What does a Web browser do?

A Web browser contains the basic software you need in order to find, retrieve, view, and send information over the Internet. This includes software that lets you:

Send and receive electronic-mail (or e-mail) messages worldwide nearly instantaneously.
Read messages from newsgroups (or forums) about thousands of topics in which users share information and opinions.
Browse the World Wide Web (or Web) where you can find a rich variety of text, graphics, and interactive information.
Browsers such as Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 include additional Internet-related software. For example, with Internet Explorer version 5.0, you also get:

• Windows™ Media Player version 6.0
  
• NetMeeting® conferencing software version 2.11
  
• ActiveX® controls
  
• Chat version 2.5
  
• DirectShow® application programming interface
  
• Subscriptions for automatic Web page update
  
• Dynamic hypertext markup language (DHTML)

What is HTML?

HTML (or hypertext markup language) is a programming language used to build Web sites. It contains standard codes (or tags) that determine how a Web page looks when your browser displays it. HTML tags also make possible the hyperlinks that connect information on the World Wide Web.

Browser Keyboard Shortcuts
Download Complete Keyboard Shortcuts in Word

Ctrl + D Bookmark current page

Ctrl + R Reload current page

Ctrl + A Select all

Ctrl + P Print current page

Ctrl + C Cut

Ctrl + F Find a word on Web page

Ctrl + C Copy

Ctrl + O Open Page

Ctrl + V Paste

Ctrl + N Open a new browser window

Ctrl + B Open your Bookmarks folder

Ctrl + H Open your History folder

Esc Stop loading current page

Spacebar Scroll down the page


Alt + ← Go Back a Page Ctrl + Scroll Up/Down Change Font Size


Alt + → Go Forward 1 Page Alt + Scroll Up/Down Go Back/Forward 1 Page

Alt + F4 Closes open windows...handy for closing those annoying pop-up windows


Tab Move from link to link or textbox to textbox on a Web page

Holding the Shift key while clicking on a link will open page in new browser window.

Browser Terminology

The place a website lives in cyberspace is called its address, also known as a URL. It usually looks something like this: http://www.hancockcollege.edu.

address bar
The space on the top of your browser that lets you type in the place a website lives, or its address, and takes you there. When you browse to a website you can look in the address bar to see its address.

back
When you're cruising through cyberspace and you want to return to the page you just visited, the back button can help. It's usually located near your address bar and takes you to the page you were viewing before the current one.

blocking software
Programs you load into your computer that keep content you don't want to see from appearing on your screen. For example, you can set up blocking software to automatically screen out anything about dogs, your least favorite band, or of course, violent material.

bookmark
Sometimes it seems like there are so many great sites out there, there's no way to keep track of them all! Your browser has a way to save all your favorite sites and keep them ready for to use with a single click. When you "bookmark" a site it gets added to a list your browser saves for you. (Bookmarks are the same as Favorites- it just depends what browser you are using).

browser
A software program that lets you see and hear what's on the web. Examples include Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

BRB
Net lingo for "Be Right Back", usually used when chatting.

CD-rom
A computer disk that can save and store things from your computer. It's also the format that most new software, including games, comes on these days.

chat
A program that lets you "talk" to your friends in real time over the Internet, even if they live in London while you're hanging out in New York. Most often you type back and forth, although some programs let you literally use your voice.

chatroom
A place in cyberspace where you and your friends hang out to talk and share ideas.

connection speed
Tells you how fast your modem is able to talk to other computers and get information from them. The higher the number, the faster it talks.

cookie
An Internet site's way of keeping track of you. It's a small program built into pages you may visit. It can identify you, track sites you visit, and topics you search. You can set your browser to warn you before you accept cookies or not accept them at all.

cyberspace
The world that exists only on the computer. You can't physically go there-- it only exists on/in your screen.

download
Moving files (like pictures of 'N Sync or videos of wrestlers) from a site like on the Internet like ACH website! to your personal homepage or computer.

email
Electronic mail. You can send and receive messages over the Internet from your friends and family when you have this feature.

emoticons
Sometimes you really want to show someone how you feel when you're writing them an email or chat message… if only they could see your face! Emoticons are different symbols you can type on your computer that can tell your friends that you 're happy, sad, or even crying! Some examples are smileys :) and frowns :( , ;) winks, 8-) sunglasses, and |-o yawns.

ezine
Stands for electronic magazine. Most of the time these are magazines that only exist in cyberspace. Every once in a while a well-known print magazine will also post their information on the Web.

FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions. These act like mini help pages on all sorts of topics.

favorites
Similar to bookmarks, this is a list of places you visit the most. You can set these up to appear on your browser when you click on a Favorites button.

filtering software
A type of software or program that sorts information from the Internet as it comes onto your computer. It usually sorts it by its content.

flame
Getting really angry with a person in writing online, either in a chat box or email. People who do this aren't practicing good netiquette.

forward
Means to move ahead to the next page on a website. Also, if you go back using your browser, you can return to where you were before by hitting the Forward button.

frames
Some sites you visit will want to show you more than one page at once. They solve this problem by putting their pages in frames, or different sections of the screen. When you use frames, you can keep one part of the screen open all the time while you look at other things in the other part. An example would be a page about animals that lists mammals in one frame. When you click on "deer" information shows up in the other section of the page while the list of mammals remains the same.

FTP
Stands for File Transfer Protocol. This program will let you transfer files from your computer onto another computer server. For example, you could use FTP to copy that picture of your cat off your computer's hard drive onto your homepage's server.

GIF
Stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It's used for pictures that are posted up on the web. You can tell when pictures use this because their addresses or file names will end in .gif.

hardware
The actual parts that make up a computer system, like the monitor, keyboard, printer, and mouse. These are the parts you can actually touch and see.

hit
Every time a website is visited, it gets a 'hit'. All the hits, or times a page is visited, make up a site's traffic for a given time period. Hits include downloaded graphics.

homepage
Either the site that appears when you open your browser or a page acting as the entrance to a site.

html
HyperText Markup Language. It's the type of language used to write webpages. HTML can be used to make items bold, underlined, and more using special tags.

http
Stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. In simple terms, it tells computers how they should be talking to each other. You'll notice that address of web pages begin with http:// most of the time.

hyperlink
This will take you from one Internet site to the next with a simple click of your mouse. You can usually tell where a link is because the writing will look different. For instance, some links appear in bold, some are underlined, and some are even attached to pictures.

Internet
Computers all over the globe that are hooked up to one another. They can talk to one another and exchange information. To do this, they use protocols, or languages, such as FTP and HTTP.

java
In the offline world this means coffee; in cyberspace, this is really a programming language used to create cool things on webpages such as animation and sounds.

jpeg
Stands for Joint Photographics Experts Group, it's often used to put photos up on the web. You can tell what files are using it by the fact they use an address that ends in .jpg (butterfly.jpg).

link
This will take you from one Internet site to the next with a simple click of your mouse. You can usually tell where a link is because the writing will look different. For instance, some links appear in bold, some are underlined, and some are even attached to pictures. Also called a hyperlink.

LOL
Net lingo for "laughing out loud", used in chatrooms or email.

mailing list
You can sign up to get email from a certain person or group by joining their mailing list.

modem
Hardware that allows computers to talk to each other through normal telephone lines. It's usually how your computer connects to the Internet.

monitoring software
Programs you load onto your computer that tell you where you've been on the Internet, for how long, and when.

mouse
A device that lets you move about your screen as you like so you can click on links and highlight items.

multimedia
Means you are using more than one type of media. Examples include text, audio, video, graphics, and images.

net events
Anything happening live on the Internet. Net events can include live chats and video and audio broadcasts. An example of a net event is a live interview with Michael Jordan that you can tune into on your computer.

net lingo
The way people talk on the Internet is called net lingo, otherwise known as Internet slang.

netiquette
Treating others how you want to be treated online. Netiquette is the proper way to behave when you're in cyberspace.

newsgroups
Ongoing discussions that are spread by email among people on the Internet who share a common interest.

offline
Means you are no longer connected to the Internet, whether through your modem, a wireless service, or any other means.

online
Simply means that you are connected to the Internet.

password
A secret word or phrase that you use to check your email, log into clubs, or check out sites for members only. You shouldn't share your password with anyone.

plug-in
Special programs you can download off the Internet to do things like watch the latest videos or listen to music. Some examples are RealAudio, QuickTime, and Shockwave.

QuickTime
A program that lets you view video clips on the Internet.

RealPlayer
A Plug-in, or program you need to listen to certain types of audio and video clips.

refresh/reload
Depending on what browser you're using, when you hit the refresh or reload button, your computer will bring up the same page you're looking at with updated information on it.

search engine
Uses a robot or computer to search for words or topics on a certain website, or all over the web.

server
A computer that stores and delivers information to other computers.

service provider
A company that gives you access to the Internet through your phone lines. This is also known as an ISP, or Internet Service Provider.

software
A computer program that is made up of certain instructions or codes that tell your hardware, or computer, what to do. Software can be used to play games, write school papers, or even sort your email.

spam
Junk email that arrives in your mailbox that you didn't ask to get.

surf
Exploring the web by clicking and moving around freely in cyberspace.

traffic
The number of people using a site for a given time. Traffic can be tracked by the day, hour, month, or even the year.

URL
Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It's the address of a site that appears on the World Wide Web. The URL is the name that appears in the address bar that tells your browser where you want to go.

username
A name you choose for yourself that lets you get into certain places on the Web. It is usually what people know you as in chatrooms, or the part of your email address before the @.

virus
Some people write software which can be transferred from one computer to the other and do things which can be harmless, annoying, or very damaging to your computer. Be very careful when getting email or attachments from people you don't know.

web
Shorthand for the World Wide Web (WWW).

ZIP
A way to store a file or program that is too big for its own good, or for email, for that matter. You can make a file smaller by zipping it, sending it to your friends, and letting them unzip it on their computer to bring it back to full size. You can identify a zipped file because its address will end in .zip. You can download winZIP here.