A Simple Guide to Using The Internet

The Internet has become an important part of our daily lives, but for new users, it can be a difficult and confusing affair. Fortunately, with the right tips and hints, using the Internet efficiently can be a breeze.

Web Browsers

Your web browser is the primary tool for browsing the larger Internet and searching web pages. The big names in browser software include Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple’s Safari.  On computers and mobile phones, there will often be a default browser, but more can be downloaded. To access any web page you are searching for, you open a window and type a search term or URL into the search bar of the browser.

Social Networks

Social networking involves starting and maintaining communications through websites with friends and family. It is the modern digital socialization form, carried out through web pages. Users choose one or more online communications providers specializing in community communications and then gather their mates to share daily greetings and text messages, and can even be used for gaming, such as online pokies. Although not the same as face-to-face interactions, social networking is highly popular as relaxed, fun, and motivating.

The Different Types of Internet

  • Web 1.0: Once Tim Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Web in 1989, it was full of plain text and simple graphics. Indeed, the web was organized as a simple broadcast / receive format, as a collection of electronic brochures.
  • Web 2.0: Web 2.0: The web began to move beyond static content in the late 1990s and started to offer interactive services. Instead of seeing web pages simply as brochures, the Internet began offering online software that allowed people to perform tasks and receive services. Before the year 2000, online banking, video gaming, dating services, stock monitoring, financial planning, graphics editing, home videos, and webmail all became regular web offers.
  • Deepweb: The invisible web, known as the deep web, is World Wide Web’s third part. Technically a Web 2.0 subset, the invisible web describes billions of web pages deliberately hidden from regular search engines. The web pages are protected or hidden behind firewalls by passwords. These are private, confidential pages that are created by specialized databases such as job posts, personal email, personal banking statements or web pages. Invisible web pages are either completely hidden from casual eyes or need to be located by specialized search engines.
  • Darkweb: In the 2000s, the darknet was spawned by a cloaked part of the World Wide Web, aka the dark web. Darknet is a private collection of websites encrypted to mask the identity of all members and stop authorities from monitoring the activities of users. The dark web is a black market for illegal drug dealers and a haven for people seeking to interact away from oppressive governments and fraudulent companies. Only through complex technology can the dark web be accessed. You’re not going to stumble over the dark web inadvertently. Most users of the internet never go there.