INTERNET AND EMAIL NOTES

INTERNET
It is a large network of networks that covers the whole world and enables millions of
computers from different organizations and people to communicate globally.
Importance of Internet
The importance of internet can be seen through its contribution to:-
a) Research activities
b) News and information dissemination.
c) Leisure
d) Communication.
e) Business Transactions, etc.
Requirements for Internet Connectivity
(a) Telecommunication facilities
Internet relies on telecommunication facilities like telephone lines, telephone exchange
station and satellite transmission in order to cover the whole world.
(b) Modem (Modulator-Demodulator)
It is a special digital to analog interface card that changes data from digital to analog so
as to be transmitted on telephone lines and on receiving end the data is changed from
analog to digital for the computer to understand.
(c) Internet Service Providers (ISP’s)
These are companies that offer internet services to end users. They provide the Internet
services to end users at a fee.
Examples of ISP in Kenya include:
1. Liquid Telecom 3. Zuku 5. Orange Kenya
2. Access Kenya 4. Faiba 6. Safaricom

(d) Internet Software

Internet software help facilitate your access to the Internet. To achieve communication
between computers special software called Protocol is needed.

INTERNET SERVICES
1. E-mail
This is the exchange of electronic letters, data and graphics on the internet.
2. Electronic Learning (E-learning)
This is learning through interaction with special programs on the computer.
3. Electronic Commerce (e-commerce)
It refers to buying and selling of goods and services over the internet.
4. World Wide Web (WWW)
 In order to connect a network to the internet, the local area network needs an internet
server. This server is given the name world wide web (www) and has all the information
which others on the internet access.

ACCESSING THE INTERNET

Software applications that enable the user to access information on the internet are
called Web Browsers. Examples of web browsers include:

• Google Chrome • Netscape Navigator

• Mozilla Firefox • Opera • Safari
• Netscape Navigator • Internet Explorer
I Login/ Sign In
To access a website, type the full address of the website on the address bar, then
press the enter key.
Surf/ Browse
Surfing/ Browsing is the process of accessing Internet resources like web pages and
websites.
Hyperlinks
A hyperlink is a text or picture on an electronic document that causes other web pages
to open when the link is clicked.
Search Engine
This is a program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of
the documents where the keywords were found. Examples of search engines
include: Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask, WebCrawler, etc.

Downloading
This refers to the process of transferring information from the internet to a local storage
e.g. a computer, flash disk, etc.
Uploading
Refers to the process of transferring a file /files from your computer to the Internet.

ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-MAIL)

Electronic mail refers to the sending and receiving of electronic letters and documents
on the internet.
E-MAIL SOFTWARE
E-mail software falls under communication software that are designed to help the user
to read and send individual text documents on the internet so long as the sender and
receiver have an e-mail address. Examples of e-mail software include: Gmail, yahoo,
hotmail, outlook express, thunderbird, etc.

E-MAIL FACILITIES
1. MAILS
a) Checking Mail
In order to check mail the user has to open the e-mail account by providing the
correct username andpassword. In e-mail account, click the Inbox command to view a
link list of all received mails.
b) Compose a Mail
Composing implies writing. To compose a message, click the Compose command.
c) Send Mail
 To send mail, type the correct e-mail address of the recipient, and then
click Send command.
d) Forward Mail
A received mail can be forwarded to another recipient. After reading, click
the Forward command and then provide the address of the recipient.
2. FILE ATTACHMENT
E-mail software enables a person to attach other files like pictures, music, movie clips,
etc to an e-mail for sharing with others before sending. The source of attached files can
be from the hard disk or other storage devices.
3. ON- LINE MEETING
It is possible to hold an on-line meeting with people by sending mails to them e.g. on-
line interviews may involve a person sending electronic mail composed of interview
questions to a recipient who can read and answer back.
4. TELEPHONE MESSAGES
Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) makes it possible to send e-mail to a mobile handset
and a mobile message to e-mail account.
5. CONTACT MANAGEMENT
Most mail programs allow the user to develop an address book which holds contact
information like e-mail address of different people.

E-MAIL ADDRESS FORMAT

A typical e-mail address would look like this: [email protected]
Chemwex is the username and is usually created by the user during e-mail account
registration.
@ is the symbol for “at” which separates the user name from the rest of the address.
Yahoo.com is the name of the host computer in the network i.e. the computer on which
the e-mail account is hosted.
Com identifies the type of organization offering a particular service(s) and is called
the domain, meaning it is a commercial institution.

OTHER COMMONLY USED DOMAINS INCLUDE:

DOMAIN TYPE
.edu Educational Institution
.gov Government Institution
.org Non- profit making organization
.mil Military organization
.co Commercial Institution
.net An institution or organization providing networking
services
.ac An academic institution

E-MAIL COMPOSE WINDOW

A typical e-mail compose window has three basic elements:
1. HEADER: The e-mail header is made up of the following parts:
(a) Addresses of the Recipients: The e-mail recipients can be more than one.
(b) Subject: Presents the topic of the message.
(c) Attachment: Files attached from other programs such as word processors and
spreadsheets.
2. MESSAGE: This is the content of the email. It is typically short and to the point. It may
include text and graphics.
3. SIGNATURE: The signature provides additional information about the sender such as
full name, address and telephone number.
ATTACHING FILES INTO AN E-MAIL
1. Click the Attachment button on the toolbar.
2. In the Dialog box that appears, select the file/ files to attach.

3. Click Attach button to attach the files.

Other terms used in Internet

Filter - Software that allows targeted sites to be blocked from view. Example: X-Stop, AOL@School

Home Page - The beginning "page" of any site.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) - The coding language used to create documents for use on the
World Wide Web. There are three-letter suffixes used in coding that help to identify the type location one
is viewing

HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) - the set of rules for exchanging files (text, graphic images,
sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. Relative to the TCP/IP suite of
protocols (which are the basis for information exchange on the Internet), HTTP is an application protocol.

Hypertext - Generally any text that contains "links" to other text.

Search Engine - A web server that collects data from other web servers and puts it into a database (much
like an index), it provides links to pages that contain the object of your search.
TCP/IP -- TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the basic communication
language or protocol of the Internet. It can also be used as a communications protocol in a private
network (either an intranet or an extranet). When you are set up with direct access to the Internet, your
computer is provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program just as every other computer that you may send
messages to or get information from also has a copy of TCP/IP.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - The Internet address. The prefix of a URL indicates which area of
the Internet will be accessed. URLs look differently depending on the Internet resource you are seeking.

WWW (World Wide Web) - A technical definition of the World Wide Web is: all the resources and
users on the Internet that are using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

What is a Web Browser?

A Web browser contains the basic software you need in order to find, retrieve, view, and send information
over the Internet. This includes software that lets you:
▪ Send and receive electronic-mail (or e-mail) messages worldwide nearly instantaneously.
▪ Read messages from newsgroups (or forums) about thousands of topics in which users share
information and opinions.
▪ Browse the World Wide Web (or Web) where you can find a rich variety of text, graphics,
and interactive information.
The most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator . The appearance of a
particular Web site may vary slightly depending on the browser you use.