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technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983
Where'd they hide the owner's manual for the Internet?
Dec. 27 , 2000
By Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000 Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers
Where'd they hide the owner's manual for the Internet?
That's a little joke, of course. There's no such thing. But it's a real problem. We have manuals for everything else. Why not one for the Internet?
I'll do my part to help. I'll tell you what nobody else will. I'll give you my own Internet Owner's Manual in 10 easy lessons.
1. You don't need AOL(America Online), MSN or CompuServe or any other such thing to connect to the Internet. All you need is an Internet service provider, called an ISP. A local ISP is best. Ask your friends what local ISP they recommend.
2. I tell all adults to resist the blandishments of AOL's advertising and to ignore what their kids say (they insist that "everyone is on AOL," an impossible argument) because AOL does everything in a non-standard way. You lose by not being able to do e-mail in the normal way and by not being able to do Web browsing the way normal Internet users do it.
3. Type an address (such as "www.syracuse.com," without the quotes) in the address line at the top of your Web browser and then press the Enter key to go to that site. If you think you'll want to go there again, make a bookmark or favorite. Check the menus at the top to see how to do it if you're not sure how.
4. Secret tip: You've probably seen Internet addresses shown as "http://blah-blah-blah." You don't need to type the "http" part. Just start with "www" and leave out everything that comes in front of it.
5. Words that are underlined have a special quality. They are "links," also called "hyperlinks." Click your mouse button ONCE (not twice -- not a double-click, in other words) on an underlined item to make your Web browser follow the link.
6. If you are using Windows or Linux, not a Macintosh, you have a right mouse button. (If you are using a lefty mouse, think of the right button as the "alternative" mouse button.) It has a lot of power when you are on the Internet. Try clicking the right mouse button all over the place. You'll see many options you never realized were there.
7. Someone is sure to tell you that your computer can get infected by a virus if you're on the Internet. This usually happens through e-mail. You can stop nearly every virus by never double-clicking on a file attached to e-mail. That means never running the attachment. No matter what it is or where it came from, if you simply dump it in the trash (and then empty the trash), you will avoid most viruses. Tell the friends who forward such stuff that you just don't want to receive it.
8. You'll find out right away that people who are trying to sell you something will send unwanted e-mail. Usually they don't even know if your e-mail address is any good; they're just trying it out. DON'T WRITE BACK TO THEM. Don't tell them to take you off their list. That just confirms that your e-mail address is valid, and you will then find unwanted mail raining on you every day.
9. Your Web browser will surely warn you about "certificates" and Internet security. Most of those warnings are pointless. You have no real security on the World Wide Web. Be just as cautious on the Internet as you would be in a bazaar frequented by both priests and pickpockets, and never give your real e-mail address to any Web site unless you are sure the site is legitimate.
10. Windows lets you assign a password to the computer and to the screen saver. Any child over the age of 11 can get past such passwords in two or three seconds. Don't assume you can keep your kids off the Internet using passwords. Far better to trust them, but trust based on false assumptions is worse than no trust at all.
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