Internet Lifeguard:Keeping your Family Surfing Safely |
Surfing what?
The Internet.
The Internet is simply thousands of computers all connected together in one big, worldwide network. Access is provided to this network through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISP's have computers that are actually part of the Internet. To gain this access we have to subscribe to an ISP, which normally involves a fee. ISP's allow their subscribers to connect their computers to the Internet. This connection to the Internet is made via our telephone lines, cable service, digital service, etc… depending on what is available in your area and how much you are willing to spend.
The Internet originated in the 1960s as a means of exchanging information between researchers in the US defense industries. The early users of the Internet were based in the worlds of academia and science. Data was shared between universities and institutions and the powers of computing and telecommunication were used to further their knowledge.
Today there are many different services that are based on the Internet and the number is growing daily.
- The World Wide Web, which consists of many millions of pages, written using a special computer code called HTML. Software programs on our computers, called 'browsers', read this code and convert it into pages that we can see. These pages feature text, graphics, animation and sound.
- Email, which is short for electronic mail, is sent from computer to computer over the Internet. We use programs on our computers to Read/Write and Send/Receive email. This is normally a service provided by your ISP.
- Newsgroups are online discussion groups where messages relating to specific subjects can be posted. People who sign up to the newsgroup can read the messages and post a response.
- Chat or Chat Rooms are areas users can enter using a nickname and have live text conversations with others in the same chat room. Some web sites feature chat rooms and normally are divided into rooms based age and or subject. Real time chat is very popular with kids.
- Instant Messaging, which is similar to chat rooms, except it is a private way to communicate instantly with individuals on your buddy list. You create this list from friends, family, coworkers, and others who also have Instant Messaging. This has become the most popular aspect of the Internet for Teens and Preteens.
