Customize Start up Pages - chrome://settings/onStartup

6. Send a Do Not Track Request - chrome://settings/privacy

7. Set Flash to Ask First - chrome://settings/content

8. Mic and Camera Access - chrome://settings/content

9. Send Reports to Google - chrome://settings/syncSetup

Resetting Chrome to Default Settings

If we ever break Chrome by accident and want to reset everything, it’s super easy. Scroll to the bottom of settings

and click Advanced. Then:

 On Mac, Chrome book, or Linux: Under Reset Settings, click Restore settings to their original defaults -> Reset

Settings.

 On Windows: Under Reset and cleanup, click Reset Settings -> Reset Settings.

Mozilla Firefox browser settings

1. Homepage, font & color, downloads – //option/general

2. Search bar and search engine - //option/search

3. Forms, passwords, history, cookies, security - //option/privacy and security

4. Firefox account - //option/Firefox account

Resetting Mozilla Firefox to Default Settings

1. Click the menu icon, and then click on “Help”. Click on Firefox's main menu button, represented by three

horizontal lines. ...

2. Click “Troubleshooting Information”. ...

3. Click on “Refresh Firefox” ...

4. Confirm. ...

5. Click “Finish”

18
 Internet explorer browser settings

1. Homepage, browsing history, appearance (font color)– //tools/internet options/general

2. Security level for zones (internet, local internet, trusted sites, restricted sites) - //tools/internet

options/security

3. Privacy, popup blocker - //tools/internet options/privacy

4. Parental control, auto complete- //tools/internet options/content

5. Setup internet connections - //tools/internet options/connections

6. Default web browser, add-ons- //tools/internet options/programs

7. Accessibility, browsing, multimedia, security - //tools/internet options/advanced/settings

Resetting Internet explorer to Default Settings

//tools/internet options/advanced/Reset

19