Internet Handout 1
Introduction to the Internet
T
he Internet is a collection of computers networked together to share resources. The Internet is a wide area network that spans the globe. Through various communication channels like telephone lines, fiber optic cabling, microwave, and satellite transmission, computer users can communicate with each other all over the world. Various activities that can be done via the Internet include electronic mail (e-mail), newsgroups, netchat, ftp, telnet and WWW (world wide web) browsing. The following is a list of terminology and definitions found associated with the Internet.
Internet Handout 1
Account - In order to gain access to the Internet you’ll need to obtain an account. The account consists of a username and password. Your account, often termed an e-mail address, consists of an accountname@domain name. For example, my account is: . This information will be given to you by a network administrator.
America Online - America Online is an online service provider (1-800-727-6364). For a small monthly fee you can connect to this service. America Online provides services such as today’s news, personal finance, club & interest groups, travel information, chat lines (quite popular), education and research, and sports. Users that subscribe to America Online usually have an account like . Notice that the domain name changes to reflect the name of the company as well as the type of company it represents. For example com tagged onto the end of a userid indicates a commercial organization.
Other domains include edu for educational institutions, gov for government, int for international
organization, mil for the military, net for networking organizations, and org for
non-profit organizations. With the America Online communication software (free from the company), a computer, phone line, and modem, you could connect to this service in a matter of minutes.
Anonymous FTP - Anonymous file transfer protocol means the Internet host computer will allow you to connect to it without an account. Usually you connect to a given host computer in order to download files residing on it. Some host sites are ftp://ftp.microsoft.com (Microsoft Corporation) ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu (Supercomputing Center in Illinois) ftp://ftp.netscape.com/pub/ (Netscape).
Archie - Archie is a service that provides ftp locations of files you need. After Archie finds the location, you can ftp to the site and obtain the file. To use the Archie service, you can send an Archie server an e-mail message or you can telnet to an archie server. If you choose to send an e-mail message to an Archie server and include the command find followed by the filename content in the body of the letter. Upon receipt and execution of the request, the archie server will respond with an e-mail message indicating the files and their ftp locations. The other approach is to telnet to an archie server site and enter the find filename command. In either case, once the file you want to download has been located, you ftp to that site and issue the cd command to change to the directory of file location and proceed with a get command to obtain the file. Further, files may be compressed and may need to be uncompressed before they can be used. Some Archie server locations include: archie.sura.net (Maryland) archie.rutgers.edu (NewJersey) archie.unl.edu (Nebraska) archie.ans.net (New York). When you send an e-mail message to any of the Archie servers, use the e-mail address such as:
Article - An article is a publication that an author posts to a newsgroup.
Bandwidth - Bandwidth refers to the speed at which information travels from one location to another. Examples of bandwidths include voiceband, medium band, and broadband. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (kbps) - one thousand bits, megabits per second (mbps) - one million bits.
Baud Rate - The baud rate refers to the rate of data transmission per second. This relates to the bandwidth of the data communication channel.
BBS - stands for a bulletin board system. This is an electronic bulletin board system.
Bit- stands for binary digit. A bit is either on (1) or off (0). A combination of bits (usually eight) represent a character or byte. Binary coding schemes that computers use include ASCII, EBCDIC and UNICODE.
Bitmap - A bitmap file contains a combination of dots which collectively represent a graph. Each dot represents a bit. These bitmapped files are usually downloaded from a given ftp location.
BITNET - BITNET is a network predominately used with mini and mainframe computer systems within educational institutions.
Bridge - A communication device that connects multiple networks.
Client - A client refers to software that runs on your personal computer. Examples of client software include ftp, telnet, Internet Explorer, and Netscape. The client software works with server software on the host computer in order to exchange information.
Connection - There are a number of ways to connect to the Internet. These include an access provider, public libraries, the college or university you are attending, your company, or an online service like Prodigy, America Online, Compuserve, Delphi Internet Services Corp, MCI Mail, Sprintlink, and Microsoft Network. Windows 95 has the Microsoft Network client software as part of its environment.
Cyberspace - Cyberspace refers to the collective information on computers located on the Internet.
Datagram - A datagram is a packet of information that is sent or passed over the Internet.
Dial-Up networking - This is Windows software that will allow you to establish a connection to your Internet access provider.
Domain Names - An Internet address is made up of a userid along with domain(s). For example, my Internet account is . ngrant is the userid and ccac.edu are considered the domain portions. The domain edu signifies an educational institution.
Downloading Files - Downloading files pertains to the process of transferring one or more files from one system to another.
Electronic Mail - Termed e-mail, this is the most popular service of the Internet. It allows the user to send messages electronically to other users located on the Internet. You send a message by the following: enter the e-mail messaging program, on the to: area indicate the Internet address of the person you want to send mail to; on the from: area indicate your Internet address; subject: add a subject; on the cc: area enter the Internet addresses of the people you want to send a copy to. In the body of the e-mail message, include your electronic message. After you have composed your message, you usually issue a command like send to mail the message. The graphical browser Netscape has a e-mail facility that you can use to send messages electronically. In order to send messages electronically, you must know the e-mail address of the person you are going to send mail to. In Netscape Navigator, click the options menu and indicate you name and e-mail address (if necessary). To compose, send, and receive e-mail messages, click the window menu and choose Netscape Mail. Use the To: Mail to compose messages; use the Get Mail icon to retrieve messages sent to you. Messages sent to you that haven’t been read yet are held in the Inbox folder. The Outbox folder holds messages you are drafting. The trash folder contains e-mail messages you have deleted. You can also send messages via your online provider like Prodigy.
Emoticons - Also referred to as smileys, these are special characters you can include in your e-mail document to express your feelings or body language to the reader. Some of these include: :) smile :-D laugh ;) wink :( frown :-X my lips are sealed %-) I’ve been working too hard 8-) Smiling with Glasses. Other items include Internet acronyms like BRB be right back BTW by the way IMHO in my humble opinion ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing TTFN Ta Ta for now
Encoded Files - Files can be encoded by using an encoding/decoding utility. This utility will allow you to submit files in proper formats. For example, binary-to-text utility conversions are referred to as encoded files. Text-to-binary conversions are referred to as encoded files. You can also download shareware software to handle file conversions.
Encryption - Encryption allows you to scramble your message before you send it over the Internet. The receiver of your encrypted message must decrypt it before reading it. This is a security feature and helps to safeguard your information.
Ethernet - Ethernet pertains to standardizations with LANs. It can obtain speeds of 10 Mbps.
FAQ - stands for frequently asked questions. This is usually a newsgroup or mailing list that holds faq’s.
File Extensions - File extensions serve to identify the type of file. Filenames that have a three-character extension after the period pertain to the file content. For example, Microsoft Word assigns doc as the file extension when saving document files; Excel saves spreadsheets with an xls extension; Access saves database files with a mdb extension. Typically files that are to be downloaded from the Internet may have file extension as well. For example, a file extension of GIF (graphics image format) represents a bitmap file; a file with an extension of ZIP represents a file that has been compressed with a utility like pkzip.
File Names - Windows allows your filename to be up to 255 character, including spaces. It can contain any characters except for \ / : , ; * ? “ < > | Windows provides a short file name for files that follow Window 95 files to be used in older window and DOS-based applications. Short file names are created by Windows 95 by using the first six characters of the filename, a tilde ~, and a number. File extensions are usually assigned by the Window based product.
Finger - This command will provide you with more information about a user on the Internet. For example, you can finger me at finger .
Flame - Individuals who do not follow proper netiquette (proper behavior) on the Internet may get “flamed” If proper netiquette isn’t followed, you will usually receive nasty letters back, a basicform of verbal punishment.
Folder - A folder is used by Windows to organize your files.
Freenet - This refers to a host computer that allows users to access the Internet for free. Schools and libraries may offer free Internet access.
FTP - stands for file transfer protocol. This will allow you to obtain files from a given computer system. Many FTP sites are referred to as repositories or FTP archives. Such sites provide a comprehensive list of programs that you can download. One such site is ftp://ftp.netscape.com.
This is the ftp site of Netscape Communications Corporation. Files on this site are organized into folders. Entering a folder will usually present you with files you can download to disk. Locate the file you want to download and click the save button to save the file to disk. Ftp site address: pictures and sound files: ftp://sunsite.unc.edu
games: ftp://wustl.edu/pub/windows_uploads/games
electronic books: ftp://ftp.spies.com.
Find other ftp sites to share with the class.
Gopher - Gopher is a menu-driven (tree-like) system that will allow you to obtain text-based information. Originally developed by the University of Minnesota, this system is used extensively by various governmental agencies for information and form retrieval systems. All of the information on the gopher menu collectively makes up gopherspace. A well-known gopher site is the University of Minnesota at location gopher://gopher.micro.umn.edu
Explore Veronica and Jughead search engines to find other gopher services. Use these search engines and try to locate other gopher sites to share with the class. Many Gopher sites have been relocated to the WWW.
Graphical Browser - A graphical browser is a software program that allows you to view various world wide web (WWW) documents containing text, graphics, and multimedia content located on the Internet. Popular graphical browsers include Internet Explorer by Microsoft, Netscape Navigator and Mosiac.
Home Page - The main screen of a given www (world wide web) location is known as the home page. WVU’s home page is .edu.
Hypertext links - Links or pointers contained in a web page that when accessed allow the user to jump to a related web page. When you move the mouse over the hypertext link, the mouse will change to a hand.
Internet - The Internet is a collection of computers scattered throughout the world. Commonly called the net, the information superhighway and cyberspace, the Internet is classified as a WAN (wide area network). The Internet provides services such as electronic mail (e-mail), telnet, gopher, ftp, and newsgroups/mailing lists.
Internet Access Provider - An access provider is a company that provides you with Internet access. The cost of the service varies. There are also public Internet providers as well.
Internet Explorer - Windows comes with its own graphical web browser called Internet Explorer. This web browser will allow you to gopher to a given gopher server, use the world wide web, and ftp to given locations.
Internet Relay Chat - IRC allows Internet users to participate in realtime conversations.
Intranet - A private network system used for internal data and information sharing.
Moderator - A moderator is the individual who determines what information should be transmitted to users subscribed on given mailing lists or newsgroups.
Mosaic - NCSA (National Center of Supercomputing Applications) Mosaic is a graphical web browser similar to Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. To receive a copy of Mosaic, ftp to ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu