Browsing is the term used to describe how you view Web sites on the Internet. You can browse Internet Web sites in much the same way you would browse through a library of books. Instead of using your feet to go from bookshelf to bookshelf, browsing the Internet is done using a Web Browser such as Internet Explorer to go from Web page to Web page. Browsing is also called surfing.
You control browsing like you control a a Television. The control Buttons are located at the top of the Internet Explorer page.
You can use the Back and Forward buttons to move between pages you have already been to. Just like switching TV channels.
Use the House button to return to your homepage.
The Refresh/Reload(paper with 2 green arrows) Button is used to reload a page which may have stopped loading or loaded incorrectly.
If you know the name of the site you wish to visit simply type the site name in the Address field and press [Enter] on your keyboard. eg. www.swiftel.net[Enter].
What is a Hypertext Link?
A Hypertext Link or Hyperlink is a piece of a Web page which is a link to another page on the Net (though Hyperlinks can also point to different areas on the same page as well). A Hyperlink is usually written in blue colour and underlined.
The link normally becomes a different colour after you have visited it. When you move your mouse pointer over the link it will become a small hand symbol.
Searching the Internet
There are literally Billions of Web pages on the Internet. Its not always a straightforward task to find information easily. Search engines help to bring some order to the chaos of the Internet by providing a means of finding and listing Web pages. A search engine is a program designed to search out and list hyperlinks to Web sites and Web pages
The Internet is full of interesting and useful material. The easiest way to find what you want is to use a Search Engine.
Most good Search Engines have a similar layout. All you need to do is type in a keyword that relates to the topic you are interested in finding and then click on the Search Engines go or search button.
So now you've chosen what to search for and where. To actually put the search request through click the green Go button. You'll then see the search results page appear which lists Web sites that match your search request, Its a good idea to open multiple Web pages at this stage.
Click the File menu and select New Window (or hold the Ctrl key and press the n key)[Ctrl + n] this will give you two identical Web pages open at the same time with your search results. Leave one open on the search results and use the other to search on.
Most good search engines also have different search options to help you to refine your search and find the information you are looking for more easily
What is a Bookmark ?
Using a Bookmark in your Web browser is the same as putting a bookmark in a book. A Bookmark is a reference to a Web site that you visited. Bookmarks are used to remember the location of a Web site you want to return to. Bookmarks can also be referred to as Favorites.
To make a Bookmark you will need to find the Web page you want to bookmark. This is usually done while you are surfing the Internet. Once you are on the Web page you would like to bookmark follow these instructions.
From the Internet Explorer Menu bar select Favorites and then Add to Favorites.
You'll then see a window appear that asks you to confirm the name of your new Favorite. Sometimes the name will appear automatically, and sometimes the actual Web Pages address will show up in this window. Its a good idea to have a name that makes sense to you. Once you've chosen a name for your new Favorite then click the OK button and your new Favorite will be added to your Favorite menu.
The next time you want to get back to your new Favorite Web site click onto the Favorites menu and then click onto the new Bookmark you've made.
Use the Organise Favourites menu option to arrange the way that your Bookmarks appear in your Favorites menu.
Web browsers keep a list of Web sites that you have visited, which is known as the History. This makes finding Web sites that you visit recently easier. You can find your History list by clicking the drop down list on the right side of the address field.
You can find a complete list of all the Web sites you have visited by clicking the History Button on the Toolbar.
Here is how to remove the list of Web sites in your History.
Windows Users
From the Internet Explorer Menu bar select Tools.
Click on Internet Options.
From the Internet Options page tab click onto the button marked Clear History.
You'll be prompted to confirm your deletion, so click Yes to confirm.
Macintosh Users.
Open Internet Explorer.
Click on the Edit Menu and then select Preferences.
Under the Web Browser heading select Advanced.
On the right hand side of the Window you'll see a History field.
Click on the Clear History Button.
You'll be prompted to confirm your deletion, so click OK to confirm.
You can view other language characters by changing the "Encoding" option in your browser to one of the other language options that are listed.
In Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator,
Choose the 'View' menu and then 'Encoding' or 'character set', and select the language that you want to view. This will usually change the display, and if your selection matches the code for the page, you will see legible text. If not, try another language option, or contact the Web site's webmaster to ask for help.
Many Internet Web sites are set up to prevent unauthorized people from seeing the information that is sent to or from those sites. These are called "secure" Web sites. Internet Explorer supports the encrypted security protocols used by secure Web sites. Most secure Web sites use 128-bit encryption technology and so your Web browser needs to support this level of encryption. You can check Internet Explorer's level of encryption by following these steps:
Open Internet Explorer and select the Help menu.
Select About Internet Explorer.
The Cipher Strength should read 128 bit. If it reads less than this you will need to upgrade your Web browser. Please follow the link below to download the latest 128 bit version of Internet Explorer.
Click the OK button.
Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options.
Select the Advanced tab and scroll to the Security section.
Check the settings for SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 are ticked.
From the main Explorer window look for an Address bar at the top of the window. This is where you can type in the address of a Web page you would like to surf to. Delete any address that's in the address bar and type in the new Web page address and click the Enter key on your keyboard to process the command.
If you get an error saying that the server could not be located check to see that you are connected to the Internet. You will see a connection icon if you are, in the lower right part of your screen there should be 2 computers with a line connecting them.
Web page addresses normally start with the prefix http://
You don't have to type in this prefix most of the time, so that Internet Explorer sees http://www.swiftel.net and www.swiftel.net as the same address.
If you have a slow Internet connection you can set up Internet Explorer to load only the text on Web pages and not the images. This will make Web pages load more quickly because the image data on the Web page won't be downloaded.
From Internet Explorer,
Select the "Tools" menu.
Select "Internet Options".
On the "Internet Options" page click on the "Advanced" page tab.
Scroll through the various headings in the "Advanced" page and look for the "Multimedia" heading.
Untick "Show Pictures" and click "OK".
If you wish to get the pictures back simply repeat the above steps but tick "Show Pictures" then click "OK"
