Introduction. How to Use This Book. How This Book Is Organized. Special Features in This Book. There's More on the Web. Let Me Know What You Think. I. GETTING CONNECTED. 1. Choosing and Connecting to an ISP. How an Internet Connection Works. How Modems Work. Making a Basic Connection. How to Evaluate an ISP. Different Types of ISPs. Maximizing Dial-Up Speed. Troubleshooting. 2. Making the Broadband Connection. High-Speed Options. ISDN. DSL. Digital Cable. Satellite. Broadband Wireless Access. Speeding Up a Broadband Connection. Troubleshooting. 3. Sharing a Connection. Sharing Is Good. Setting Up a Small Network. Networking Without Cables. Choosing a Configuration. Using Internet Connection Sharing. Troubleshooting. 4. Connecting on the Road. You're Not at Home Anymore…. Traveling the United States. Traveling Outside the United States. Accessing E-mail from the Web. Troubleshooting. 5. The Wireless Web. Mobile Connections on Various Devices. Internet Access for Your Phone. Cellular Modems for Your PC or PDA. Troubleshooting. 6. Browsing the Web. How the Web Works. Basic Web Browsing. Using Internet Explorer. Using Netscape. Browsing Faster. Troubleshooting. II. SURFING SAFELY. 7. Family-Safe Browsing. Making the Web Safe for Kids. Ten Tips for Kid-Safe Surfing. Filtering Software. Kid-Safe Browsers. Content Filtering with Internet Explorer. Kid-Safe Searching. Troubleshooting. 8. Ensuring Privacy and Security. How Private-and Secure-Is the Web? Maintaining Your Privacy Online. Secure Surfing and Shopping. Internet Explorer Security. Netscape Security. Troubleshooting. 9. Protecting Your System from Viruses. What Is a Computer Virus? How Viruses Work. How to Catch a Virus. Common Virus Symptoms. Practicing Safe Computing Using an Anti-Virus Program. Troubleshooting. 10. Protecting Your System from Outside Attack. How Outsiders Get Inside Your System. Potential Threats. Protecting Your System with a Firewall. Troubleshooting. III. COMMUNICATING ONLINE. 11. E-mail. How E-mail Works. POP Versus HTTP E-mail. Popular POP E-mail Programs. Web-Based E-mail Services. Using POP and Web E-mail Together. Managing Mass Mailings. Troubleshooting. 12. Newsgroups, Message Boards, and Mailing Lists. Group Activities on the Web. How to Participate in an Online Community. Usenet Newsgroups. Message Boards. E-mail Mailing Lists. Troubleshooting. 13. Chat. Understanding Internet Chat. Before You Get Started. Internet Relay Chat. Web-Based Chats. Chatting on AOL. Troubleshooting. 14. Instant Messaging. Understanding Instant Messaging. How Instant Messaging Works. AOL Instant Messenger. ICQ. MSN Messenger. Windows Messenger. Yahoo! Messenger. Troubleshooting. 15. Webcams. Understanding the Webcam Phenomenon. How Webcams Work. Finding Webcams on the Internet. Hooking Up Your Own Webcam. Troubleshooting. 16. Videoconferencing and Internet Telephony. Videoconferencing: Live Meetings with Audio and Video. Internet Telephony: Talking One-to-One. Troubleshooting. IV. SEARCHING AND FILE MANAGEMENT. 17. Smart Searching. Why People Hate Searching the Web. How Information Is Stored on the Web. Searching-Yesterday and Today. Where to Search. The Basic Parts of Every Search Site. The Correct Way to Search. Searching in the Real World. Tips for More Effective Searching. Troubleshooting. 18. Searching for People. How to Find People on the Web. Using White Pages Directories. Searching for E-mail Addresses. Searching for Home Pages. Researching Genealogy on the Web. Troubleshooting. 19. Working with Files. Files and the Internet. Downloading Files. Sending Files Via E-mail. Peer-to-Peer File Sharing. Working with Files. Troubleshooting. 20. Online Backup and Storage. The Internet as a Big Hard Disk. Backing Up Your Computer-Online. Storing Files Online. Using Yahoo! Briefcase for Online Storage. Troubleshooting. V. BUYING AND SELLING. 21. Online Shopping. A Different Way to Shop. Online Shopping-Is It Safe? Shopping for Places to Shop. Comparison Shopping. Shop for Books, Music, and Videos. Shop for Computers. Shop for Electronics. Shop for Clothes. Shop for Everything. Shop for a New Car. Shop for a Place to Live. Buy-and Sell-with Online Classified Ads. Buying and Selling on Usenet. Troubleshooting. 22. Online Auctions. Understanding Online Auctions. Different Types of Online Auctions. Using eBay. How an eBay Auction Works. Winning Bids with Sniping. Determining What Types of Payments to Accept. Protecting Yourself on eBay. Rating Users with Feedback. Managing Your Auctions. Troubleshooting. 23. Online Travel. Great Vacations, Online. Booking Reservations Online. Making Maps and Getting Directions. Other Travel-Related Resources on the Web. Troubleshooting. VI. MANAGING YOUR MONEY. 24. Online Investing. General Financial Information. Researching Individual Securities. Online Brokers. Troubleshooting. 25. Online Banking. Using the Internet for Your Banking Needs. Web Banking. Online Banking with Financial Management Programs. Online Bill Payment. Troubleshooting. 26. Online Loans. Mortgages. Car Loans. Student Loans. Troubleshooting. 27. Online Job Hunting. Finding a Job-Without Pounding the Pavement. The Best Career-Oriented Sites on the Web. Looking for a Monster Job at Monster.com. Troubleshooting. VII. INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT. 28. Online News (and Sports and Weather). News on the Web. Sports on the Web. Weather on the Web. Troubleshooting. 29. Online Health. Medical Info on the Web. Support Groups Online. Finding a Doctor Online. Buying Drugs Online. Troubleshooting. 30. Online Education. Learning-via the Web. K-12. College. Distance Learning. Troubleshooting. 31. Online Games. Understanding Online Gaming. Simple Games. Multiplayer Games. Sites for Videogamers. Troubleshooting. 32. The Internet for Kids. Kids' Sites-All Shapes and Sizes. Family and Parenting Sites. Troubleshooting. 33. Surfing for Seniors. Senior Sites and Organizations. Senior Health. Senior-Friendly Chat and Communities. Religion and the Web. Troubleshooting. VIII. SOUNDS AND PICTURES. 34. Online Music. Audio on the Web. The MP3 Phenomenon. How MP3 Works. Is It Legal? Putting MP3 to Use. MP3 Software. MP3 Hardware. Finding MP3 Files. MP3 File Sharing. Troubleshooting. 35. Internet Radio and TV. Understanding Streaming Media. Streaming Media Technologies. Media Players. Internet Radio. Internet Television. Troubleshooting. 36. Online Photos and Graphics. Understanding Image Files. Choosing the Right Type of Image. Graphics from the Web. Online Photo Services. Troubleshooting. IX. ESTABLISHING A WEB PRESENCE. 37. Creating a Simple Web Page. Understanding Personal Web Pages. Home Page Communities on the Web. Using Yahoo! GeoCities. Troubleshooting. 38. Basic HTML Editing. Understanding HTML. Codes to Get Started. Codes for Backgrounds. Codes for Text. Codes That Insert Things. Codes for Lists. Codes for Tables. HTML Editors. Troubleshooting. 39. Web Site and Domain Name Hosting. Building a Professional Web Site. Choosing a Web Hosting Service. Obtaining Your Own Domain. Other Professional Web Services. Troubleshooting. 40. Hosting Your Own Web Server. Are You Ready to Serve? What You Need to Become a Host. Why Not to Host. Setting Up Your Own Server. Server Software. A Note from the Author. Index.

Special Edition Using the Internet and Web covers multiple individual end-user activities-it's like having a dozen activity-specific books under a single cover! The book is organized by activity-how people spend their time online. Each chapter describes a specific activity, and shows users the best ways to engage in that activity online-complete with real-world tips and advice for getting the most of that time online. Topics range from getting connected-and getting connected faster-to online shopping and downloading MP3 files. In short, whatever users want to do online, they'll find in this book-without having to wade through hundreds of pages of software-specific instruction.

Special Edition Using the Internet and Web covers multiple individual end-user activities-it's like having a dozen activity-specific books under a single cover! The book is organized by activity-how people spend their time online. Each chapter describes a specific activity, and shows users the best ways to engage in that activity online-complete with real-world tips and advice for getting the most of that time online. Topics range from getting connected-and getting connected faster-to online shopping and downloading MP3 files. In short, whatever users want to do online, they'll find in this book-without having to wade through hundreds of pages of software-specific instruction.

Special Edition Using the Internet and Web is the first book that targets the most popular activities of Internet users in a single book. The primary advantage of Special Edition Using the Internet and Web is that it focuses on the most common activities of Internet users, not on the underlying technologies or software. The approach is similar to that of The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Online Investing and other similar single-activity Internet titles-except that this title covers multiple activities in a single book! The book is organized by activity-how people spend their time online-with individual Internet technologies introduced as appropriate within each activity.