The Internet (International Network.

)
The Internet is a global system or world-wide computer network
linking thousands of private and public computer networks based on
the networking technologies of the TCP/IP protocol for the purposes
of sharing resources.
Internet is a wide highway in a cyber space (space of electronic
movement of data) that moves data and information therefore, the
terms Cyber Space and Information Super Highway are frequently
used to refer to Internet.
Server -A powerful high capacity and high speed processing computer
designed to store and share resources( serve) information to multiple users.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL )or web address - the global address
that specifies the location of documents and other resources on the World
Wide Web e.g. https://www.kist.ac.ke,https://www.facebook.com.
World Wide Web (WWW ) is an information space where documents and
other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs),
interlinked by hypertext links, and can be accessed via the Internet OR
system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents called
websites.
Website is a collection of related web pages, normally identified with a
common domain name, stored in a web server on the world wide web.
Domain name- a name owned by a person or organization and consisting of
an alphabetical or alphanumeric sequence used as an Internet address to
identify the location of a particular website.
Hyperlink - Text, images, graphics that, when clicked with a mouse (or
activated by keystrokes) will connect the user to a new Web site
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) the underlying protocol used by the
World Wide Web that defines how messages are formatted and transmitted,
and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to
various commands. For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this
actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and
transmit the requested Web page.
Web Hosting is the act of placing a website on a server, registering that
server as the computer that hosts the specific domain name. This allows the
internet user to access the website and gives the website owner access to
their domain email.
Bookmark - a way of storing/saving your favorite sites on the Internet.
CC Carbon Copy- this is a field in the head of an email that allows the
sender to include other email addresses as recipients of the same email
BCC (Blind carbon copy) This is a field specified in the head of an email
that allows you to email the same message to several people without each
recipient knowing about the other
Uploading is the transmission of a file from one computer system to another,
usually larger computer system.
Downloading transferring files from the Internet to your computer
Portal - A Web site "gateway" that provides multiple services, which could
include Web searching capability, news, free-email, discussion groups, online
shopping, references and other services.
Cookie - Information (URLs, Web addresses) created by a Web server and
stored on a user's computer. This information lets Web sites the user visits to
keep a user's browsing patterns and preferences. People can set up their
browsers to accept or not accept cookie
E-Mail (Electronic Mail)- E-mail allows people to send messages from one
computer to another via the internet. Email can be plain text or HTML with
embedded images, and an email can have other files "attached" to it. Email is
the most common way for viruses to spread across the internet and any
unsolicited mail should be deleted to prevent them spreading further
Among with many others
Protocol -an agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices.
Multimedia is a broad term that refers to the delivery of text, images, sound
and interactivity in an integrated manner from a computer.
Instant Messaging (IM) - a text-based computer conference over the
Internet between two or more people who must be online at the same time.
When you send an IM the receiver is instantly notified that she/he has a
message
Advantages of the Internet
 Communication - You can exchange information with your family
and friends anywhere in the world through e-mails, instant
messaging/chatting,online telephone/video conversations
newsgroups ETC.
 E-commerce – users can access cyber shops for online
purchasing, window-shopping and pay for the services through
electronic funds transfer (EFT) methods such as Echeques and
credit cards.
 Research - Researchers and scholars use Internet to access
digital (virtual) libraries for the latest information and archives.
 Entertainment – internet users can watch Web TVs, online videos
play games download music and movies from the Internet you will
almost get anything you need to keep you entertained.
 E-learning – Academic materials for all levels of education are
readily available on the Internet.
 Exchange of knowledge/information – educational portals
enable students to blog and share a lot of knowledge in their areas
of study.
among others
Some of the Internet Connectivity Requirements:
A computer, Smartphone or PDA – these devices are used to access the
internet data either through the physical or wireless means.
Transmission media – This is a physical (copper wires) or wireless (radio
frequencies) pathway used for transferring data/information from one
computer to another.
Internet Service Provider - These are licensed commercial or non-
commercial organizations that provide access to internet. Examples are
Access Kenya, Swift Kenya, Nairobi net, Africa online, Wananchi, Celtel,
Safaricom etc.
Software – The main categories of internet software are:
◦ Browser Software - This lets you access the Internet resources
examples are Internet explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, Mozilla
FireFox, Mosaic etc.
◦ Email Software enables you to receive, compose and send emails e.g.
Outlook express, thunderbird, Yahoo mail etc.
◦ Search Engines – These are search agent programs that enable one
to quickly search and access internet resources. They provide a
catalogue of all information available over the internet for quick access.
They all provide a search form where one types key words of the
information he/she wants to access. Examples are:, Google,ask.com,
Alta Vista, bing,amazon.com ,Yahoo etc
How the Internet Works
 The Internet provides immediate and direct contact with all
computers on the network.
◦ All Internet computers have an Internet address (IP address).
◦ Internet service providers (ISPs) sell subscriptions to the
public.
◦ Internet interoperability feature enables access for all types of
computers.
◦ Internet uses the Packet switching technology is used to transmit
data.
Internet Protocols
 Transmission control protocol (TCP) – A standard that defines
how one computer can communicate and exchange data with
another computer on the Internet.
 Internet protocol (IP) – Defines the Internet’s addressing scheme.
 IP address(Internet protocol address) – Each computer
connected to the Internet is given an unique address composed of
numbers/octets(network identifier and host identifier. Example:
209.234.456.8
Domain Names

Domain Name

 Domain Name System (DNS) – Enables users to type names

of Web sites and Web pages as well as IP addresses. Example:
www.facebook.com or 112.23.345.56
 Domain name registration – Enables individuals,
businesses, and organizations to register their Web sites with
International domain org.
 The last part of the domain name gives the type of
organization that maintains the site.
Examples: .com, .net, .edu, and .gov.
Accessing the Internet and Web
 You will need:
◦ A computer with an operating system, such as Windows, MAC
OS, or UNIX, that supports Internet protocols
◦ Communications equipment such as a modem, ISDN adapter,
or Ethernet card
◦ An Internet service provider (ISP)
◦ Web browser software such as Internet Explorer or Netscape
Navigator
How to connect to the Internet(Internet Connection Methods)

There are three principal ways of connecting to the Internet

(a) Direct or Leased line internet connection
(b) Dial – up internet connection
(c)Wireless internet Connection
Direct or Leased line
In this method the user has a fixed or dedicated link (physical
line)to the ISP via cables such as the optical fiber
Direct connections provide continuous, “always on” access to the
Internet.
A direct connection can be obtained by local area network can
connected to the Internet through a special hardware component
called a router which is connected to another router at the ISP by
a high-speed line. Advantages:
◦ High speed connection
◦ You do not need a modem but a router
◦ It is convenient as one does not have to keep on dialing
up.
Disadvantage:
◦ It is expensive to maintain the connection
Dial-up connection
◦In this technique you connect your computer by use of a modem
and physical phone line or wireless means only when you want to
use the Internet.
◦The user gains Internet access when he/she contacts the ISP and
the ISP transfers Internet data to his computer. When he/she
finishes he disconnects from the ISP. The speed with which you can
access the Internet is determined primarily by the speed of your
modem.
◦To gain faster dial-up connections, you can install an Integrated
Service Digital Network (ISDN) line which is a digital line provided by
a local phone company.
Advantage:
◦Initial connection fee is less as compared to direct connection
◦Cost can be controlled by reducing connection time
◦Connection done only when there is a need
Disadvantages:
◦May be disappointing in case of resource contention or network
traffic jam during dial up process as one has to keep on dialing up.
Wireless connection
Wireless internet connection is provided by a wireless computer network that
uses wireless access points (hotspots) that are either software or hardware
configured using network connection technologies such as Wi-Fi. It allows
homes, telecommunications networks and businesses to avoid the costly
process of introducing cables into a building or between equipment
locations.Wireless networks are generally implemented and administered
using radio communication.A computer/Smartphone must have wireless
adapter to be capable of connecting to a wireless access point which can
pick up signals from different wireless hotspots
Some wireless networks require passwords or a subscription while others are
free
Advantages
Wireless networks provide an inexpensive and easy way to share a single
Internet connection among several computers
Mobility/portability With the emergence of public wireless networks, users
can access the internet even outside their normal work environment.
Expandability- Wireless networks can serve a suddenly-increased number of
clients with the existing equipment. In a wired network, additional clients
would require additional wiring
Deployment
- Initial setup of an infrastructure-based wireless network requires little more
than a single access point. Wired networks, on the other hand, have the
additional cost and complexity of actual physical cables being run to
Disadvantages of Wireless connections(WIFI)
Security-wireless networks can be accessed by users with wireless
enabled devices making them unsecure hence encryption techinques
should be used to limit their accessibility.
-Wireless networking signals are subject to a wide variety of
interferences as well as complex propagation effects that are beyond
the control of the network administrator hence make them
unreliable.
- The speed on most wireless networks (typically 1-54 Mbps) is far
slower than even the slowest common wired networks (100Mbps up
to several Gbps
The World Wide Web (WWW)
World Wide Web (WWW) refers to the interconnected set of
hypertext and hypermedia documents referred to as websites
available via the internet.
World Wide Web (WWW) is viewed as a vast virtual space on
the Internet where information pages called web pages are
installed.
A collection of web pages stored as a file in a special type of a
computer called web server is called a Website. Every website is
accessed using Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or the web
address e.g. https://www.kist.ac.ke
Hypertext – This refers to text documents that contain links to
other text documents liked together forming a spider like web.
Hypertext is basically the same as regular text that can be stored,
read, searched or edited.
Hypermedia – It is interconnected documents which contain links
to not only text documents but also linked to multimedia
documents e.g. audio, movies/video, images/graphics etc.
Web Pages - This refers to hypertext and hypermedia documents
containing information about an individual or organization. A web
page can be seen as a single screen of information which may
contain text, images, animation, sound, movies/video etc. Web
pages are created using a programming language called Hypertext
Mark-UP Language (HTML) and viewed by use of web browser
programs e.g. Internet explorer.
These web pages are linked together by use of hyperlinks.
Web addresses/URL- URL Uniform Resource Locator or web
address - the global address that specifies the location of
documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.
Structure of URL Address
Protocol Server contains Path Resource
identifies the domain identifies the specifies the
the means name of the location of the filename of the
of access Web server document resource

shop-
URL http://
www.yahoo.com/
help/shop/
01.html
Example of Web Browser Window Features
Example of Web Browser Window Features
1 2 3 4

6
7
1. Title Bar - Shows the title of the visited website.
2. Menu Bar - Provides menu options for manipulating the browser
window and the web page contents.
3. Navigation Bar - Provides commands for navigating the website.
4. Address Bar - Where the URL address of a website is typed.
5. Hyperlinks - When clicked, a hyperlink causes another web page
to open.
6. Status Bar - Shows the opening progress of a web page.
7. Task Bar - Shows other programs running in your computer.
Electronic Mail (E-mail)
 Electronic Mail refers to the sending and receiving of electronic
letters and documents on the Internet.
Advantages Over the Traditional Paper Mail/‘Snail Mail’
◦ It is fast,cheap and convenient
◦ It is easy to send one mail to many recipients by use of
carbon copies
◦ Mail can be saved for future retrieval
◦ Easy to reply mails
◦ Mails can easily be forwarded to another recipient
◦ Document created using other application can easily be
attached to the mail etc.
◦ Reliable if all email etiquette and netiquette is observed.
Disadvantages
◦ Security of message may not be guaranteed – due to
tapping while on transit.
◦ Not yet accessible to every body due to the connectivity
limitations
◦ Requires some ICT literacy to use and enjoy
◦ It is boring to read ‘junk mails’
E-mail Address
 For one to send and receive an email, he/she must have an email
address.
 Email address directs the computers on the Internet on where to
deliver the email message.
 A typical email address has this format:
[email protected] e.g. [email protected] i.e.
the email parts are:
◦ Pekyalo – This is the user name that identifies the owner of the
email address.
◦ @ - Separates the username from the rest of the address parts
◦ Yahoo – The name of the host computer on the Internet in to
which the email account is hosted.
◦ The period (.) – read as dot. Separates different parts of the
email address.
◦ Com – The domain. Identifies the type of Institution that owns
the host computer.
LOG ON/SIGN IN
 Load the e-mail program that you are using e.g. for yahoo mail
account holders, type ‘www.mail.yahoo.com’ in address bar of
your browser to load the mail program.
 In the username text box, type your user name .e.g. pkmulwa
 In the password text box, type the password. The password
appears encrypted for security.
 Click on Sign in command button and wait as your mails window
is opened
Composing and sending Email
Steps:
 Load email application program/Email
Editor
 Log in/Sign in if required by typing
your user name and password.
 Click on compose command button –
mail editor window appears as shown
on the left.
 Type email address of the recipient in
the TO: text box.
 To sent Carbon Copies (Cc) & Blind
Carbon Copies (Bcc) type the
addresses in the Cc: & Bcc: textboxes
respectively. Separate two or more
addresses by commas. Bcc recipients
don’t see the identity of other
recipients.
 Type the subject/title of your
message in the Subject: text box.
 Type the message and format it as
you want in the message text area.
 Click on send command button to
send mail.
 The computer confirms on sending
File Attachment
Steps:
 Load email application
program/Email Editor
 Log in or sign in as expected to
access your account by supplying
your username and password.
 Compose your mail as usual.
 Click on Attach Files command
button.
 From the dialog box that appears,
browse to specify the file/s to
attach from your computer.
 Click on Open command button
from the ‘Choose file’ dialog box
after choosing the file to attach.
 The attachment progress bar
appears. Wait as the file/s is/are
attached to you mail.
 An attachment bar is inserted in
the mail window with the name of
the attached file.
 Click on send command to send
the mail.
Receiving/Replying/Forwarding mail

Steps:
 Load email application program/Email Editor
 Log/sign in if required to access your email account by supplying your
username and password.
 Click on ‘check mail’ command button
 Click on Inbox to view the mails received as shown on the left.
 To read a mail, click on its subject/title from the list of received mails.
To read an attachment, click on the attachment icon & follow the
instructions that follow.
 To reply the mail, simply click on Reply tab/command and type the
reply message then click on send command to send it.
 To forward the mail, click on ‘Forward’ tab, type the address of the
person whom you want to forward the mail to, click on send.

Saving an E-mail
a) With the mail window opened, click on file menu
b) Click on save as from the pull down menu
c) Select the location to save the mail and type the file name
d) Click on save
Printing Mails
a) Open the mail that you want to print
b) Click on the file menu
c) Click on print from the pull down menu
d) Specify the printer and the number of copies
e) Click on print.
Sign Out/Log Off
•Once you have read your mail, it is advisable to sign out or log
off to ensure that unauthorized users do not read the mail.
•To sign out or log off, click on the sign out or log off command
button.