Browsing the Web

Who hasn’t heard of the World Wide Web?  It’s difficult to image that someone hasn’t.  Many of us access the Web through the use of the Internet daily.  Many could not go a day without doing so.  Web sites containing Web pages to please everyone are available.  They are purposely created so that they are appealing to the viewer.  This is a marketing tactic that existed even before we were surfing the Web.  Labels on products are created so that they are appealing.  Magazines use the same tactics.  Web portals that lead us to various Web content are endless.  So that we can access this information, a server must be “asked” for the information we are requesting.  When we type a URL address and hit “enter”, this is a request to the server.  This is a form of client/server computing.  A Web browser is the instrument we use to view Web pages.  Internet Explorer or Firefox are examples of Web browsers.

There are a multitude of features on each browser, such as favorites, read mail and research.  A history of your recently viewed Web pages allows us quickly view a page previously viewed.  We are able to save our favorite pages with the favorites feature, which allows us to organize our favorites in one place.  If an interesting read needs to be saved, printed or emailed to someone, we can do so.  The use of the Internet exposes us to those looking to steel our private information.  Hackers are very techno-savvy and know how to access our private information.  Luckily, there are safeguards to prevent this.  Firewalls prevent this unauthorized access.  Virus protection is available to protect computers from damaging viruses.

When shopping online, we can help protect ourselves by informing ourselves about a company’s practices, viewing their privacy policy and making sure they are secure.  We can do this by checking their connection protocol by paying attention to whether they use an https:// connection as opposed to http://.  The first is a more secure connection.  Cookies are a way for companies to track our internet use and we can then be targeted by specific advertising customized to our established habits.  Cookie settings can be modified or blocked completely.  However, some internet activity requires cookies to be enabled so that we can make certain purchases online.  The Internet is a part of day-to-day life.  The information available is endless.  Shopping is made easy via the Internet.  By making sure safeguards are in place and we are informed, we can safely enjoy surfing the Web.  Happy surfing everyone!

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Did you know . . . “In 1834, Charles Babbage (1792-1871) designed the Analytical Engine, the precursor of the computer. He was unable to obtain funding for it from the government, who thought it would be worthless.”  (http://didyouknow.org/firstfax/)

“Analytical Engine, a mechanical digital computer which, viewed with the benefit of a century and a half's hindsight, anticipated virtually every aspect of present-day computers.”  (http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/)