24. INTERNET BASICS

In the Internet basics/Web Help tutorial we are going to cover the basics of the internet or web. I want to start by defining the terms internet and web, then move through explaining browsers, search engines, webmail, and anti-virus programs. These topics will give you a thorough understanding of finding your way around the web.

Many people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web (aka. the Web) interchangeably, but they are not the same. The Internet and the Web are two separate but related things.

The Internet is a massive network of networks. It connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet.

The World Wide Web, or simply Web, is a way of accessing information over the medium of the Internet. It is an information-sharing model that is built on top of the Internet. The Web utilizes browsers, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, to access Web documents called Web pages that are linked to each other via hyperlinks. Web documents also contain graphics, sounds, text and video.

Now that you know the difference between an internet and the Web we can start walking through the basics for using the Web. Most senior or beginner computer users want to use the Web to search for information on their favorite topics, do some banking, play games book travel arrangements, or shop online. In order to do these things you need to use some sort of web browser. There are many different browsers to choose from. I like using either IE, or Fire Fox.