digital cxeustecion 3.1 Accessing websites * understand what a uniform resource locator (URL) is + Jeam about the structure of a URL * understand what an intemet protocol (P) address is * _Jeam about the role of a domain name server (DNS) * understand how a DNS is used to find the matching IP address for a URL F * understand how a website is accessed when a user typos a URL into a web browser * eam how to check whether a website is secure. ee eee What do you already know? * Devices such as computers, tablets and phones can all be connected to each other to create a network. Some networks have a central computer called a server. The largest computer network created is the internet, The intemet is used to sond data all over the world3.4 Accessing websites = Aserveris a piece of network hardware. It can be used to store data and perform one or more tasks. A server: 1 receives a request from another computer in the network 2 processes the request 3 then finds the result. The server will either send the result back to the same computer, or it will send the result on to another computer. * — Wobsites are made up of data files that are stored on a server. We access these files using the internet. * All devices on’a network have an IP address. The IP address tells the network where data should be sant to — a bit like tha addrass of your home that tells the postal Workers where you live. Now try thist ‘You are going to play a game of 'What am |?" ‘Your partner will write a key word or phrase about this topic on a sticky note. They will then stick the note to your forehead and you must ‘guess what they have written. 41 Your teacher will give you a sticky note. Write down a key word or phrase that you can remember from your previous learning about networks. Bo not Jet anyone alse see what you wrote down. 2 Stick your sticky nate to your pariner’s forehead, Your partner will stick thoir sticky note to your forehead. Make sure that your partner does not see what is ‘on the note. 203 >Networks and digital communication > Whoever is oldest goes first. Ask questions about what is written ‘on the sticky note on your head. Your partner can only answer "yes! or ‘no’. For example, Arun has ‘server’ written on his forehead, so he could ask: 1s it a computer? Yes Is ita computer involved in the internet? Yes Js ita client? No Is it a server? Yes! You have ten questions before you need to quess what is written ‘on the note on your head. nce you have done this, find another partner to switch your sticky notes with and play the game a second time. What is a URL? ‘The proper name for a website address is a uniform resmuree lbewtor, or URL for short. When you want to look at a web page, you open a wel browser (software that displays web pages on your computer) and type a URL into the address bar. If you don’t know which URL you need, you can search for the right one using u search engine, A URL is made up of three main parts, these are: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/about-us/ aa peel The protocal The domain namie The path Figure 3.1: The parts of a URL The protocol “The protocol is the first part of the URL. In computing, a protocol is the set of rules that computers use to communicate with each other. Iisa bit like making sure that the computers are speaking the sume language so that they understand each other. In the example in Figure 3.1, the protocol is helps. This is short for hypertext transfor protocol socure, This is used Lo send data between your computer and the web server, which is the computer where the website data is stored. You will karn more ubout the hitps protocol laler in this topic.The domain name ‘The domain same is the middle part of the URL. Each website has aa unique domain mame. It is often known ats the website uddress. ‘A domain name is the name of the web server that you type into a web browser's address bur to find the website. It is a texi-based address. In the example in Figure 3.1, the domain name is www. cambridgeinternational org. This will tell the web server for the website of the Cambridge International webpage. The path ‘The qutth is the last part of the URL. This wall tell the computer which web page you want to look at on the website ‘The path is the name of the file where the data for thiat particular web page is stored. In the example in Figure 3.1, the path (or the webpage) about-us takes you to the webpage that is about the organisation. What is an IP address? An IP uildress is short for internet protocol address. An IP address is a label made up of numbers. Bach device on a network hus a unique kabel ‘Chen 1 IP address: W92168.02.1 Figure 3.2: Anework with four devices showing IF addrecoe, 3.1 Accessing websites3 Networks and digital communication > The relationship between URLs and IP addresses Every URL has a matching TP address. One way of thinking about the relationship between IP addresses and URLsis to think about how a phone stores people’s phone numbers Each number is stored with the person's name. For example: Pedro 2691 2345 (On most phones, you can find “Pedro und press dial, which will call ¢ your friend Pedro. You don't have to type in the whok phone number However, you can also dial 2691 2345 to phone Pedra Figure 3.3: Calling friend In a Similar way, the data fora website is stored on a web server. Each website has a URL (a mame) and each web server has un IP address (a number). For example, the IP address for the website www. cambridgeinteraational.org is 192.149.119.103. However, un IP address is more like the number for a family’s landline phone. If you dial it, any member of the family might pick up! This is because most web servers store lots of websites, not just one. You can sometimes type the IP address of a wabsita into your browser's address bar and it will open the website. Howover, this often doesn’t work because either it is not clear which site at the IP address you want, or the security information for the site is not linked to the IP address, so you get a sacurity warning. That's why we need domain names,3.1 Accessing websites Questions 3.1 1 What do you call the piece of software that is used to display web pages? 2 How many parts does a URL have? 3) Which part of the URL is the file name for the web page? 4 Which part of the URL shows the rules the website uses for transmitting data? 5 What ts a domain name? What is a domain name server (DNS)? ‘To match the IP address to the URL, you need to use a domain mame, server (DNS) A DNS is.a special kind of server that stores a database of the domain name parts of URIs and their matching IP addresses. ‘There are hundreds of DNSs that store all the domain names that have ever been ereuled und their IP addresses. How does a DNS work? ‘This is what happens when you search For a website: 1 You type a URL into a web browser. 2 The web browser sends the domain name section of the URL to the DNS. 3.) The DNS searches through the database that is stored on the server to see if the domain name is im the database. 4 Itwill find the IP uddress that matches the domain name and sends the EP address back lo your web browser. 5S When the web browser receives this IP address, it then sends a request to the web server at that [P address to request the data for the website stored on the web server.2. Networks and digital communication > Where the dats for the webaite you wont to view testored 2 192.149.119.103 igure 3.4: Data translerwhen looking ump a website ‘There are a lot of DNS .all over the world. If the first DNS cannot find the domain name en its database. it will send the request to the next DNS to see if it can find it. This will keep happening until the domain nume and matching IP address ure found If the domain name is never found, then the final DNS that is searched will send a message back to the web browser stating that the website does not exist. This error message is called a 404 error.2.1 Accessing websites Coen auisd ‘You will need: some pans and paper, sticky tape, a clear space to move around in, ‘You and your classmates are going to act out the process shown in Figure 3.4. Choose one student (or a small group of students) to be the computer requesting | a website, one to be the DNS and one to be the web server. Any number of | students can be ‘the intemer’, running between the computers carying data, or * passing data along a line of students. Also, choose a nartator to say out loud what ' is going on as it happens and what needs to happen next. Before you begin: + Write labels on pieces of paper and stick them to hats (or another item of clothing) that the requesting computor, DNS and web sorvar will woar to show who they are. + Give the requesting computer a blank piece of paper and a pen so that they ‘can write down the domain name of the website they want to see {to send to the DNS) and a request for data (to send to the web server). * Write some pretend domain names and matching IP addresses on several pieces of paper and give them to the DNS to hold. When the DNS receives the domain name request, they should look through the pigces of paper to find the matching IP address ard sand it back to fie computer. * — Drawa picture that looks like a websito’s home page or print out a screenshot of a website and give it to the web server {to send to the requesting computer). | Now get into the right places in the room and act out the process. It might | take a few goes to get it right! Don't forget to say out loud what is going on as ! ithappens. Poer-assessment Discuss as a class how you all did. + Did everyone do what they were supposed to do? © What worked wall? + Were there any aspects of the process that were hard to act aut? If'so, why? = Were there any 404 errors? What would you do differently next time? * Give yourselves a scare of 1 aut of 10 for your performance (1 is the lowast and 10 is the highest) |2 Networks and digital communication >: Questions 3.2 1 Wh stored on a DNS? 2 Which software sends a request to the DNS? 3) What happens when the domain name cannot be found on uny DNS? How to check that a website is secure A website needs to be secure 80 that the information you type into it is kept safe, Imagine you are buying your favourite treat fram a website, ‘You will want to know that your payment details are not going to be stolen or misused. If the website is secure, your payment details should be safe. There are three main ways 40 check whether a website is secure. These are: + look ut the protocol + look for the padlock symbol © check to see if the website hus a digital certificate. Look at the protocol I the website has the protocol Atips, then itis a secure website. If itis, not u secure website, it will have the protocol hip. The‘s’ stands for secure. This means that the data that is sent between your computer and the web server will be cocryptedl. ‘When data is encrypted, it is scrambled into a secret code. This code will make the data meaningless so it is safe to send. The web server will have aa special key called a cipher, which will enable it to turn the code back into the original message. You will learn more about encryption and siphers in Topic 3.3.3.1 Accessing websites Look for the padlock symbol Different web browsers have slightly different ways of showing you whether a website is secure, but all good browsers make this information dear. In most browsers, if you look at the left side of the address bar you shauld see a padlock symbol. If the website #s secure the padlock will look like it is locked (closed). If the website is mot secure there might bean unlocked padiock symbol or a warning triangle with the message “Not secure’. Check to see if the website has a digital certificate een ‘The owner of a website cun request a special kind of dpi cortificate Aas aa to show that the website is secure. The web browser will check tose if | thar yctese the digital certificate for u website is valid. You can view the result of 2 this check by clicking on the padlock symbol. If the digital certificate is See valid, you can choose to view it parecrel cake — i ‘These are things Ane like your name, addrass, date of birth or payment details. Ifa connection is not secure and you enter personal information, there is more chance of your data being stolan or misused. Only ae use well-known sites that you and = the adults around you trust. Figure 3.6: Cambsicige international website's digital cnificate a>