Internet Tutorial - Beginners

Most of the Internet is made up of web sites just like this one. But there is more to the Internet than just web sites.

Email is one of the most popular uses of the Internet and certainly one of the most useful. It’s really no different than sending a letter except that it’s many times faster and cheaper. Here's a very simplified diagram of how email works.

Like regular mail, you need an address to send the message. Email addresses look like this: someone@isp.com

"someone" is the name of the person – which could be their full name, their initials, a combination of both or whatever they thought was a good idea at the time!

@isp.com is the address where the person’s "mailbox" lives. This is usually the Internet Service Provider they have their Internet account with, or the company that they work for. In this case "xtra" is the name of the Internet Service Provider.

	You enter that address in the box that says "To:" type in your message and click on the send button. You can even send the same message to more than one person at the same time by entering multiple email addresses. And just like putting a letter in an envelope, you can also slip something else in with your message before you send it. This is called adding an attachment. Just click on the paperclip icon, then select a file on your computer which you would like to send. This could be a photograph, a document, a sound file, even a video file (although try not to send anything larger than a few hundred kilobytes by email – if in doubt, check with your Internet Service Provider). Note: don’t worry – you only send a copy of the attached file with your message – the original stays on your computer!
	Hazard Warning – Viruses There has been a lot of talk in the media recently about computer "viruses" which are transmitted by email. But don’t panic – you can’t catch a virus by simply receiving an email. Viruses can only be carried in email attachments like programs or documents, and will only infect your computer if you open them.