Basic Computer Operations

How Computers Work Input: Information and programs are entered into the computer through Input devices such as the keyboard, disks, or through other computers via network connections or modems connected to the Internet. The input device also retrieves information off disks. Output: Output Devices displays information on the screen (monitor) or theprinter and sends information to other computers. They also display messages about what errors may have occurred and brings up message or dialog box asking for more information to be input. The output device also saves information on thedisk for future use. Processing: The CPU or central processing unit is sometimes called the Control Unit and directs the operation of the input and output devices. The Coprocessoror the Arithmetic-Logic Unit does arithmetic and comparisons. The memory orRAM temporarily stores information (files and programs) while you are using or working on them. The BIOS or basic input/output system controls the dialogue between the various devices. Keyboard Layout and Data Entry ENTER or RETURN - Moves the cursor down one line and to the left margin. Enter also process commands such as choosing an option in a dialog (message) boxes and submitting a form. DEL or DELETE - Deletes the character at cursor and/or characters to the right of the cursor and all highlighted (or selected) text. BKSP or BACKSPACE - Deletes the character to the left of cursor and all hightlighted text. SPACE BAR - Moves the cursor one space at a time to the right SHIFT KEY - Use the shift keys to type capital letters and to type the upper character on keys with two characters on them CAPS LOCK - Locks the keyboard so it types capital letters (a light goes on when caps lock is on)

TAB - Moves the cursor five spaces to the right (number of spaces are usually adjustable). Tab moves to the next field in a form or table (Shift-Tab for previous field). ESC or ESCAPE - Cancels a menu or dialog box ARROW KEYS - Moves the cursor around document without changing text FUNCTION KEYS or F KEYS - Access commands by themselves or in combination with the three command keys; CTRL, SHIFT, and ALT

Command or Special Keys Command keys normally do nothing on their own but work in combination with other keys. Each piece of software uses the command keys differently though there is a move to standardize some functions. The Control key or Ctrl is often used to access commands. The Alternative key or Alt is often used to access menus. The Shift key is used to type CAPITAL LETTERS. As well the command keys are all used to move through documents and edit text faster and easier. As well many computers have Special keys design specifically for the particular computer. Apple computers have the Apple keys and Macs have Command keys. Many keyboards now have a Windows key specifically for Windows 9x and newer systems. Many older computers also have special keys used for a variety of different functions. Some Notebook or Laptop keys are left out because of space limitations and they usually have a Special function key which allows other keys to double for the missing ones. Basic Typing Rules

Place one space between each word, after a punctuation mark and at the end of a sentence. Always start a sentence with a capital letter. Use capitals for names, addresses, provinces and countries, places, organizations, businesses, associations, schools, colleges, universities, days of the week, months, holidays, nationalities, ethnic groups and languages. Learning the keyboard is the first step to learning computers. Learning involvespractice. It really is as simple as that. There are two kinds of typing. The first is called Touch Typing. The Touch Typist uses the Home Keys (asdf for the left hand and jkl; for the right) and all the fingers on both hands as well as the thumbs for the Space Bar while typing. There are many commercial and public domain programs that are designed to teach this method. The other method is some times called 'Hunt and Peck' or depending on finger strength 'Search and Destroy'. This involves using one or more fingers on one or two hands to type. It is a perfectly acceptable way of using a computer and many people get along fine with this technique.
Updated August 05, 2009

Keyboard Symbols
The following chart displays the character symbols, name and Latin-1 number on a standard keyboard in their approximate position on the keyboard. Most characters from any Roman based language can be created on any computer using theAmerican Standard Code for Information Interchange or ASCII using a single byte. Most computers and software also recognized American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) formatting standards as well. View the entire ISO Latin -1 Character Set. ~ &#126: !
Exclamation Point Tilde

!

@ @ #
Number or Hash At

# $ &#;36 % % ^ &#;94 &

Caret Percent Dollar

Ampersand

& * * (
Asterisk

Open or Left Parenthesis

( ) ) _ _ + + ` ` Acute Plus

Close or Right Parenthesis

Underscore or Horizontal Bar

Dash or Hyphen

- = =
Equals

{
Open or Left Curly Brace

&#;123 }

Close or Right Curly Brace

} | |

Or or Vertical Bar

[
Open or Left Square Bracket

[ ] ] \ \

Close or Right Square Bracket

Reverse Solidus or Backslash

: : " Quote "

Colon

;
Semi Colon

&#59; &#;39

Apostrophe or Single Quote

<
Less Than

&#60; > &#62; ? &#63; , &#44; .

Comma

Greater Than

Question Mark

Dot, Period or Full Stop

&#46; / &#47;

Solidus or Forward Slash

Updated November 30, 2010

Health and Safety

Health and Safety is crucial to the effective operation of a computer. Stress is widely accepted as a common and possibly the most dangerous aspect of using a computer.

It is possible to use a computer safely if a few simple rules are maintained. Musculoskelatal problems can occur when improper office equipment is used. Chairs should be adjustable so that legs are at a right angle. The back should have good support for the spine and lower back. The seat should swivel and be made from fabric that is porous. Eye strain can be caused by staring at a fix object for extended periods of time (like a computer). People who use glasses may have to get their prescriptions changed and people who use bifocals can find that the line interferes with the screen and trifocals triple the problem. Regular users of computers may develop focusing problems. Temporary colour distortion has also been reported. A safe working environment is crucial. Ventilation is an integral part of the new technological workplace. Though standards are set by the manufacturer of computer equipment the modern office has many different pieces of equipment. All electronic equipment emit some level of electromagnetic field which, on it's own, most likely isn't a concern but when combined with other equipment can create hazardous working environments. Pregnant women should take extra care when working around electromagnetic fields. Like any piece of equipment, computers should have scheduled maintenance. Stress is caused by many things including poor or inadequate training, monitoring, fear of new technology, lack of control over work, physical problems, hardware problems causing delays, poor layout of work space and the myriad of other problems that people experience that combine to create stressful situations. Time away from the computer during the work day is crucial! This gives the body a chance to stretch and gives the eyes a chance to rest. Breaks should be scheduled and followed with great discipline. Computers, even more so than television, have a mesmerizing effect on the user so that it is easy to work right through breaks without noticing. There are many other issues to be discussed around computer health and safety but it is important to understand that there are problems and solutions to those problems that the user, administrator and manager must address.
Updated August 05, 2009

Using Software
As stated earlier software is anything created and/or stored on a computer or computer storage device (like a disk). The work that is produced using an application or program is also software and is usually referred to as a file or a document. Files & Documents Once you have typed or created a new document or file on your computer, you will have to decide what to do with it. You could print it right away using a Printcommand and then Exit or Quit your program without saving it, but most of the time you will want to Save your document for future use. The computer saves its information on a disk, most often the hard disk, and the users determines where and when the file or document is saved.
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Folders & Directories On the disk are directories or collection of folders. These directories or folders could be compared to a filing cabinet. All files are stored in a directory. Most hard disks have many directories or folders and files can be stored in any of them. Directories can have sub-directories and sub-sub-directories many levels down. The directory immediately below the current directory is called the child directory. The directory immediately above the current one is called the parent directory. The top of the directory structure is called the root directory. When a user adds or installs a new program on the computer the installation process will usually create a new directory or folder to store the application's files. Users can create and delete directories or folders as the need arises. Older operating systems require that the directory be emptied of files before it

can be deleted. When removing a directory always check before deleting it to make sure that it doesn't contain files you need. You can easily move files from one folder or directory to another using menucommands, drag & drop using the mouse or a file utility. It is important to understand your computer's directory structure as a file can be misplaced if it is saved in the wrong directory. One of the main problems new users have is creating a filing system. Modern operating systems address the 'filing problem' by automatically creating a (My) Documents folder. By saving files or documents in this folder you will always know where to look for your files. Create sub-folders within this folder for your main projects. Examples could be a separate folder for your correspondence called Letters or a folder for images called Graphics or Pictures. The main Documents folder can also be renamed to what every name you want it to be called. If your operating system doesn't automatically create this folder simply create your own Documents folder to save your documents in.
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Saving Files or Documents In order to save a new document or file you must first choose the Save command. Most modern software place this command in a menu which you access with themouse button or Alt key. Each file must be given a filename so it can be found easily the next time it is needed. Computers using DOS 6.X or older followed the 8.3 rule: a filename can only be 1 to 8 characters long followed by a 1 to 3 character extension separated by a dot. Three character extensions are common because of this. Modern operating systems allow computer users to use filenames up to 256 characters. Mac users, Windows 9X & NT/2000 and UNIX/LINUX (along with a few other) use long file names but names using over 32 characters get unwieldy. It is better to use a directory or folder to help describe them and keep common files together with shorter filenames. Many modern software programs (applications) add their own extension to filenames. These extensions allow operating systems to recognize certain filenames and associate (match) them to the program that created it.

As well as choosing a filename, users must choose a directory and/or disk to store the file in. Make sure that you are consistent and use a logical structure. Once you are sure you know where the file is going to be stored press Enter on the keyboard or press the left mouse button over the word Save or Okay to store the documenton a disk, in the directory with the filename you have chosen. Some software programs will automatically save files in specific directory that is created when the program is installed (default settings). You can easily changed these settings permanently using the applications Preferences or temporarily at the point of saving the file. Some common rules are:

All files are saved on a disk or storage device. A disk is usually broken up into directories and sometimes into partitions. A directory or folder is a way of keeping like files in a common area.

A partitioned disk, though physically a single disk, is treated like separate disks and given a separate drive letter (and/or name). It is possible to save or move files anywhere that your computer can access. This includes disk (or other storage devices) on your computer, to any directory or sub-directory on your computer or on a network that your computer is connected to. Always make sure that you have chosen the correct directory and filename before pressing Enter or choosing Save.
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Printing The promise of a paperless office has not happened though conservation is catching on and it is possible to reduce paper consumption by using your computer more effectively. Having said that many computers are attached to printers and there are many reasons to print out documents that you create on your computer. Most software programs and applications allow the user to print the information that is created in the program. When choosing a printer consider the peripheral equipment that you will need as well as the actual printer. Peripherals include paper, ribbons or ink cartridges,toner and occasionally print heads.

You may have to adjust some of the settings for the printer to get the output you want. Density adjustments determine how much ink is placed on the paper or how many dots per inch (DPI). Draft quality will printer quicker but creates a fainter copy (less dense). Modern Software has a Preview option which show what the page will look like when it is printed. Portrait prints the document up and down.Landscape prints the document on it's side. Most software allows the user to adjust the margin width or the blank space at the top, bottom, left and right edge of the paper.
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Exit or Quit It is important to Exit or Quit a program, application and the operating system before shutting off the computer. It is a good idea to Quit a program when you are finished with it as it takes up memory. Exiting a program should free up the memory that the program was using. Having a number of programs running simply uses up resources that may be needed in another project. Exiting properly also saves the program settings so that when you return to the application many changes that were made will still be active.
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Menus

Menus are the most common way of interacting or controlling your software. Though each program has it's own menu, modern software developers have begun establishing some standardization in how they create their menus. Many programs have a menu called File which controls things like Opening, Saving and Printingyour file and Exiting the program. Many also have an Edit menu which contains the main editing commands like Cut, Copy and Paste. The items on the menu are Commands or the features of the program. You choose the command that you want with the keyboard, mouse, trackball or touchpad. Commands control the operation of the software.

Menu bars are usually positioned at the top of the screen and are accessed by moving the cursor to the menu and pressing the button (left button if there are two). This displays a pull down menu with a number of commands or features. Depending on how the program works either let go of the button and move to the command you want then press the button again to choose it or while holding down the button, move to the command and let go to choose it. Menus can also be controlled through the keyboard. The most common way of accessing the menu through the keyboard is by pressing the Alt key and using theArrow or Cursor Movement keys to move through the menu items, then pressingEnter to choose the item you want. Many menu items can also be accesses usingHot key combinations. One common keyboard combination is to first tap the Alt key and then press letter key for the command you want. Menus are created in a hierarchy. Some menu items branch out to give even more choices. Some menu items open Dialog Boxes that allow you to choose from a number of different options. Dialog boxes allow computer users to select different options. Some dialog boxes have 2 or more Tabswhich can be clicked to choose more options. Once the options have been chosen press Okay to apply the options. Some dialog boxes have an Apply button which will apply the options that you have chosen without closing the dialog box. Choose Cancel to close the dialog box without applying the changes selected. Note that options set with the Apply button cannot be canceled this way. Modern software places the most popular commands on a toolbar for easier access. Simply click the left mouse button over the menu item to access a particular command. These tool bars can usually be customized and often allow the user to move or Tear Off the menu and drag them to a preferred location or Dock on the screen. Menus can also be customized by adding or removing commands. Windows has a context sensitive menu that is activated with the right button. When the right mouse button is click over an object on the screen or

area of the screen, a specific menu with commands related to that object will be displayed. Click the left mouse button on the command to choose it.
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Installing New Software Most software sold today has an automated install sequence that is activated with the press of a button. The installation process will create a directory, if necessary, to store the files related to the new program, uncompress and copy the files to the directory and often adds itself the desktop (Start) menu. Many installation processes will also copy files to other parts of the computer and register itself with the operating system by updating the registry. Some programs will associate themselves to a certain filename extension. Older software many not have this option. The installation procedure is the same though. First create a folder or drawer to store the program and it's related files in. This makes it easy to find them and minimizes file clutter in the main directory. Copy the files from the installation disk to the folder that you will be running the program from. A lot of Software is compressed and you may need to uncompress it before you can use it. You then can create a new item, create a short cut to the program or add it to your desktop menu or utility program.
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Backing up Files Computer errors and software failures happen ocasionally so it is important to backup your files and documents. One simple way to backup your files is to copy them to a disk. If there are only a few small files a floppy disk will work but if you are backing up lots of large files a cd/dvd burner, a second hard drive or tape backup may be needed. You can use a software program to automate backups or do it manually. A manual backup usually involves dragging the files or folders to the backup disk or tape to create the duplicate backup. Store your backup files in a safe place out of the sun and away from electromagnetic devices such as speakers and wires with strong electrical currents.

Every file that you create and plan to keep should be backed up. This includes word processing documents, financial information, databases, photos, etc... Some less obvious files that also need to be backed up are email, Internet Favorites or Bookmarks, and Address Books. Check the help files in your email program on how to back up email. Generally each folder name in your email program is a file containing the individual email messages and copying these files to the backup disk or tape will be sufficient. Software preferences such as customized menus and settings can also be backed up. Check your software's help files to find out where these files are located. A newer software version may be installed on the computer before ever needing the backups so make sure that the newer programs can handle the older file format. When to backup is an individual choice. A company should have a backup policy which explains how and when data should be backed up. It all depends on how important the information is and how difficult it would be to duplicate it in the event of a system failure. If the information is critical an automatic backup system that duplicates the documents immediately may be needed (a Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) system is an example). If the files are not critical a weekly backup may be all that is needed. It is impossible to determine when a system failure will occur so it is better be cautious. The backed up data can then be used as an archive, to recover from a system failure or to transfer data to a new computer system. Simply copy the files to the correct folder to restore them. Backup software will have an automatic recovery feature that will restore the backed up file automatically.
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Compression and Decompression Most software you buy or get off the Internet is Compressed. Computers store information in bytes which are made up of on or off signals. The software applications that uses these files need to have all the on and off signals (bytes) in place but when the file is stored they can be modified to take up less space on the storage disk or tape.

There are commercial and shareware programs that will compress and decompressed files for you. The most popular form of data compression is calledzip or stuffit but there are others available as well. Programs are also available to compress and decompress your files as you or the application you are using requires them. This can be a way of making more space available on a hard drive. Windows comes with a program that will compress part of your hard disk. Be sure to read the documentation before embarking on a project like compressing a hard drive.
Updated August 05, 2009

The Desktop
The Desktop offers many features that make using your computer easier. You can easily start programs or applications, copy and move files from one place to another and drag and drop files and program where you want them on the computer or even on to a program's icon to open a file. Open and Save menus are streamlined to allow all applications to have the same basic features plus program specific features. Operating systems are often backwardly compatible with older system so that older programs will run. Usually when new programs are created they are designed to work with the newest operating system to allow them to use all the newest features.
Desktop

Menu The Start Button or Apple menu starts programs, opens documents, and access most parts of the system. Windows Program and Apple Dock menus can be customized as needed.

Program or Dock displays a list of the programs that are installed through Windows and available to use Documents displays a list of the last 15 documents used allowing the user to open them directly from this menu

Settings displays system components, such as printers, control panel and taskbar Find/Search has search abilities to find files, folders and phrases in documents on your computer Help displays help topics broken up into contents, index and find components Run allows you to start a program from a command line Shut down shuts down the computer, restarts the computer or logs you off a network Favorites and Active Desktop is an option available to Windows 98+ (or Internet Explorer 4x) users

Taskbar (Windows) or Dock (Apple)

displays the program running and windows open o to bring a program or window to the front single click on the item on the taskbar or dock o right click in Windows and click hold in Apple to display a menu for the item right click an open area or click hold the seperator for a Taskbar or Dock menu the Window system tray on the right of the Taskbar displays indicators for certain tasks (for instance a printer icon will appear when the printer is engaged) click and drag the Taskbar to the top, bottom, left or right and choose Dock properties to place Dock on left, right or bottom drag the Taskbar to extend it and the Dock to make it bigger drag and icon to the Dock or Taskbar to add an alias or shortcut and drag the icon off to remove it the Dock and Taskbar can be hidden until needed use Start/Settings/Taskbar to customize the Start menu properties and choose Apple/Dock to change the Dock properties

Control Panel & System Preferences

used to change system settings like screen savers, time, screen colours also used to add and remove programs, fonts add and make changes to hardware and software settings

Computer

displays all the components of the computer including disk drives and networks all parts of the computer can be accessed through My Computer's hierarchical structure double click on any icon to view the contents of a disk, folder or run a program

Windows & Finder

All programs, folders, tasks and most other operations open in a window.

Windows are used to:

share common attributes through out the entire system contain menus for File, Edit, View and Help w hich change depending on the task o File open, rename, delete or change properties of files and folders Send To used to open files in a specified program create "Shortcuts" o Edit move, copy and paste files and folders Undo the last change o View change how files are displayed toggles Toolbar and Status bar (Microsoft) sorts files by choosing column name can be set system wide o Help displays help topics for active application

Toolbar

displays icon menu of main options

Status bar

shows current status of the window (Microsoft)

Shortcuts & Aliases

can be created anywhere that is convenient to access a program, file or folder select item and choose Create Shortcut or Make Alias then drag or move it to where it is needed use the right mouse button to drag the item to the target and choose Create Shortcut Here from the menu that appears (Microsoft) when you delete a Shortcut or Alias the original application and its icon remain intact

Favorites

collection of short cuts to documents, programs and websites

Programs & Features

Some Features

Long file names - document names can now use names up to 255 characters including spaces using any character except \ / : * ? " < > | Plug and Play - many hardware devices like CDs, tape drives, upgrade cards, etc... will automatically be detect and can be automatically install on the system 32 bit Preemptive Multitasking - allows users to leave a task running while working on another Right Mouse button - used to display event specific or context sensitive menus (Microsoft) Drag and Drop feature allows files or other information to be dragged from one area and dropped in a new location or into an other application Active Windows - make your Desktop behave like a web site (Microsoft) Software Update - automates updating software through the Internet

System Information or Profile - provides information about the computer system

Using Help

to get help about a specific procedure click the help button in the top right corner of the screen Contents list general topics grouped by subject Index list specific topics accessed by scroll bars or typing the topic Find creates an index of words in Help and allows searches by word or phrase click Help Topics to return to the Help menu Troubleshooters will step you through a series of steps to solve computer problems (Microsoft)

Microsoft Explorer Bar

Folder, Search, Favorites, Radio and History information is displayed on the left side of thewindow click a folder or link to display contents on the right click plus to expand or show the sub-folders and minus to hide them

Using Old DOS Programs

many older DOS program will run under Window the PIF editor is replaced with a Properties dialogue box note that some DOS programs cannot run in a window and require a full screen

Using Older Software in MAC OS 10.x

When Apple OS 10.x tries to open an older version of a program is will run it in Classic mode

Switching between tasks (programs/applications/folders)

depending in your system's resources you can have many programs running at once and easily switch from one to another using various methods while hold down Alt, tap the Tab key to cycle through a menu of running tasks

click on the taskbar or dock icon of the task you want to bring it to the front

Hints & Shortcuts

The right mouse button is a great feature of the Windows operating system and can be a real time saver. Right click on;

an empty space of the desktop to change Desktop Properties, My Computer to display or modify your computer's properties, Network Neighborhood to display and modify your network properties, Start menu item to modify it, right click an icon to work with it, etc.

On a Mac hold the mouse button down to display a context menu. Backing up files Many backup options are done automatically by the computer which will provide various options to recover them in a crisis but a hard drive error can happen at any time and without warning. Be sure to back up all your personal and business data on a regular basis. If you have a second hard drive files can be backed up to that drive. A CD-R can also be used to make a back up or a collection of floppy disks can also be used. When backing up files don't forget your email and address book. Some people also have extensive collections of favorites that can be backed up as well. Check your email, address book and browser for information on backing up these files. Some programs have an export feature that can be useful when making back ups. Different Methods of Opening Documents and Programs

Open a program and use the Open command in the File menu Use the Documents command in the Start or Apple menu to open a recently used document Use the Find command in the Start menu or the Sherlock program on a Mac Double click on an icon in a Folder Right click and choose Open Choose Start, Run and type the application (and path)

Creating Folders

Use the New Folder option in the File menu (or right click) to create a folder in the active window

Moving and Deleting Files

Use Drag & Drop to drag the file or folder from one folder to another o with the right button a menu will appear allowing you to Copy or Move the file or folder (Windows) o files on the same disk are moved (hold Ctrl to copy) o files on another disk are copied (hold Ctrl to move)

Use the Edit menu to Cut the file and Paste it in the destination folder Hold down Shift while Deleting a file to by pass the Recycle Bin and permanently delete files Multiple Selection

to select files sequentially click on the first file and move to the last file, hold down shift and click on the last file in the sequence to select files non-sequentially click on the first file and hold Ctrl while clicking the rest the two methods can be used in combination

Organizing your files and icons It is important to develop a filing system early. Create a folder on your Desktop to store your data. Create sub-folders within that folder to sort the various documents, image, sounds and other files that you create and use. A new folder can be created easily and given a logical name which will help organize data.

My Documents or Documents is the default folder created by the operating system and can be used as is or rename

Troubleshooting

Both Windows and Mac have a number of tools built in to assist in solving computer problems Choosing Help allow Window users to access Troubleshooting Wizards that provide step-by-step suggestions

System Information under System Tools provide valuable information and access to other system tools in Window System Profiler under Application, Utilities provide information about the Mac Running a Disk Scan occasionally or on a schedule can solve many simple errors
Updated August 05, 2009

Word Processing
A word processor is a program used to type documents. Documents can be saved,closed and the opened again to continue working on them. The keyboard of a word processor is similar to that of a typewriter, but its capabilities extend far beyond the typewriter's. For example, you don't have to press the Return or Enter key at the end of every line - in word processing, the line "wraps around" when it reaches the margin you've set and allows you to continue typing without stopping, you only press Enter (or Return) when you want to start a new paragraph or insert blank lines. If you make a mistake while typing use backspace or delete to erase it. There are many commercial word processing programs including Open Office Writer , Microsoft Word , Corel WordPerfect and others. Windows comes with WordPad to edit and format documents and NotePad to edit text. Mac OS X comes with TextEdit or SimpleText in previous version. Open Office is an Open Source office application that can be downloaded for free at openoffice.org.

Editing functions such as inserting, deleting, moving, and copying characters,words, lines, and even blocks of text are fast and easy with only a few keystrokes. Advanced programs will number pages, repeat material in the same place on every page automatically, and check the spelling of every word in your document. You print your document only after it looks exactly the way you want it to. Finally, copies of your documents can be stored on a disk, enabling you toretrieve, edit, and print them at any time. The text appears at the cursor. Use the space bar to place spaces between words. Use backspace to erase to the left of the cursor and delete to erase to the right of the cursor. Use Enter (or Return) to move the cursor down a line. Word processors allows you to type your text in Bold, Italics or Underline. This is useful when you wish to highlight some word or line in a document. To activate Bold, Italics or Underline click the icon button on the Toolbar, type the text that you wish to have highlighted then press Toolbar icon again when you are finished. The indicator on the Toolbar will appear highlighted as long as the highlight style is on. The text can also be modified by changing the Font. A font is the shape and sizeof a character of text. The three main types are serif (with tails); sans-serif(without tails); and script (similar to handwriting). Text colours can also be changed. Text can also be indented and tab settings added which modify where the text is placed on the page. Rather than press the space bar more than once set tabs where you want the cursor to move to. The page can be modified by changing the margins, adding headers or footers(repeating text on each page), page numbering, graphic images and various other ways. The Insert key toggles between Insert and Typeover. Sometimes an indicator on the bottom of the screen will display the typing mode you are in. Normally, any text after the cursor will be pushed across the screen (inserted) as new characters are typed in. With Typeover on the new character will just replace the old character at the cursor.

Editing text is quite easy once you get used to it. Select text that you want to modify with the mouse or by holding down Shift and using the arrow keys. Holding Control (CTRL) will select text one word at a time. Once you have the text selected use Cut (Ctrl-X) to cut the text off the page and into a clipboard. Use Copy (Ctrl-C) to transfer a copy of the selected text to the clipboard. Use Paste (Ctrl-V) to paste the text into the document at the cursor. The Windows clipboard will only hold a single selection of text which is replaced with each new cut or copy. If you make a mistake most modern programs have an Undo feature (Crtl-Z). Many also have a Redo feature. Most word processors will check your spelling and many have thesauruses and will check your grammar. Don't rely on the editing tools to replace a good proof reading though! (as this editor tends to do ;)
Updated April 07, 2010

Database
A Database is a collection of information stored in a way that makes it easy toretrieve, modify and search. A database can be stored in a single file with all the information stored together in a single table which is called a flat database or stored in multiple tables with some common access information referred to as arelational database. There are many commercial database programs including Microsoft Access , Corel Paradox, FileMaker, IBM DB and others. There are also an Base and MySQL.

Open Source databases such as OpenOffice.org

Each person or item in a database has it's own Record. Each piece of information about that person or record are stored in Fields. All the information in all the records makes up the Database.

Each Field can have information typed into it. Use the Tab key to move forward through the Field and the Shift-Tab to move backwards. Many databases also allow users to use the arrow keys to move around as well. Though many fields only allow a single line of input some allow multiple lines. When the cursor reaches the bottom of a field with multiple lines the text willscroll upwards to show any information that is below the line of sight. If there is more text in the field than there is room on the screen use the arrow keys to move the cursor through the text. It is possible to mask individual fields to make data entry easier. For instance the field for phone numbers can be formatted to only allow numbers to be entered. There are many different ways to use information in a database. In order to use it you can search for and display information using various filters to allow or disallow certain records to display. This is referred to as a query. The data can be arranged to create reports and print the information in a specific format. It is crucial that the information typed into a Database or information updated besaved before leaving the program. Many data errors can be traced back to power-failures or accidental computer shut downs. The data can also be used by other programs for things like invoicing and form letters. The data from a database can be merged with forms created in other programs for a wide range of uses. When setting up a database make sure to take a bit of time to decide what fields are needed and how they relate to other information. For instance, if an address is required does it need to be broken down into a number of fields such as street, apartment, city, etc? Does the street need to be broken down into house number, street name, street type, etc? Does a phone number need a separate field for the area code? Taking time to decide what is needed before beginning a database project is better than spending many frustrating hours modifying the data in the future.
Updated April 07, 2010

Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets are used to work with financial information. Spreadsheet charts are laid out in numbered rows and lettered columns. Where the row and column intersect is called a cell. The cell is referred to by the letter and number of the intersection called the cell address. The first cell in a chart is at the intersection of column A and row 1 and is referred to as Cell A1. Some commercial Spreadsheets are Microsoft Excel , Corel

QuatroPro , Lotus 123 and others. OpenOffice.org Calc is an Open Source office program that is free to download and use. Tax and accounting software are also spreadsheets but are designed to provide tools and utilities which help get the specific job done. When working with numbers in a spreadsheet, refer to the cell addresses when creating mathematical formulas. This is because any changes you make to a single cell will be automatically updated without having to reenter the numbers in the rest of the cells. A 1 2 3 B C

Use the plus sign (+) to add; the minus (-) sign to subtract; the asterix (*) to multiply; and the back slash (/) to divide. Spreadsheets use formulas to create simple to complex mathematical equations. A sheet can be built to handle the financial needs of businesses. Most of the standard editing features are available in the spreadsheet such as Bold, Italics, Underline, Move, Copy and Paste. Information from a spreadsheet can be displayed in chart form. Most spreadsheet programs include templates to handle many of the average financial needs of a home user or small business. These templates can be modified or customized to personalize them for your own needs. Most modern spreadsheet programs allow users to work on many sheets at once and access information from any of the sheets in the workbook group.
Updated April 07, 2010

Graphic Images, Sounds & Animation

Graphics

Computer graphics are anything that can be displayed on the screen except the text and sometimes even text falls into the graphics category if it is save in a graphics format. Commercial graphics programs include;

Corel PhotoPaint

Corel Draw

Macromedia Fireworks

Macromedia Freehand

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

LView

ULead ...and many others

There are basically two types of computer graphic, bitmapped andvector/structured. Bitmapped graphics are images that are mapped to themonitor or screen. The screen is made up of tiny dots calledpixels. These dots can display various colours depending on the type of computer hardware and software you have. Using shades of red, green and blue (RGB) an image can be displayed on the screen by mapping different colours to the screen in different sequences. Vector graphics use objects created from mathematical formulas to represent things like lines, curves, fills, line thickness, etc. to create the image.

Each type of graphic has it's own advantages and disadvantages. Older versions of HTML were only able to recognizes bitmapped graphics so most graphics created for the Internet, using standard HTML, are created or converted to a bitmap format. The newest version of HTML or XHTML is able to display vector graphics but not all browsers are able to display these graphics. Within each of the two main types there are dozens of different formats. Graphics formats are distinguished by their filename extensions. The three main bitmapped format graphics used on the Internet are .gif, .jpeg(.jpg) and .png. There are many others including .bmp, .tiff (.tif), .pcx, .ppm,.tga and a host of others. Some of the structured formats are .ai, .cmx, .eps, .wpg, .cgm and a host of others. Bitmapped graphics can be created and modified in a paint program and vector or structured graphics can be created and modified in a draw program. The main tools in a graphics program allow you to select a section of a picture, erase part of a picture, fill a defined area, select a colour,magnify a section, draw free hand, draw with various tools such as a straight line; a curved line; a rectangle; an oval; and a polygon. You can also modify a drawing by changing the size, colour, placement, and, depending on the program, hundreds of other modification.
Sound

Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) or .mpg is multimedia format that is an attempt to create a standardization among the various formats available. MPEG has made it possible to place audio content on your website without having it sound tiny and hollow or taking an extreme amount of time to download. There are many different formats for sound including; Microsoft's .wav, Sun's .au & .snd, RealNetwork's RealAudio , .ra(*), and various others. You may have heard .mid files play when visiting various websites. Musical Instruments Digital Interface (MIDI) files are basically sound tracks which use a collection of sounds contained in the .mid file to play a tune.

To create a sound file you will need an audio program. You can then record with a microphone or off of a prerecorded medium. Your computer will need to have asound card properly installed and a speaker to hear your recording. You can save the sound file to play back later.
Animation

With the advent of faster computers comes animation. Though it has been around for years the modern computer has made it possible to include animation in programs without causing them to slow down (much). As with every multimedia format there are a number of types. You may have seen .gif animations on this website. A GIF animation is a series of separate images or frames that display one after the other to give the impression of movement. Other formats are Audio Visual Interleave's .avi, the before mentioned mpg, Microsoft's Media Player .wmv, Apple's Quick Time .qt, .aif(*) &.mov, RealNetwork's RealVideo .rm(*), Macromedia's Flash creates Shockwave.swf, and JavaScript as well as various others. There are various animation or multimedia players available for a free download off the Internet. To create animations, sounds or graphics you will need a program that has the capabilities you want. Visit the various multimedia company websites to read up on their product to see if they can do what you want. (Hint: to find a company website type "www.'replace this with the companies name'.com"). Most companies offer free trials that you can download from their website. You should also be aware that most media content placed on the Internet is considered published material and therefore copyright unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Updated August 05, 2009

Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing (dtp) uses both word processing and graphics to produce publications and presentations. Some common dtp programs are MS Publisher and Quark Express. Both Adobe and Corel have a number of programs that work like dtp programs. OpenOffice.org Draw is an OpenSource free option.

Desktop publishing programs layout their documents in a series of slides that can contain text, graphics and dynamic content. Content is added to each slide in a series which can be printed or saved as a slide presentation. Sound and music can also be added to the presentation.

Internet
The Internet or the Net is a collection of computers, all linked together, to share information globally. It was first developed in the U.S. by two universities who were both working on the same contract and wanted to share their data. They were faxing information back and forth and then retyping it until they came up with a piece of software called Unix to Unix Copy Program or UUCP. The Internet was born and has mushroomed outward from that point. There are 4 things that are necessary to "get on the net" with a full graphic interface (picture, sounds, animation, etc...).

A computer - preferably with a fast processor and lots of memory (64 Mb or more) A modem - preferably 56,000 baud or high speed digital Browser Software - often installed with your operating system or can bedownloaded off the Internet

An ISP - An Internet Service Provider is a service that connects your home or office computer to the Internet

Once you have purchased an account with an ISP you will be given an account name. This is often your email address as well. You will also be given a passwordand should also be provided with instructions on how to change the password to a unique and personalized. The generic password provided with your account should be change to one of your own. Protect your password as you would any personal identification number (PIN) number.
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The ISP will also provide information on how to configure your software. This can be simple or difficult depending on your Operating System. Once configured you simply run the software to connect your computer's modem to the ISP's modem, giving you access to the Internet. There are a number of pieces of software that work together to connect you to the Internet.
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The first and most complicated is the dialer or socket software. This is the software that makes the physical connection with the ISP's computer and the internet. This needs to be configured only once but you will need instructions from your ISP on how to do this as each ISP has a different setup.
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The second piece is an Internet browser. This is the program that locates websites for you and allows users to maneuver around (surf) the World Wide Weband view web pages. Some of the more popular browsers are Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Mosaic was the first browser and most modern browsers still use the basic model that the first browser used. Some other browser are Opera, Safari, Netscape as well as dozens of others. Before graphic browsers Lynx was the most popular browser and is still available for text browsing. New browser are being developed and current browsers are constantly updating there programs. It is extremely important to update your browser every once in a

while. Some ISP have a proprietary type of browser though most have given up this practice as it limits the users abilities to browse the Internet. Type the url or web address of the website that you want to visit in the address bar of your browser and press Enter or click Go. Collect your favorite websites by adding them to your Favorites or Bookmarks. To go to a Favorite or Bookmark, click on the menu and click on the link. Another piece of software is an email program . This program controls sending, composing and receiving email. Most email programs can also be used to read postings on newsgroups. Instructions for getting this software can be obtained from your ISP though you may have to download the newest version yourself.
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There are many different ISPs. If you attend a university or college or belong to a military or government organization you can most likely get Internet accessthrough your school or work. If not you will most likely buy access from acommercial provider. Another option, if you are in a major center, is the Freenet. Many major cities have groups devoted to making the Internet accessible to the greater majority of people and create Freenets which allowing members free access to the Internet. They run on private and public donations. It is an excellent way of learning about the Internet in a helpful environment. Once you are connected you will have access to Email, Newsgroups, the World Wide Web (WWW), File Transfer Protocol (ftp), Internet Relay Chat (irc),Search Engines, ICQ and other Internet Services.

Internet - Email
Email is the electronic equivalent of sending a letter through the mail. There are many different mail reading programs or clients that control email but the basic functions are all the same. An email address directs a message to the recipient.

Email addresses are made up of...

the account name (often the users first initial and then the last name (sometimes only 8 characters) then the @ symbol then the name of the user's ISP the last 3 characters describe the type of service for the top level domain (TLD) name. For example .com stand for commercial site, .mil - U.S. military, .gov - U.S. government, .net - network, etc... when an address has 2 characters it is a geographical top level domain (gTLD). For example .ca - is a site registered in Canada, .au - is a site registered in Australia, .tv - is a site registered in Tuvla new TLDs are occasionally added including; .biz, .info, .name, .asia, .mobi

As well as sending and receiving mail the recipient can;

save the address for future reference in an address book reply to the original message forward the message to a third party edit a message check the spelling and a wide range of other options.

One of the services provided by your ISP is to provide a storage area or mailbox to collect email in. Email software programs control the transfer of this stored email by downloading the messages from your mailbox on your ISP's computer to your own computer. You must be connected to the Internet to do this. An email message is made up of two parts; the header information and the body. The recipient's address (to), the subject, the sender's email address as well as other information is contained in the header. The content of the message is in the body. You can find out information about an email message by viewing the header content. Most email programs had a 'view header' option in the menu. Email can be composed and sent as plain text or HTML. Plain text messages can be read by any email client but most modern email clients can compose

and display email documents containing formatting such as bold, different font size and colour, images, etc. New messages can be written or composed off-line (not connected to the Internet). If the ISP charges by the hour, connect to the Internet only to send and receive your email and then disconnect to read and compose your mail. Many ISP's also offer web mail programs so that you can logon to check and send email using any internet accessible computer. Some companies offer free email service that you can sign up for. These free services rely on advertising for revenue so your recipient will also be receive an advertisment with the email. Most free email accounts are accessed through a web browser where the user composes and reads their mail online. The benefit is that you can easily access your mail from any internet terminal and the address is easily disposable (if it gets added to a junk mail list for instance). You can also attach files to email messages to send picture, sound, documents, videos and other types of file with your email. Some email programs automatically open attachments such as photos and html code. Change the program's properties or options to turn this feature on or off. Unrequested or spam email has become a problem on the internet. A large percentage of the email sent is this unrequested email which takes up bandwidth and causes prices to rise. Businesses must take time to sort through spam to find the legitimate email which also takes time and money. Most ISPs provide software that will filter out the worst of this email. If you find that you are receiving a lot of unrequested email contact your ISP to see if they can provide you with spam filters.

Email Attachments
An attachment is a computer file or files place inside an email message. Email was originally designed to handle only plain text (no formatting, ie. bold, centering, etc.) which was transferred from one computer to another in a format called ASCII. ASCII is a standard across all computer types which makes e-mail universal.

Today many modern email programs allow HTML (hypertext markup language) to be included in email messages which allow you to format your email messages with font sizes, bold, centre and such. The recipient must have an HTML capable email reader to see the formatting otherwise they will get a document marked up with HTML tags. To attach a document to an email message drag the file attachment to the body of the message and drop it. An attachment can also be added by choosing File Attachment from the menu. Most modern email programs place a button on the Toolbar usually in the shape of a paper clip that you can click. A dialog box will open that allows you to browse and select the file that you want to attach. You can attach more than one file to a single email message. Don't move the original document until the message has been sent. Most documents created on computer, such as word processing documents (Word, WordPerfect, etc.) or spreadsheet documents (Excel, Quatro, etc.) or graphic files (Corel Draw, Paint Shop, or .gif and .jpg files) are stored in their own uniquebinary code format. This binary format is determined by the program that the file is created with. Email documents are create as text files so in order to send a binary file or document via email, it must first be encoded into a text format and then attached to the email text message. Such an 'encoded' document may end up looking something like this:
ugAAANAAAAALAAAAAgD//zQAQgBvAGQAeQAgAFQAZQB4AHQAAABCAG8AZAB5ACAAVABlAHgAdAAA ANMFCwAAAQAACwDT0wQdAAATAAD//wUAsAQAmA0AEA4AaBAAK5sdANPUGxkAgAEAAAgAigIAAAAA AACKAooCGQDU1BpXAIABAQAIAAAAAAAAAAAAHAD0GlwSGgkAABEJAAAAYAAYEQAAECoAVABpAG0A ZQBzACAATgBlAHcAIABSAG8AbQBhAG4AAAAAAAAAVABUAAAAVwDU1AILAAABAAELANTUAwsAAAEA

These lines are all printable or lower-ASCII characters and can be sent via email. When it gets to your computer and you want to view the document, it first must be decoded or converted back to it's binary format before it can be opened. Today this is typically handled by your Email program. There are several common encoding standards, the most popular being uuencoding, mime, and binhex. Not all email packages support even these three, let alone all the non-standard ones. If someone sends you a document

encoded in a format that your email program doesn't support the email program will not decode the attachment. The attached file must be loaded into a program to be viewed. For example, if the attached document was originally created in Microsoft-Word you need Word, Open Office or another modern word processor on your computer to work with the document. Most modern software suites can import documents from other suites. Most modern email programs work hand-in-hand with your operating system to try and open the correct program required to view the document sent as an attachment. This is done by matching the file extension such as .jpg, .gif, .doc, etc... with a registered file type. Viruses can also be transferred via email attachments. Because your email software handles the decoding of programs sent as attachments it is easy to infect your computer simply by opening an infected attachment. Always check email attachment with an anti-virus program before opening them. There are several reasons why an attachment will not display properly or at all: 1. the encoded file is corrupted and cannot be decoded. This is usually due to damage in transit and happens very seldom these days. 2. the encoding type is not supported by your e-mail program and so the file cannot be decoded back to it's original type. 3. the attached document was created in a program that you don't have on your computer or is not a registered file type. 4. the email program has an option set which automatically locks attached files When sending an attachment you should think about whether the intended recipient has the same program on their computer. When you are sending an attachment to someone you should always use a standard encoding process (the one that comes with your email program is usally best) and send the document in a format that the recipient can view. If in doubt, ask them first by email. Macs users should be aware that most Windows user won't be able to decode a binhex file.

If your email software automatically locks attachments and you want to view the attachment you can change the programs settings by modifying the Preferences or Options. If the formatting isn't important it's better to copy your the text from the original program and then paste it into the body of a plain text email message rather than sending an attachment. Everybody's email software can read this 'plain text' ASCII format.

Internet - Newsgroups & Discussion Groups

Newsgroups are discussion groups that are going on all the time. You can write a message and post it to a newsgroup in the morning and come back to read a replyto the message in the afternoon. You can also reply to other's messages.

There are thousands of news groups covering as many topics. Some aremoderated, meaning that a person who has knowledge or an interest in a certain topic will receive the message and read it before posting it. This keeps the discussion on topic. Most are not moderated and the discussion can go anywhere but it can be a great way to get a quick reply to your questions. As well as the public newsgroups many organizations and companies will provide discussion groups of bulletin boards that focus on areas related to their own topics. This can be a great spot to find out more about an organization, find a solution to a problem you are having and participate in the discussions related to that company or organization.

One problem with posting a message to a discussion or newsgroup is that unscrupulous companies mine the newsgroups for email addresses and then sendunsolicited email (spam) to the poster. It is recommended that you disguise your email address using your email software preferences or the bulletin board settings. Many newsgroups have a publicly accessible faq. A faq is a collection of frequently asked questions that have been posted many times to a newsgroup. You may get a gentle reminder or a completely rude and insulting comment if you post a question that is on the faq. It is acceptable to post a question as where the faq is located and you may find that frequent posters will mention the faq in their message.

Internet - Navigation
World Wide Web (WWW) is a collection of web pages connected together withhyperlinks. Each document or page has a unique address that allows you to find it among the millions of other documents on the Web. The address is called aUniform Resource Locator (URL) or sometimes a Uniform Resource Indicator(URI). When you chose a new link by clicking on it or by typing it into the address field your browser sends a request for that document and displays it on the screen. That link can be to a different section of the current document, another document on the same website as the original or on another website anywhere in the world. Web pages are designed using hypertext markup language or HTML. Designing a basic HTML page is not difficult after mastering a few simple codes or if you are planning a website you can have a Web Developer (send me an inquiry)create one for you. The key to the web are the links to different, useful or interesting pages. Internet user collect links to their favorite sites or web pagesand add them to a bookmark or favorites list. Receiving information from another computer is called downloading. When a user chooses a web page to go to the browser automatically downloads the information from the page and displays it on the users computer screen. The user can also choose to download specific files. Sending information to another computer is called uploading. To place a web page on a website the developer must upload the file from their computer to the ISPs server.

Being Online means being connected to another computer, whether that computer is your ISP, your friends computer across town or a remote office computer, through a modem, or digital connection. Going Offline means disconnecting your computer from the remote connection.

Internet - Other
File Transfer Protocol (ftp) allows users to transfer files and documents from one computer to another. There are a few different software programs that will make this process quite simple. If you are designing a website you can use ftp to update your website. Computer users can also use an ftp program to download files and software off the internet. Many companies and universities offer ftp sites that contain software which can be downloaded and used on your computer. A search for 'ftp' will display dozens of ftp programs that can be used to download software.
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Internet Relay Chat (irc) allows users to participate in real-time discussions with other users through the Internet. A user logs on to an irc site and then types messages and replies to others messages as they are written. Often an irc discussions has a topic and users will join to discuss this topic. Other irc discussions are free flowing and regardless of how centred the discussion is it can take some time to sort out the different threads of discussion in a busy irc. They are also used for online conferences with a famous or knowledgeable person contributing their time to answer questions and present information. Along the same theme are online game sites where Internet users can compete against other users on the Net.
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Instant Messaging software, such as ICQ and MSN allows users to find friends and contacts through the Internet and communicate with them in real time. Users maintain a list of contacts which the software will notify when they are online and contact is available. To use an instant messaging service it is necessary to have and register software available on the Internet. Instant messaging allows you to chat, send messages and files and

various other features but only with people you choose. Often the software and registration is free. Some services also provide the ability to connect a microphone to your computer and talk to your contact. Your contact can talk back using their account and software which you can hear using the computer's speakers or an ear attachment.
Updated August 05, 2009

Internet - Search
If you are looking for a specific company or organization try typing www.company name.com into the address bar first (e.g. www.grassrootsdesign.com). If it is a "country specific" organization try ending with the specific, 2 character country code rather than .com (click here to display countries and their code). Search Engines make finding things on the Internet relatively easier. Search engines are run by companies that collect information from the Internet, sort and categorize it and present the information to the user based on keyword searchesor through directory listings. It is worth taking some time to learn how to make an effective keyword search as the amount of information that these search engines provide can be overwhelming. It is common to be provided with 10s of thousands of references to any given search term. By narrowing your search to a specific phrase you can target your searches more effectively. Many search engines require that you enclose a search phrase in quotes (e.g. "the cat in the hat"). Different search engines will display different results and sort those results differently. If you don't find the information you want on one search site try another. Some search companies offer meta searches which are compiled from a number of different search engines' results. Most search sites offer directory listings as well. The information is categorized in a hierarchy from general categories to specific categories. To find a specific web site follow the links down to the category that matches your interest.

The results from a search are a list of pages with links to the documents that match your search. Each search engine has a different way of displaying the results but generally you will see a list with the name of the organization or title of the page. You may also see a short description of that web page. Clicking on the title will take you to that page. Though there are hundreds of search engines on the Internet there are only a couple dozen that the majority of people use. If you choose "customize" in your browsers search tool you will see a list of some of these search engines. Website Search As well as Internet searches many websites offer a website search feature to help visitors find information on that specific website. Generally there will be a button marked 'Search' beside a text field. Enter your query to display links to the pages that match.

ECommerce
Electronic Transactions on the Internet are becoming common place. Books, software and even groceries can be bought and sold with the click of a button (and a credit card). The biggest problem with doing business over the Internet is the lack of common standardsaround security. There are dozens of different standards involving hundreds of different methods. The Internet, by it's nature, is an open system which means that information can flow freely from one computer to the next. Information transmitted through the Internet can be intercepted and copied as any point along the path. For this reason it is not a good idea to send confidential information like credit card numbers through the Internet the same way you might send an email to a friend. In order to send confidential information you must be sure that your private information can not be intercepted along the way. The most common method is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). A transaction computer with an order form for the product that you wish to purchase creates a secure connection which ensures that all the information that you send to it is not accessible to anyone else. If information from a secure

connection is intercepted it will be encrypted making it useless to persons with malicious intent. Most small businesses will not find it economical to setup their own secure server and can purchase a service from a third party which offers a transaction service. These services vary but all require a setup fee and some form of payment for transactions performed on their secure server. This payment can involve a monthly fee, a transaction fee, a percentage of the transaction, a credit card company fee or a combination of some/all of these fees. When considering hiring a transaction service a company should decide whether they want to setup their own merchant agreement with the credit card companies or pay the transaction service to use theirs. Some transaction companies retain a percentage of receipts for security deposit until a proven transaction record is established anywhere from 30 to 90 days. Some allow limited outside development of the forms used on the secure server and other insist that the forms be developed in-house. Another model is the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). This model requires that the customer download and install a wallet into which they enter their password protected credit card information. The SET system development was promoted by the major credit card companies to provide a safe and secure environment for online transactions. The SET "wallet" model requires that the customer obtain a Digital Certificatefrom a Certified Authority (CA) which they then use to perform the transaction. The Certified Authority, usually the bank or financial institution that the customer deals with, verifies the validity of the Certificate to the merchant. The customer enters their personalized password to verify that they have the authority to use the Certificate and the transaction is made. This model allows customers to use their credit cards to purchase items from merchants without transmitting their actual credit card details to the merchant. The merchant uses their merchant agreement with the credit card company to complete transactions, process refunds and verify the validity of the customers credit card information.

Though still in its infancy, many billing companies have begun Internet transaction projects using the SET model to allow their customers to pay their bills, check their account status and much more. This document marks the end of the section on the Internet. Try the Internet Quizor click the Next button to skip it!

Scripts & Macros

Scripts are used for many things on computers. Everything from customizing and automating repetitious tasks to changing the way the computer functions can be controlled with scripts. One example of a script is a batch file and the most common of these is the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. With older versions of Windows, this script contained the steps that the computer went through when starting up. The CONFIG.SYS file controls how your computer's hardware is configure each time you restart it. These type of files contain instructions for your computer; one instruction per line. These instructions are operating system commands and can be modified in any text editor. Always be sure to make a backup before modifying a*.BAT file. One of the most common scripts that the average user will come in contact with are macros. Most programs use some form of macro. A macro, at it's simplest, is a recorded series of keystrokes that help automate repetitive tasks. These tasks, once copied into a script, can be accomplished with a few keystrokes. You can use macros to help you write letters, create memos, or build reports. Some macros stop and beep when you need to enter information. Some present a screen with detailed information and multiple choices. Many programs allow the user to record personalized macros for their own unique use such as inserting your name and address. Most computer users will use scripts in some way, perhaps without realizing it. One common script that users often use are Wizards or scripts that install new software. These type of scripts will take you step by step through complex processes and stop a certain points to offer users different choices. On the Internet there are a number of script languages including JavaScript, Perl, VBScript, PHP and many others. These programming script languages allow website programmers to create many interesting and useful functions. These scripts are often written into web pages or stored on the server that you connect to. These type of scripts are used for processing

forms, keeping statistics, counting visitors to website, querying databases as well as limitless other processes with more being introduced each day. There are many scripting languages and programming languages designed to be used with programming tools or as stand alone programs but, as this is an introduction to computers, lets stick to the basics for now.

Computer Viruses
A virus is a program designed by a computer programmer (malicious hacker) to do a certain unwanted function. The virus program can be simply annoying like displaying a happy face on the user's screen at a certain time and date. It can also be very destructive and damage your computer's programs and files causing the computer to stop working. The reason why hackers create viruses are open for speculation. The most quoted reason is simply to see if it can be done. Other reasons are Ludite based "smash the machine" motivations, antiestablishment/anti-corporate actions, criminal intent, and various others that range into the "conspiracy theory" realm. Viruses take two basic forms One is a boot sector viruses which infect the section of a disk that is first read by the computer. This type of virus infects the boot or master section of any disks that it comes in contact with. The second is a program virus that infects other programs when the infected program is run or executed. Some viruses infect both and others change themselves (polymorphic) depending on the programs they encounter. Though viruses do not damage computer hardware there have been attempts to create programs that will do things like run the hard drive until it fails or lodge itself in the computer's clock (which has a rechargeable battery) allowing it to remain active even months after the computer has been unplugged. Other viruses affect certain microchips (BIOS chip for instance). These microchips need to be modified under normal computer use but the virus program can produce changes which cause them to fail. Other viruses will affect the characters or images displayed on the screen which may give the impression of monitor failure.

Viruses can cause a great deal of damage to the computers it infects and can cost a lot of time and money to correct it. Computer viruses have been around for a long time, even before computers became widely used and they will likely remain with us forever. For that reason computer users will always need ways to protect themselves from virus programs. The main, common feature of a virus is that it is contagious! Their sole purpose is to spread and infect other computers. A computer gets a virus from an infected file. The virus might attach themselves to a game, a program (both shareware and commercial) or a file downloaded from a bulletin board or the Internet. You cannot get a virus from a plain email message or from a simple text file! That is because the virus needs to be 'run' or executed before it can take effect. This usually happens when the user tries to open an infected program, accesses an infected disk or opens a file with an infected macro or script attached to it. A plain email message is made up of text which does not execute or run when opened. Modern email programs provide the ability to allow users to format email messages with HTML and attach scripts to them for various purposes and it is possible for a malicious hacker to attempt to spread a virus by building a virus script into an HTML type of email message. When you are accepting software or scripts on Internet sites or reading mail from unknown senders it is best not to run a program from that site or sender without checking it with an anti-virus program first. Protect yourself You can take safeguards against virus infection. The first thing is to get an anti-virus program. Most reputable companies that create virus protection programs release an evaluation copy that an Internet user can download for free and use for a certain amount of time. This anti-virus program will be able to check your computer for viruses and repair damage or delete files that are infected with viruses. You may have to replace infected files that cannot be repaired. The second thing you can do is purchase a copy of the program. The reason for this is that viruses are constantly being created. When you purchase an

anti-virus program you are also purchasing periodical updates which keep your anti-virus program up-to-date and able to deal with new viruses as they are encountered. Commercial virus programs also allow the user to customize when and how the program will check the computer for viruses. You will need to renew this updating service periodically. If you find that your computer has been infected with a virus use an antivirus program to clean your computer and make sure to check all the disks that you use. This includes all the hard drives on your computer(s) and all your floppy disks and CDs as well as any media that you save information on. Remember that the virus can easily re-infect your computer from one infected file! If you have to reload your computer programs, use the original program disks. You may want to check your original disks before reinstalling the software. If your original disks are infected contact the distributor to get replacements. Always take the time to ensure that your computer is properly protected. Spending money on a good virus checking program could save you hundreds of dollars and lots of time later. A discussion of viruses would not be complete without mentioning hoaxes. Malicious people without programming skills will send out fake virus warnings causing people to take unnessary measures which often cause your computer harm. One example tries to get the unsuspecting computer user to delete an important system file by warning them that it is a virus. A legitimate virus warning will provide a link to a website operated by an antivirus company with more information about that virus. Don't forward a virus warning until you have check out whether it is legitimate.
Updated August 05, 2009

Computer Security
There is a lot of discussion these days about computer security as more people use email and more services such as banking, mail orders and subscriptions become available through the Internet. But how secure is the Internet and what is computer security? Updating Software

It is very important to update your software periodically. When a program is released, particular internet browsers, it may contain flaws usually referred to asbugs. These bugs may not appear to be a problem but criminals will attempt to use these flaws for their own use. Keeping your software up to date will help keep your computer secure. Computers & Security Before the Internet, computer security was limited to 'closed systems' or networkcomputers such as offices or banks where only people physically in the office could use the computer system. It was quite easy for the network supervisor to set upuser names and passwords and since that time people have become used tologging on before they can use these types of computers or resources. With the advent of the Internet, computers users can now work in an 'open system' and security has become much more complicated. Even though you can now connect your home or office computer to the Internet and perform remote transactions without leaving the building you still want to be sure that the transaction is secure. The transaction takes place through the Internet by bouncing the information through various computers before it reaches, for example, the bank's computer. You want to be sure that no one observes the transaction along the way and collects or modifies your transaction information. This is where computer security comes in. There are many different types of security systems though most use a process called encryption. When you connect to your bank or other service to make a transaction you are often required to send your account number or user name as well as a Personal Identification Number (PIN) or password for verification. This information should only be sent after establishing a secure connection. If you are using an Internet browser you will see a small closed lock appear in the window of the browser. Once you are connected to asecure server any information you send or receive is scrambled or encrypted using a mathematical formula and then reassembled or decrypted at the other end. The computer user usually will not notice this happening as they perform their secure transaction. Anyone with criminal intent who intercepts your transaction will be treated to a stream of garbled nonsense (e.g..qANQR1DBwU4D560EJv6XqrMQB)!

If this is the first time you use a new service you most often will need to setup an account and possibly download a small piece of software called a plug in which allows your computer to create the secure connection or link. The transaction often involves the exchange of a small file that keeps track of the transaction and can act a flag or bookmark when you next visit that website. These small files are called cookies and are set by the website you are visiting. They can contain information such as the type of server you are connecting from, the type of browser you are using, the last site you visited and any information you volunteer. You can view the information stored in the cookie. Try a search for 'cookie' to find the cookies folder. Windows users can view any cookies they are storing in the folder C:\Windows\Cookies\. Setting up security As the most people won't be setting up their own secure server the scope of this section is limited to the topics of protecting email and small business or organizational transactions. Email can be protected using a service or an application (program). There are others but the two that stand out currently are S/MIME and PGP. S/MIME requires the user to register with a 3 party service which issues a digital id that you attach to your message. Though this is usually a commercial service there is often a free introductory period. PGP is free for personal use or a commercial application for business use and is run from your own computer. Both methods allow users to sign or attach a digital identification to the email message which verifies, to the recipient, that the message is from the original person or organization and that the information wasn't tampered with in transit. These methods also allow the user to encrypt their message so that anyone intercepting the message wouldn't be able to read it. You can also decide the level of encryption from low; in which a nerd with some good software and enough time on their hands could possibly decrypt to high (128 bit) which would take a whole mountain of experts weeks to decrypt if even then. Most of us will choose somewhere in between as this process involves increased time and file size. Both methods use key pairs of public and private keys. Your public keys is sent to everyone that you communicate through email with. Your public key

can be sent through various methods including posting it to an internet service or sending it as part of an email message. Public keys can also be post on your website in a file. Your friends and associated can add your public key to a file called a key ring). When someone wants to send you a secure email the sender encrypts their messages with your public key. When you receive the email you must decrypt it using your private key. Many email programs will automatically verify that the message is authentic. You will need to type in your password to view the message. Encryption also involves using the key pair but in reverse. Once your message is completed you encrypt the file using the recipient's public key ensuring that only the recipient can ever access that message with their private key. (Editor's note: Don't lose your private key!). Small businesses and organizations that wish to offer transactions over the Internet or Ecommerce can take their chances and set up an unsecured system, set up their own secure server or purchase a service from a third party. There are various types including service that take a percentage of the transaction and/or charge a service fee and/or charge for each transaction. Some organizations are more reliable and you should always shop around before committing to a service. Because this type of service is so new the length of time a company has been operating is not always a way to decide. Things to watch for is downtime. If your companies website is operating properly yet the customer or user can't access the transaction server because it is down, too busy or misconfigured they will easily be put off perhaps entirely. Watch for contracts that lock you in as the market is still developing and prices tend to fluctuate. It is easy to switch services by simply changing the address on your website's order forms. Security and Websites As was stated at the beginning of this document the nature of the Internet is an open system. Having said that there are many reasons and many ways to set up a secure or closed system with in this open framework. Private or member based discussion groups, private files or folders, protected databases, copyright material to name a few all need some way of allowing them to be distributed to the intended recipient only. Also many businesses are creating Intranets which are closed systems only accessible to registered users. An Intranet can provide a way of making company information easily accessible and allow branch offices to communicate with each other easier.

Account Security Your website itself is protected by your ISP's software. When you attempt to access your web space to change or modify a file using a shell or ftp you are challenged to send your username and password. This is the first line of protection and adequate for many website administrators. Server Security The server that your website is installed on is the second line of protection. Most servers have security features built in to them allowing users to password protect folders or build scripts to send a username/password challenge to a user trying to access a file or folder. This allows website administrators the ability to create discussion groups within their site or to place confidential documents or information that is made available only to registered users on their own website. Unfortunately some ISP either don't make this option available, charge a premium to use them or only allow their own employees to set them up. Third Party Security Another option includes contracting the protection of private files to a separate service, pay a third party to hosting a private discussion group or obtain web space on another server that allows access to security options. The entire Internet is as close as your computer connection and whether the file the user is viewing is stored in your own current web space or on another server is usually immaterial. When your customers, employees or members moves from one page to another the consistency of the website is the maintained by the design, not the address of the separate pages. It is also possible to control the address that is displayed if required. Software Security Another option is to use JavaScript or Java applets to control how customers or members access secure features. This option is only available to users who are using Java enabled browsers. Scripts and applets can control access to documents and databases, create content on the fly based on user input, detect the browser the visitor is using and direct them to the proper page, retrieve cookies and use that information to determine whether a user has access to a certain area or not, as well as many other uses.

Copyright Copyright is protect using the same process as any original material (books, artwork, film, etc...). Anything that a user gets off the Internet should be treated as privately owned information unless otherwise noted. Anyone posting private information to the Internet should be aware that copyright law is not the same in every country and may be difficult to enforce. It is possible to set up a page that won't be stored on the users computer once they leave the site but that will only slow down not stop users who want to obtain information posted on a website. Notices of copyright are often added to the main page of a website sometimes with a link to a page describing the details of how the content can be used. Is Security Necessary? Though you may think that it is not necessary to setup security systems there are many reason to consider it. I have come across a number of examples of people forging documents and email. A digital signature will be the only way to verify whether a document is genuine or not. Many organizations need to discuss draft articles, changes to bylaws and other documents that could cause problems if they were made public before they are approved. A secure directory within your website is an ideal spot to store sensitive material making it available for members and people who have the proper password. I would be remiss to not point out and as all articles on the subject also point out mining the Internet with malicious intent is also possible. One common malicious acts is to search websites for email addresses and then add them to spam distribution lists. Unfortunately there is very little that can be done to counter this other than removing your email address from your web site but this makes it difficult for your customers to contact you. Whether you decide to add a security component to your web site project initially it is a good idea to think about or have a discussion about web site security when planning the site. You should also review your security systems periodically whether that is changing your password or reviewing and updating your security system.

Networks

Most people working in office with more than a couple of computers will be using some form of network. As networks become easier to setup and maintain more home users are also setting up networks to share resource such as disk space, printers, Internet connections and access to software. A network is basically two or more computers connected through a cable or wire which share resources. Network software controls how the computers communicate. There are dozens of different types of networks which are impossible to cover in an introduction article. This article focuses on home and small business networks using some version of the Window operating system. To connect computers each of the computers needs a network card with a connection that allows a cable to be connected to it. Computers can be connected directly through a bi-directional cable or through an other piece of hardware called a hub. The hub then connects all the computers in your local network together. Both solutions cost about the same but a hub allows more than two computers to connect. A hub can also be used to connect two local area networkstogether to create a wide area network. Some form of network software is required. This network protocol software is installed through the network preferences. NetBIOS was commonly used though recently a secure TCP/IP protocol has been developed. The network protocol determines how computers become part of the network and how they are recognized. The network must have a name and you can use some creativity at this point. Each computer must also have a unique name that other computers on the network can access them with. If all goes well this is all you need but often there will be a conflict that can be resolved by establishing exactly how the computer will communicate. To solve these types of conflict your network needs a set DNS server address and each computer in the network needs to be assigned a unique IP address. The addresses usually are in the range of 192.168.x.x where x means any number between 0 and 255. Once these numbers have been entered your network should be functioning with each computer able to see the other computers on the network. You must also decide which resources you want to share. You may want to make a disk or folder available, a printer or tape backup system so that

everyone can use it. You may also want to have parts of the network that are either not accessible or accessible only through a password. File and print sharing must be enable on the computer that will share it's resources or host computer and they determine how they are accessed by other computers or clients. A computer with an Internet connection can also share that connection with other computers on the network but you should check with your ISP what their policy on sharing Internet connections is. Sharing an Internet connection also raises some serious security issues. Many cable high speed Internet connections use theNetwork Neighborhood settings to create the Internet connection and connecting your home or office network to this existing system can cause problems. Though you may want to allow a computer in another room of the house to access files or run programs on your computer you probably don't want the kid down the block to have that same access. Security on networks begin with passwords. Everyone who wishes to access the network must logon with a username and password. If someone cancels the password challenge they will be able to access the files and programs on that individual computer but can't access any of the network resources. Specific passwords for important folders or disks can also be set or access to folders or disks can be forbidden. Unlike server/client networks where the server must be running before the computers can communicate the peer-to-peer network that comes packaged with Windows allow any computers that are turned on to communicate with other. Other computers in the network become accessible as user turn them on. Networks can also be open to remote secure access through a virtual private network. A VPN allows a computer to connect to a computer or network through the Internet.

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