Study Unit

Internet Basics
By
Carol Y. Mull

About the Author

Carol Y. Mull has more than 20 years of experience in training
computer users. In addition to providing training in a college
computer lab setting, she provides consulting services to
industry professionals and is a writer and technical editor
for major publishers of books focused on administrative and
technology topics. Throughout her career, Ms. Mull has been
committed to helping computer users develop skills needed
for success in an ever-changing workplace.

All terms mentioned in this text that are known to be trademarks or service
marks have been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this text should not
be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Copyright 2011 by Penn Foster, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be
mailed to Copyright Permissions, Penn Foster, 925 Oak Street, Scranton,
Pennsylvania 18515.
Printed in the United States of America
04/11/14

The World Wide Web awaits you, so lets get started.

When you complete this study unit, youll be
able to

Discuss the history of the Internet and the World

Wide Web

Identify current uses for the Internet and the Web

Recognize and name Internet service providers (ISPs)

and search engines

Explain how to use a search engine and its features

Navigate through the Internet using Web URLs and links

Name the parts of a URL and know how to enter one

Discuss how to use e-mail and its special features

Explain how to download files from the Internet

Explain how to upload files to the Internet

List and describe services available online

Use Internet resources to search for specific information

Discuss current issues related to Internet use

P r ev i ew

A vast world of information exists on the Internet, and youre

going to learn all about it. Youll search a variety of Web sites
to gather information on topics ranging from where to purchase a book to joining newsgroups to the latest business
news. Youll learn about Internet service providers and
browsers as well as which browser would best serve your
purpose. Well discuss Web addresses and how to use them.
Youll learn about e-mailing and how to use its special tools.

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Introduction
Browsers
Examples of Browsers
Using Your Browser
E-mail
Other Internet Services
How to Get Technical Help on the Internet
Plug-ins

SEARCHING THE INTERNET

Using Web Search Engines
Multiple-Search or Meta-Search Engines
Subject Directories
Conducting Research on the Internet
Special Utilities
Join an E-mail List
Other Resources on the Internet
Social Networking
Online Gaming
Security and Privacy
Internet Reliability
Netiquette

SELF-CHECK ANSWERS

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Contents

THE INTERNET

Internet Basics

THE INTERNET
Introduction
In the 1950s, people who entered the inner sanctum of their
organizations computer area encountered large mechanical
machines that filled entire roomsoften in a windowless
basement. Flashing lights, punch cards, and printouts of
indecipherable data gave the impression that computers
and those who programmed and operated them possessed
strange and profound powers. Today, few people find these
machines as mysterious or as menacing as theyve been
portrayed to be in Hollywood movies.
Who would have guessed in 1951, when the first computer
the UNIVAC Iwas introduced, that computers would be
the center of a worldwide revolution in business, education,
research, travel, and communication. Computers today are
easy to use, affordable, and extremely portable. Theyre purchased for the home as well as for the office. And as demand
continues to rise, technologies continue to expand and consumers move with the tides of change.
Today, one of the major reasons for a computer purchase is
to obtain access to the Internet. What is the Internet? How is
it related to the World Wide Web? Are they one in the same?
How did they get started? How do you travel on the Web?

These are only a few of the questions that will be answered in

pages that follow. A few short years ago, most of the characteristic of the Internet could be covered with a study unit of
this size. Today the Internet could be the subject of an entire
college course in itself. But youll be introduced to the basics
of one of the greatest catalysts of economic, cultural, and
social change of our time.

The Internet and the World Wide Web

The Internet and World Wide Web (called the WWW or the
Web for short) give you global access to information. With the
Internet you can
Find out the current temperature in London, Moscow,
and Cairo
Stay up to date on local, national, and world news
Track prices of your favorite stocks and other investments
Bid on an antique poster
Check your bank account balance
Pay your bills
Take a college course
Play a game with a player in another continent
Download music
Send e-mail messages and reply to the ones sent to you
The Internets potential seems endless; however, most
Internet activities revolve around e-mail, research, socializing, and commerce. Thats because it can be accessed anywhere in the world, as long as you have the equipment and
the connection (Figure 1). Lets take a moment to explore a
few facts about the Internet and the World Wide Web, starting
with a little bit of history.

Internet Basics

FIGURE 1The Internet continues

to evolve. As it does, it changes the
way we communicate with people
around the world.

In 1969, at the height of the Cold War, an agency of the

United States Department of Defense built a network of computers that would allow scientists at different locations to
share research. This network was configured so that if any
part of the network were disabled as the result of a nuclear
attack or a natural disaster, it would still function. This
network was named ARPANET after the agency that created
it, the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Over the years,
many users other than scientists and researchers saw the
benefits of the Internets powerful electronic mail and information researching capabilities, and got connected.
Up until the early 1990s, the information on the Internet was
entirely text based. It carried no pictures, audio, or video.
The big breakthrough came with the invention of the World
Wide Web, a software program designed by Tim Berners-Lee,
a British computer scientist. The Web became an Internetbased standard for sharing information that included hypermediagraphics, audio, and video. Berners-Lee invented the
software for CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear
Research, in Geneva, Switzerland (Figure 2).

Internet Basics

FIGURE 2Tim Berners-Lee invented

software to facilitate information
sharing among physicists. It quickly
grew into the communications medium
known as the World Wide Web.
(Photo courtesy of CERN)

Today, Internet users depend on the Web for research, gaming,

blogging, shopping, and social networking. When most people
use the term Internet, theyre referring to both the Internet
and its component, the WWW. Youll find people using the
Web or the Net when referring to the Internet. In this study
unit, well use the term Internet. Just remember that the Web is
part of the Internet.
Who owns and controls the Internet today? No single person,
university, organization, or government agency owns or controls
it. Berners-Lee, the Webs inventor, was the first to recognize
the social and commercial potential of the Web, and he continues to defend universal, unrestricted access to its capacity for
global communication of all kinds.
However, standards are defined and issues addressed by several international groups. The World Wide Web Consortium
(called W3C) is the primary group that sets standards and
guidelines; it also oversees research to ensure that the
Internet and the WWW remain reliable and maintain standards
and protocols for international use.

How It Works
How does the Internet work? As mentioned, the Internet is a
global network of networks. Its not maintained by any person
or entity. To get linked, you must have a computer, specialized
software to communicate with the Internet (such as a browser
to view Web pages), and a means of connection (telephone lines,
wireless, cable, or direct access). Lets look at the work your
browser performs.
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Browsers
A browser is a type of software installed on your computer
that enables you to access and view Web pages. Browsers
interpret the data so we can see pictures and graphics as
well as words. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google
Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Bing are a few of the more
popular browsers.
For a browser to work, it must connect to the Internet. One
way to connect is through an Internet service provider, or ISP.
An Internet service provider is a regional or national business
that sets up Internet services for you, providing you with
access to the Internet. You register with an ISP, pay them a
monthly or yearly fee, and you receive unlimited access to the
Internet.
Many consumers still use telephone connections called dial-up
access, but cable companies also offer Internet connections.
If you get your television signals through a satellite dish, you
may be able to get an Internet connection through the dish
as well. Ask the company that services your dish. These connections are generally more expensive, but youll receive and
send information faster than through a phone connection.
When you become the customer of an ISP, the ISP will provide
a browser as part of the introduction and sign-up process.
When you buy a new computer, a browser is usually part
of the software that comes with the computer. If youre
using a computer at work and your company wants you
to be able to access the Internet, theyll provide you with a
browser. Another way to connect to the Web is through an
online service provider (OSP). OSPs, such as AOL (America
Online) have been around for many years and at first differed
from ISPs by offering a multitude of services, including
browsing, e-mail, search engines, Web services, and more.
You dont have to use the browser supplied to you by your
ISP or OSP. Browsers are typically available to download and
use free of charge. Its often a good idea to have at least two
different browsers. Thats because no browser is perfect. If
you have trouble accessing a Web site with one of them, it
sometimes works to try accessing the site with another.

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Examples of Browsers
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft Internet Explorer (Figure 3), which is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/
default.aspx, is built into Windows so youll usually find this
as your default browser on your PC. A characteristic of
Internet Explorer is that this browser supports a wide variety
of plug-ins, such as Java Script, Shockwave, and Flash. (A
plug-in is a piece of software that enhances another piece of
software or enables another piece of software to perform an
addition function.)

FIGURE 3Microsoft Internet Explorer

Google Chrome
Google Chrome (Figure 4) is expected to have great speed due
to its JavaScript engine. Google Chrome can be downloaded
at http://www.google.com/chrome/.

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FIGURE 4Google
Chrome

Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox (Figure 5), which can be downloaded at
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/, has two positive
characteristics: its an open-source license and the browser
can be extensively individualized to a users tastes.

FIGURE 5Mozilla Firefox

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Opera
A small Norwegian company developed Opera (Figure 6),
which is available at http://www.opera.com. Opera lets
you open multiple windows, which is very useful for those
who use the Internet to do research or compile information.
A criticism of this browser is that its ad-sponsored.

FIGURE 6Opera

Safari
Apple created Safari (Figure 7) to compete with Microsoft
Internet Explorer. You can download Safari, which is
available not only for Apple but also for Windows, at
http://www.apple.com/safari/download/.

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FIGURE 7Safari

Bing
The opening screen of Bing (Figure 8) is an image that
changes each day. There are links scattered across the image
to trivia and information about the image. The selling point of
Bing is the results of the search is organized to make easier
decisions. Bing is available at http://www.bing.com/.
FIGURE 8Bing

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Using Your Browser

In this section, well talk about using your browser to its
greatest advantage. Were going to assume that youll use
Internet Explorer. If youve opted for another browser, much
of the advice here is still of use because most browsers work
similarly. You may have to spend some time exploring your
browser to learn how to use the features discussed here.

Setting Preferences
Once youve installed your browser, youll find that by setting
preferences, youll be able to use the software more efficiently.
To set preferences, you must first access the function on
your browsers home page. It may be found on a dropdown
menu or on a button.
Setting preferences is easy. Your software will give you
step-by-step instructions. Examples of preferences include
Storing passwords
Setting security levels
Selecting your preferred news groups and Web browser
Changing the look of your e-mail
Setting audio and video
Organizing your e-mail
Setting chat member lists
Besides these basic preferences, there are many other choices
that you can make about the appearance and operation of
your browser. A beginner doesnt have to make many of the
decisions. There are default settings already established when
the program is installed on your computer. For the most part,
these defaults work fine. Occasionally, you may find yourself
wishing that your browser worked differently. In that case,
resetting the preferences can make a big difference.

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Some of the preferences you should definitely consider

resetting are
Size, color, and style of type
Whether you accept cookies, which are text files that a
Web site puts on your hard drive so the Web site can
remember something about you at a later time. Cookies
record your preferences when you use Web sites.
Whether youre alerted when you enter a secure site, like
an online store that accepts credit cards

Uniform Resource Locations (URLs)

Probably the most confusing part of using the Internet is the
cryptic language in which it operates. It can be downright
intimidating trying to learn to speak Computer Geek. But
theres some logic to it.
Every browser has an address bar (Figure 9). Explorer calls it
Address. Navigator calls it Netsite.

FIGURE 9Every browser has an address bar.

To go to a site on the Web, you must type a Uniform Resource

Locator (URL) in the address bar. A URL is an address for a
document on the Web. The format for the URL is
protocol:/domain name/pathname. Heres a sample URL:
http://
protocol

Internet Basics

www.planet.com/
domain name

travel/index.htm
path name

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http:// Most URLs begin with this prefix, which stands for
hypertext transfer protocol.
www. The letters www tend to be a standard part of a Web
address, but theyre not always present. They stand for World
Wide Web.
planet.com. This is the domain name, or the name of the
host computer where the site is located. The .com suffix is
short for commercial. Youll also encounter other suffixes:
.orgAn organization, usually nonprofit
.eduA university or college
.govA government organization
.milA U.S. military agency
.netA network
.intAn international organization
Because of the phenomenal growth of the Internet, domain
suffixes have been expanded. The following seven are newer:
.aeroAir transportation
.bizRestricted to business
.coopCooperatives
.infoInformation services providers
.museumMuseums and related
.namePersonal Web sites, individuals only
.proLicensed professionals such as doctors, lawyers,
accountants, and so on
These functions are under consideration and may be
approved:
.artsEntertainment and cultural organizations
.firmFirms and businesses
.recOrganizations for recreation
.storeBusinesses that sell goods
.webOrganizations related to activities of the WWW
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Another part of the URL that you may not have noticed or
seen is the country code. As the Internet became global and
larger and larger, it became necessary to expand domain
names to include the country of origin. If youre in the United
States and go to a Web site originating from a network server
in this country, its unnecessary for you to key in the country
code of .us. The next time you navigate to a site originating
in another country, look for the country code.
Examples of other countries codes are
.ukUnited Kingdom
.deGermany
.auAustralia
.caCanada
.frFrance
/travel/index.htm This is an extension. It tells the computer
which particular page to look for.
Concerning URLs, you should also know that the most recent
versions of most browsers dont require you to type the
http:// part of the address. You can start with planet.com.
The latest versions will allow you to simply type in the letters,
such as at&t, and it will search its database to find the correct
address for the AT&T corporation. Some URLs are case sensitive. If the URL appears in all capital or lowercase letters,
you must type it that way. If theres already something in the
address box, youll have to click once to darken the address
box, then type right over it.
Another point about URLs: Be sure to type them as they are,
with every slash, colon, letter, and period in place. URLs
rarely end with a period. However, if you see a URL at the
end of a sentence, the period is there for punctuation.
Remember: If you dont enter a URL exactly as it should
be, your browser wont be able to go to the site, or you
may go to a completely unexpected site.

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Once you key in the URL in the address box, you can either
click on the Go button on your toolbar or hit the Enter or
Return key on your keyboard. You can also pull down on the
word File at the top of the toolbar. Select Open and type the
URL in the space provided. Click on Open. Dont let this confuse you. All of these methods take you to the same place.

Moving from One Site to the Next

Lets try moving from one sight to another.
1. Type www.att.com into the address bar and hit Enter.
The home page for AT&T should appear on your screen.
But there are other long-distance services out there.
Lets find another.
2. Click once on the address bar and type in
www.mci.com. The Web site for MCI long-distance
service should appear.
3. Now click on the bar again and type in www.sprint.com
and another player in the business should appear.
Youve just moved from one site to the other, but this is
certainly not the only way to do it. While you have
http://www.sprint.com/ on your screen, click on one of
the links. Youll recognize links because theyre usually
underlined. On www.sprint.com, some of the links are
underlined and others have small icons next to them. If you
click on either the underlined phrase or the icon, youll connect to that Web page. Some people call moving from link to
link surfing.
The third way to move around the Web is to travel where
youve been before. You can do that by clicking the back or
forward buttons on your browser. Hitting the back button
will take you back a page at a time. If you decide that youve
passed the point where you want to be, then hit the forward
button and move in that direction. Or, if you want to move
more quickly, use the small button between the two to open
a pull-down menu of the sites youve last visited and click on
the one you want (Figure 10).

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FIGURE 10Using the Back and Forward buttons is an easy way to return to one page at a time
without having to key in URLs. The center button opens a list of recent site visitsjust click on the
one you want.

Finally, browsers keep a history of where youve been in your

current Internet session. Explorer calls it History (Figure 11);
Netscape calls it the Go menu. In either case, you can see
your current location and, using the mouse, you can move to
where you would prefer to be.

FIGURE 11The History Menu

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Suppose you click on a URL or enter an address and instead

of being transported there, you get a message that says The
page cannot be found (Figure 12), Bad Request, Connection
timed out, Unknown Host, or, worse yet, Fatal Error. No,
your computer isnt going to self-destruct. You simply tried
to go to a site that doesnt exist, or one that isnt operable
at the moment. It could be a site with access limitations.
The simplest fix is to try again or click the Refresh button.
Sometimes a malfunction will be repaired. Sometimes you
can get around problems by switching browsers. You can
often reach an inaccessible site simply by using another
browser.
FIGURE 12Error Message with
Suggestions for Help

Occasionally, you can enter a site by whats called the back

door. In the address bar, delete everything after the .com or
.edu and press enter again. This will sometimes take you to
the main site, and youll be able to find a link that will lead
you to where you really want to be.

Bookmarks
Youll often find a site you would like to visit frequently, or
one that you want to return to at some other time. To save
yourself the trouble of remembering its address and retyping
it each time, use the Bookmark feature. Some browsers refer

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to this as the Favorites feature. Simply go to the Bookmark or

Favorites menu and pull it down (Figure 13). Then click on
Add Favorite or Add Bookmark. The browsers allow you to
organize your Favorites in different patterns. Depending on
the browser, you can arrange the Favorites in alphabetical
order, in folders or by how often you access the favorite. You
can, of course, delete sites from your Favorites list.

FIGURE 13The Explorer Favorites Menu

Just for practice, go to http://www.att.com and click on the

Directory Assistance link at the bottom of the page. This
will lead you to AT&Ts online directory assistance. This is a
very good site to add to your Bookmarks or Favorites because
occasionally everyone needs to look up a local or long-distance
telephone number of either a person or a business. This site
will allow you to do that and much more, free of charge.

Saving Text and Graphics

Occasionally, you may read or see something on a Web site
you would like to keep for later use. While most of the items
on the Internet are copyrighted, under the copyright law its
generally permissible to copy something that youll save for
your own personal use. Heres how you go about doing so.

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Text. In Internet Explorer, click on the File menu. Youll see

Save As. When you click on Save As, a window will open
that will give you the opportunity to choose where you would
like to save the document and in what format (Figure 14). If
you Save as Text, then you can open the Web page later in a
word processing program like Word. The graphics will be
missing, and that may cause the page to be a bit jumbled or
badly spaced, but the text should be readable.
If you find the spacing and arrangement of such a text file
bothersome, you can use the mouse to highlight the text.
Hold down the left button to highlight, click Edit, click Copy,
and then Paste the file into a new page in the word processing program. You can delete the graphics by clicking on them
and using the Delete key. Then save the document.

FIGURE 14Saving Text from the Internet

Graphics. Suppose you want to save a graphic from a Web

site. You can do so by positioning your mouse over the image
you want to save and clicking the right mouse button. A
shortcut menu will appear offering to let you open, save, or
copy the image (Figure 15). If you click on Open, the image
will transfer to its own separate Web page and you can save
it to a file of your choice in your computer. If you click on

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FIGURE 15To save graphics

from the Internet, right-click
on the image and choose a
function from the menu.

Save, youll have a similar choice, but you may create a different file name for it. If you click on Copy, you can copy the
image temporarily and paste it someplace else, like a document in Word or an e-mail message.

Downloading Files
The Internet has a wealth of informationtext, videos, music,
photosthat you might like to acquire and keep on your own
computer. The materials run the gamut from those listed to
document and database files and software available both
free of charge and for a price. Downloading is simple. For
the most part, the site providing the download will attach
instructions that walk you through the process.
To make downloading simpler, you should have a download
folder and two key pieces of softwareAdobe Acrobat Reader
and file compression software such as WinZip or 7-Zip.
Adobe Reader and 7-Zip Adobe Acrobat and WinZip. Both
are available free of charge on the Web. You may already have
them on your computer.

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To download a file, first set up a download folder so you have

files in which to place things when you complete the download. In Windows, go to your desktop screen and click the
right-hand button on your mouse. Click on New, then on
Folder. With the words New Folder still highlighted, name the
folder something youll remember, like Download Folder. On
newer versions of Windows, theres already a download file in
My Documents.
If you dont have them, you can easily download Adobe
Acrobat and 7-Zip. Lets start with 7-Zip.7-Zip is a utility
program that allows you to zip (condense) and unzip large
files so they can transfer smoothly across the Internet, taking
up little space. You can find 7-Zip by searching for it using a
search engine. Go to http://www.dogpile.com. In the search
box, type 7-Zip and press Enter or click on Fetch. Look for a
link that indicates 7-Zip is available for downloading at that
site (Figure 16). Click on the link that you choose. If this
turns out to be incorrect, just click the Back button to
return to your search results. Click on the version of 7-Zip
that matches your operating system. The file will self-extract.

FIGURE 167-Zip Link at http://www.7-zip.org

Next youll have to decide whether to Open the file at this

point or Save it to disk. We recommend that you save it to a
your hard drive because youll use this utility to extract files

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to your hard drive. When you click OK to save it to disk, it

will land in your download folder. A few seconds later, 7-Zip
is yours. Leave 7-Zip in your download file. This is where
youll want to open most zipped files.
Now were ready to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe
Acrobat Reader is a program that allows Internet users to
exchange formatted documents without worrying that the
recipient doesnt have the right software to open and read the
file. Acrobat files are portable document format (PDF) files. The
files you download from your My Courses page are PDF files.
Go to http://www.adobe.com. In the lower right corner of
the page youll see Acrobat Reader. Click twice and youll go
to a site that gives you several choices. Youll have to decide
which Reader version, platform version, and language version
you need. Next, click the Download button at the bottom of
the page. Adobe Reader will go to your download file. This is
another good file to keep there (Figure 17).
FIGURE 17Adobe
Acrobat Reader

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E-mail
The Internets most-used feature is electronic mail (e-mail).
E-mail takes the work out of written correspondenceno
envelopes, stamps, formal constructionjust straight-to-thepoint communication delivered instantly. Its also useful for
transmitting photographs and documents that otherwise
would have to be packaged in overnight-mail pouches. Using
e-mail takes much of the work out of keeping in touch.
E-mail is much faster than the U.S. Postal Service, known as
snail mail by the Internet crowd, and theres never a charge
for extra weight. No matter how many documents you create,
the price doesnt go up.
To exchange e-mail, youll need an e-mail program. If you
use Internet Explorer, you probably already have Microsoft
Outlook, and if you use Netscape Navigator, then you also
have Messenger. These are both powerful programs, but
theyre not the only good e-mail programs. There are also several e-mail programs that are available for free online. Some
of these free programs have restrictions regarding the size of
the messages and the number of attachments, but otherwise
they function like the e-mail programs bundled with your
browser or your Internet access software.
The following are several advantages to having such an
e-mail account:
Even if you change Internet service providers, your
e-mail address doesnt have to change.
If the account resides on the Internet, youll always be
able to access your e-mail from any computer or cell
phone connected to the Internet.
Because its free, theres no reason you cant open more
than one account. Thus, you can have a personal e-mail
account and one dedicated to your job.
Its anonymous. You can correspond without revealing
anything about yourself.

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Some of the most popular free e-mail programs are these:

Hotmail: http://www.hotmail.com
E-mail at Yahoo!: http://www.yahoo.com
Juno: http://www.juno.com (You must install free Juno
software on your computer to access your Juno accounts.)

E-mail Addresses
Your ISP or e-mail provider will supply you with your e-mail
address. Theyll probably let you pick your own as long as somebody else hasnt already chosen the same name. When choosing
an e-mail address, pick one thats not too complicated. People will
have trouble keying it. If they dont key it correctly, you wont get
your mail.
Also keep in mind that your e-mail address is a reflection on
you. A racy e-mail address probably isnt one you would want
to use to correspond with your childs school teacher, for
example.
Suppose you wanted to write to the President of the United
States. You would address mail to president@whitehouse.gov.
We can use that address to understand how to pick our own.
The first half of the address is usually your name or your
nickname. Bill Gates e-mail address, for instance, might be
bill@microsoft.com. Bill is a pretty common name. Most
Bills, and other people with common names, cant use their
first name only, so many of them tag on their last name. For
instance, you can correspond with famous writer Tom Clancy
at tomclancy@aol.com. Think carefully about what you would
like to use for an e-mail address before you let your e-mail
provider know your decision.
The last half of the e-mail address is the location of your
account on the Internet. It will usually involve the name
of your ISP along with the kind of organization it is. As we
already discussed, besides .com, which usually stands for
commercial, theres .edu (education), .gov (government),
.mil (military), .net (network), and .org (organization,
usually nonprofit), as well as others.

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How do you let the world know that you have an e-mail
address? There are several directories on the Internet
that allow you to search for e-mail addresses. One is
http://www.people.yahoo.com. Another site for
addresses is http://www.addresses.com.
Directories rely on people registering and updating their own
listings, so theyre nowhere near complete. If you would like to
make your e-mail address available, register it with a directory.
If you subscribe to AOL, for example, you can also create a
Profile for yourself. Youll automatically become listed among
the members, but unless your e-mail address is your full
name, chances are people wont be able to find you unless you
create a Profile. The easiest way to share e-mail addresses is
still pretty low-techjust ask people what their address is and
write it down.

Sending and Receiving E-mail

No matter what e-mail program you use, the basics are still
the same. Open up a new e-mail page (Figure 18). To compose a new e-mail, you would click on Compose or New
Mail, for example, depending on the e-mail program youre
using. From there the procedure is pretty obvious. Where it
says From, your own e-mail address or name appears; where
it says To, you type the address of the person to whom youre
sending the message. Under Subject, identify the basics of the
message. Being clear in your writing helps people who are
busy and get lots of e-mail messages decide whether they
should read yours right away. Cc: stands for Carbon Copy and
Bcc: stands for Blind Carbon Copy. This allows you to send
the same message to several people without them knowing
that others have received the same message.
In the middle of the New Message box, there will be a blank
area. Click once in the box and type your message. If youre a
poor speller, most e-mail programs include a spell checker to
help you, so go to the toolbar above and look under Edit.
Theres where youre likely to find this tool. Some e-mail programs will check spelling automatically, either while youre
writing the message or before you send it.

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FIGURE 18An AOL E-mail Page

If you would like to attach a document or photo to a file, just

click on the Attach button (sometimes marked with a symbol
that looks like a paperclip). This will open a window that
allows you browse among your saved documents to locate
the one you would like to send. Click on the document and
attach it to the e-mail file. Click on Send and your message is
speeding on its way.
After youve sent a message, chances are youll be receiving
one soon. Thats one of the good things about the Internet.
Because its easy, people tend to respond quickly. So if you
write a few e-mails, youll soon be getting some in return.
The mail you receive is stored on a server. To download it,
you must click on a button that says something like Get Mail.
The e-mail will show up in bold in your Inbox. Click on a new
message, and its contents will appear in the window. You
may have to scroll down to read the entire message.

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25

When you finish reading the message, you can do several

things. You can click on Reply or Return and answer the
e-mail message. Clicking on Reply or Return automatically
replaces the address with that of the sender and puts your
address as the person who is sending the mail. Its the simplest way to reply to an e-mail message.
You can also forward a message. Click on Forward and then
fill in the address of the person to whom you would like to
send this message. A small window will open, and that gives
you an opportunity to explain to this person why youre sending this message. Click on Send, and off it goes.
The original e-mail is still in your computer. You have to
decide whether this is a message that you would like to
keep or would rather delete. If a message is something that
you dont want, highlight it and hit Delete on your keyboard
or click on the Delete button in the e-mail window. In AOL,
you can file a message in the Filing Cabinet or you can delete
it. You also can choose to Keep It As New, if you cant decide
what to do about it. In most programs, if you simply close the
message, it will remain in your Inbox.
Make it a habit to clean out your e-mail regularly. The messages build up, and they take up a surprisingly large amount
of space. If you dont file or trash them regularly (then empty
the trash), you soon find that your e-mail program takes up a
large amount of your computers hard disk space, which can
slow everything down.

Composing Effective E-Mail Messages

We write e-mail to friends and family; we write e-mail to
business associates and customers or to make inquiries to
organizations or online retailers. E-mail can be either informal or formal, just as hard-copy letters and memos can.
Electronic mail is written communication, so the same
principles of appropriate writing should be followed as those
used for paper documents. When writing business e-mails,
make sure your writing style is formal (dont be too familiar
with the recipient by using slang or calling someone you
dont really know personally by their first name).

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E-mail messages should be brief and to the point without

appearing discourteous. Because e-mail is fast and easy,
sometimes users write hastily, without thought or planning.
This can be a mistake and lead to misunderstandings and
damaged business and personal relationships.
Before you write your message, consider the following:
Plan your message. Be brief and concise. Be polite and
courteous in tone. Avoid using negative language. When you
take time to plan your message, your e-mails wont accidentally give a wrong impression of you and of your organization.
Use attachments. If you need to send a lengthy document,
prepare it in a software application and attach it to your
e-mail message as a document file.
Check for errors. Always proofread your message to make
certain that it contains no spelling or grammatical errors.
Even quick, personal messages need to be read, in case you
left something out or mistyped an important date.
Double-check important messages. Remember, just as in a
paper document or oral message, once the words have been
communicated, they cant be taken back. Your message
leaves a definite impression of you, so you want to ensure
that this impression is positive.
Answer promptly. Answer an e-mail message within 24
hours, if possible.
Keep senders informed. Use your e-mails automatic
response feature to inform senders when youre away from
your e-mail. If youre on a trip or a vacation, your automatic
message tells them you cant answer right away.
Use company e-mail appropriately. E-mail at work is a
company-owned resource. Your time is also a resource being
paid for by your organization. Refrain from using your work
time engaged in personal e-mailing. Also remember that
theres no assurance of privacy for what you write on company e-mail. Your company may monitor your mail.
Avoid spamming others. Spamming is flooding people
with unwanted e-mail.

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Save emoticons and abbreviations for informal

messages. Emoticons are punctuation symbols and abbreviations used to convey emotion. Theyre fun to use in personal
e-mail, but shouldnt be used in professional correspondence.
A few examples of the variety of emoticons are shown in
Table 1.
TABLE 1Emoticons

:)

Smiley face

:X

Dont tell

:(

Sad or frowning face

:*

A kiss

;)

A wink for sarcasm

or humor

<vbg>

Very big grin

<tic>

Tongue in cheek

:-0

A shouting face

Abbreviations you would use in an informal message also

dont belong in an e-mail to your supervisor or teacher.

Address Books
Just as you have a book listing all your important phone
numbers and street addresses, youll want to use an e-mail
address book to keep your e-mail contacts handy. Most
browsers come with them. Adding an address is easy.
Generally, there are two ways. You can open the address
book and simply type in a new contact, or, when you receive
an e-mail from someone, click on the Address Book icon on
the toolbar while the message is open. It will automatically
add the address to the book.
If youre serious about keeping up with your e-mail correspondence, youll make sure you enter all your important
e-mail addresses in the address book. Its also worth your
time to open the address book and insert the full names,
titles, and phone numbers of your contacts.

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Other Internet Services

Newsgroups
Usenet is a massive, decentralized group of international electronic discussion forums. People who participate in Usenet
represent virtually every age group, profession, and country
around the world. People will join a specific group based on a
shared interest or topic. They then proceed to read and write
messages, called posts, that everyone who joined that particular newsgroup can see. Well over 10,000 different newsgroups exist in Usenet with a practically indeterminable total
number of participants. Usenet is composed of newsgroups.

Newsgroup Names
Each newsgroup has a unique name such as news.answers
or alt.antiques or soc.libraries.talk. Though these names may
look somewhat cryptic at first, theres a definite method in
how newsgroups become named. The groups all make use of
a type of catalog of predefined namesabbreviations really.
The abbreviations are called dot designations, and they all
describe something about the groups they name. (The word
dot refers to the period (.) that appears after the abbreviation.) We list several dot designations below.
comp. Groups dealing with computer-related topics
rec. Groups involving recreational topics
soc. Groups dealing with social issues
talk. Groups concerned with scientific topics
news. Groups discussing Usenet and its uses
alt. Groups discussing alternate topics
misc. Groups concerned with odds-and-ends topics that
dont have a separate category

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How to Join a Newsgroup

Newsgroups are electronic discussion forums. You must
have a newsreader to participate in Usenet newsgroups. A
newsreader is a software application that may or may not
already be included with your browser. The newsreader formats
and organizes messages that have been posted to a newsgroup.
Thus, the many postings are formatted into some readable
arrangement. Netscape has a highly functional, built-in newsreader called Netscape News. To access Netscape News once
youve loaded Netscape, simply click on Window and then
Netscape News. Explorer offers Internet News. You can launch
it from Windows by clicking on it under My Computer. AOL
offers a newsreader options on its home page.
If you need to get a newsreader, you can download one from
the Internet at a variety of sites. Youll find several newsreader sites listed at each of these Web sites, such as
Free Agent: http://www.forteinc.com
News Readers: http://www.newsreaders.com
Before you can use your newsreader, you must set its preferences. The most important items to configure are the news
server and your user ID (your account name). You can modify
other options later, when you become more familiar with the
program and know what you like and dislike. If you used
the newsreader thats part of your browser, you probably configured it when you first installed it. If you have a newsreader
thats separate, ask your ISP for advice or read the instructions in the read-me file that came with the download.
How do you go about finding all these different newsgroups?
You can use the Usenet search feature that several search
engines, such as Webopedia, Yahoo!, and DuckDuckGo, have.
One of the best ways to find news groups is a site within
Google, at http://groups.google.com, which not only allows
you to search by topic interest, but also will search the lists
themselves for discussions you might find interesting. Google
gives a good introduction to newsgroups. Reading some of the
discussions will give you a better idea of whether you want to
subscribe to a particular newsgroup (Figure 19).

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FIGURE 19Google Home Page

Even More Internet Services

Message or discussion boards are easy-to-use alternatives to
newsgroups. A newsreader isnt required. Many Web sites
provide their own message boards within their Web pages for
visitors to use.
A mailing list uses e-mail addresses and names to allow its
subscribers to automatically send a message to each and
every address on the list. The members share a common
interest. If you have thoughts or information to share about
the topic, you write your message and send it. When you
send the e-mail, its automatically sent to everyone on the
list. When anyone else on the mailing list does the same, you
receive their e-mail along with everyone else. Being a member
of a mailing list can be fun and informative; however, you can
also be inundated with e-mail messages when the list of
members is lengthy and unlimited. Many people find it necessary to unsubscribe to a mailing list when overwhelmed with
messages.
If you want to locate a mailing list related to a specific topic
of interest to you, all you have to do is use your Web browser
to find one. Lists may be moderated or unmoderated. With a
moderated list, only those messages that have been read and
approved by a human moderator will be sent to you, thus
reducing the number of messages you receive. So, obviously,
an unmoderated list will give you 100% of all messages sent
to members, which may be unmanageable.

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If you want to carry on real-time, live online conversations

with others, you can use real-time communicationseither a
chat room or instant messaging. Unlike with regular e-mail,
you dont have to wait until your recipients open their mail
and find time to reply to your message.
A chat room is a location on a server thats just like being in a
room with a group (a very large group) of people. You key in
your comment, send it, and it appears on the screen. When
someone else keys in and enters a comment, his or her dialog
appears on the screen. New technology provides video and
voice chat rooms that enable you to see and hear others, and
they can see and hear you.
Instant messaging is another online service that provides you
with notification when someone is trying to communicate
with you. You get a pop-up message letting you know that
someone wants to chat with you. All you have to do is answer
the message, and a live, back-and-forth conversation can
begin. To use instant messaging you must have instantmessaging software installed on your PC or hand-held device.
You may be asking yourself, What is the difference between
instant messaging and texting? In general, texting occurs
between telephones, while instant messaging occurs between
PCs. The typing style is very different between the two methods. More abbreviations and less formality characterize texting, while instant messages are more formal and structured.
A text is more likely to contain 2 rather than too.
Another popular online service is the blog. The search engine
Webopedia defines a blog as a Web page that serves as a
publicly accessible personal journal for an individual.
Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of
the author. Blogs allow you to publish your thoughts, list
favorite links to other sites, and, in short, give your own voice
on the Internet.

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The word blog comes from Weblog. Originally created to provide users with a means of expressing their opinions about
Web sites by keeping an updated log of favorite links for others to follow, the use of blogs is expanding. Today people use
blogs to
Get help with and solicit comments on their writing
(essays, poems, novels, etc.)
Publish personal diaries
Reveal inner thoughts
Let others know about breaking news
Express personal opinions about any topic
Get feedback about whatever theyre publishing on
their blog
Post photos
Add audio files
Blogs have actually been around for years. It has only been
in the past several years that everyday Internet users have
caught on to their versatility. Every day, more and more
people are creating their own blogs, and theyre coming up
with new and inventive ways to use them. Users enjoy reading feedback from others who are from virtually all over the
world.
How do you go about creating your own blog? If you perform
a search by keying in blog, youll get back many results that
can lead you to a provider. Some blogs are free; some require
a monthly fee. One of the most popular blog providers is
Blogger (Figure 20). Blogger is a Google Tool. Setting up a
blog is easy. The provider that you choose will walk you
through the steps quickly.

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33

FIGURE 20Blogger is
one of the most popular
free Weblog providers.

How to Get Technical Help

on the Internet
The Internet is vast, and it can be both intimidating and frustrating at times. But there are plenty of sources for help out
there, if you only look. Here are some places where help is
usually available.
Instructions. Save the manuals and the technical information
thats available online for every piece of software and equipment
you acquire. Reading the instructions is always a good place
to start.
Web searches. Conduct searches to find information.
Your browsers Help function is another source of technical
information.
Product support. Virtually every computer hardware and software manufacturer has a technical support number, and many
also have online technical support, including user bulletin
boards, e-mail, and other opportunities to post requests for
help. The appropriate phone numbers and Web addresses
should be in the material that came with the product. File them
away along with the serial number of the product and the
receipt for its purchase. All of this can be very valuable when
you have a question or a problem and you contact your vendor.

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Your ISP. One criterion when choosing an ISP is the availability of live technical support. Some of the big ISPs prefer that
you first turn to their e-mail support, but that can be slow. A
good reason for signing on with a small ISP is that it may have
people who will talk you through your access problems 24
hours a day. AOL offers live online support, as well as phone
support. But obviously, if you cant get online, you cant get
e-mail help.
Computer sales and repair shops. Today theres an increasing number of independent computer technicians who can
assist you in setting up your computer, installing software,
and resolving many kinds of technical issues. If you purchased
equipment from them, theyll often answer quick questions
at little or no charge.
Community colleges and technical training centers. You
may find computer classes for beginners offered at virtually
every continuing-education center. Taking a class removes
much of the confusion and mystery.
Newsgroups. Popular products have newsgroups associated
with them. There are always people online and willing to share
their expertisefree.
FAQs. Many sites include Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
to provide quick help for users who need it. If you become confused while at a Web site and you see FAQ somewhere on the
site, click on it and it may solve your problem.

Plug-ins
Sometimes youll visit a Web site and click on a link, and a box
will pop up that says, Sorry, you dont have the right plug-in
to see this information. What do you do about this? Go find
the plug-in that you need, download it, and install it.
A plug-in is a piece of (usually free) software that allows you
to access files of particular types. Plug-ins expand your basic
browsers capabilities. In many cases, the basic plug-ins that
youll need to listen to music, watch movies, or view animation
or other graphics on the Internet will come included in the
newer versions of the software youre likely to use. However,
if youre using an older version, here are the basic procedures
for downloading a plug-in.

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35

Suppose you click on a link that requires a plug-in that you

dont have. Your browser will tell you that you need the plug-in.
It will also tell you where to find it and take you there. When
you get to the site, you just follow the instructions.
Typically, your browser creates a plug-in directory when you
install the browser on your computer. You can find the directory on your hard drive in the browser folder. Most plug-ins
will be installed into this directory. You can generally install a
plug-in in one of three ways:
1. You download the zipped (compressed) file to your download folder. After expanding it, you move the files to the
correct directory.
2. You download the plug-in file itself and place it in your
browsers plug-in directory.
3. You download a self-installing plug-in that automatically
places the files in your plug-in directory.

Trouble with Plug-ins

If you have trouble making a plug-in work, try the following
troubleshooting techniques.
1. Check to make sure that the plug-in has been installed
in the plug-in folder. If it hasnt, the browser wont know
where to find it.
2. Reread the instructions in the read-me file. Make sure
you downloaded the right file.
3. If youre working behind your companys firewall (security
system), you may not be able to install a plug-in without
help from your system administrator.
4. Occasionally, a plug-in can cause a conflict with some
other piece of software already installed on your computer.
If a plug-in crashes or freezes your system, take a look at
the read-me file. Youll find a listing of generally known
conflicts and a proposed solution. Or go back to the site
from which you downloaded the software. Chances are
there will be a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) link.
Take a look at that file to see if you find your problem
mentioned (Figure 21).

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FIGURE 21Clicking on the FAQs link in WinZip will bring you to WinZips Frequently Asked Questions
page, as shown here.

5. When all else fails, look for a technical support phone

number or e-mail address.

Deciding Which Plug-ins You Want

On its Web site, Firefox offers a variety of plug-ins that you
can download free of charge. Do you need them all? The
answer is probably not. It would be a waste of time and disk
space. Beyond that, every time you download a program from
a Web site about which you know little, you risk downloading
a virus, a damaging computer program. If you must download,
be certain that you do it from a reliable company and always
keep preventive antivirus software running on your computer.

Plug-ins Worth Having

RealPlayer. Your system should have a sound card and
speakers, so you can enjoy listening to music or news on the
Web. Progressive Networks RealAudio Player brings sound
instantly, allowing you to enjoy radio broadcasts and other
real-time events. To download RealAudio Player for free, go to
http://www.real.com.

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37

Shockwave. Shockwave is another commonly used Web

software for multimedia playback. It lets you view games,
business presentations, entertainment, and advertisements
with your Web browser. Youll find Shockwave in action on
such diverse sites as Disney.com and IBM.com. If you have
an old version or you dont have it at all, you can download
it for free at http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/.
Flash Player. Macromedia Flash is available using the Flash
Player available from Macromedia as a separate download.
The latest version of Shockwave includes the Flash Player.
LiveVideo, LiveAudio, and QuickTime. These players let
you view movies on your computer. Since QuickTime has been
around a while, chances are its already loaded on your computer. QuickTime was originally developed for the Macintosh,
but its available for all platforms now. You can get these for
free at http://www.apple.com/quicktime.
Applets. Applet is short for application. Its a Java program thats included or imbedded in another application. The
applet performs a specific function.

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Self-Check 1
At the end of each section of Internet Basics, youll be asked to pause and check your understanding of what youve just read by completing a Self-Check exercise. Answering these
questions will help you review what youve studied so far. Please complete Self-Check 1 now.
1. What are the names of the two most popular browsers?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2. Label these parts of the URL:
http://

atlasvideo.com

/products

__________________________________________________________
3. Assuming that your Internet service provider is AOL, construct an e-mail address
for yourself.

__________________________________________________________
4. Define plug-in and name one that will let you listen to music online.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5. Why would you save a copy of something that you see online and how would you save it?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
6. What Is a Favorite or a Bookmark and why would you want to make one?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
(Continued)

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39

Self-Check 1
7. Where can you go for help when youre having trouble with your computer?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
8. What type of organizations do the following domain suffixes denote?

com

__________________________________________________________________

nte

__________________________________________________________________

edu

__________________________________________________________________

org

__________________________________________________________________

pro

__________________________________________________________________

name __________________________________________________________________
9. True or False? E-mail you send and receive at work is your property and protected
by privacy laws.
10. Define the following terms:

a. ARPANET ____________________________________________________________
b. www ________________________________________________________________
c. URL__________________________________________________________________
d. http__________________________________________________________________
e. newsgroup ____________________________________________________________
f. mailing list ____________________________________________________________
g. blog ________________________________________________________________
Check your answers with those on page 65.

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SEARCHING THE INTERNET

Previously in this study unit, weve used the term search
engine. One way to find information in cyberspace is by using
search engines. Many different search engines are available
on the Web. You can see a list of hundreds of different ones
at Search Engine Resources at http://www.refdesk.com/
newsrch.html. Several aspects can make one search engine
different from another. Here are four aspects that can differ:
1. The method used to search
2. The areas of the Internet the search engine can access
3. The individual Web sites contained within the
engines database
4. Special search functions specific to the search engine
Because the Web has millions of pages, search engines were
created as a way to search through all these pages to find the
ones pertinent to your research or personal interests. At the
most basic level, you enter words, called keywords, relevant
to your search. Then you tell the engine to search through its
database of Web sites to find only those sites that contain the
word or words you entered. When it finishes searching, the
search engine provides you with a list of the sites found. This
list not only identifies each Web site by name, but also provides a link so you can go directly to that site.

Using Web Search Engines

Heres how to get the most out of some of the most popular
search engines and a few of the more obscure ones. Suppose
youre searching for information on Egyptian mummies in
United States museums. The words you might use for the
search are Egypt, mummy, museum, and United States. There
are several ways to phrase your search so you get the best
results. Here are three of the basic ways of searching that are
simple and yield powerful results.

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41

1. Boolean
The term Boolean refers to a system of logical thought
developed by the English mathematician and computer
pioneer, George Boole. In boolean searching, an and
between two words, for example, Egypt and mummy
searches for documents containing both of the words
(Figure 22). An or operator between two words, Egypt
or United States, searches for documents containing
either of the words. Putting the operator not between
two words, mummy not Egypt will give you documents
that include the word mummy, but not the word Egypt.
FIGURE 22Performing
an AND Search on
Dogpile

You can also limit the distance between the words. For
instance, the Boolean operator w/3 can limit a search
for Egyptian mummies by typing Egyptian W/3 of
mummy. That tells the search engine that youre looking
only for documents that have the words Egyptian and
mummy within three words of each other.
2. Double Quotes ( )
Double quotes tells the search engine that youre looking
only for single phrases. A search for Egyptian mummy
without quotes will yield very different results from a
search for Egyptian mummy with quotes. The first
search will find all the documents that contain both
words; the second will yield only those documents that
have the two standing together as a phrase.

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Internet Basics

3. The Plus Sign (+) and Minus Sign ()

The plus sign (+) tells an engine what words must be
included in the results, while the minus sign () sign
tells the engine what words must not be included. For
instance, if youre looking for any mummies other than
Egyptian mummies, you could limit the search by saying
mummyEgyptian. The position of the + and signs
should be adjacent with no spaces.
Some search engines will allow you to use all three tools.
Some allow only one or two of them, and some dont recognize any of them. The best way to understand how a search
engine works is to start by reading its Help files. In virtually
every case, theyll guide you toward making the most
powerful search.
Another secret of successful searching is to search your
results, which is particularly good for targeting when the
subject for which youre looking can be tightly described.
Here are some of the most popular, general search engines
and some tips for using each one.

Google http://www.google.com
Like all modern search engines, Google is free. Besides offering
searching services, Google, along with other top search
engines, is always expanding its services. Go to the Google
Web site and navigate through its pages by clicking on the
many buttons (Figure 23). Youll find out that Google provides
you with many online goodies, such as giving you different
ways in which to search, tools such as Blogger, a language
translator (English to French, Spanish to German), and API,
which is used by developers to program in their favorite programming language.

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43

FIGURE 23Google isnt just a search engineit offers a wide variety of other tools and services,
as well.

HotBot http://www.hotbot.com
HotBot offers multiple search options, including the use of
advanced Web filters (Figure 24). In its more sophisticated
searches, it offers features not found in most engines. It
allows you to restrict your search in terms of how long the
pages have been on the Web. It even allows you to restrict
your search to Web sites that have specific geographic origins
(for instance, North America, Africa, and so on). You also can
restrict your search by domain type (for instance, .com, .gov,
.org, and so on). There are limited Boolean-like choices in
pull-down boxes. Search terms in the title result in a significantly higher ranking, and this can have the obvious impact
on the usefulness of what you find.
All in all, HotBot is a great search engine, and you should
spend some time exploring all the options it has to offer.
Because of all the special ways of searching available on the
site, its practical for broad-category and for topic-specific
searching. Also, because it can return results published
within a specified time frame, its especially good for research
on current topics.

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FIGURE 24HotBot
Home Page

Yahoo! http://www.yahoo.com
Yahoo! is one of the most popular Web sites used today. Yahoo!
isnt really a search engine, its an index (Figure 25). Human
indexers decide what goes in it and then they organize and catalog the material. Yahoo! has cataloged sites into categories and
subcategories. Searching Yahoo! is as easy as entering a keyword (or keywords). Every page in the Yahoo! directory includes
a search text box. You also have the option of combining the
searching and browsing features. For example, if you click to
browse the News and Media category, youll then have the
option of searching only within that category. If your query gets
no hits in this manner, Yahoo! offers you the option of searching only within Yahoo! or you can search the entire Web. Yahoo!
is also case insensitive, so if what youre looking for should be
in capital letters, type it in that way. If you know what youre
looking for, Yahoo! is a great place to search. Yahoo! also offers
e-mail, instant messaging, Web hosting, radio, games, and
shopping. It has become a portal to the Web for many users.

FIGURE 25Yahoo! Home Page

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45

Multiple-Search or Meta-Search
Engines
You dont have to use just one search engine at a time. Turn,
instead, to a search engine that sends your query to several
different search engines. The advantage to using these types
of search services is that you can cover more ground per
query. No single search engine can have a complete listing of
all the sites on the Web. In theory then, using a multiplesearch engine could return total results you wouldnt be able
to duplicate using only particular search engine. Multiplesearch engines are actually particularly good for finding the
right individual search tool. When you put your query in,
some search engine will return few or no results. Others will
come back with dozens or hundreds of results. You then
rewrite your query to better target it and again query those
search engines that brought you the most results.

Ask http://www.ask.com
Ask (Figure 26) was previously known as Ask Jeeves. To use
this search engine you type in a questions in simple English,
and the search engine presents an answer to you. This
search engine was an attempt at natural language inquiries.

FIGURE 26Ask Home Page

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Internet Basics

Dogpile http://www.dogpile.com
Dogpile (Figure 27) will simultaneously send your query to
multiple search engines and present the results to you.
Dogpile starts with the search engine that provides the most
focused results, allows you to select which search engines
you want to use, and allows advanced-syntax searches.
FIGURE 27Dogpile
Home Page

Internet Sleuth http://www.isleuth.com

Internet Sleuth lists thousands of search tools by subject and
allows you to query major search engines simultaneously
(Figure 28).
FIGURE 28Internet
Sleuth Home Page

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47

MetaCrawler http://www.metacrawler.com
This meta-search engine queries the Webs most popular
engines for you, and then MetaCrawler (Figure 29) collates
and verifies the results. MetaCrawler also offers statistics
about what everyone in the world is searching, e-mail, maps,
horoscopes, classifieds, and searches of public records.
MetaCrawler charges a fee for many of these services.
FIGURE 29MetaCrawler
Home Page

WebCrawler http://www.webcrawler.com
WebCrawler uses meta-search technology to search through
top search engines such as Google and Yahoo. WebCrawler
(Figure 30) offers its own unique set of tools, including
spelling correction, preferences settings such as an adult
content filter, and showing results by search engine.
FIGURE 30WebCrawler
Home Page

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Internet Basics

Excite http://www.excite.com
Excite claims access to millions of Web pages, as well as hundreds of thousands of selected Web sites in the Excite Web
Guide. Excite uses a patented technology called Intelligent
Concept Extraction, or ICE. This technology allows you to
search not only for the exact word or phrase youve entered,
but also for related concepts. For example, if your keywords
were ancient civilizations, Excite would search for these exact
words as well as for related concepts such as old, very old,
cultures, and societies. This ICE technology should help
make searching with Excite more productive, as the engine
is essentially predicting specific words that Webmasters
might have used when indexing the content of their sites
(Figure 31).

FIGURE 31Excite Home Page

Subject Directories
The following is a list of subject directories that will help
you search the Internet. Many popular search engines also
provide subject directories, as youve learned.
About http://www.about.com
Originally called the Mining Co., this unique and very helpful
service offers a network of sites devoted to hundreds of different
topics. A guide, an individual with expertise or keen interest
in a particular topic, maintains each site. The topic sites are
annotated for ease of use, and the content is updated periodically by the site guides. This is the place for quickly finding
the best Internet sites on a topic.

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Academic Info http://www.academicinfo.net

The directory offers links to topic-specific directories. Its a subject directory of educational resources for college and high school
students.
Galaxy http://www.einet.net/
Galaxy is a hierarchical index of links and a powerful search
interface on each page that allows you to search for the most
relevant sites about a topictop to bottom in importance. Real
humans, Internet librarians, apply a high standard of discretion
when choosing sites to add to Galaxys database.
LookSmart http://www.looksmart.com
Youll find recommended Web sites arranged by subject in
LookSmart. Links include brief, but helpful, descriptions.
Starting Point http://www.stpt.com
A popular place to start exploring the Internet, Starting Point
arranges selected links by topic.

Conducting Research on the Internet

If you need help mastering the overwhelming task of searching
for information on the Internet, there are Web sites devoted to
assisting you. The Internet isnt a library where you can do
research and find all the needed information in one convenient
place. Its an infinite assortment of unmonitored sites that offer
opinion, unsupported theory, and propaganda, as well as accurate, factual articles.
No one really knows how many files are now located on the
Internet. The number is in the billions, and still growing rapidly.
And because of its self-publishing capabilities, you must carefully evaluate the reliability of each site you visit based on purpose, source, content, style, and functionality. Many, such as a
university Web site like http://library.albany.edu/, can give
you valid information or sound advice. Others may not be so
reliable. Youll study Internet reliability later.

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Internet Basics

The following is a short list of reliable sources for a variety of

topics. Visit some of these sites to get a feel for whats out
there and how information may be presented. A quick search
on any search engine will get you to the sites.
U.S. government
State governments
Professional organizations
Library of Congress
The History Channel
The Discovery Channel
PBS (Public Broadcasting System)
American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
Better Business Bureau
Universities and colleges
Online dictionaries
Online encyclopedias
Television networks
News agencies
Major periodicals
The Weather Channel
Businesses and organizations

Special Utilities
Because you have a seemingly endless variety of engines to
search with online, youll often face a very long, not wellorganized list of results. Search tools can be a lot of help, as
theyre usually easy to understand and use. They can group
links according to category, eliminate repeat and dead links,
and even put the links you find into a cache or file so you
can refer to them at a later time.

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The following are three good Web search utilities.

Copernic http://www.copernic.com
This product is available in a free Basic version, or for a fee
in the Personal and Professional versions. If you purchase
Copernic, you can search various content-specific channel
sets of Web sites. You can search different search engines
and channels simultaneously, including ABCNEWS.com and
CNN Interactive, CNN/Sports Illustrated, and Yahoo! Sports.
You can also search Disney, ZDNet Software Library,
WhoWhere?, and BigFoot, plus all the major search engines.
WebTurbo http://www.webturbo.com
WebTurbo has been touted as the Internets first Web previewer.
Its free software that works within the Netscape and Microsoft
browsers. This program simultaneously queries popular search
engines. Its truly unique feature is its interface, which allows
you to view summaries of hits in one window while downloading individual pages in another. In the search summary
window, you can also conduct several different searches at
once. You can even save the summary results of individual
searches. Essentially, you get to browse while performing
multiple searches. If you want to avoid the advertising banners that are a part of the free version, you can purchase
pop-up blockers from a variety of software retailers.
Alexa http://www.alexa.com
Alexa is free and offers instant background information on
the site youre currently visiting, so you can determine the
value of that site (traffic rankings). The program also gives
you hyperlinked suggestions of places you might want to visit
nextsuggestions based on a review of the site youre currently visiting. Also, because its referencing its own archive
of Web sites, Alexa can sometimes get you access to currently
unavailable Web pages in its archive, eliminating the problem
of Not Found messages. In addition, icons on Alexas interface link you to top sites being accessed by others, as well as
to related links.

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Join an E-mail List

Youve learned that discussion or mailing lists are something
like coffeehouses, but they meet in e-mail cyberspace instead
of around a table. People interested in a particular topic subscribe to mailing lists. Usually, theres a list manager who
sets some basic rules and otherwise lets the e-mail discussion flow. When you send a message, everyone on the mailing
list gets a copy. Theyre at liberty to respond, and often do.
Some mailing lists have thousands of members, and you get
hundreds of e-mail messages from the list in a week. Others
have limited memberships and keep the mail to a minimum.
Subscribing to an e-mail list can be a lot of fun. People who
belong to some of the interest-based lists become friends and
occasionally even decide that they would like to meet each
other in person. However, even if that never happens, theres
a great deal of information and conversation that goes back
and forth. Lists centered around professions are particularly
good for networking and even finding opportunities. Joining
one is usually risk-free. Most mailing lists are free of charge
and are easy to subscribe to and unsubscribe from. You can
use a nickname rather than your own name, if you choose, to
maintain anonymity.
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about
mailing lists.
How do I find mailing lists that interest me?
Many Internet sites index the hyperlinks to assorted mailing lists. The following are two of these more popular sites.
E-Mail List http://lists.nextmark.com/
This is a searchable database of thousands of mailing lists.
You type in a keyword and up come lists to match.
Apple Mailing Lists http://lists.apple.com/
Apple helps you find e-newsletters and product announcement
lists, as well as discussion lists related to Apple products
and technology.

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 How do I subscribe?
Once you decide you want to join a mailing list that interests
you, you need to subscribe to it. Instructions on how to subscribe to specific lists vary, but once you find a list, youll
receive directions on how to subscribe. Most often, youll
need to send an e-mail message to the mailing list server,
usually from the account where you want the list sent.
To ensure youre added to the mailing list, enter the subscription message exactly as youre told to do. Dont add
any additional spaces or characters.
Most subscription messages go to an automatic responder
that will send a message back to you within a couple of minutesusually a welcome message that tells you a little more
about the list you just subscribed to and how to unsubscribe
from it if you ever choose to. You should save this message,
or at least the information about how to unsubscribe, for
future reference.
Sometimes the auto-responder sends back a subscriptionverification e-mail with, for instance, a special code. The
auto-responder wont add your address to the mailing list
until it receives back that special code. Thats to ensure you
really wanted to join the list and somebody didnt just sign
you up without your knowledge.
How do I get involved in a mailing-list discussion?
Most mailing lists serve as a forum for the subscribers to
voice their opinions on issues. If you want to add something
to the topic in such a mailing list, or if you want to begin a
discussion of a certain topic, you post an e-mail message to
the appropriate address. The mailing list will provide all the
details.

Other Resources on the Internet

The Internet continues to grow. Practically every company,
every interest, every government entity has a site. If you need
help with any aspect of buying or using products or services,
the Internet is the place to turn.

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Internet Basics

Lets discuss the possibilities.

Banking
Chances are your bank will allow you to bank online. That
means you can access your account, check your balances,
move money from one account to another, and pay your
billsall from the comfort of your home computer. The next
time youre at the bank, ask about online banking.

Shopping
The number of stores and manufacturers with online sites
expands every day. Choices range from clothing, CDs, and
books to major appliances, jewelry, and even automobiles.
Gifts of flowers, candy, or specialty items can be delivered
directly to the recipient. Try doing a search for an unusual
product or specific type of business from which you would
like to buy, and see if theyre available. Chances are, youll
find what youre looking for.
Online auctions such as eBay offer an unimaginable selection
of antiques, collectibles, and everyday items that are up for
bid. You can follow the instructions on how to place a bid or
sell your own items through the site.

Health
Telemedicine is increasingly popular. Many hospitals have
Web sites that describe their services and even provide health
professionals to answer questions that people e-mail to them.
Online pharmacies are also popular. See if your doctor can
recommend a health-care site to you.

Libraries
Many public libraries have opened their card catalogs to
online customers. Through the Internet you can search for
a book from a public library. If you find a book you want,
you can usually request it through your local librarian, as
long as you have a local library card. You dont even have to
live in the community where the library is located to borrow
the book. Your librarian can arrange for the book via an
interlibrary loan.
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55

Education
Online courses are becoming increasingly common. Most colleges and universities now offer online programs, and there
are institutions that operate only in cyberspace. Use a search
engine to find the Web site of an institution that you would
like to attend (Figure 32). From there you can e-mail and find
out if they offer online classes.

FIGURE 32Many choices in career and degree programs are available online.

Newspapers
Newspapers both big and small now have their contents
online. While you may prefer to subscribe to the paper version of your local newspaper, its fun to look at out-of-town
newspapers for news of different areas. Find a state-by-state
index of newspapers at http://www.usnpl.com/.

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Internet Basics

Travel
The Internet is the very best way to find travel information
prices, fares, hotel reservationseverything you need to know
to make a trip efficient and fun. Start by searching for your
destination. If the results are too numerous, limit them by
adding the word hotel to your search.
Popular sites such as Travelocity, Hotels.com, Priceline, and
Expedia are helping consumers book hotels, air travel, and
rental cars without the help of a travel agent.

Social Networking
Social networking is a relatively new facet of the internet,
Beyond e-mailing friends and acquaintances, you can meet
new people and share your life via social networking sites
such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube.
On Facebook you can create a profile, post pictures and messages and friend and unfriend other members. MySpace is
similar to Facebook but caters to musicians and other
artists. Twitter allows users to tweet one another. Tweets are
short messages of 140 characters or so which are sent by
computer or by telephone. On YouTube you can easily share
and view media such as videos.

Online Gaming
Online gaming is another topic that could be a course in
itself. From the internet you can download games to play on
your computer. You can go online and participate in a game
with other users. The games vary in complexity from solitaire
and Mahjong to fantasy role playing.

Security and Privacy

As you travel through cyberspace, you may visit a shopping
site that will want you to register and give your real name
and address. The site might also request your e-mail address
and possibly other information, including a credit card number. Be cautious; not everyone is trustworthy. Dont make
yourself vulnerable.

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Internet identity theft is the online version of dumpster diving.

Keep in mind that putting your information out on the
Internet in an unsecured fashion allows someone else to take
your information and create accounts, open credit cards, and
so on. Straightening out a case of identity theft is a nightmare and can take years to accomplish, if ever.
As important as monitoring what you put out on the internet
is what you take in from the Internet. Malwaremalicious
softwareis software put out on the Internet that can damage your PC. Malware includes viruses, worms, and Trojan
horses. To protect your PC from malware, invest in and
install antivirus software. Some of the more common names
in antivirus software are McAfee, AVG and Norton. Updating
your antivirus software often is important as well because
the people who create malware are always inventing new
pieces of code.
These days, many reliable sites have published privacy
statements. Before you offer personal information, see if the
privacy statements are available and read what they intend
to do with the information youre about to give them. Having
a privacy statement is no guarantee, of course, but it does
indicate that the site has concern for its users welfare.
Sites that sell things online should be secure sites, which
means they have special software that keeps other people
from stealing the information you send them. Your browser
should have default settings that warn you when youre
about to do business on a site that isnt secure. Its a setting
that you can turn off if you like, but thats probably not a
good idea if you think that you might be shopping online.
Some online businesses have push technology. They keep
your e-mail address and other personal information available
and use it to tell you when they think they have something
else of interest to you. One of the best examples of a popular
push technology program is the airlines weekly e-mail alerts
that go out to subscribers who have interest in cheap airline
fares. Millions of people sign up and enjoy the benefits. Some
classified advertising services also use push technology.
Instead of searching the classified ads daily for that perfect
used car, just tell the site what youre looking for, and when
it comes available, they send you an e-mail alert.

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Some people dont think push technology is such a good idea,

especially when theyre flooded with e-mail they dont want.
We call such e-mail spam. Spam is usually generated for
advertising purposes, and is sent via a mailing list. Some
people call it electronic junk mail, since its much like the
mass advertising sent through the postal service. If you
become inundated with spam, the best way to get rid of it
is to talk to your ISP. They can put a filter on your account to
keep spam out and/or provide you with a filter that will help
your computer refuse spam. There are also spam filters available online; a search will reveal many choices.

Internet Reliability
You may wonder how reliable the Internet is as a source of
information. To gauge the reliability of online sources, think of
the Internet as a virtual library, and apply the same evaluation
tools you currently use to rate more traditional reference materials. Theres a catch, however: Libraries sort and classify
publications as fiction, nonfiction, and reference. On the
Internet, youll have to distinguish fiction from nonfiction yourself. It will take a critical eye and certain evaluative skills to
separate the treasure from the trash, the jewels from the junk.
Here are some important points for you to follow that will
help you evaluate the validity of the information you find
on the Internet.
Be discerning. This isnt really an evaluative method or a
tool as much as a frame of mind. Remember that the Internet
isnt one particular publication. Its a network of millions and
millions of publicationssome are reliable as sources of
information and some arent. The Internet doesnt bar anyone
from developing a Web site and publishing his or her opinions.
So, as rational and literate adults, we need to question
extraordinary claims like Giant Elephant Squashes Tall
Buildings in New York City. If the same headline appeared
on the front page of a tabloid magazine, chances are you
would laugh at it. Of course, some stories may seem more
plausible than that without being true. So dont believe a
source simply because it exists online.

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If an article sounds unlikely or an e-mail request sounds suspicious, there are Web sites like http://www.scambusters.org/
that attempt to quash rumors and urban legends and reassure
Web users.
Phishing is a scam that has, unfortunately, become very common. You may receive an e-mail supposedly from your bank
claiming that theres a problem with your account. To fix the
problem, the bank needs you to confirm your account number
and pin number. Dont give that information out. Contact your
bank directly. A bank representative will be more than happy
to confirm or deny the validity of the e-mail.
Evaluate the author. Before you invest time, energy, or
money at a Web site, ask yourself the following questions
about the author of the Web page.
1. Have you ever heard of this person before, or has your
instructor or someone with recognized credentials ever
mentioned this author?
2. What are the authors qualifications and credentials?
3. Are his or her credentials appropriate for the
subject matter?
4. Is the author considered an expert in the content area?
5. Does he or she mention others whose names and
credentials are familiar to you?
6. Is this author associated with a reputable organization,
a corporation, educational institution, or governmental
body, for instance? If so, what are the organizations
goals?
Another way to evaluate the author is to look for potential bias
in your sources. For example, suppose youre researching
whether lenient gun control laws contribute to violence in a
society, and you find an essay written by an official from the
National Rifle Association. The author may not give you both
sides of the story. Neither would someone writing for the Web
site of Handgun Control, Inc. Bias isnt always easy to spot,
but you should be able to catch and recognize any obvious
sources of it.

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Evaluate the source of the Web page. Look at the Uniform

Resource Locator (URL). While the URL may not always be a
definite indicator, theres usually more validity to a publication
on www.NASA.gov than on someones personal Geocities
home page. We can usually rely on Web sites with the extensions .gov (government) and .edu (educational institution).
Evaluate the writing. Look at the composition. Are there any
misspelled words? Does it follow the basic rules of grammar?
Are there footnotes and a bibliography that reference other
scholarly works? Are main points presented clearly and
organized in a logical fashion? If you find that the author
employed care and skill with the text, chances are good that
he or she verified the facts.
Evaluate any publication data. Look at the publication
date or copyright date. Is the source current or out of date
for your topic? For example, if youre researching the most
recent archaeological discoveries in Egypt, an article published in 1990 wouldnt be current. However, if youre
researching some historical event like the discovery of King
Tuts tomb in 1922, an article from 1930 may be just what
you need.
Look for a publisher. While not always an indicator of
quality, publications from reputable publishers and university presses are usually more reliable. If youre reading an
article published in a magazine or journal, ask yourself if its
a scholarly journal like the Journal of the American Medical
Association, or a more general magazine like Cosmopolitan.
Experts in the field usually write for scholarly journals. Also,
journal articles are typically subjected to a period of peer
review before theyre published.

Netiquette
No study of the Internet is complete without learning about
acceptable online behavior. Because the Internet isnt controlled
or presided over by any person, organization, government, or
other entity, its users serve as the arbiters of behavior. But
some problems have arisen (Figure 33).

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61

FIGURE 33While the

Internet offers wonderful
resources, individuals
must learn to protect
themselves and their families from the dangers
that are also there.

With the assumption of privacy and freedom from law, the

Internet has opened doors to behavior thats illegal or considered immoral or dangerous in our culture. Predators of all kinds
have emergedidentity thieves, child molesters, cyberbullies,
stalkers, hackers, and scammers are all looking for opportunities online. Online gambling and pornography are widespread.
Copyright violators download music, movies, and text. Some
users seem to become addicted to Internet games, e-mail, surfing, and chat rooms. And data on the accessibility and acceptance of plagiarism by students is troubling, a result of the
growing dependence on the Web for quick research and readymade term papers.
The legal system hasnt caught up with the age of global communication, but much is being done to alleviate these concerns.
Laws are being written, criminals are being caught, and software is being developed to safeguard children, privacy, assets,
and social and moral standards.
Theres one thing that we, as Internet users, can do to help:
We can control our own online conduct by following a code
of acceptable behaviors known as Netiquette. In general, that
means adhering to the same general standards of conduct
online as you do in your everyday encounters with others.
Netiquette is evolving as technology evolves; however, there
are certain positive behaviors that foster a safer online
environment.
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Below are some tips for you to follow as you travel the world
online.
Safeguard all personal information. Use an alias or nickname in chat rooms and other public online places.
Never give out personal information such as your social
security number, street address, or financial information
without careful considerationor not at allonline.
Give authors credit for their material. If youre reporting to
others in a formal research document, cite all references,
not just the ones from traditional printed materials.
Be brief in your e-mail messages. Long messages and
large file attachments quickly fill the recipients mailbox.
You may also be wasting others time by not getting to
the point quickly.
Never read someone elses private e-mail or try to enter a
site without proper security clearance.
Beware of downloading attachments, both from people
you dont know and from those you do know. Using
e-mail attachments is one of the most common ways
of spreading computer viruses.
Dont answer spam, even when the message offers to
allow you to unsubscribe from its listthats often a
trick used to confirm addresses. Its best to delete it
without opening it, if you can guess by the address or
subject that its spam.
Remember that in all your online communications (e-mails,
chat rooms, instant messages, newsgroup postings, and
so on) youre communicating with real human beings with
feelings and opinions. Respect those feelings, as well as
peoples time and privacy.
Now, before you take the examination, please complete
Self-Check 2.

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63

Self-Check 2
1. Name two of the better general-purpose search engines.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2. Name two meta-search engines.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
3. Explain what a mailing list is and why you might want to join one.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
4. What is push technology?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5. How do you decide whether information on the Internet is reliable?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
6. What is Netiquette?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Check your answers with those on page 66.

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Self-Check 1
1. Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator
atlasvideo.com
domain name

/products
path name

3. The first part of your e-mail address is whatever you

want. The last part will be @aol.com.
4. A plug-in is a tool that expands the capabilities of your
browser. Real Audio Player will let you listen to music
online.
5. You may find an article or information that you know
youll want to refer to at a later time. To copy it, you
would go to the toolbar under File. Click on Save As.
Specify Text and put the file wherever you want to save it.
6. A Favorite or a Bookmark is a Web site that you want
to go to often. On the tool bar, go to Bookmark or
Favorites and click.
7. You could go to the read-me file or the instruction booklet
that came with the computer and its software. You can
also go to the manufacturer or the software developers
Web site for assistance. Many of them also have toll-free
numbers. The retailer who sold you the product may also
provide technical support. If you deal with a merchant in
town, he or she will want to help a good customer.
8. com: a commercial, for-profit business
net: networking service or organization
edu: university or college
org: nonprofit organization
pro: licensed professional
name: personal Web site or individual
9. False

A n s we r s

2. http://
protocol

65

10. ARPANET: A network of computers named after the U.S.

Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
created in 1969, which evolved into the Internet
www: Worldwide Web, a collection of Web pages that
include text, graphics, audio, and video (hypermedia)
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, or Web site address
http: Hypertext transfer protocol
newsgroup: Online discussion forum about a specific
topic or area of common interest
mailing list: A group of e-mail addresses given a name.
When a message is posted to the mailing list, every
address is sent a copy of the message.
blog: A Web log where a user posts personal writings,
favorite links, or anything else of interest to its author

Self-Check 2
1. Any two of the following: HotBot, Google, and Yahoo!
2. Any two of the following: DogPile, Ask, Internet Sleuth,
MetaCrawler, WebCrawler, Excite
3. A mailing list is a list of people who affiliate to discuss
issues and share information via e-mail. People join
them for fun, to conduct business, and to get and give
information.
4. Push technology sends usually unsolicited information to
your computer, often via e-mail, that you may have interest in based on your interests in other things.
5. Be discerning, evaluate the author, evaluate the source
of the Web page, evaluate the writing, and evaluate any
publication data.
6. The online code of acceptable behavior

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Self-Check Answers