Internet Help

Get Connected to the Internet, Solve Your Connection Problems, and
Find the Information You Need

Thanks to the internet, you can now stay connected to others easily and find loads of information about various topics.

As exciting and useful as that is, it can also be a dangerous place - full of people wanting to steel your personal information, prey on your children and take your money.

Caution must be exercised when your computer is connected to the internet.

If you're new to the internet are having problems with your connection, it's helpful to understand the computer parts involved. Knowing how you connect to the internet (and things are supposed to work) is half the battle in solving your connection problems.

Internet Basics

The internet is basically a large computer network where other computers talk to each other. Some of these computers are called "servers" and they serve you information.

When you visit a web page or click a link, you are shown a page that somebody else created and stored on a server.

For example, I created the page you are viewing now. I typed it up and added pictures and then uploaded it to my server (which is running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). If that server was down, you would not be able to see this page or any other that was stored on it.

The server is not in my home office - it's actually located in Massachusetts. But with the click of a button you can talk to it and view information that is stored on it - provided you have the address (or URL).

To view web pages on the internet , you need the following the things:

• A Modem (e.g. Dial-up, Cable, DSL, Satellite, Wireless)
  This modem needs acts an interface between your computer and the internet.
  
• An Internet Service Provider (or ISP) - like phone service, you pay somebody for internet privileges.
  
• An Internet Browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, etc.). This is the software program that you use to browse (or surf) the internet. Some ISP's provide their own internet browser (like MSN, AOL, and Earthlink).

Naturally, all these things are connected via cables, wireless signals or software - which is usually the root cause of connection problems.

Connection Differences

Dial-up was originally the only choice for connecting to the internet. Your modem had a phone jack in it and using a regular phone cord, you could connect your computer to home's telephone jack and connect to the internet. AOL was one of the first Internet providers back then.

Things have changed a lot since the first dial-up modem was created, but it's gone as far as it's going to go. This means your connection speed will always be limited to 56k.

Broadband replaced Dial and connections speeds are much greater. Cable internet, DSL, Wireless, and Satellite are all examples of broadband internet. Which one you chose, depends on several other factors (like prices and what's available in your area).

Related Documents

Troubleshooting Internet Connection Problems