INTERNET

WHAT IS INTERNET Internet is an international network of networks that connects computers worldwide. It connects universities, research facilities, governmental organizations allowing them to access, share and exchange information.

Connecting to internet To get connected to the internet you need a communication links between your computer and a host computer and hardware and software. A host computer is a computer that is already connected to the internet. Access to a host computer is made available through an internet service provider (ISP).

WAY TO CONNECT TO INTERNET DIAL-UP: YOUR COMPUTER DIALS A PHONE NUMBER TO CONNECT YOU TO YOUR ISP USING A TELEPHONE LINE. DEDICATED CONNECTION: THIS MEANS THAT YOU HAVE A PERMANENT CONNECTION AND ARE PART OF THE INTERNET AT ALL TIMES. IN MANY COUNTRIES. TV CABLE COMPANIES INSTALL A SINGLE CABLE TO PROVIDE CABLE TV, TELEPHONE AND INTERNET SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS.

TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL/INTERNET PROTOCOL TCP/IP IS A SET OF PROTOCOLS USED TO TRANSFER DATA FROM ONE COMPUTER TO ANOTHER OVER THE INTERNET.A PROTOCOL IS A SET OF RULES THAT DEFINES HOW COMPUTERS INTERACT OR COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.

WORLD WIDE WEB The Internet is a world-wide web that has grown and evolved from an experimental network (ARPANet) created by the US military back in the 1960s. Over the years, as more and more computers and networks have connected to this network, it has grown into the Internet that we know.

BROWSERS A web browser is a software that lets you access the information available on the web. Popular web browsers include: Microsoft internet explorer. Mozilla firefox.

Internet addresses Each computer on the internet has a unique address that identifies it. This unique address is a number called the IP address ( internet protocol address)

Web addresses or URLs The IP addresses used by software are difficult for humans to remember so URLs (uniform resource locators) or web addresses are used instead. Every web address is unique and is constructed like this.

Type of resource It identifies the type of resource. There are several different types for example http:// identifies a web page and mailto:// identifies an e-mail address.

Host computer It is the name of the host computer or web server. This must be unique within the domain.

Domain It identifies the type of organisation that owns the website. There are several different types of domains, for example. .com identifies an international commercial organisation. .co.uk identifies a UK- based commercial organisation

ac. uk identifies a UK based university or other academic institution .ac.uk identifies a UK based university or other academic institution. .org.uk identifies a UK based non- commercial organisation. e.g. http:// yahoo.com

What can you do on internet View web pages on the WWW (World-Wide Web) Sending and receiving e-mail messages Sharing files Communicating using voice (VOIP) and video (video-conferencing) Playing multi-player games Listening to streamed music or watching streamed video

Intranet An intranet is the name given to a private network that provides similar services to The Internet: e-mail, messaging, web pages, etc.  However, these services are only for the users of the intranet – they are private, not public (unlike Internet services which are generally public). Businesses and other organisations often have intranets for use by their employees. 

Typical uses of an intranet would be: Viewing internal web pages (e. g Typical uses of an intranet would be:  Viewing internal web pages (e.g. company calendars, etc.) Internal e-mail and instant-messaging between workers Sharing of internal documents

E-Mail E-mail is a system that allows messages to be sent and received by computers. E-mail is the most common form of electronic communication. E-mail messages are text-based, but other types of file can also be sent as ‘attachments’. E-mails that are received wait in a user's inbox until the user is ready to read them. (Unlike a telephone call, the user is free to ignore e-mails until they have time to deal with them.)

Sending an e-mail

The address(es) of the person who the message is for An e-mail message usually has the following parts: To The address(es) of the person who the message is for Subject A short sentance describing what the message is about Message The text of the message. This can be as long as you like

The address(es) of people to copy the e-mail to (Carbon Copy) An e-mail may also include the following parts: CC The address(es) of people to copy the e-mail to (Carbon Copy) BCC The address(es) of people to copy the e-mail to without anyone else knowing (Blind Carbon Copy) Attachments Files linked to the message (images, documents, etc.)

For an e-mail message to be sent and received, the following must be in place: E-mail server: this is a computer on the internet that receives incoming messages and delivers outgoing messages. It allocates a certain amount of storage to hold mail for registered users. E-mail client: this is a program that enables you to read and compose e-mail messages and to send and access e-mail from the server, e.g. Microsoft outlook.

Storing an e-mail Do it yourself.