Course of Accessing and Using Internet

Unit 1 Accessing Internet

1.1 Internet

The Internet is means of connecting a computer to any other computer anywhere in the world
via dedicated routers and servers.

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers and devices that allows people to
share information, communicate, and access various online services.

When two computers are connected over the Internet, they can send and receive all kinds of
information such as text, graphics, voice, video, and computer programs.

The internet developed from software called the ARPANET which the U.S military had
developed.

Uses for the Internet:

The Internet is used for many things such as e-mail, social networking, job-hunting, getting the
latest news, research, listening to music, watching videos, getting driving directions, reading
online books and so much more

Communication

Information and Learning

Entertainment

Business and Work

Financial Transactions

Parts of Internet

A web browser is software that allows you to access and interact with websites and other
online content. It serves as a bridge between you and the World Wide Web (WWW),
interpreting web pages and displaying them on your device.

A webpage is a single document or page of content accessible on the internet via a web
browser.

A website is a collection of interconnected webpages hosted on a web server and accessible via
the internet. It is identified by a unique domain name (e.g., www.example.com) and is designed
to provide information, services, or entertainment to users.
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the foundation of communication on the World Wide
Web. It is a protocol that defines how information is transferred between a client (like a web
browser) and a server over the internet.

URL:-(Uniform Resource Locator) in other words, the web address of internet pages and Files.
The URL tells the browser exactly where to find the page. For example, www.akronlibrary.org is
the URL or web address to get to the library‗s website. *.com signifies the part of the URL that
identifies what exactly that site is part of i.e., institution, government, business, etc.

A. . com: generally, for commercial businesses

B. . net: network providers
C. . mil: military organizations
D. . gov: government organizations
E. . edu: educational organization

F. . org: non-profit organizations

1.1.4Basic Internet Terms and Terminology

Some part of the world of Internet.

I.ARPANET: The acronym stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. ARPA of the
United States Department of Defense developed ARPANET, which became the world‘s first
packet switching network. Internet is the successor of ARPANET.
II.Internet Service Provider: A company, which provides users with an access to the Internet, is
known as an Internet service provider or Internet access provider. ISP, as it is called, offers
email accounts and other services like remote storage of files for its customers. Here is a word
about choosing a cheap ISP.
III.IP Address:Every device on the Internet has a unique identifier called an IP address It is a way
of numerically identifying an entity on a computer network. The original addressing system
known as IPv4, used 32 bit addresses. With the growth of the Internet, IPv6 came to be used
wherein the addresses are composed of 128 bits.

IV.Cyberspace: This term coined by William Gibson, is used to refer to the computer networks
connected to each other and the content they host. It is often used to refer to the Internet.
V.WWW: It is a collection of interlinked documents that are accessible over the Internet.
WWW: A subset of the internet, focused on web pages and resources linked via hyperlinks.It
consists of millions of web pages that contain text, images, voice and videos. Sir Tim Berners-
Lee, a British scientist working at CERN, created the World Wide Web.
VI.Website: A website is a set of web pages consisting of text, audio and video. Web servers
host websites.
VII.URL: It specifies the location of a resource on the Internet. It consists of the basic address
and path.
VIII.Web Page: Web pages are resources of information. They are generally created in the HTML
format and provide the web users with navigational abilities through hyperlinks to other web
pages on the web.
IX.Home Page: The term home page is used to refer to the page that is the default page of any
website. It is the main page of a complex website.

X.Web Browser: A web browser is a software application that facilitates user interaction with
the text, audio, video and other information that is located on the web.

1.2 Internet browser and setting up home page

 Browser Software

Is a software program that allows a user to locate, access, and display web pages over the
internet?
The best internet browser isn‘t necessarily the default one that comes with your device.
However, there are a number of very good browsers to choose between, and the right one for
you will depend on your requirements.
1.2.1 Types of browser

A. Mozilla Firefox: Best overall

Mozilla's Firefox is one of the fastest internet browsers we tested for navigating between sites
and for fully loading pages. It also proved to be the most secure during our in-house tests using
live malware.

This browser is compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems, and with Android and
iOS cell phones and tablets. It syncs your passwords, bookmarked pages and browser settings
so you have access to these – as well as your search history – on other computers and mobile
devices.

Fig.1.3 Web browsers

Mozilla includes a privacy browser so you can search online without cookies or other trackers.

And you can set this browser to delete all the cookies, cache and browser history each time the
browser closes. Mozilla is nicely laid out and has a clean interface, so it‘s easy to find most tools
and features. You can have multiple browser tabs open at once in a single window and
rearrange their order by dragging and dropping the tabs. If you accidentally close a tab, or even
the entire browser, Firefox will recover it for you.
B. Chrome: Best for Google Drive
Google Chrome comes standard on most Android mobile devices, so it is a good choice for cell
phones and tablets. Plus we‘ve found that it works a bit better than Firefox on Android devices.
Chrome is also a good choice for Windows and Mac computers.
If you use Chrome on multiple devices, logging in to your account will give you quick access to
documents you saved in Google Docs, your Gmail messages and your bookmarks, regardless of
the device you‘re on. Search history is also saved with your account, so if you‘re logged in,
terms you‘ve looked for will auto-populate when you start typing in the Google search field on
any device.
Chrome lets you set icons on your toolbar so you can quickly get to the pages you visit most
often. You can also pin bookmarks to the Google Chrome homepage. It has tabbed browsing so
you can have multiple viewing windows open at once and easily toggle between them. During
out in-house tests, we noticed Chrome didn‘t identify as many phishing schemes as Firefox, but
it did stop malicious files, including ransom ware and Trojans, from opening and infecting our
computer.

Chrome‘s privacy browser is available on all devices, including cell phones, to keep your online
activity private.

C. Microsoft Edge: Best for battery life

Compatibility issues for older Windows machines Microsoft Edge comes standard with
computers running the Windows 10 operating system, but it also works on both Android and
iOS cell phones.
It isn‘t, however, compatible with older Windows versions. It's much leaner and faster than
Internet Explorer, which it replaces. In some respects it's also a better proposition than Chrome
or Firefox.
That's because Edge tends to use less memory (RAM) so it will feel faster on older computers
and tends to use less power, which is important on a laptop. The trade-off is that it doesn't
have the wealth of extensions or apps you'll find with those other browsers.

When we tested Edge‘s security, it not only warned of phishing schemes and other dangerous
websites, but it also blocked malware files from infecting out test devices. Microsoft Edge
includes Notes, a tool that lets you highlight works or passages on any webpage and save them
to read later.
You can add icons to the toolbar that link you to frequently visited websites and use the URL
field to search the web. Edge has sync capabilities so you can access your bookmarks and
search history across all your devices. Microsoft is one of the few internet browser developers
that offers 'telephone support if you are having difficulties with its program.
D. Safari: Best for Macs
Safari is one of the best choices for Mac devices because it is designed specifically for Apple‘s
machines. It connects quickly and loads full sites faster than any macOS-compatible browser we
tested.
Safari takes a moment to learn if you‘re not already familiar with Mac computers, and you can‘t
customize this browser with toolbars, but you still get tabbed browsing like Firefox and Chrome
offer. Safari lets you tag favorite sites and has a reading list where you can save articles or parts
of websites to read later. While you‘re reading an article, Safari has a tool that pushes ads and
other distractions aside so you can read without unrelated text or images breaking in.
This browser is the default for iPhones and iPads, and it syncs through your iCloud account, so
any changes you make on one device will be available on any device connected to your account.

When we tested its default security settings, Safari warned us of malicious websites that had
phishing schemes or dangerous links on them. But it didn‘t stop malicious downloads, so we
had to depend on a Mac antivirus program to gather these threats during the download
process.
This is one of the few browsers that have live support. It also has great online resources, like
tutorials and searchable FAQs, so you can find answers on your own.

E. Opera: Good all-rounder

Opera is decently fast, about on par with Firefox and Chrome when it comes to initial startup,
site navigation and page loading. It‘s compatible with both Windows and Mac computers, and
works on iOS and Android mobile devices. The URL bar doubles as a search bar, and it has
stacking, which means you can drag and drop open tabs in the order you want them.
1.2.2 Setting up Internet Option
A.Configuring Home page
A home page is generally the main page a visitor navigating to a website from a web search
engine will see, and it may also serve as a landing page to attract visitors.
The home page is used to facilitate navigation to other pages on the site by providing links to
prioritized and recent articles and pages, and possibly a search box. For example, a news
website may present headlines and first paragraphs of top stories, with links to full articles, in a
dynamic web page that reflects the popularity and recentness of stories. Meanwhile, other
websites use the home page to attract users to create an account. Once they are logged in, the
home page may be redirected to their profile page. This may in turn be referred to as the
"personal home page".

A website may have multiple home pages, although most have one. Wikipedia, for example, has
a home page at wikipedia.org, as well as language-specific home pages, such as
en.wikipedia.org and de.wikipedia.org.
B. Configuring location of temporary files
Temporary Internet Files are a folder on Microsoft Windows which serves as the browser cache
for Internet Explorer to cache pages and other multimedia content, such as video and audio
files, from websites visited by the user. This allows such websites to load more quickly the next
time they are visited.
Each time a user visits a website using Microsoft Internet Explorer, files downloaded with each
web page (including HTML and JavaScript code) are saved to the Temporary Internet Files
folder, creating a web cache of the web page on the local computer's hard disk drive, or other
form of digital data storage. The next time the user visits the cached website, only changed
content needs to be downloaded from the Internet; the unchanged data is available in the
cache.
Despite the name 'temporary', the cache of a website remains stored on the hard disk until the
user manually clears the cache, the cache expires or if the cache is full. This is often regarded as
a privacy issue, because anyone with access to the computer can view the cache. The contents
of the folder are indexed using an index.dat file, a form of database.The Temporary Internet
Files cache can be useful in certain situations. For example, if no Internet connection is
available, previously cached websites are still available offline. Certain online media files (such
as embedded Flash movies) are not easily accessed directly through Internet Explorer, but are
automatically saved into the cache after viewing them. Depending on the type of website and
how often it is updated, the cached data may not reflect the online version of the website. The
cache is also useful for police to collect forensic evidence.
The cache can be cleared by using Internet Options within the Internet Explorer interface, but
this method is subject to deletion privacy issues. Many alternative tools exist to erase the data
instead.
1.2.3 Configuring privacy and security level
Optimizing your browser‘s settings is a critical step in using the Internet securely and
privately. Today‘s popular browsers include built-in security features, but users often fail to
optimize their browser‘s security settings on installation. Failing to correctly set up your
browser‘s security features can put you at a higher risk for malware infections and malicious
attacks. This installation of our ―Cyber security 101‖ series provides our tips for securing
several of today‘s most popular browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and
Microsoft Internet Explorer. While it is impossible to guarantee complete protection from cyber
threats, following these tips will greatly increase the security of your web browser.

1.3 Adjusting display/view mode

In recent versions, Window Internet Explorer has dramatically improved support for established
and emerging industry standards, such as HTML5, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Level (CSS3),
and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). By default, Internet Explorer properly displays Webpages
designed to support these standards. Because some of these standards are still evolving, older
websites may not fully support them. In addition, later versions of certain standards specify
different behaviors than earlier versions of the same standard.As a result, websites designed to
support the earlier versions of these standards may display differently when viewed with web
browsers designed to support current versions of the standards, such as Internet Explorer. In
order to help such websites display correctly, Internet Explorer supports a display mode called
Compatibility View, which displays web pages as if they were viewed by an earlier version of
the browser.

1.3.1 Modifying Toolbars

Introduction to toolbars
A browser toolbar is a toolbar that resides within a browser's window. All major web browsers
provide support to browser toolbar development as a way to extend the browser's GUI and
functionality. Browser toolbars are considered to be a particular kind of browser extensions
that present a toolbar. Browser toolbars are specific to each browser, which means that a
toolbar working on a browser does not work on another one. All browser toolbars must be
installed in the corresponding browser before they can be used, and require updates when new
versions are released.
Many high-profile browser toolbars released over the years have been fraught with problems,
either intentionally as malware or injected with computer viruses or due to poor or conflicting
programming when considering multiple toolbars being included on the single browser.

I.Developing a toolbar

The programming language and development tools behind a browser toolbar vary from one
browser to another.
In Internet Explorer 5 or later toolbars may be created as browser extensions written in C# or
C++.
More specifically, it is possible to create up to three different kinds of toolbars (custom explorer
bars, tool bands and desk bands) and to combine them with browser helper objects in order to
provide added functionality.
In Firefox toolbars can be created as add-ons that contribute to the GUI by extending the
browser with XUL (support for XUL was removed in Firefox version 57). The logic behind the
toolbar is written in JavaScript running under expanded privileges. Mozilla Jetpack can be used
to simplify the development of add-ons for Firefox.

In Safari 5 or later toolbars can be created as extensions that add bars and buttons. The logic
behind the toolbar is written in JavaScript with access to a special JavaScript API to interact with
the Safari application and web content.
In Google Chrome 4 or later toolbars can be created as extensions that add browser actions to
the browser window. The logic behind the toolbar is written in JavaScript with access to a
special JavaScript API to interact with the Chrome application and web content. The privileges
under which a Chrome extension runs are governed by a set of permissions.
In Opera 11 or later toolbars can be created as extensions that add buttons to the browser
window.
The logic behind the toolbar is written in JavaScript with access to a special JavaScript API to
interact with the Opera application and web content.
In Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera toolbar styling is done though CSS.

II.Native vs. injected toolbars

Some major browsers (Internet Explorer and Firefox) enable the creation of native toolbars i.e.,
toolbars which are directly inserted in the browser window. Examples of native toolbars are
Google
Toolbar and Stumble upon Toolbar. Native toolbars use browser-specific code to create the
same toolbar for each different browser version.
Some toolbar developers use a different approach and make the browser extension inject a
JavaScript file in every web page visited by the user. All major browsers support injected
toolbars.
The code in this file inserts the toolbar as a part of the DOM in every web page. Injected
toolbars use essentially the same JavaScript code to draw the toolbar for each different browser
version.

Each approach has advantages and disadvantages for the different stakeholders. From the
user's perspective: Native toolbars present faster load times, since injected toolbars must wait
for the DOM to be created in order to insert the toolbar in it. Toolbars require less frequent
updates because part of their code is dynamically downloaded in the JavaScript file that draws
the toolbar. From the developer's perspective:
Injected toolbars allow for shorter development times since the JavaScript code that creates
the toolbar may be written once for all browsers.
Injected toolbars allow for an easier toolbar update policy, since changes that are made in the
injected JavaScript code do not require releasing a new toolbar version.

From the toolbar owner's perspective: Injected toolbars consume requests to download the
JavaScript code that inserts the toolbar in every page, while native toolbars consume no such
requests.
Another way to simplify the task of developing a toolbar for different browsers is to rely on a
crossbrowser extension development framework. Some of the most important frameworks are
listed below: Toolbar Studio supports IE, Firefox. This is an IDE that allows developing toolbars
via a visual editor.
Neobars supports Chrome, Firefox, IE, Safari and Opera. This is an online web constructor for
cross-browser extensions. Multiple widgets like Weather, RSS, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook
components are available. The platform is free to use.
1.3.2 Accessing and retrieving data from particular site

Accessing and Retrieving Site Data

For most people nowadays, using the internet involves accessing information or
entertainment,viewing products and services, or using social media platforms to keep in touch
with friends and acquaintances. It may seem that visiting a webpage merely involves entering
the URL in the address bar, but that‘s just the start of a more complicated process. In a split
second the browser makes contact with globally distributed web servers, requests stored data
packages, and then assemble the webpage from the information contained in the packages.
Read on to find out how this process works and which steps are taken.
a. From URL to IP address
The easiest way to access a website is to write the desired address into the address bar located
in the browser. This address is known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and every webpage
can be reached with its own individual URL (web address). A URL is made up of several sections;
all of which have their own functions. Here is a generic example of a webpage URL:The World
Wide Web (WWW) is a system of electronically stored hypertext documents. The hypertext
transfer protocol (HTTP) is used in the World Wide Web in order to transfer webpage .

data from the web server to the browser. In addition to HTTP, there‘s also an encrypted version
of the protocol: Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).
The HTTP protocol header is followed by the hostname, which consists of a second-level and
toplevel domain (in this order). In the web, we usually see ―www‖ as third-level domain, but
there are other sub domains. If a URL points to a specific directory or file, the relevant
information will be placed after the hostname.
URLs are generally comprised of letters, meaning that people can easily remember them.
Computers, on the other hand, work with combinations of numbers (known as IP addresses) to
find a server on the internet. An additional step is required in order to access content from the
web browser. This step requires translating a webpage‘s URL into the corresponding IP address.
The task is carried out by DNS servers, which are responsible for managing the Domain Name
System.
b. DNS server: a directory for IP addresses
When a web address is entered into the search bar of the browser, the browser looks for the
requested domain in its cache. If it‘s not there, it requests the operating system‘s DNS server to
find the required IP address. A DNS server is liable for the name resolution. The DNS server that
is to be requested can be configured in the operating system as well as in the router. Per
default, the internet access provider sets the address of its own DNS server there. Since
requesting the domain name system takes some time, the IP addresses of sites that have
already been visited are usually stored in
the operating system‘s or the browser‘s DNS cache. This cache keeps IP addresses at hand for
future visits to the website. This lightens the load of the DNS server and speeds up the
webpage‘s loading time.
c. The router as a link between computer and server
The router is the interface between the internet and home network. It requests data from the
internet and distributes it to networking devices such as desktop computers, laptops, and
tablets. The router is required as a link since the devices in the home network communicate
with each other .

using local IP addresses, while outwardly sharing the router‘s public IP address. The network
addresses are then translated with a process known as Network Address Translation (NAT).
With modern IPv6 internet connections, translations via NAT generally aren‘t needed since
every device in the network is allocated a public IP address.

d. Data exchange via HTTP

When the IP address of the chosen webpage is identified, the browser requests the relevant
data for the page from the appropriate web server. This request takes place via HTTP in the
form of a data packet, which contains all the information the web server needs in order to
deliver the webpage data. The browser communicates the IP address of the chosen webpage,
and provides information on the operating system, itself, and the device on which the webpage
should be displayed. The router adds its own public IP address as sender and forwards the
packet to the public internet. The
web server processes the information and transmits an HTTP status code. Should the request
be successful, the server sends a data packet to the web browser with all the information
required for the page. If the server can‘t find the webpage at the requested address, it either
sends a 404 error code (webpage not found) or sends the visitor to the new URL via redirect if
it‘s known.
e. Page rendering in web browsers

Incoming data packets from the internet are finally forwarded from the router to the computer
on which the webpage is being accessed. The web browser then takes on the task of analyzing
the data packets. Web pages generally comprise of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, whose lines
of code contain detailed information about how the webpage should be presented.

While HTML documents define the structure and controls of a webpage, the design information
is specified in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS files). Elements that help user interaction on the
webpage are usually implemented with JavaScript. The rendering engine of the web browser
determines how the code is interpreted. Web pages can have a different appearance
depending on the web browser used. Each browser has a cache in which data is temporarily
stored when a webpage is accessed. This means that, when a webpage is re-visited, not all the
data needs to be accessing information on the Internet you may have to consider whether to
load or not load images.

1.4 Loading image

In accessing information on the Internet you may have to consider whether to load or not load
images.
Understanding the capabilities of your modem, computer and browser will help you to make an
informed decision.

I.Modem Speed
The latest modems on the market would normally be installed to run at the fastest speed
possible, for example 115200 bits per second. Having a fast modem connected to your
computer will download images quickly. If a slower speed modem is connected to your
computer, then images will be downloaded at a much slower rate. Being aware of your
modem‘s capabilities will help you decide on whether images should be loaded or not loaded.
Time should also be considered when accessing the Internet. Even a fast modem cannot take
into consideration a country‘s business hours, or a 'high activity period, for example, after
school hours or early evening. Do not forget to consider these points if you are having difficulty
in browsing the web site you require.
The bandwidth of your Internet connection is dependent on the speed of your modem. If the
bandwidth is small it will not be able to download images very quickly. The file format of any
image saved on the computer will take up much more memory area than text. Hence, you must
make sure that you have adequate storage area for image file and the bandwidth is large
enough to transfer the image file.

II.Computer speed and capacity

The speed and capacity of your computer also affects the speed at which images are loaded. If
the computer's speed is slow and the capacity minimal, it may be better to turn off multimedia
features such as pictures, sounds and videos in order to speed up the delivery and display of
web page information.
To display a web page without graphics, select Tools from the menu bar and choose Internet
Options. From the Internet Options dialogue box there are six tabbed sections. Select the
Advanced tabbed section.
III.Browser Capabilities
To display web page details as quickly as possible, consideration should be given to the types of
browsers available. Browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are
referred to as graphical browsers as they are able to display graphics, colors and multimedia
features.
When a web site is visited, the details of that web page are stored in the browser's cache. Web
pages stored to be read offline are also stored in the cache. Microsoft Internet Explorer's cache
is labeled 'Temporary Internet Files' whereas Netscape Navigator stores its cache in the
program folder. This speeds up the display of pages that are visited frequently because the Web
page details are accessed from the cache instead of from the web. It is possible to increase the
size of the cache, but doing this will reduce the space available for other files on your computer.
It is also possible to delete files from the 'Temporary Internet files' folder to free up space
within the cache. However, deleting files could result in delay if those web pages are required
at a later date, as they can no longer be accessed from the cache and they will have to be
downloaded again.
1.4.2 Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Each website is located at a unique global address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
When you know the address of a web site it is much easier to locate. Referencing the Uniform
Resource Locator URL allows you to jump directly to that page at that URL regardless of where
you currently are on the web. All web browsers let you jump directly to a Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) a unique address for Internet resources that are available through a web
browser, including files or directories.

URL‘s specify three pieces of information needed to retrieve a document:

the protocol to be used
the server address and port to which to connect
the path to the information
The format for a URL is: Protocol://server-name: port/path. For example,
http://home.netscape.com/welcome/html
When a web site is displayed on the screen, it is possible to access the links that are contained
within that site. Clicking on a link (or tabbing to the link and pressing Enter) will take you to
another section of the web site, a Web page related to the site or even to a different web site.

A link- is a connection from one web resource to another. Although a simple concept, the link
has been one of the primary forces driving the success of the web.
A link has two ends – called anchors-- and a direction. The link starts at the "source" anchor and
points to the "destination" anchor, which may be any Web resource (e.g., an image, a video
clip, a sound bite, a program, an HTML document, an element within an HTML document, etc.).
After you have successfully identified the URL you will be able to access the links provided by
the URL.

1.5 Deleting Cookies and Browsing History

A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is used for an origin
website to send state information to a user's browser and for the browser to return the state
information to the origin site.
The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user's
preferences, shopping cart contents, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing
text data.
Cookies are not software. They cannot be programmed, cannot carry viruses, and cannot install
malware on the host computer. However, they can be used by spyware to track user's browsing
activities – a major privacy concern that prompted European and US law makers to take action.
Cookies could also be stolen by hackers to gain access to a victim's web account, thus, the need
to delete cookies.