Once you've set up your computer, you may want to purchase home Internet access so you can send and receive email, browse the Web, stream videos, and more. You may even want to set up a home wireless network, commonly known as Wi-Fi, so you can connect multiple devices to the Internet at the same time.
There is some steps to connect to the internet and are:
Hardware Setup
Configure Network Settings
Connect to Wi-fi (If applicable)
Test the connection!
Dial-up: This is generally the slowest type of Internet connection, and you should probably avoid it unless it is the only service available in your area. Dial-up Internet uses your phone line, so unless you have multiple phone lines you will not be able to use your landline and the Internet at the same time.
DSL: DSL service uses a broadband connection, which makes it much faster than dial-up. DSL connects to the Internet via a phone line but does not require you to have a landline at home. And unlike dial-up, you'll be able to use the Internet and your phone line at the same time.
Cable: Cable service connects to the Internet via cable TV, although you do not necessarily need to have cable TV in order to get it. It uses a broadband connection and can be faster than both dial-up and DSL service; however, it is only available where cable TV is available.
Satellite: A satellite connection uses broadband but does not require cable or phone lines; it connects to the Internet through satellites orbiting the Earth. As a result, it can be used almost anywhere in the world, but the connection may be affected by weather patterns. Satellite connections are also usually slower than DSL or cable.
3G and 4G: 3G and 4G service is most commonly used with mobile phones, and it connects wirelessly through your ISP's network. However, these types of connections aren't always as fast as DSL or cable. They will also limit the amount of data you can use each month, which isn't the case with most broadband plans.
Most ISPs offer several tiers of service with different Internet speeds, usually measured in Mbps (short for megabits per second). If you mainly want to use the Internet for email and social networking, a slower connection (around 2 to 5 Mbps) might be all you need. However, if you want to download music or stream videos, you'll want a faster connection (at least 5 Mbps or higher). You'll also want to consider the cost of the service, including installation charges and monthly fees. Generally speaking, the faster the connection, the more expensive it will be per month.
Once you've chosen an ISP, most providers will send a technician to your house to turn on the connection. If not, you should be able to use the instructions provided by your ISP—or included with the modem—to set up your Internet connection. After you have everything set up, you can open your web browser and begin using the Internet. If you have any problems with your Internet connection, you can call your ISP's technical support number.
If you have multiple computers at home and want to use all of them to access the Internet, you may want to create a home network, also known as a Wi-Fi network. In a home network, all of your devices connect to your router, which is connected to the modem. This means everyone in your family can use the Internet at the same time.
MODEM.- A modem is a network device that both modulates and demodulates analog carrier signals (called sine waves) for encoding and decoding digital information for processing.
ROUTER.- A router is a hardware device that allows you to connect several computers and other devices to a single Internet connection, which is known as a home network.
The cloud is the Internet—more specifically, it's all of the things you can access remotely over the Internet. When something is in the cloud, it means it's stored on Internet servers instead of your computer's hard drive.
Some of the main reasons to use the cloud are convenience and reliability. For example, if you've ever used a web-based email service, such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail, you've already used the cloud.
File storage: You can store all types of information in the cloud, including files and email. This means you can access these things from any computer or mobile device with an Internet connection, not just your home computer. Dropbox and Google Drive are some of the most popular cloud-based storage services.
File sharing: The cloud makes it easy to share files with several people at the same time. For example, you could upload several photos to a cloud-based photo service like Flickr or iCloud Photos, then quickly share them with friends and family.
Backing up data: You can also use the cloud to protect your files. There are apps such as Carbonite that automatically back up your data to the cloud. This way, if your computer ever is lost, stolen, or damaged, you'll still be able to recover these files from the cloud.
A web browser is a type of software that allows you to find and view websites on the Internet.
The below video is an example using Google Chrome Web Browser.
URLs and the address bar
Each website has a unique address, called a URL (short for Uniform Resource Locator). It's like a street address that tells your browser where to go on the Internet. When you type a URL into the browser's address bar and press Enter on your keyboard, the browser will load the page associated with that URL.
Links
Whenever you see a word or phrase on a website that's blue or underlined in blue, it's probably a hyperlink, or link for short. You might already know how links work, even if you've never thought about them much before.
Have you ever noticed that certain words on the Web look a little bit different? Whenever you see a word or phrase that's underlined in blue, it's probably a hyperlink, or link for short.
Links are used to navigate the Web. When you click a link, it will take you to a different webpage. In the example below, we're clicking a link to learn more about the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
In this video we learn how a search engine works and how we can benefit ourselves learning some tips.
While exploring the Internet, you’ve probably encountered the terms downloading and uploading. Downloading means receiving data or a file from the Internet on your computer. Uploading means sending data or a file from your computer to somewhere on the Internet.
Every time you click a link on a website or type a web address into your browser, it’s a URL. URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator.
In the next video we can learn the parts of the URL and understand how they interact with each other such as SCHEME, DOMAIN NAME, FILE PATH, PARAMETERS, ANCHOR. when all of this is combined, these elements make up a URL.