The Internet

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a global interconnection of computers and networks communicating with one another.
Simply put it is a network of networks where each network may link tens, hundreds, or even thousands
of computers allowing them to share information or processing power.

The Internet is the largest Wide Area Network (WAN) in the world.

A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a group of computers connected over large distances.
A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computers connected within a small geographical area, for
example, within one building or group of building within close proximity to one another.

There are four (4) main types of services available on the Internet:
1. Communication services
2. File access and transfer services
3. Terminal emulation services
4. The World Wide Web (WWW)

Who owns the Internet?

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Services Available on the internet

Communication Services: these allow you to interact/correspond with persons.

1. Email – (Electronic Mail) – an electronic message that is composed, sent and received on a
computer. An email can include text, voice, video or pictures.

To send an email you must have an email address just as the person you want to send the mail to
must have an email address as well.

An example of an email address is: [email protected]

The first part of the email address is a unique name that identifies you.
The @ sign indicate the second part of the address which is the name of the mail server that
handles your emails.

Examples of mail servers include: yahoo.com, gmail.com, Hotmail.com, live.com, aol.com

Advantages:
1. It is faster than normal mail
2. It can be sent to many persons at the same time
3. It can be sent at any time of the day or night
4. It is cheap
5. You are notified if the mail was not delivered
6. You can receive your message even when you’re on the go
7. You can store/save sent and received messages

Disadvantages:
1. You must have an email address to send emails
2. The recipient must have an email address
3. You must have internet connection
4. You cannot send physical objects e.g. money, parcels etc.
5. Viruses can be spread via email

2. Chat and telephony services: these allow you to “talk” to persons over the Internet. These
services include instant messaging, VOIP(Voice Over Internet Protocol) as well as video chatting
where a person can:
 Type messages to another person e.g. MSN Messenger, BBM, Facebook Chat, WhatsApp
etc.
 Make video calls e.g. Skype & Tango etc.
 Make telephone calls e.g. MagicJack, Skype, Google Talk etc.

These services are very popular because it is easier and faster than email however, you do need
to have the software installed on your computer or device.
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Terminal Emulation Services: is a form of remote access which allows you to connect your
computer to a remote computer and use it as if your computer was actually that computer.

File Access and Transfer Services: allow you to locate and use or download files stored on
computers across the internet.

World Wide Web (WWW): it is also referred to as the web and is a collection of text, documents
and other multimedia information.
 To access the World Wide Web you need a web browser.
 A web browser is a program which allows you to view web pages on websites.
 A website is a collection of web pages, often on a particular topic or subject.
 A web page is a single document that can be viewed on the web.
 The home page of a website is the main page you normally see first.
 Hyperlink – allows a person to jump to another page.

The Effects of the Internet

The Internet has made it possible for people all over the world to communicate with one another
effectively and inexpensively.

Unlike traditional broadcasting media, such as radio and television, the Internet does not have a
centralized distribution system. Instead, an individual who has Internet access can communicate directly
with anyone else on the Internet, post information for general consumption, retrieve information, use
distant applications and services, or buy and sell products.

The Internet has brought new opportunities to government, business, and education.

1. Governments use the Internet for internal communication, distribution of information, and
automated tax processing.
2. In addition to offering goods and services online to customers, businesses use the Internet to
interact with other businesses. Many individuals use the Internet for communicating through
electronic mail (e-mail), retrieving news, researching information, shopping, paying bills, banking,
listening to music, watching movies, playing games, and even making telephone calls.
3. Educational institutions use the Internet for research and to deliver online courses and course
material to students.

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 End Of Lesson
Concepts and terms associated with the Internet

E-mail (Electronic Mail) – this is mail (messages) that are sent and received electronically over a
network (Internet or intranet).
E-mail has had a great impact on the amount of information sent worldwide. It has become an
important method of transmitting information previously relayed via regular mail, telephone, courier,
fax, television, or radio.

E-mail, however, has also been abused by certain businesses that send unsolicited commercial e-mail
messages known as spam.

THE LAW:
To address this problem, the U.S. Congress in 2003 passed legislation designed to curb spam. The law
makes it illegal to send e-mail messages that use deceptive subject lines and false return addresses,
providing fines as high as $6 million and possible prison terms for violators.
Senders of pornographic or adult-related content must clearly identify such content in the subject line.
The law requires all commercial e-mail messages, solicited or unsolicited, to include a valid postal
address and an opt-out mechanism within the body of the text so that recipients can prevent future e-
mail solicitations.

Parts of an E-mail address:

The first part of the address contains the user’s name, followed by the symbol @, the domain name, the
institution’s or organization’s name, and finally the country name.

A typical e-mail address might be [email protected]. In this example sally is the user’s name; abc is the
domain name—the specific company, organization, or institution that the e-mail message is sent to or
from; and the suffix com indicates the type of organization that abc belongs to—com for commercial,
org for organization, edu for educational, mil for military, and gov for governmental. An e-mail message
that originates outside the United States or is sent from the United States to other countries has a
supplementary suffix that indicates the country of origin or destination. Examples include uk for the
United Kingdom, fr for France, and au for Australia.
Advantages Disadvantages
1. It is faster than normal mail It cannot be used to send parcels
2. It is cheaper and more convenient You cannot send messages to persons
who haven’t got E-mail addresses
3. It is very easy to send files E-mail makes it very easy for computer
viruses to be spread
4. The same message can be sent quickly to
several persons

Newsgroup - online, text-based discussion groups for people who have similar interests. They allow
subscribers to ask questions, receive answers, and exchange ideas. But you need to be careful as some
of the information or answers may not always be accurate or correct.
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A newsgroup is topic specific.

A Usenet is a collection of internet newsgroups.

Electronic message boards are web-based discussion groups that are similar to newsgroups but
easier to use. It is also referred to as an online bulletin board.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) – this is an Internet facility that allows two or more persons to participate
in real-time online discussion.

Telnet – this is one of the ways that a person can access a remote computer over a network such as the
internet.
It is often used by network administrators to remotely control and/or troubleshoot the operation of a
web server.
Telnet programs act as if your computer is a terminal that is connected to the remote computer. This is
called terminal emulation.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) – is a set of rules that govern the sending and receiving of files on the
Internet.
FTP is part of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), the system that enables
different types of computers and networks on the Internet to communicate.

WWW (World Wide Web) – this is part of the Internet that consists of a huge number of text and
multimedia documents called web pages, some of which are linked.
These web pages come together to form web sites.
The user is able to use links called hyperlinks to move between web pages and web sites. Special
software, called a browser, is needed for access to the World Wide Web.

Web Browser – a program used for displaying and viewing pages on the World Wide Web.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) – this is a special language which is used to encode web
pages. It allows one web page to provide links to several others.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) – this is a company with a direct connection to the Internet that
grants subscribers access to various Internet services.
Subscribers connect using one of two methods:
1. Dial-up connection
2. Broadband cable or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection where the user is permanently
connected to the Internet.

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) – the rules used to request and transmit files, especially web
pages and web page components, over the Internet or other computer network.

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INTRANETS
An Intranet is an internal network used within an organization to make company information accessible
to employees.
Intranet facilitates teamwork and have features such as telephone directories, event calendars, manuals,
job posting, and other user information facilities to help employees. Many Intranets use Internet
technology and connect to the Internet to offer newsgroups, chat rooms, and videoconferencing.

An Extranet is a facility where an organization allows its customers or suppliers to access parts of its
Intranet.

Question:
CXC 2006

1. Write the words or phrases that the following words represent and give ONE
advantage of using EACH:
a) E-mail
b) E-commerce
c) IRC
d) FTP (8 marks)