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Find out where you can get great software. Learn the secrets of search engines. Have your questions answered and problems solved!

“Internet 101” was created for those who want to know just the basics. This guide will provide you with enough knowledge to have fun on the Internet, yet will not bore you with too many details.

Think of this as a set of instructions...for people who don't like to read instructions!

• How Information Moves • Browsers • Avoiding Viruses • Plug-ins • Getting information into another program

HOW INFORMATION MOVES

For the purpose of this example let's say that you want to send a file to a friend who lives on the opposite side of the country. You select the file that your friend wants and you send it to him via TCP/IP, a process hidden by the average user. Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) prepares the file to be sent and received. It ensures that a Macintosh network can exchange data with a Windows, or vice-versa.

The file that you are sending does not travel to your friend’s computer directly, or even in a single continuous stream. The file you are sending gets broken up into separate data packets that end up traveling separate routes, some arriving sooner than others, Amazingly, the complicated process of TCP/IP takes place in a matter of milliseconds.

The packets are sent from one "router" to the next, a technical “box” found in any internet service provider’s location. Each router reads the address of the packet and decides which path will be the fastest. Since the traffic on these paths is constantly changing each packet may be sent a different way.

It is possible to discover the paths between routers using a utility known as Traceroute. Using your favorite search engine, type in "traceroute" to find different Web sites hosting it.

Also, check out the Internet Traffic Report (www.internettrafficreport.com) to find out how much global Internet traffic there is at this moment...and where the "bottlenecks" are. This information may not useful to you...but it's interesting! The Internet Traffic Report monitors the of data around the world. It then displays a value between zero and 100. Higher values indicate faster and more reliable connections.

BROWSERS

Web pages are written in the hyper-text markup language (). Web browsers are free software programs that "read" the html and convert it into a page you view. You never see the html code. Browsers can also read , newsgroups, etc.

Each web site has an address, or Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The URL contains a set of instructions that are read by the browser. The beginning of the URL contains the protocol, or way the page has been defined. This is usually "http" (Hypertext Transfer Protocol—a read-only document) or "ftp" (—a place to download or upload files of any kind). The second section of the URL reveals the domain. The domain is the name of the web where the page is actually saved. Directories (folders) follow the domain. Lastly is the name of the document. Sometimes the person who’s made the file did not give it a special name; they just saved it as “default” or “index”. This allows the address of the page to be shorter because browsers will automatically open any document in the directory named "default" or "index” without it being typed in the address. That is why sometimes, the address you’re given does not end with .htm or .html.

Remember that web pages, written in the hyper-text markup language, can have "" that allow the user to quickly move from one web file to another...even when the documents are stored in different computers. You’ll notice the URL will completely change when you access a link found on a different web server.

Currently there are many Web browsers available. The and the Navigator are the most popular. Critics frequently disagree over which browser is superior. Most people prefer whichever browser they used first. There are a couple of new-comers to the scene, and NeoPlanet. Opera is renowned for being the world's fastest browser. Opera is much smaller than other major browsers. In its standard configuration, it almost fits on a floppy disk yet it is all you need to the web. The NeoPlanet browser is very stylish looking. With over 500 stylish skins the NeoPlanet can look, feel, and sound the way you want it to.

These browsers can be obtained over the Internet. Feel free to download whichever one you are currently not using and take it for a test drive. There is no charge for them.

Web browsers are fully customizable. You have the option of changing the size of the text and style of font that is displayed. You also have the option of changing the "home" or "startup" page that appears when the browser is started. We suggest you use our district homepage or your building’s lmc page since there is a lot of information you need to know on a daily basis found on these pages.

AVOIDING VIRUSES A computer virus is a program that invades your computer system, hides there, and makes copies of (replicates) itself. Viruses spread when you open an infected file.

Viruses behave in different ways. Some viruses stay active in memory until you turn off your computer. Other viruses stay active only as long as the infected file is running. Turning off your computer or exiting the application removes the virus from memory, but does not remove the virus from the infected file or disk.

Some viruses are programmed specifically to damage the data on your computer by corrupting programs, deleting files, or erasing your entire hard disk.

All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring your computer to a halt.

Trojan horses are not viruses; however, they are often thought of as viruses. A trojan horse is a program that appears to serve some useful purpose or provide entertainment, which encourages you to run it. But, like the Trojan horse of old, it also serves a covert purpose which may be to damage files or perhaps plant a virus on your computer.

Many computer viruses turn out to be hoaxes or myths. Hoaxes are false alerts about viruses that don't exist. For a list of hoaxes do a search on Hoax Warnings On The Run and Computer Virus Myths. The following are sites of more information on viruses.

Our Favorite Web Sites Dr. Solomon's Virus Solutions This site will assist you fight the virus war with software, an encyclopedia, primers, alerts and research.

McAfee's Virus Info Library More than 57,000 virus threats exist today. The McAfee AVERT Virus Information Library has detailed information on where viruses come from, how they infect your system, and how to remove them.

Symantec AntiVirus Research Center (SARC) Information designed to prevent the spread of computer viruses and hoaxes.

Virus Encyclopedia This site lets you search for viruses by name or search through the virus universe alphabetically.

GETTING INFORMATION FROM A INTO ANOTHER PROGRAM

1. On a Macintosh, click and hold down the mouse button on top of the graphic you want to copy. This works in both Netscape and Internet Explorer. 2. On a Windows machine, right click on the graphic you want to copy. This will only work in Internet Explorer. There is no copy feature for Netscape on a PC/Windows machine. 3. A pop-up menu will appear. Click (or let go) on "Copy this Image." 4. The image is now copied into your clipboard and it can be pasted into another application (or into your scrapbook if you're a Macintosh user.) 5. Open the application and/or document where you want the image. 6. Possibly: Click your cursor where you want the graphic placed (there are times when you wouldn't want to do this but it usually is the case). 7. Choose Paste under the Edit menu (Control or Command V on your keyboard).

Saving graphics: You'll want to save graphics as separate files if you are going to use them for Web page making or want to be able to import them into HyperStudio or other similar applications as a graphic object.

1. On a Macintosh, click and hold down the mouse button on top of the graphic you want to copy. 2. On a Windows machine, right click on top of the graphic you want to copy. 3. A pop-up menu will appear. Click (or let go) on "Save this Image." 4. A navigation window will appear. Rename the image to something that makes sense to you but leave the three letter ending after the dot. For example, an image of a tulip titled flow0001.jpg could be changed to tulip.jpg 5. Navigate to where you want to save the image on your computer. 6. Press Save. 7. You then have the graphic saved on your computer and can import it into other applications. It is not a good idea to just double-click on a graphic like this later on to try to view it. You should decide which application you want to view it in first, open that, and then choose File > Open and navigate to the graphic to open it. You can use Netscape or your for this or one of the applications (and many others) listed below. Each application will have it's own way of adding graphics like this in. For example, in PowerPoint, it's Insert > Picture > From File. 8. For extra fun, learn to put an animated graphic from the Web into a PowerPoint presentation.

Compliments go to Internet 101, at www.internet101.org, for its contributions to the content in this document. Visit this link for even more basic information on using the Internet.