_----------------------------------------------------------
Back

Accessing the Internet

Before you can begin surfing the Internet, you have to access it by signing up to a contract with an Internet Service Provider (ISP), eg. Iinet, Westnet, Bigond, to mention a few. For a monthly fee, they will provide internet access usually including multiple email addresses and some webspace. Prices can vary so be sure to shop around and ensure you are getting value for your money, most important is that you get good online speed and a large quota of download capacity.
The faster the speed, the more you pay. A "broadband" connection is a high-speed connection that is "always on", meaning always connected to the Internet these days it is mostly A Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL). The signal comes in through a phone line and connects to a cable modem provided by the ISP. It is certainly much faster than a "dial-up" connection. ISP’s are now offering Naked DSL which gives you all of the facilities of ADSL but you no longer pay line rental on your phone line, VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) replaces your telephone line and your make all of your phone calls across the Internet as a much cheaper rate. All of this information is available in detail from your selected ISP.


The New Connection Wizard

When you receive your package from your ISP it will come with a DVD that you run on your computer and it will do all of the software setup for you, simply follow the on screen instructions, plug the modem/router in when you are prompted, etc., and before you know it wyou will be online.
If however, this does not occur, or your have an older version of Windows follow the steps below:

1. START button
2. Control Panel,
3. Internet Options.
4. Connections tab.
5. Setup - this will bring up a "New Connection wizard".

1. Next.
2. Select “Connect to the Internet”
3. Next

The next window will ask you, "How do you want to connect to the Internet?"
Your choices are to "Choose from a list of Internet Service Providers (ISP’s)”, or "Set up my connection manually". This requires you to have the all of information relevant to your ISP in order to complete the connection. Select “Use the CD I got from an ISP". That will have come from your ISP with your modem and includes software that will help you through the process of connecting your computer to the internet.



Once you have connected to the internet it would help you to know how to navigate the World Wide Web so that you can get to where you want to go.

Top


Entering a Web Address
To find a house or a place of business we use a street address the Internet works in the same way, each website has its own unique web address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) Examples of URLs are Microsoft's website is http://www.microsoft.com/en/au/ or the Google website http://www.google.com.au. When you know such an address you can type it directly into the address bar or even search for it in the search bar. Once you have typed it in press “Enter” and you will go to that site.

Search Engines are great ways to find places on the Internet, if you don't know the exact URL of a website you can go to a search engines, eg., Google, type the name into the search bar and press “Google Search”



Before you know it you have a page of active links to click on that will take you to sites relevant to what you typed in, scan the list and click on the one most appropriate to your request and it should take you right to that website.



When you find a website that you like, or that you want to return to, you can “Bookmark” it or “Add to Favorites” so that you have quick access to it in future.



Now you should be able to enjoy a pleasant journey as you discover the wonders of the Internet from this simple guide.
Top

Back
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Ph: 0419 959 948 or email us
_____________________________________________________________________________________________