CHAPTER SEVEN

INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB

Brief history of the Internet

The Internet was created by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1969 as ARPAnet.
ARPAnet was one of the first WANs and a forerunner of the Internet. ARPA was the U.S.
military department’s Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). The U.S. military came up
with this idea to serve two main reasons. That is;
i. To share research among military, industry and university sources.
ii. To provide more secure diversified system for sustaining communication among military
units in the event of nuclear attack.
The system was designed to allow many routes among many computers so that a message could
arrive at its destination by many possible ways, not just a single path.
By 1979 the network had been extended to connect over 200 computers in the military and
research establishments throughout the U.S. and overseas. Some U.S. universities followed by
setting up systems of their own and by mid-1980’s they merged with ARPA to form the Internet.

Internet can be defined as a network connecting computers and local area networks (LANs)
sharing resources, data and information while using standard Internet protocols.
Internet is a communication network which bridges all the small computer networks worldwide as
a whole. Internet is based upon Internet technologies, in particular World Wide Web (WWW), to
build Information Systems that accomplish standardization and automation.

The Internet uses a network protocol called IP (Internet Protocol) to handle the interconnection of
WANs to LANs. It also uses a transport protocol called TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) to
govern transmission of data. The two are often referred to as TCP/IP. The Internet as well
provides protocols for file transfer (FTP), remote login (TELNET) and e-mail (SMTP).

In order to establish complete connection to Internet, a computer user needs to setup specific
computer software and hardware:
Internet hardware
1. A computer or any other handheld device used to access Internet services.
2. Network Interface Card (NIC) enables the computer to connect to a computer network.
3. MODEM (MOdulator/DEModulator) converts data in the computer from digital form into
analogue and converts incoming data from analogue to digital format.
4. Telephone line. An ordinary telephone line is the cheapest but not the fastest link. An ISDN
line has a greater bandwidth and will send data much faster.
Internet software:
1. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), allows client computer programs
to communicate properly over the Internet.
2. Dialer Software is provided by the Internet service provider (ISP) to instruct the modem to
dial the phone number, and identify the user’s computer to the system of the ISP for access to
the network.
3. Browser; this program allows the user to view the information available on the World Wide
Web.
4. Operating System, to manage and configure the system resources required to establish
Internet connection.

Core features of the Internet

There are some characteristics of the Internet that have given it the potential to deliver a special
set of business benefits over and above existing IT technologies.
1. The software that is used to access the Internet is moderately easy to learn and simple to use.
2. Internet access is not conditioned by geographic boundaries and the cost involved in global
connection is not related to the distance involved.
3. Internet services have demonstrated a high degree of interaction with other media such as
publishers, software developers and entertainment companies.
4. The cost involved in conducting a process using Internet technology is less than those
involving other methods.
5. It allows the IT resources to be shared by multiple users in organizations and also with others
related to the organization such as trading partners.
6. The web browsers greatly support text, voice and multimedia formats and can provide
immediate access to shared information.
7. Standards for secure electronic transactions have been developed and reasonable security is in
place.
8. The transmission speed is very fast and it takes little time for downloading files.

Positive aspects of Internet/Uses of Internet

1. Email communication services that deliver messages together with data file attachments
instantly.
2. Sharing network resources: computer servers and other documents are available to all
users of the specific network world wide regardless of location.
3. Internet library of electronic books on various topics available for free or at a low cost.
4. Joint research across long distances
5. Cheap source of Downloading programs and other important files.
6. Electronic discussions through social networking services such as teleconferencing,
7. chat rooms and teleworking.
8. Online employment system for job seekers to search, apply and be recruited online.
9. Personal/business connectivity through E-mail, chatting, videoconferencing, and social
networking websites.
10. Source of Information and News updates through online news groups, news rooms and
news websites.
11. Secure online data storage services through secure web mail servers and cloud computing.
12. Internet based education and research e.g. online education, publications.
13. Tool for entertainment and leisure through online games, music and video clips, and
visiting of electronic zoos.
14. Promotion of business through Internet based trade and commerce (E-business and E-
commerce); through the sale of goods and services.
15. Promotion of medicine and health services through online medication and health care.
16. Promotion of banking and financial services through online banking.
17. Wide business investment opportunities and job opportunities through; ISP s, Internet
service kiosks (café), and online jobs.

Disadvantage/negative aspects of Internet:

1. Personal insecurity of data across networks
2. Moral and cultural degradation
3. Spread of terrorism and drug trafficking
4. Over reliance on computer networks which can easily fail
5. Requires expensive skilled personnel to maintain the computer network.
6. Very high initial cost of setting up a network and maintenance cost of computer systems
that are connected to the internet.
7. Display of illicit/dangerous (pornographic) materials on grounds of health and materials.
8. Promotion of crime through Hacking, Piracy, and Money laundering.
9. Internet is a source of viruses through e-mail attachments, free games which turns out to
be costly in the event of data loss and break down of computer systems.
10. Addiction especially among the youth where people waste a lot of time thus leading to
laziness in performing other productive tasks.
11. Loss of man-hours as employees waste company time on unproductive surfing such as
social networking.

Ways the Internet can be used to improve education

 i. The Internet most useful for completing academic projects at school since it has alot of
information, covering nearly all subjects.
ii. Online Encyclopedia are readily available to students who may have difficulty in gaining
access to the books in the library.
iii. Latest news in education are constantly updated on the Internet on different news sites.
iv. The Internet provides up-to-date information on a variety of classroom-related topics
unavailable from other sources for research.
v. Email is used as a great communication tool between teachers and students.
vi. Presence of collaborative Webpages where the students and teachers can publish a variety of
valuable aids to education.
vii. Social Networking helps students to keep in touch with friends from other institutions, and
interact about different issues online.
viii. The Internet offers opportunity to attend online classes where someone can acquire a degree
without going to a classroom.
ix. Virtual Field trips are provided by many websites like efieldtrips.org that help students to
learn field work without going for school field trips.
x. Web blogs are Webpages where students can express their ideas about a given topic which
others can react to as a form of debating and sharing ideas.
xi. Schools use the Internet to create websites that allow parents to find out more about school
events and communicate with the administration and teachers.

Ways the Internet is used to commit illegal activities.

 Creating and distributing computer viruses  Downloading and making copies of
across computer networks. proprietary software.
 Physical damage of a computer through  Sending chain and junk mails in order to
hacking and cracking over the Internet. spam other users.
 Using the Internet to bear false witness.  Carrying out online fraud activities.
 Working as an online predator with an  Using obscene or offensive content while
aim of intercepting credit card Information online.
and account numbers.  Using the Internet to pose threats to other
 Cracking software using the Internet users.
without permission from the software  Using the Internet to conduct drug
vendor. . trafficking
 Using the Internet to trespass into  Performing cyber warfare
corporate extranets and intranets.  Encourage and participating in cyber
 Using the Internet to change system terrorism
configuration settings.

Internet service provider (ISP)

An ISP is the organization which offers users with the connection (access) to the Internet. There
are a number of telecommunication companies and individuals that are Internet service providers.
The ISP provides the client with an Internet account or address through which they can control of
the satellite facility.

Factors to consider when choosing an Internet service provider (ISP)

The choice of an ISP depends mainly on the kind of work you are going to do with the Internet.
i. ISP should provide both Wireless access services (WiFi) and cable services in most
locations.
ii. Speed and Performance that depends on the type and amount of data needed to download and
the number of computers sharing the Internet connection within the organization.
iii. The ISP should have security systems set up to ensure that connectivity is safe enough to
eliminate fears of hackers compromising the connection.
iv. Affordable Packages for personal use and expensive ones for fast and huge downloads for
business use should be available.
v. Ability of an ISP to offer the best technical support services and Customer care when called
upon.
 vi. Restrictions of use such as personal use, business use and the amount of information to
download in a given time period.
vii. Most ISPs require to sign up a data bundle for a specific time usually daily, weekly, monthly
or yearly.
viii. The speed of their modems and their software matches the speed of your computer and other
network hardware.
ix. Reliability of the services depending on how long the service provider has been in business
and how dependable the ISP is
x. Check whether the ISP has email and web services. Most ISPs will set up an email address
when you activate your account.

Applications and services provided by the Internet

The Internet has grown from a small project to today’s biggest network of computers. Due to this
massive growth, the Internet has become the biggest domain of information. Nowadays, an
Internet user has access to a wide variety of services such as electronic mail, file transfer, vast
information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays,
real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, and much more. Some of the important services
provided by the Internet are briefed below.
1. World Wide Web: (WWW)
The World Wide Web (web or WWW) is a subset of the Internet and it presents text, images,
animation, video, sound and other multimedia in a single interface. .
2. Electronic Mail (e-mail)
Electronic mail is a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to communicate with other Internet users
around the world. E-mail overcomes most of the problems and delays of getting a physical
document from one person to another.
3. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
FTP is a system of rules and a software program that enables a user to remotely log on to another
computer and transfer information between computers. Using FTP, a user can upload and
download files from the remote computer (known as FTP servers).
4. Telnet
The word “telnet” is derived from telecommunications and network and is a protocol that allows
a user to log on to a remote computer. Telnet is also known as remote login, which means
connecting one machine to another in such a way that a person may interact with another machine
as if it is being used locally.
5. Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
IRC is a service on the Internet that allows people to communicate in real time via the computer
with one or more people. It provides the user with the facility to engage in simultaneous online
“conversations” with other users from anywhere in the world.
6. Chatting and Instant Messaging
Chart programs allow users on the Internet to communicate with each other by typing in real time.
Users can log into chat rooms to exchange comments and information about the topics addressed
on the site.
7. Streaming media refers to sending Internet "feeds" of live audio streams of radio
broadcasters and video streams of television broadcasters through computer networks.
8. Internet Telephony
Internet telephony is the use of the Internet rather than the traditional telephone company
infrastructure, to exchange spoken and other telephonic information.
Internet telephony applications include Cool Talk, whatsApp, Facebook messenger and
NetMeeting.
9. Video Conferencing
Video conferencing provides sound and video to deliver direct face-to-face communication across
networks. A video conferencing system has two or more parties in different locations, which have
the ability to communicate using a combination of video, audio, and data. A video conference can
be person to person (referred to as “point-to-point”) or can involve more than two people (referred
to as “multipoint”) and the video conferencing terminals are often referred to as “endpoints”.
 The following five elements are common to all video conferencing endpoints:
i. Camera: The camera captures live images to send across the network.
ii. Visual Display: It displays the images of the people taking part in the videoconference.
iii. Audio System: It includes both microphones to capture audio from the endpoint and
loudspeakers to play back the audio received from other endpoints across the network
connection.
iv. Compression: Videos are very bandwidth-intensive and they take a long time to load.
Therefore, video systems include technologies, often referred to as codecs, to compress and
decompress video and audio data, allowing transmission across a network connection in
near-real time.
v. User Interface and Control System: The user interface allows the users to control
interactions for example, placing calls, storing and locating numbers, and adjust
environment settings such as volume. The control system handles the underlying
communication that takes place between endpoints.
1. Newsgroups (Usenet)
Newsgroups are international discussion groups that focus on a particular topic and help in
gathering information about that topic. These articles on specific topics are posted to the
newsgroup so that others can read, reply, and comment.
2. Mailing Lists (List server)
Mailing lists enable people with similar interests to communicate and share information with each
other organized around topic-oriented forums that are distributed via e-mail.
3. Webcams are lower-budget extension for transmission of photographs through the Internet.
4. VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol): the protocol that underlies all Internet communication
and enables transmission of the voice traffic over IP networks.

Factors that affect the speed of an Internet connection

i. Computer Processor speed; dual processor computers or better are most likely to get faster
connectivity to the Internet.
ii. Distance the data travels coupled with how many servers it has to go through and the
different speeds of each server.
iii. The shorter the cables or the closer the receivers are to the routers, the faster the connection
speed.
iv. Heavy traffic on the network. The greater the number of computers on the network, the
more the Internet speed reduces.
v. Malware, Spyware and Viruses hinder the operation of programs on the computer,
regardless of processor speed, this in turn slows down the speed of connectivity.
vi. Substandard Modems with low rating and incompatibility with the ISP’s hardware slows
down the speed at which data is transmitted.
vii. Instability in connection speed is also caused by natural conditions such as stormy weather
and thunder, which interfere with the transmission of signals.
viii. Routers in wireless networks should be strategically positioned.
ix. Hardware problems such as a poor network card, video card or signal receiver can reduce
the speed of the data being processed by the system, slowing down the speed at which the
computer can take the information coming in.
x. Software problems such as out of date web browsers and device drivers affect efficient
display of web pages.
xi. Random Access Memory available to run each program, receive data and to write data to the
disk.
xii. Improper computer Internet settings affect the speed of Internet connection. Setting the
firewall, safe search and other options properly will improve the speed as well.
xiii. Slow speed of an Internet connection can be due to technical causes such as maintenance
works being done by an ISP.
xiv. When surfing, the browser collects information, such as passwords and stores it on a local
hard drive in a file known as a cookie. Accumulation of cookies can compromise the speed
of Internet connection.
Extranet and Electronic mail (e-mail)
An Extranet is a private computer network that uses the Internet protocol and the public
telecommunication system to securely share part of business information or operations with -
suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses.
Through e-mail, documents are prepared and sent electronically. The recipients need not to be
present at the other end to send the message. The message gets stored in the electronic mailbox of
the addressee. The recipient can open the mailbox whenever he is free and can read or print the
message.

Extranet
An Extranet can be viewed as a-part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the
company. Extranet extends the intranet from one location to another across the Internet by
securing data flow, to another intranet to a business partner. In these way intranets of business
partners, suppliers, creditors, distributors, customers, and the like are connected to extranets by
agreements. An Extranet requires security and privacy. These require firewall server management,
and use of digital certificate or similar means of user authentication, encryption of messages, and
the use of virtual private networks that tunnel through the public network.

Characteristics of Extranet
The following are the important characteristics of the Extranet.
i. It is an extended Internet-private business network located outside the corporate firewall.
ii. It can be referred to as an intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders.
iii. It is a network that uses the Internet to link businesses with others that share the common
goals.

Uses of Extranet
Companies can use an Extranet to:
i. Exchange large volumes of data using Electronic Data Interchange.
ii. Share product catalogs exclusively with wholesalers or those in the Trade.
iii. Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts.
iv. Jointly develop and use training programs with other companies.
v. Provide or access services provided by one company to a group of other companies, such
as an online banking application managed by one company on behalf of affiliated banks.
vi. Share news of common interest exclusively with partner companies.
vii. The manufacturing companies can coordinate the design of manufacturing, scheduling and
delivery across supply chain.
viii. With extranet the technology firms can support their customers and partners and makes it
possible for remote access for employees.
ix. The financial service firms use the extranet to reduce costs of proprietary networks.
x. With extranet the publishing companies can increase the speed of design and production
cycles.
xi. Other benefits:
 Quicker turnaround time, Improved communication, Decreased paper flow, Traceable,
correspondence, Better service, Lower overhead and expenses, Improved employee
morale, Increased Margins, Flexibility and scalability, Reduced transitional barriers,
Versatility.
A brief list of examples of extranet could include:
i. Extranet that allows suppliers access to relevant inventory levels
ii. Extranet that allows clients to review their account records
iii. Extranet that allows students to update address information in real time.
As with intranet, access is granted only where you establish that is required. User access is
controlled by the latest security technologies to protect sensitive information from intrusion.
Electronic mail
E-mail (electronic mail) is a means of sending private electronic messages through computer
networks such as the Internet.
The following information can be sent or received personal and business-related messages with
attachments, such as pictures or formatted documents, audio files, video and computer programs.
To send e-mail, a connection to the Internet and access to a mail server that forwards the mail is
required.
The standard protocol used for sending Internet e-mail is called Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP). It works in conjunction with Post Office Protocol (POP) servers.
When an e-mail message is sent, the computer routes it to an SMTP server. The server looks at
the e-mail address, and then forwards it to the recipient’s mail server. Once the message arrives at
the destination mail server, it’s stored until the receiver retrieves it.

E-mail addressing pattern

A typical E-mail address would look like this: ajo2stevo@gmail.com
1. ajo2stevo is the user name which refers to the sender’s/receiver’s mailbox.
2. An axon sign @ read as “at” which separates the username from the rest of the address
3. Gmail is the host name also called the domain name. The domain name refers to the mail
server, the computer where the sender/receiver has an electronic mailbox. It’s usually the
name of a company or organization.
4. A dot (“.”) separates different parts of the e-mail address
5. .com indicates the top-level domain. This part of the domain name indicates the type of
organization or the country where the host server is located.

Basic e-mail features

In box Lists the messages received.
Out box Lists the messages you have composed but not sent.
Sent Lists copies of all sent copies for reference purposes
Send Sends the message that has been composed.
Compose Activates the screen onto which a message to be sent is typeset.
Attachment Helps you to attach other files and folders to accompany the directly composed
message.
To Its where you insert the E-mail address of the receiver.
Subject Subject of the message
Cc (carbon copy) Enables copies of the E-mail to be sent to a third party while
acknowledging other recipients.
Bcc (blind carbon copy) Enables copies of the E-mail to be sent to a third party
without acknowledging any other recipients.

E-mail route
With the advent of MIME, which stands for multipurpose Internet Mail Extension, and other
types of encoding schemes, not only messages can be sent electronically, but formatted
documents, photos, sound files, and video files can as well be sent.

Infrastructure requirement for e-mail

i. Personal Computer
ii. Telephone Connection
iii. Modem
iv. Mailing software namely; Outlook Express or Netscape communicator or Internet
Explorer etc.

Advantages of E-mail as a means of communication

1. Messages can be prepared and sent at any time convenient for the sender.
2. Messages can be received, read and replied at the convenience of the recipient.
3. The transmission takes place instantly and the message gets stored in the mailbox of the
recipient.
 4. The system can confirm delivery of the message.
5. Copies of the message can be sent to multiple recipients.
6. It reduces paper work.
7. Other files such as reports, notes music, graphics and video can be sent as email
attachment.
8. The cost for email communication does not depend on the size of the message and
distance.
9. E-mail applications have user friendly tools that help during composing of messages.
10. Since the mails have subject lines, it is easy to prioritize them and ignore unwanted mails.
11. E-mails can also carry hyperlinks that link to other Webpages.
12. Internet users can subscribe to newsletters and other online services through email.
13. E-mail applications have management features that help users to organize messages in
folders like inbox, sent, draft and others.
14. E-mail software has address book features that may be sorted in alphabetical order.
15. Email software has a good degree of security features such as username and password
before sign in/login.
16. E-mail applications have inbuilt English dictionary for correcting spelling and
grammatical errors.
17. E-mail is a relatively cheap means of communication since there is no printing or postage
expenses involved.
18. Messages remain permanent for future and frequent access from anywhere.
19. Use of graphics such as colorful greeting cards and interesting pictures can be sent through
e-mails.
20. Many individuals and companies can use e-mails to advertise their products and services.

Disadvantages of E-mail as means of communication

1. Both the sender and receiver should have e-mail connectivity through the Internet.
2. Poor telecommunication affects the quality of messages transmitted.
3. Since messages are passed from one system to another, through several networks, there is
opportunity for someone to intercept or read email.
4. It's difficult to express emotion using email since the recipient doesn't have the benefit of
seeing facial expressions or hearing the voice thus the message can easily be
misunderstood.
5. You may not know about the person with whom you are communicating. The
communication is often in text and it's possible to get an incorrect impression of the
person sending email.
6. E-mail attachments can carry viruses that have the potential to harm computer systems.
7. Spam and Junk mails which are unsolicited messages and unwanted advertisements which
consume much time to delete and filter by means of spam filters.
8. E-mail spoofing which involves deceiving the recipient by altering the e-mail headers or
the addresses from which the mail is sent.
9. Hacking and email interception the act of unauthorized attempt to bypass the security
mechanisms of an information system.
10. E-mail user has to be careful while posting any kind of content, if typed in a hurry, the
matter could be misinterpreted.
11. Over a period of time, the e-mail inbox may get crowded with mails; it becomes difficult
for the user to manage such a huge chunk of mails.
12. In order to be updated, one has to check his e-mail account regularly, which may be
expensive in the long run.
13. E-mail cannot be used without computers especially in remote areas without electricity
14. In case a user forgets his/her password, signing in is not possible and this can lead to loss
of information.
15. E-mail may violate privacy in case someone else gets to know a user password since the
other may check your mails.

Disadvantages of attaching documents to an e-mail

 i. A file containing a computer virus can be attached.
ii. Sometimes, it takes time to upload and download.
iii. It has a limited amount of data to be sent.
iv. Attachments are not good for certain types of data for example very large videos.
v. Attaching and downloading files takes very many steps.
vi. Recipients need relevant software to download and open various file types e.g. pdf,
Winrar, Winzip.

World Wide Web: (WWW)

Although the World Wide Web is often referred to as the Internet, they are actually two different
concepts. The Internet is the decentralized global network of computers that transfer information
and the wiring that makes all this possible whereas the web is a collection of documents or
websites that a user can access while using the Internet and a web browser.
The web is a part of the Internet and it refers to a system of Internet servers that supports
hypertext using a specific Internet protocol called hypertext control protocol (HTTP) on a single
interface (web browsers). In addition, almost every protocol available on the Internet is accessible
on the web. This includes e-mail, FTP, Telnet, and Usenet News. Since the WWW is a subset of
the Internet, it stands to reason that the web could not exist without the Internet. However, the
Internet would still be the Internet without the web.
The operation of the web relies primarily on hypertext, as it’s a means of information retrieval.
Hypertext is a document containing words that connect to other documents. With the ability of the
web to work with multimedia and advanced programming languages, the World Wide Web is the
fastest growing and the most interesting part of the Internet.
Many exciting Web pages use multimedia. Multimedia refers to any application that integrates
text with one of the following elements: graphics, sound, video, virtual reality, or other media
elements.
A graphic is a digital representation of information such as a drawing, chart, or photograph. Two
common file formats for graphical images on the Web are JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts
Group) and GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), which use compression techniques to reduce
the size of graphics files and thus speed during download.
Animation is the appearance of motion created by displaying a series of still images in rapid
sequence.
Audio is music, speech, or any other sound. A common format for audio files on the Web is
MP3, a popular technology that compresses audio. More advanced Web audio applications use
streaming audio, which transfers audio data in a continuous an even flow, allowing users to
listen to the sound as it downloads.
Video consists of full-motion images that are played back at various speeds. Video files often are
quite large in size. The Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) defines a popular video
compression standard. Streaming video allows you to view longer or live video images as they
are downloaded.
Virtual reality (VR) is the use of computers to simulate a real or imagined environment that
appears as a three-dimensional (3-D) space. A VR world is an entire 3-D site that contains
infinite space and depth.

Web terminologies
Web Browser
A computer program for viewing web pages. This software application enables a user to display
and interact with text, images, videos, music, games and other information typically located on a
Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network.
Also defined as a sophisticated software program which allows the user to search for information
available electronically on the World Wide Web.
Examples of browsers include: Opera, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer,
Safari
Netscape, K-Meleon , SeaMonkey, Galeon, Konqueror, Camino, iCab, Mozilla Suite and Sunrise.
Surfing is the process of looking for information from the Internet.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
This is the “address” for marking the location of a web site or other Internet service. A URL is
also known as a Web address.
The address for the Oregon Institute of Technology Library is:
http://www.oit.edu/academic/library/Sp13Curric.pdf

Understanding the Parts of an Internet Address

1. http: (Hypertext Transfer (or Transport) Protocol). This first part of the URL indicates what
protocol the URL will be using in order to deliver the information from the server to the
user.
The protocol is the way in which two systems communicate.
In some URLs, you might see "HTTPS", which stands for "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol", a
secure technology developed to keep sensitive transactions and information safe online.
2. The www stands for World Wide Web. This is the name of the “host” computer where the
web page is stored and is a common name given to computers connected to the web.
3. The domain name is oit.edu. The academic further directs the address to the Library.
4. The part of the domain that is considered the top-level domain designator is the .edu.
The server program is running on a computer with the domain name oit.edu
Domain name is the unique name of a host computer on the Internet
5. The directory; Look in a subdirectory called academic/library
6. The file name; This is the file to be displayed on the browser of the client, in this case it is
Sp13Curric.pdf
A top level domain is simple suffix attached to the end of the domain name that indicates its
place in the domain name hierarchy.
The most common types of top-level domains are:

.edu Educational Institution

.com Commercial Entity
.org Organization
.net Network Provider
.gov Government

Some of the other top-level domain names are .mil, .museum, .info, and .biz. There are also
sometimes country codes in the URL, such as ug for Uganda, us for United States, ca for
Canada, jp for Japan.
Search Engine
A computer program that retrieves documents or files from a database or from a computer
network.
Or simply a computer program that searches websites and then indexes them using the
information it has found.
Examples of Search Engines include: Google, Yahoo!, Bing, MSN Search, Lycos, Excite,
Infoseek, AltaVista, Ask.com and Wikia Search
Website
A collection of related web pages
A document designed language for viewing in a web browser.
Is a collection of Web files on a particular subject that includes a beginning file called a home
page.
Examples of Websites include: www.mwalimu.ug, www.facebook.com, www.amazon.com.

Webpage
A document written in HTML code that contains text and links to other pages, files or parts of
the document.
A hypermedia document as viewed through a World Wide Web browser.
A single page in a website, together with any referenced images or scripts; often hyperlinked to
others.
Home Page
The first page displayed when a specific website is opened.
This is the first document you come to at a Web site.
The first page of a website, usually serving as an introduction and table of contents.
Hyperlink
Is an electronic connection between one web page to other web pages on the same web site, or
web pages located on another Website.
Is a connection between one Webpage of a hypertext document to another Webpage.
An icon, graphic, or word in a file that, when clicked with the mouse, automatically opens
another file for viewing.
Is a logical connection between two documents, used to easily retrieve one of them when reading
the other.
Web Authoring Software
An application program for developing web pages. Or simply a Program used in web publishing.
Examples of web authorizing software programs include Microsoft front page, Macromedia
Dream weaver, Note pad and Netscape composer.
Webmaster
A technician who designs or maintains a website.
A person who either creates and manages the information content on a Web site of an
organization or manages the computer server.
A person in charge of administrating a World- Wide Web site.
Web Server
A computer that stores websites and their related files for viewing on the Internet.
A computer that delivers (serves up) Web pages.
A computer connected to the Internet for the purpose of serving web sites or web pages to
visitors on the World Wide Web.
Web Mail Provider
Is a company which primarily offers their customers access to the Internet mail.
A hosting company that provides end user access to such internet services as e-mail, the World
Wide Web, FTP, newsgroups, and so forth.
Various types of websites
Originally, websites were purely informational. Before the web was opened to the public,
educational and research institutions and government agencies were able to make information
available to each other via text-only websites. Now that we have the World Wide Web, there are
more types of websites than you can shake a stick at. Here we will discuss the basic types, noting
that we will not include all and that there are hybrids of all those we will discuss.
1. Personal Websites
Individuals create their own websites that might include some family photos and an online
diary. This type of site is useful for a family, teenagers, grandparents, and relatives to keep in
touch.
2. Photo Sharing Websites offer free photo sharing on their online advertising.
3. Community Building Websites
These websites build online communities of people who want to interact with other people
socially or meet people who share their interests. The best known website of this type is
probably MySpace.com, FaceBook.com and twitter.
4. Forum websites these websites help for the small business persons to share and discuss
mutual interests on software development, agriculture, and business.
5. Informational Websites
It allows users to contribute and edit articles which will be available as helpful free
information to people. Some of these sites are integrated with e-commerce and also sell
products and services online.
6. Online Business Brochure/Catalog Websites
These websites show photos and descriptions of their products or services including to online
customers.
7. E-commerce Websites
These are websites that businesses use to sell their products and services over the Internet.
Amazon.com and eBay are popular e-commerce websites
8. A web portal
This is a website that brings information together from diverse sources in a uniform way.
Each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displaying information (a
portlet)
9. News websites
These are websites that provide either free or paid news over the Internet.
Popular news websites include; Yahoo!News, CNN, MSN, BBC, Google News, New York
Times, Huffington post, Fox News, Washington Post, LA Times, Mail Online.
10. Educational Website
This is a website made for education purpose and to research for some facts in education
especially for students.
Good educational websites should foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active
participation and collaboration. They should be user friendly and encourage a community of
learners to explore and discover.
11. Blogging Websites (A blog)
A website on which an individual or a group of users record opinions and information on
regular basis.
The features that make blogs different from other websites are:
 Content is published in a sequential order.
 Content is updated regularly.
 Readers can leave comments
 Other blogs authors can interact via trackbacks and pingbacks
 Content is syndicated via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds.
Electronic commerce (E-commerce)
Business firms may set up Websites for communication, to provide corporate information,
product information, and marketing related services.
Electronic commerce is the process of searching, choosing, buying and selling of products and
services over the electronic network.
Users can purchase any product or service on the Web such as flowers, books, computers, drug
prescriptions, music, movies, cars, and airline tickets.
Online shopping is a popular type of e-commerce that uses either electronic money (e-money) or
electric data interchange (EDI).
E-money is a means of paying for goods and services over the Internet. EDI (electronic data
interchange) is a set of standards that control the transfer of business data and information among
computers both within and among companies.
Electronic Commerce includes:
i. Buying and selling on the Internet
ii. Making payments electronically
iii. Business transaction in which there is no physical exchange or physical contact.
iv. It is transacting a business over electronic network without physical contact.
problems associated with electronic problems can be solved by using:
commerce:
Secure socket layer and hypertext transfer
Identity protocol
Authentication Digital signatures
Protection of data Using public key cryptography
Confidentiality Using digital certificates

Features of e-commerce:
E-Commerce has the following general features:
i. It is a business strategy to cut down costs, while improving quality and increasing the
speed of delivery of goods/services.
ii. It has ability to sell and purchase products/services/information on computer networks.
iii. It is a solution for office automation and quick business transactions.
iv. It is a tool to improve intra business functioning like business re-engineering.
v. It is a tool to improve inter business communication through easy and accurate
interaction and information interchange.

Importance of e-commerce
E-Commerce becomes inevitable because of the following:
1. Low setup cost of a website showing the characteristics of the product and cost details.
2. Global Free Market as presence on the Internet allows all business firms to participate
actively at low costs and compete.
3. Global Access since anybody who can afford ICT tools can fully access the Internet and
gain the information required.
4. Multiple activities like selling, renting, purchasing and auctioning can be done in a single
platform.
 5. E-commerce systems automate and enhance many aspects of communications,
publishing, marketing, sales and customer services.
6. Electronic commerce overcomes the traditional barriers of distance from markets and
lack of information about market opportunities.
7. Enables manufacturing firms to eliminate middlemen while selling their products
overseas.
8. Virtual shops and contact points on the Internet may enable storage close to the
production site and distribution can be made directly to the consumer.
9. Increased advertising possibilities worldwide may help small and medium industries and
businesses to reach the consumers worldwide.

Advantages of using Internet banking Types of electronic commerce

i. It is fast Based on the parties involved in electronic
ii. It is reliable transactions, the e-commerce can be classified
iii. Prevents security risks into the following types.
iv. Withdrawal can be done any time any i. Business –to- Business (B2B)
where ii. Business –to- Consumer (B2C)
v. Money can easily be converted into any iii. Consumer –to- Consumer (C2C)
currency
vi. There are interests given to members

Business –to-Business E-Commerce

This is done between business firms. For example, electronic transactions between a
manufacturing firm and its supplier firms such as online advertising, online recruiting, sales,
market research, and technical support..
Business –to- Consumer E-Commerce
Consumers check electronic catalogues to learn about products and compare prices of products
sold. They purchase products at the firm’s website and may pay electronic cash or other means
like credit card.
Consumer –to- Consumer E-Commerce
Some sites offer consumers to deal directly with each other. Consumers can buy and sell
products from each other through auction sites.

Banking Systems and Payment Systems

Electronic Fund Transfer (ETF)

EFT is a system that allows money transfer instructions to be sent directly to a bank’s computer
system. Upon receiving one of these instructions, the computer system automatically transfers
the specified amount from one account to another. Transfer instructions can come from other
banks or from businesses. A very common use of EFT is when a large business pays its
employees’ salaries. On pay day, the business tells the bank to move money from the business
account to the employees’ bank accounts.
Using Cash Machines (ATMs)
ATMs can be used for a range of banking services.
 Withdrawing cash
 Depositing money
 Checking the balance of accounts
  Transferring money between accounts
 Paying bills
A customer identifies him/herself and their bank account by using a bank card. The card is
inserted into the ATM where it is read by a magnetic strip reader or a smart card reader. The
customer also types a secret PIN into the ATM's numeric keypad to confirm that they are the real
owner of the card. ATMs can be used by customers of other banks as the ATM can use EFT.
Electronic Payments for Goods (EFTPOS)
Banks allow goods to be paid for electronically, using a system called Electronic Fund
Transfer at Point-of-Sale
Internet Banking
It is now very common for bank customers to access their bank account from home using on-line
banking services. Customers use a computer and connect to the bank’s secure (encrypted)
website where they login (usually with a username and a password)

Customers can use the on-line banking system to:

 Check the balance of bank accounts
 Pay bills
 Transfer money between accounts (using EFT)
 Apply for loans, or other services
Compared to traveling to your actual bank, Internet banking has a few advantages.
 More convenient - can be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
 Saves time and money since you don't have to travel anywhere to use it
 Data can be downloaded and analysed (e.g. in a spreadsheet) which can help with
planning budgets
But there are some disadvantages too.
 Requires you to have a computer and Internet access to use it
 Some people prefer to speak to a person (personal service)
 If your account is hacked, or your username / password is stolen (e.g. if your computer
has malware) money could be stolen from your account
Telephone Banking
This is similar to Internet banking, but does not require a computer, only a normal telephone.
Customers can use the telephone banking system to.
 Check the balance of bank accounts
 Pay bills
 Transfer money between accounts (using EFT)
 Speak to a bank representative to get financial advice
The advantages of telephone banking are similar to Internet banking, but there are some extra
things.
 You don't need a computer
 You can speak to an actual person
The disadvantage compared to Internet banking.
 The system can be difficult to use (working through all of those menus)
Processing Cheques (Cheque 'Clearing')
Banks have to deal with thousands of hand-written, paper cheques every day. When a cheque
arrives at a bank, the information on the cheque has to be entered into the bank’s computer
system so that the correct funds can be transferred between the correct accounts.
Payroll Processing
What is a 'Payroll'?
The 'payroll' of a business is the system used to calculate the salary (how much they are paid for
their work) of each employee.
Retail (Selling) Systems
What is a Point-of-Sale?
The Point-of-Sale (POS) in a store is the place that you pay for your purchases. It is usually
where the till (cash register) is located.
A typical POS will have.
A method of inputting the codes of goods purchased - usually a bar-code scanner. The codes are
then used to find more information about the goods, such as price, from a database A system to
accept electronic payments – EFTPOS A system to update the stock-level of goods whenever
they are sold, and possibly to automatically re-order goods that have low stock-levels A method
of producing a receipt for purchases - usually a small dot-matrix printer
Handling Electronic Payments (EFTPOS)
When you use a bank card to pay for a purchase in a store, the payment is made using a system
called Electronic Fund Transfer at Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS).

Test your progress

1. Outline any five characteristics of the 12. The student can access the website from
Internet that have made it to deliver school using an ISDN connection. At home
business benefits to the community. the student uses a modem.
2. Outline any five uses of the Internet i. Identify and explain which of these
Or Outline any five Importance of methods of connection is digital.
depending on internet services ii. Describe the differences between an
Or Outline any five positive aspects of analogue and a digital connection to
Internet services. the Internet.
3. a) Explain the meaning of the term an ISP, 13. A chain of book shops has recently
with an example. introduced a facility for customers to buy
b) Outline five factors that should be books using electronic commerce (e-
considered in choosing ISP. commerce).
4. Outline any five services and applications i. Explain two advantages and one
that are provided by the Internet. disadvantage of e-commerce for the
5. State and explain any five elements that customer.
can be used to set up a video conference ii. Explain two advantages and one
between two or more persons in different
disadvantage of e-commerce for the
geographic locations.
book shop management.
6. State and explain any five factors that
14. What are the uses of the following features
affect the speed of an Internet connection.
of e-mail software:
7. a) Differentiate between extranet and
electronic mail. i. To iii. Cc v. Bcc vii. Send
b) Outline any four uses of extranet ii. Attachment iv. Inbox vi.
c) List any three examples of extranet. Outbox viii. Draft
8. State five ways in which data can be 15. State and explain any five services offered
damaged or destroyed (risks to data) by an ISP
9. Discuss the impact on society of using the 16. Explain the functions of following:
Internet to shop. i. web server iii. file server
10. Explain why it is important for the
ii. FTP iv. HTTP
information on the website to be accurate
17. With reasons, state how the hyperlink is
and up-to-date.
11. a) what is asocial networking site useful when using a computer
b) Give any three examples of social
networking sites