The Internet for dummies, 12th edition

Introduction. Part I: Welcome to the Internet. Chapter 1: What's So Great about the Internet, Anyway? Chapter 2: Is the Internet Safe? Viruses, Spyware, Spam, and Other Yucky Stuff. Chapter 3: Kids and the Net. Part II: Internet, Here I Come! Chapter 4: Assembling Your Gear and Climbing on the Net. Chapter 5: Connecting with Wi-Fi, Laptops, and Smartphones. Part III: Web Mania. Chapter 6: Welcome to the Wild, Wonderful, Wacky Web. Chapter 7: Taking Your Browser for a Spin. Chapter 8: Needles and Haystacks: Finding Almost Anything on the Web. Chapter 9: Music and Video on the Web. Chapter 10: More Shopping, Less Dropping. Chapter 11: Banking, Bill Paying, and Investing Online. Chapter 12: Swiping Files from the Net. Part IV: E-Mail, Chat, and Other Ways to Hang Out Online. Chapter 13: It's in the Mail: Sending and Receiving E-Mail. Chapter 14: Keeping Your Mail Safe from Viruses, Spam, and Wi-Fi Snoops. Chapter 15: Putting Your Mail in Its Place. Chapter 16: Typing and Talking on the Net. Chapter 17: Games and Worlds on the Web. Part V: Putting Your Own Stuff on the Net. Chapter 18: Making a Splash Online. Chapter 19: Blogs and Twitter. Chapter 20: Making Your Own Web Site. Part VI: The Part of Tens. Chapter 21: Ten Problems and Ten Solutions. Chapter 22: Ten Fun or Worthwhile Things You Can Do Online. Glossary. Index The Internet For Dummies®, 12th Edition 1 Contents at a Glance 11 Table of Contents 13 Introduction 23 Part I: Welcome to the Internet 29 Chapter 1: What’s So Great about the Internet, Anyway? 31 So, What Is the Internet? 31 What’s All the Hoopla? 32 Why Is This Medium Different from Any Other Medium? 34 Okay, What Next? 37 Chapter 2: Is the Internet Safe? Viruses, Spyware, Spam, and 39 Privacy: Who’s Who and What They Can Tell about You 40 Security: How People Can Take Over Your PC 46 Spam, Bacon, Spam, Eggs, and Spam 53 Safety: How to Keep Yourself and Your Family Safe 55 Chapter 3: Kids and the Net 57 Really Cool Ways Kids Use the Net 57 So-So Ways Kids Use the Net 59 Not-So-Good Ways Kids Use the Net 59 Truly Brain-Dead Things Kids Should Never Do 60 The Internet and Little Kids 61 Surf Safe 62 Sell, Sell, Sell! 63 Who’s Online? 64 The Internet in Schools 64 A Few Useful Web Sites 66 Part II: Internet, Here I Come! 67 Chapter 4: Assembling Your Gear and Climbing on the Net 69 What Kind of Computer Do You Need? 70 The Types of Internet Connections 73 What’s in an Account? 73 Speedy Connections: DSL and Cable Internet 73 Dialing — the Old-Fashioned Way 81 I’m In! 83 Essential Software to Keep Your System Safe 84 Our Favorite Internet Setup 88 You’re Connected — Now What? 88 Chapter 5: Connecting with Wi-Fi, Laptops, and Smartphones 91 Just One Computer for Internet Access? Naah 91 First, Make a LAN 93 Forget the Wires — Go Wi-Fi! 97 Using Your Laptop or Netbook at Home and Away 101 Using Your Smartphone on the Net 105 Part III: Web Mania 109 Chapter 6: Welcome to the Wild, Wonderful, Wacky Web 111 What Is the Web? 111 Browsing to Points Unknown 114 Web Surfing with Your Browser 116 Browsing from Your Smartphone 123 Getting and Installing a Browser 124 Chapter 7: Taking Your Browser for a Spin 127 Saving Stuff from the Web 127 Viewing Lots of Web Pages at the Same Time 129 A Few of Your Favorite Things 131 Filling In Forms 136 Knowing Where to Start 138 Who Can Remember All Those Passwords? 142 Cookies Are (Usually) Your Friends 144 Where Have You Been? 146 Blocking Pop-Up Windows 147 When Browsers Go Bad 148 Getting Plugged In with Plug-Ins 149 Chapter 8: Needles and Haystacks: Finding Almost Anything on the Web 151 Your Basic Search Strategy 153 Search, Ho! 154 Browsing with Directories 160 The Usual Suspects: Other Useful Search Sites 164 Finding People 165 We’re from Your Browser, and We’re Here to Help You 166 Too Many Toolbars 167 Making a Custom Start Page 168 Chapter 9: Music and Video on the Web 171 Seven Ways to Get Media and One Way Not To 172 What Are You Listening With? 175 Okay, How about Some Music? 177 Subscribing to Podcasts 179 Playing Music and Podcasts 180 Listening to Internet Radio 181 Watching Movies on the Net 183 Chapter 10: More Shopping, Less Dropping 187 Shopping Online: Pros and Cons 187 The Credit Card Question 188 Paying at the Store 190 How Little Do You Want to Pay? 192 Up, Up, and Away 193 Even More Places to Shop 195 Chapter 11: Banking, Bill Paying, and Investing Online 201 Going to the Bank without Ever Leaving Home 201 Dealing with Credit Cards 208 Pay Your Pals with PayPal 209 Investing Your Money Online 211 Budgeting Tools 213 Chapter 12: Swiping Files from the Net 215 What Is Downloading? 215 Downloading Pictures 216 Art Ain’t Free 217 Downloading Programs 217 Scanning for Viruses 220 Downloading Other Types of Files 222 Some File Types and What to Do with Them 223 Part IV: E-Mail, Chat, and Other Ways to Hang Out Online 227 Chapter 13: It’s in the Mail: Sending and Receiving E-Mail 229 What’s My Address? 230 And I Would Read My Mail How? 234 The Web Is a Fine Place to Read Your E-Mail 235 Reading Your E-Mail on Your Smartphone 238 Reading Your E-Mail in a Mail Program 240 Sending Mail Is Easy 246 Mail Coming Your Way 248 To Whom Do I Write? 251 Chapter 14: Keeping Your Mail Safe from Viruses, Spam, and Wi-Fi Snoops 253 I Think I’ve Got a Virus 253 Get This Spam Outta Here! 258 How Private Is E-Mail? 265 Secure That Mail 266 Chapter 15: Putting Your Mail in Its Place 269 A Few Words from the Etiquette Ladies 270 Back to You, Sam: Replying to Mail 272 Keeping Track of Your Friends 273 Hot Potatoes: Forwarding Mail 275 Cold Potatoes: Saving Mail 276 Handling Exotic Mail and Mail Attachments 279 Teaching Your E-Mail Program to Sort Your Mail 282 Chapter 16: Typing and Talking on the Net 285 AIMing to Chat via Text 286 Adding Voices and Faces 296 Internet Phones and Voice Chat 298 Around the Virtual Town Pump 300 Look Who’s Chatting 307 Chapter 17: Games and Worlds on the Web 313 A Solitaire-y Pastime 313 Plays Well with Others 315 Games You Can Play at Any Computer 316 MMORPGs Are More Fun than They Sound 317 It’s a Whole New World 322 Part V: Putting Your Own Stuff on the Net 327 Chapter 18: Making a Splash Online 329 Ways to Go Public on the Web 329 Presenting Your Online Self 330 Say “Cheese!” 334 The Internet’s Funniest Home Videos 337 Sharing Documents and Calendars 337 Setting Up an Online Shop 340 Chapter 19: Blogs and Twitter 343 What’s in a Blog? 343 Writing Your Own Blog 347 Twittering about Your Life 351 Chapter 20: Making Your Own Web Site 357 Working Together on a Wiki 357 Page Creator Sites to the Rescue 361 Producing Pictures for Your Site 366 Linking to Other Pages and Sites 367 Creating a Web Site with Your Bare Hands 368 Be the Master of Your Domain 370 Shout It Out: Getting Your Web Site Found 371 Part VI: The Part of Tens 373 Chapter 21: Ten Problems and Ten Solutions 375 My PC Takes Forever to Boot and Pop-Up Ads Have Taken Over the Screen 375 This Nice, Free Program Doesn’t Run If I Turn Off the Ads 378 I Can’t Send Large E-Mail Attachments 378 I’m Worried about ID Theft 379 I Can’t Remember All My Web Site Passwords 380 I Get Messages Telling Me That E-Mail I Never Sent Is Undeliverable 381 People Seem to Know a Lot about Me 381 I Can’t Get My Kids, Spouse, or Significant Other Off the Computer 382 When I Click a Link, My Browser Says “404 Page Not Found” 382 I Want to Include My E-Mail Address on My Web Page 383 Chapter 22: Ten Fun or Worthwhile Things You Can Do Online 385 Share Pictures and Videos with Your Friends and Family 385 Entertain Yourself with TV and Radio 386 Find Out What Your Stuff Is Worth 388 Have Some Fun and Play Games 388 Build Your Own Jumbo Jet 389 Visit Art Museums around the World 390 Take a Trip around the Planet and the Stars 390 Do Some Cool Things with Books Online 392 Search for Extraterrestrial Life or Cure Cancer 393 Do Something Nice and Help Save the World 394 Glossary 395 Index 409 Don't miss the 12th edition of this bestseller, fully updated and now covering social networking! Sixteen years since the publication of the first edition, this smash hit book has outsold and outlasted all the competition. See what all the excitement is about with the newest edition, The Internet For Dummies, 12th Edition. You'll not only find a lot of the basics presented in an easy-to-follow and friendly style, you'll also get the latest on social networking, security, and much more-stuff barely on the horizon a couple of years ago that now dominates the online landscape. Introduces you to what's online, how to deal with annoyances like spam and spyware, and how to control what your kids see and do online Walks you through picking a provider, getting hooked up to the Internet, and sharing a connection in your home or with other devices Gives you a guided a tour through popular Web browsers, getting good search results; finding music and video; shopping; banking; and sharing files Also covers e-mail, connecting with friends, online chats, and more Helps you find the hot social networking sites and see how to handle photo and video sharing Using the Internet? Get thoroughly up to speed with this popular guide.

This best-selling plain-English guide explains what's new in the phenomenally growing realm of the Internet.

Booknews

Would-be Internet surfers learn life-saving techniques in this guide to the Internet. Cartoons, tips, hints, and technical boxes lead the way to instructions on connecting to the Internet, using tools such as e-mail, mailing lists, and network news, file transfer, navigation tools, and troubleshooting. A reference section lists public Internet service providers, sources of Internet software, on-line resources and publications, and Internet geographic zones. Includes a glossary. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)