Using the Internet - FAQs

The World Wide Web (WWW) and Web Pages
Connection Speed and Browsers
URLs
Finding Information Online
Internet Security

The World Wide Web (WWW) and Web Pages

Is the Web the same as the Internet?
Not really. The Internet encompasses the Web. The World Wide Web (WWW) is the most well-known and visible part of the Internet the part you see through your browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer). It's a global series of interconnected pages containing text, graphics, and multimedia.

How do I get to a Web site?
Just type the Web site's address (known as the URL) into the address blank on your Web browser and hit the "Return" or "Enter" key on your keyboard. For example, you can just type in "http://www.havdesign.com" to get to havdesign.

Why do some Web pages take a long time to load?
A number of factors affect the loading speed of Web pages: the amount of text and graphics on the page, your connection speed, the traffic on the Internet and at the site you're visiting, and so on. In general, the more graphics a Web page contains, the slower the loading time (the longer it takes for you to see the page); the more people trying to see that Web page and the more people surfing the Internet in general, the slower the loading time. Although you can't control those factors, you can control what type of modem you have and ultimately how fast your connection speed will be.

Can I make Web pages load faster?
Yes. Besides having the fastest possible dial-up speed on your computer, you can surf the Internet during off-peak hours when the Internet traffic is low. You can also change your browser settings, particularly the size of your cache.

How come sometimes I can't go back when I hit the "Back" button on my browser?
You may have opened a new browser window without realizing it. Sometimes when you click on a link on a Web page, the page instructs your browser to display the new page in a completely new browser window. Generally the new browser window is smaller than the previous window so that you know what is happening, but sometimes this new browser window covers the previous window. Try minimizing or closing the browser window you're viewing to see whether the other window appears. Also, if you see one more browser icon than you know should be there at the bottom of your browser, you're probably on a new browser.

Can I save Web pages I like?
Yes. Make sure the page you want to save is currently displayed in your browser. Then go to your browser's "File" menu and select "Save As." Choose a place on your hard disk (such as a certain folder or your Desktop) where you would like to save the page and click "OK" or "Save." You can also just bookmark the page in your browser to make it easy to find the page again without actually saving it. To do this in "Internet Explorer," click on "Favorites" in the top menu and click on "Add to Favorites." You can have many Web pages in your "Favorites" folder, and you can organize them for easy reference by clicking on "Organize Favorites."

Can I print Web pages?
If your computer is hooked up to a printer, then you can print any Web page you want. Make sure the page you want to print is currently displayed in your browser. Then go to your browser's "File" menu and select "Print."

Can I copy text from a Web page into a word-processing program?
Yes. Position your mouse cursor on the Web page, click and hold down your left mouse button, and drag the mouse to highlight the text you want to copy (to select all the text on a page quickly, go to the "Edit" menu and choose "Select All"). Then go to the "Edit" menu and select "Copy." Switch to your word processor, go to the "Edit" menu, and choose "Paste."

Why do links seem to change color?
Links change color to show you which links you've already clicked. The color change helps you keep track of where you've been. The actual color is determined by the specific Web site.

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Connection Speed and Browsers

Why doesn't my 56K modem connect at 56K?
First, the speed at which you connect to the Internet is determined by a number of factors: the speed of your modem (in this case, 56K), the modem type and speed supported at the number you dialed, the quality of the phone lines in your area, and the amount of traffic on the Internet. These factors can make your connection speed less than the speed listed for your modem, and very often it is.

In the case of a 56K modem, other factors besides those mentioned above prevent the modem from actually connecting at 56K. That is actually only the theoretical speed of the modem. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) capped the connection speed at 53K, and in the real world, connection speed is generally in the 35-45K range for these modems. However, 56K modems still attain the fastest dial-up speeds currently available.

What are the benefits of a 56K modem?
The fast speed is the main benefit. Theoretically, you can access the Internet twice as fast as a 28.8K modem. A second benefit is the cost: 56K modems cost about as much as 28.8K modems did a year or so ago, and cost less than higher-speed technologies such as ISDN. Another benefit is the availability of 56K modem access. They're available in many more cities than higher-speed technologies.

What is bandwidth?
Bandwidth is the amount of information that can be sent through an Internet connection. Think of it as a water pipe a large pipe can carry more water than a small pipe; a high-bandwidth connection can carry more information than a low-bandwidth connection.

What is "cache" and how do I clear my cache?
When your browser loads a Web page, it copies the page's graphics and text from the Web server and saves them in a special folder on your hard drive. This process is called "caching," and the folder is called your "cache." The next time you visit a page that has been cached, your browser checks your cache to see if the files on that page are stored on your hard drive. If so, the browser loads the files from your cache.

Caching has two main benefits. First, since copies of recently visited pages are stored on your hard drive, you can read them after you have disconnected from the Internet. This is useful if you have to limit your time online. Also, pages stored locally load much faster than pages stored on Web servers, so caching improves your browser's performance and speed when you go back to cached sites.

After you use your browser for a while, your cache (the folder) will begin to fill up with cached pages. When that folder is full, your browser will automatically begin deleting the oldest files. Your browser can manage the cache folder by itself, but a very full folder can cause problems, especially slowing down your computer's loading speed. To avoid problems, it's a good idea to manually empty your cache folder occasionally.

You can also limit the size of your cache folder to ensure that it never grows too large. A good cache size is 0-5MB, depending on your system and browsing habits. If you regularly visit Web sites that rarely change, you might want to increase your cache limit. But if you regularly visit a large number of sites or visit sites that are often updated, you should reduce your cache limit. Remember, even with a small cache limit, your cache may still need occasional clearing.

To clear your cache or set your cache size limit, follow the instructions for your browser. For Internet Explorer for Windows (your cache folder is called "Temporary Internet files"):

To clear your cache, go to the "Tools" menu at the top and choose "Internet Options." It should default to the "General" tab. If not, select it. Click the "Delete Files" button. When it is finished, press "OK" to save your changes.

To change the size of your cache, go to the "Tools" menu at the top and choose "Internet Options." It should default to the "General" tab. If not, select it. Click the "Settings" button. Move the slider at the bottom left or right until you get to the size that you want. Press "OK" to save your changes, then press "OK" again to exit.

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URLs

What is a URL?
A URL (Universal Resource Locator) is the equivalent of an address in the online world; it tells you the location of a Web page, just as a street address tells you the location of a house or business in the real world. Every Web page has a unique URL, so the URL is all you need to find any page. You can access that Web page simply by typing the URL into your Web browser's Address blank (for Internet Explorer) and hit the "Return" or "Enter" key on your keyboard, or you can access that Web page without knowing its URL by clicking to it from a link on another page. With a little experience, you can learn to read URLs just as easily as you read street addresses.

What do URLs look like?
Most URLs look something like this:

"http://www.havdesign.com/faq/index.asp"

The first part, "http://," which stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, indicates that this address points to a standard Web page. The second part, "www.havdesign.com," is the Web page's hostname the name of the computer that this page lives on. It consists of a prefix, a domain name, and a suffix. The final part, "/faq/index.asp," tells your browser where the Web page is stored on its host computer. The final part of the URL is the actual name of the Web page file. In this case, the page is named "index.asp" and it is stored inside a folder named "faq."

What is a domain name?
A domain name is the core of a Web address; "havdesign.com" is a domain name, so are "amazon.com" and "priceline.com." Companies with a Web site generally try to get a domain name that matches their name. This makes their URL easy to remember and their site easy to find.

Why do some Web site addresses end in ".net," ".org," and ".edu" instead of ".com"?
The final part of the hostname (such as ".com") tells you what kind of host the page is on and where the server is located. The ".com" suffix happens to be the most common, and tells you that the host is a commercial business, such as "havdesign.com." Other common suffixes and their host types include:

.net: networks such as Internet Service Providers (www.uunet.net)
.edu: educational institutions such as colleges and schools (www.ucla.edu)
.gov: governmental agencies and bureaus (www.treas.gov)
.mil: military agencies (www.defenselink.mil)
.org: nonprofit organizations and personal pages (www.autism.org)

I've seen some Web sites with a ".uk" or ".au" at the end. What are they?
A domain's suffix can also tell you what country a host is in. Sites in the United States do not have any additional suffixes, but other countries do. Web sites in Great Britain, for example, would have a ".uk" at the end. Some common ones include:

.au: Australia
.ca: Canada
.ch: Switzerland
.de: Germany
.il: Israel
.it: Italy
.jp: Japan
.uk: Great Britain

Why do some URLs start with "http://" and others with "www"?
Most Web addresses begin with "http://." This stands for HyperText Transport Protocol, the standard method of sending information on the Web. Anytime you see "http://," you can be sure the address points to a Web page. Since almost every URL begins with "http://," they are often listed without the "http://." If you enter a URL without the "http://" into your browser, it will assume that you have typed a URL and add the "http://" automatically. So for most URLs, you can just start with "www," such as "www.havdesign.com."

Does it matter if URLs are written in capital or lowercase letters?
It depends on the part of the URL. The main part of the URL (such as www.havdesign.com) can be written in either lowercase or capital letters. However individual directory or file names (anything that comes after the main part of the URL) are case-sensitive. If the URL of a directory is in all lowercase (such as www.havdesign.com/faq/index.asp), you won't be able to access it if you type in www.havdesign.com/FAQ/index.asp or www.havdesign.com/Faq/index.asp. For this reason, most URLs are in all lowercase letters. If you do see file names written in some combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, be sure to them into your browser exactly as they appear.

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Finding Information Online

How can I make search engines work better and give more accurate results?
Be as specific as possible when you search. Use as many key words in your search as you can. The more key words you use, the narrower your search results will be. For example, if you are looking for small hotels in California with an ocean view, don't search using only "hotels" or "ocean view." Try using all the keywords instead: "small hotels ocean view California." You're probably better off getting very specific first and then broadening your search if necessary, rather than start off with a broad search and getting thousands of results.

Internet Security

Can my computer "catch" a virus on the Internet?
Your computer cannot get viruses when you just visit most Web sites, read email, chat, or post on newsgroups. You can only get viruses onto your computer when you open applications or documents that you've downloaded from the Internet. If someone you don't know sends you an email with a file attached, such as a document or an image/photo, you should check the file with an anti-virus program. All havdesign computers come equipped with Norton Antivirus.

Is it safe to give out personal information on the Internet?
You must be very careful when sending messages through the Internet. Since each message passes through several computers, it's possible (though unlikely) that someone other than the intended recipient will be able to intercept and read it. You should NEVER send personal information especially credit card numbers through email. When you are giving out your personal information at a Web site for online shopping purposes, make sure that the site is encrypting that information, meaning that only the intended recipient can read the information. Many sites will show a little "lock" symbol at the bottom of the browser when you are on any page that asks you for your personal information. This tells you the information will be encrypted. The site itself can tell you about its security protocols. And you can always call the company directly and ask.

Is it safe to give out my credit card number on the Internet?
Online shopping can be very enjoyable and convenient, and most online stores are as safe as if not safer than physical stores. However, you must be aware of security issues when shopping online. Before you purchase something online, make sure that the site will encrypt or encode your credit card number. When a message is encrypted, no one but the intended recipient can understand it. Call the company directly if you don't know whether your credit card number will be encrypted. If the site can't encrypt your number, place your order over the phone.

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