|
Internet Frequently-Asked Questions
We hope the following links and questions will help to solve many of your Frequently Asked Questions. What is a search engine?A search engine is a program which runs on the Internet to help you SEARCH for what you are looking for. Most search engines present to you a form where you type in a subject and then it brings back many sites on the Internet which contain information about that subject. The more specific you start out the better. There are many different search engines on the Internet and each brings back the information in different ways. Two of the most popular search engines are Altavista and Yahoo. Give them a try and look under the Search section of our Hot Links page for more. You can also try Our Search Page which lets you choose from several search engines. How do I download files? Downloading files via the Internet is relatively simple. A page usually gives you a link to click on to download the file. Some common types of files that are available for download are listed below.
When you click on the link to the file your browser will usually ask you what you want to do with the file.You should choose the Save or Save As option and then tell your browser what directory or folder to put the file into. I have created a folder on my machine called download. I originally download all files into this directory and then move them to separate directories after I am finished downloading. It is very important to keep files in directories that allow you to remember where they are. This allows you to remove the files easily at a later time. You should always place .exe and.zip files in a separate directory. It is always a good idea to run a virus protection program on all .exe files downloaded from the Internet and never download files from questionable sites. For more information on .zip files see the next question. What are .zip files and how do I use them? A zip file is a compressed file or files. Zip files are used on the Internet so that you can download one or more files easier and faster. To use a zip file you must have a program that will unzip or decompress the file back to it's original file or files. One of the most popular programs on the Internet for doing this is called WinZip.You can download WinZip off the Internet by going to our Popular Pages. Under Software you may go to http://www.winzip.com or to TUCOWS and you will find WinZip. When unzipping files it is a good idea to place the.zip file into a separate directory and then extract the files contained in the .zip file to that same directory.Following this practice will allow you to always know where the program files are located and it will make them easy to remove later. If you unzip a program file you will usually have two files named readme and setup.exe. You should read the readme file with notepad, write, wordpad, or a word processor in order to see any special instructions that the author has for you. After you read this file run the setup.exe file in order to install the software. Always be careful where you get the zip files from. It is a good idea to run a virus detection program on all.exe, .bat, and .com files downloaded. Run the detection program after you extract the .zip file. If you download programs from reputable sites like Microsoft, Netscape,Wollongong, or TUCOWS you should never find a virus but you can never be to safe. What is ftp and how do I use it? FTP stands for file transfer protocol. FTP allows you to log directly into a server and look at the folders and files on that server. Some servers allow anyone to log into them. This is known as anonymous ftp. Other servers restrict who may login to them. To login to an anonymous ftp server you would type ftp://{servername}. Substitute the real name of the server for {servername}. When you get in you will see the folders on that server just like you would see the folders on your computer through FileManager or Windows Explorer. You can click on a file to download it. Not all browsers support ftp but it is important to know how to use it because this is the way you get files to the server for your own home page. How do I make my own homepage? A homepage gives you a place to reflect your own interest and hobbies on the World Wide Web. Home pages are written in the language HTML(Hypertext Markup Language). You need to have a basic understanding of HTML before you begin.You can learn about HTML from the What is an IRC Chat? IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. You can get programs on the Internet which allow you to login to an IRC server. Once you login to the server you will be able to enter several rooms where you can chat with others using your keyboard. The most popular program for doing this is mIRC. Comments, Suggestions, etc. should be directed to webmaster@foothills.net. |
| HOME | CONTACT US | LONG DISTANCE | TECH SUPPORT |
| SPECIALS | SEARCH PAGE | COMMUNITY EVENTS | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |
| COPYRIGHT | |||