Internet Skills

Web Browser and Internet Basics

  • A web browser displays web pages you select or find in internet searches.
  • There are important controls on web browsers for your convenience when looking at web pages
  • Understanding Search results can help get the most relevant information from the internet.
  • The address details of a web page identify the page, its location in the world and security settings.

More information on how a Web Browser works click here
You may also be interested in how to change the settings in your Web Browser works click here

Use a Browser

If you have some web pages open in a browser you may want to move around these pages or around a website.
Browsers will have some controls to move between pages as listed below:

  • A horizontal arrow < will let you move back to the previous page.
  • The forward arrow > will move you to the next page (if it is greyed out, then you have not selected a further page)
  • The arrow that is circular shaped is called 'refresh'. This gets the information for the page all over again. This can help if the page is not working or if it needs to be updated.
  • A house icon represents the browser 'Home page' which can be a page of your choice, perhaps a search page, news page or whatever.
  • At the far right of the open tabs is a + symbol which will open a new tab for searching for an additional page.
  • When clicking on a link in a web page (this will take you to another page in the website), left-clicking will load the new web page onto the current tab, deleting the web page you have come from.
  • If you wish to keep the current web page open AND move to another web page, hold down the CTRL key when left-clicking and this will open a new tab for the new page.

*Because of the size and shape of mobile devices, websites usually have a different page size, shape and behaviour sent to your device to give the best viewing performance on the screen that you have.

Find It With A Search

A web browser also can search the internet for the things that interest you. The search is done by the chosen 'search engine', an app that can quickly list the websites that might have the information that you want. You can then choose what to look at. While the search engine used by a browser can be selected, it is usually done once, when setting up the browser on a computer. In many cases the default search engine is used by most people as they are not aware that choice is possible.

Probably the most well known and popular search engine is Google, used on 93% of devices. Statistics on search engines can be seen at the bottom of this page.

A search engine lists website pages which it matches with search words you put into the search box.

Search Skills

There are many ways of improving your search outcomes. Click here for more

How are search results presented?

The search results are provided in a list but at the top of the list may be paid advertisements which have some relevance to the search but not necessarily the best choice. (red arrow in image below) If the search engine is linked to your own internet interests you may get results that are biased based on your interests.
This means that different people can get different search results.
You may wish to avoid this 'personalisation' by NOT signing in to Google, Amazon or other providers.

Edge_SrchList.jpg

In the image above it shows the list of search results with the list set to 'All' in the red box.
Selection of Images or other option will restrict the search results to those items that match the heading, for example, only Images.

Websites listed in the search results are located by their internet location or 'URL' which is discussed further below.

Web Site Location or Address

To find a web site we need its' address which tells your browser where on the internet to find the computer with the web site information you want.
The address for a website is normally referred to as a URL or 'Universal Resource Locator''.

The URL for this web page that you are viewing is https://seniortech.wikidot.com/internet-skills.
You can see this in the address bar at the top left of the browser that you are using.

HTTPS_Tech.jpg

(the https:// may be dropped on some browsers when the page is opened)

Note that your computer actually sees a URL as a set of numbers (something like 54.89.175.152), but humans see it as a more informative set of words. The transformation from words to numbers is done by the web browser.

Website URL Details

A URL has certain common features like:

http://www.websitename.com

OR

https://www.websitename.com

Security

The first few letters tell the web browser that it is to use 'http' - 'hyper text transfer protocol' to create or 'render' the page.
(this is about the computer code used by the browser)

The use of https shows that the website is secure so that personal information including financial information is safe.
A website without https is able to safely provide information but it should not be used for any purchasing.

Here is an example with the old Seniortech website showing just http and a symbol that shows that it is not locked.

WikidotURL_http.jpg

Other websites with https show a padlock symbol for security. Not every browser shows the lock symbol in the same place.

Wikidot_https.jpg

Be sure to look for the padlock or other symbol of a secure site before entering any sensitive details or financial information.

WWW

The www means 'World Wide Web'. It is becoming less necessary but was originally used to direct a browser to the correct place in a website for a visitor.

Name and Domain

Every website will have some sort of name as in this example 'websitename'. This is followed by the 'domain suffix', in this example .com.
This suffix helps to show what sort of site is being accessed. A .com is usually commercial, .com.au is commercial in Australia.

There are many suffixes used and you can view a list by clicking here.

Add-Ons or Extensions

These are small extra apps that run in the browser for special purposes.
You can find libraries of these for the browser that you use.

Chrome Web Store click here These will work for Google Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, Epic, Iron et al browsers.
Firefox Add-on s click here These will work for Mozilla Firefox.
Apple Safari has its own Apple system.

Be warned; some extensions can be troublesome or compromise security.
Try to minimise extensions and only use those that you have had positive reviews or trust the supplier.

Other features

These are important features to understand about web browsers.

  • Bookmarks - Every browser has a bookmark button which means the page is remembered so you can get back there again
  • History - this is a list of the websites you have viewed over time. This can be cleared as often as desired
  • Settings - this allows changes to some of the browser functions. Some settings affect privacy others provide powerful functions.
  • 'Clear the cache' - the 'cache' is where a list of all the pages you have visited is kept. It is sometimes necessary to empty this to make the browser work properly if the cache is too full
  • Cookies - as you use the browser a small data file called a cookie is created. This 'first party' cookie is stored on your computer so as next time you come back to the same website it can identify you and determine if you have an account and are logged in or out of that site. The cookie is coded so only the website that made the cookie can use it. This makes the 'first party' cookie reasonably secure. For more information click here. See also the next item. click here
  • Tracking - Your use of websites is also monitored by 'tracking cookies' or 'third party cookies' to better understand your consumer preferences and interaction with advertising. Third party cookies can be a privacy issue as there is little control of these and some websites can have many third parties 'watching'. If you want more details about tracking and privacy click here.
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