Online Stuff
|
Online Stuff |
| Cool Links | Glossary | Hardware | Online Stuff | How To's |
| Microsoft Windows | Microsoft Office | Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Riddles & Puzzles |
Most people Download. They visit a website, see something that they are interested in,
and follow instructions to download the file.
Internet Overview
Most people think of the Internet as the World Wide Web (WWW) and nothing more
Not true! The Internet has several components - WWW, Gopher, Newsgroups, Mail, and others.
What we are confronted with each day, for example,
http://www.newsday.com, is a website on the World Wide Web.
To gain access to the Internet, we need to connect through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy are NOT ISPs.
They are called Bulletin Board Services (BBS) and they offer a full range of services,
from travel to shopping to reference material.
But they are not the Internet. One of the services that they provide is access to the Internet.
When you are surfing the Net you are using a Browser.
The most common are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.
These allow you to view HTML documents. They do not search for you.
The way to search for something is to use a Search Engine.
The most common search engines are: Google and
Yahoo.
Their screens have many similarities as well as differences.
This section will describe search engines in general. You will find these features on all of them.
The purpose of a search engine is to locate information on whatever topic you request.
This is done by typing the information into the search window, then clicking a button which will actually start the search.
Each search engine has this window and each has a button.
The appearances of the search engines are different from each other, so the search windows are in different places.
After you type your entry into the Search Window, locate the actual Search button.
Sometimes it is labeled Find, sometimes Search, sometimes Go!
It is often just to the right of the Search Window.
After the click, you’ll wait for a few seconds until the engine returns its results.
Now the scary part. You’ve probably gotten hundreds of thousands of HITS, or matches, to whatever you typed.
That’s overwhelming! Where do you start?
Search Engines try to rank the websites in accordance with their relevance to your question.
For example, if you type "sports", you will literally have millions of hits,
so the search engine tries to place those with the most occurrences of your word close to the top of the list.
If you have a multiple-word request, for example, "sports car", enclose them in quotes.
The search engine will still place those with the most occurrences of that phrase at the top of your list.
Many search engines have become more refined over time.
For example, when you connect to Yahoo!, there will be an category list from which to select.
Within each category there are sub-categories. These help you to refine and narrow down your search.
Top of Page
Downloading & Uploading
Download
It could be a graphic image, some text, or a full program.
Upload
As we use the Internet more frequently and become more comfortable,
we begin to use online services that require us to Upload.
For example, there are online storage websites,
where we can make copies of files in order to back them up or to share them with others.
At the same time, people are worried about Viruses, those elusive scary things which threaten to
destroy everything on your computer.
Awareness is fine. Let the fear go. Here’s a few simple things to remember when you download:
If it’s Microsoft, for example, the data is probably good.
If the site is new or unknown to you, investigate further.
When in Doubt, Download to a Flash Drive:
You will be asked for the destination when you begin the download.
Select your floppy drive (Drive A:) and download.
Use Anti-Virus Software:
McAfee and
Norton Anti-Virus
are the two that most people use.
Download your file then run the anti-virus software.
Check Files That You Receive From Other People:
If someone gives you a Flash drive with something cool,
before loading to your machine, run the anti-virus software.
Don’t Operate From Fear:
People have their anti-virus software running whenever they start their machines.
This is not necessary. If you have not downloaded anything, there is nothing to check for.
Think about what you have been working on. If you need to check for viruses, do it. If not, don’t.
MAKE REGULAR BACKUPS!!!!!!!
Top of Page
|
Net Scams |
|||
|
We are all justifiably concerned with the viruses that can potentially invade and destroy our computer systems
and our office networks.
It is important to check your mail carefully, and to immediately delete mail from unknown sources. However, we often get a virus from a known source, someone who we trust. We trustingly open the email and it contains a virus. This happens because our source has gotten the virus, which has replicated itself and sent to everyone in his or her address book. What To Do: If you are suspicious, email your sender and ask specifically if he or she is aware of the message that you just received. Despite all of our technology, human communication is still the best! People have been victims of scammers and people have wanted to get rich quick since the beginning of time; the Internet facilitates scamming, and it is filled with bogus get-rich quick schemes. Since 911, many people have become the unfortunate victims of 911 fraud - bogus charity websites and places to email money. Here Are Some Tips to Keep You Out Of the Muck Of Scamming
|
|||
| Top of Page | |||
Virus Hoaxes
Probably the only things more irritating than viruses are the notifications of virus warnings!
We can spend an entire day worrying about all the warnings that we receive from well-meaning senders,
who received a virus warning and forwarded it to everyone in the address book.
Many people have been plagued with virus notifications and warnings - some accurate, many bogus.
In addition, we receive tantalizing offers for email chain letters, promising to receive money for each email address
that we send to.
With good intention, we forward this information to everyone in our address books,
who then forward that information, on and on and on.
This often results in problems for you as the user, and if you do this at work, many problems for your system administrator.
It is best to authenticate the information that you receive before passing it on.
In the case of email claims for big money paid by a particular company, visit the company's website and search for
information on that offer. If it is genuine, the info will be posted there.
Note that virus hoaxes often contain in the body of the message information like
"Send this to everyone in your address book."
This is usually a dead giveaway of a hoax. Virus warnings can be validated at any of the following reliable sites:
I urge you to add these URLs to your bookmarks / favorites. Check there for valid virus information.
Whether you receive bogus or correct information, you can then choose to forward it,
and state in your own message that you have checked before passing it on.
Top of Page