This short article is for people who want to jump aboard the Internet but haven’t chosen an ISP yet. ISP stands for Internet service provider. You will need one of those to surf the Internet and send and receive e-mail. This article also gets you up to speed on speedy broadband connections and slower dial-up connections. It also explains how to go about finding a company to host your Web site, in case you want to create a Web site of your own.

Selecting an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

If you intend to surf the Internet, send and receive e-mail, or create a Web site for the Internet, your first task is to choose an Internet service provider (ISP). An ISP is a company that provides customers access to the Internet, e-mail services, and, in some cases, the opportunity to post Web sites. You’ve probably heard of popular ISPs such as America Online, MSN, and Earthlink. There are some 5,000 ISPs in the United States. How do you choose which one is right for you? Here are some considerations to make as you choose an ISP:

-  What is the monthly service charge? Monthly service charges range from $15 to $30 for people who use dial-up modems, to $50 or more per month for a fast DSL, cable modem, or T1 connection. (These connections are explained under “Broadband or Dial-Up?” later in the article.)

-  What is the set-up fee? Most ISPs charge a one-time set-up or enrollment fee. Depending on how many ISPs are located in your area and how stiff the competition among ISPs is, fees vary from no charge at all to $40.

-  Can I dial in without having to call a long-distance number? If you connect to the Internet by modem, the modem in your computer calls the ISP’s computers. If that telephone call is a long-distance call, going on the Internet becomes an expensive proposition because you have to pay long-distance rates each time you go on the Internet. National ISPs such as those run by the major telephone companies offer regional phone numbers that you can call no matter where you travel. If you travel a lot and have to connect a laptop computer to the Internet from various cities and regions, consider signing on with an ISP that offers what are called “points of presence,” or simply POPs, the regional telephone numbers you can dial to connect to an ISP.

-  How many hours of monthly online time are included in the monthly fee? Nowadays, most ISPs charge a flat monthly rate to go online for as many hours as you want. Still, find out if the ISP whose services you are considering charges a flat rate or a by-the-hour rate. That way, you will know what to expect from your first bill.

-  How much storage space am I allowed for the Web pages I want to post on the Internet? Some ISPs offer their subscribers the opportunity to post Web sites at no extra charge; others charge an additional fee to subscribers who want to post their Web sites on the Internet. Most ISPs allow from 1 to 2MB to as much as 50MB of file storage space.

-  Do you have spam-blocking and virus protection? Some ISPs have built-in software that screens out spam, the Internet equivalent of junk mail. Some ISPs screen all files for viruses as well. On the face of it, spam-blocking seems like a good deal, but some spam-blocking software is not sophisticated and merely blocks certain kinds of files, such as .exe (executable) files, or files that are larger than a certain number of megabytes. You might legitimately receive these kinds of files from co-workers, in which case spam-blocking is not for you.

-  Do you have a length-of-service contract? Anybody who has a cell phone knows that length-of-service contracts can be a real burden. Under these contracts, you have to sign on for a year. If the service doesn’t suit you, you can’t quit the service during the first year without paying a fee. If an ISP you are considering requires you to sign a lengthof- service contract, make sure you investigate the ISP, especially its billing policies, before you put your name on the dotted line.

-  Do you offer technical help? Typically, ISPs that charge a low monthly rate do not offer very much technical assistance to customers, but even if you go with an expensive ISP, find out how long the company takes to reply to e-mail queries for technical assistance. Find out as well if the ISP maintains a 24-hour telephone line that you can call if you need technical assistance. By the way, queries as to what to do about smoke coming from a modem should be directed to the local fire department, which is obliged to respond faster than an ISP.

Broadband or Dial-Up?

A broadband connection is an Internet connection that is always on and is capable of transmitting data very quickly. Broadband services can be delivered over the telephone lines, by way of a private network, by way of a cable modem, or in a wireless network. A dial-up connection is one that literally dials a telephone number whenever you connect with the Internet. This type of connection operates over the telephone lines. The only advantage of a dial-up connection over a broadband connection is the cost. At $20 to $25 per month, dial-up service costs half as much as broadband service. The broadband service is much, much faster. In fact, if you’ve surfed the Internet using a broadband service, it’s hard to go back to the slower dialup method. What’s more, you can talk on the telephone while you surf the Internet if you have broadband service. With a dial-up connection, the phone line is occupied, so you can’t make a phone call while you’re online, nor can anyone call you. A modem (the term stands for modulator/demodulator) is a hardware device for connecting a computer to the Internet. Data transmission rates for Internet connections are measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or kilobits per second (Kbps). To find out whether a modem is installed on your computer, click the Start button and choose Control Panel. In the Control Panel window, choose Phone and Modem Options. You see the Phone and Modem Options dialog box. On the Modems tab, you see a list of modems installed on your computer. If you connect to the Internet by way of a DSL or ISDN line, no modem will be listed.

Choosing an ISP to Host Your Web Site

If you decide to take the plunge and create a Web site, you need to choose an ISP to host your site. Hosting means to put Web sites on a Web server so that people traveling the Internet can find the Web sites. In order for others to find your Web site, it must be hosted on a Web server. These days, many ISPs host Web sites for their members. Most of them do it at no extra charge or for a small monthly fee. Call your ISP and pop the question, “Can I post my Web site on your Web server?” If your ISP doesn’t host Web sites for its members, or if your Web site is too large or too sophisticated for your ISP’s Web server to handle, your next task is to find an ISP that offers Web-hosting services. Some outfits offer Web-hosting for free. What’s the catch? Usually, you have to carry an advertisement of some kind on your Web site. Sometimes you meet with narrow restrictions as to how large (in megabytes) your Web site can be. What’s more, the Web servers at free sites often work slowly, which causes pages to take longer to download. Paying the extra money each month to host your Web site with the ISP you now use is the way to go if you can afford it. That way, you spare yourself the hassle of signing up with a new ISP. However, if you’ve never created a Web site and you want to experiment before you decide whether the Web site thing is for you, sign up with a free service. If you get cold feet, you can abandon your Web site without spending any money. You can find hundreds if not thousands of Web-hosting sites by going to the Web pages listed

Managing Your Online Security

Many people forget that when you hook up to the Internet, the Internet also hooks up with you. Your computer is suddenly susceptible to virus infections. Graphic images and strange ideas that might not be welcome in your home suddenly appear there. To make sure you use the Internet safely and wisely, this article explains how to prevent your computer from being infected with a virus and how to make sure children get all the advantages of the Internet but not the Internet’s disadvantages.

Preventing Viruses from Infecting Your Computer

A computer virus is a malignant computer program that infects computers without their owners knowing it. Some viruses simply display a text message; others are more virulent and destroy important computer files. In order to be executed, a virus must ride piggyback on another program or document. These days, the majority of viruses are spread in files that are sent by e-mail, although a number of viruses are still spread on floppy disks that are passed from person to person. If you trade files on a regular basis with others, you owe it to yourself to get antivirus software. The best are VirusScan (by McAfee) and Norton AntiVirus (from Symantec). Either program does a great job of protecting computers from a virus attack. The two most important points about any antivirus program are

-  Real-time scanning: Whatever you run or load, the antivirus program should check it before your PC is exposed. With real-time scanning, you only have to check all the files on your PC once every three months or so instead of once every week.

-  Automatic and frequent updates: Seeing as new viruses are invented every day, no antivirus protection is worth a nickel if it can’t be updated. McAfee and Symantec provide at least two updates a month. You can update these programs over the Internet. If you think your computer has been struck by a virus, visit the Microsoft Virus Assistance Center at office.microsoft.com/assistance/9798/ antivirus.aspx. You will find information there about viruses and virus prevention. Another good Web site for learning about viruses is Computer Virus Myths at www.vmyths.com, where you can read about virus hoaxes and virus hoaxsters. Next time someone sends you a panicky e-mail explaining that you were sent a virus, visit the Computer Virus Myths site to see if the virus is really worth panicking over. So far in my experience (he said knocking on wood), every virus I am supposed to have received turned out to be a hoax.

Maintaining a Kid-Friendly PC

A kid-friendly PC is one that a child or young adult can use to surf the Internet without running into objectionable material. It’s no secret that this kind of material is easy to find on the Internet. Pornography, Web sites that espouse violence, and gruesome pictures and images are easy to come by. These pages explain some of the things parents can do to keep their children from finding this stuff.

Supervising kids’ access

The best way to keep children from finding objectionable material is to supervise them when they are traveling on the Internet. Put your computer in a common room in the house in the living room or family room, for example where you can keep an eye on who is using it. I strongly recommend against letting children keep computers in their bedrooms. Besides giving them the opportunity to get into all kinds of mischief on the Internet, it discourages kids from playing with their friends and developing all the social skills you need for a life that is rewarding and fun.

Using filtering software

Filtering software, also known as blocking software, is software that keeps inappropriate material from appearing in a browser window. Here are popular brands of filtering software, along with Web sites where you can learn about the software and even download it:  -  CyberPatrol: www.cyberpatrol.com

-  Cybersitter: www.cybersitter.com

-  Net Nanny: www.netnanny.com

-  SafeSurf: www.safesurf.com Some online services have built-in filtering. In America Online, for example, you can click in the keyword box, type parental control, and press Enter to find out about filtering.

Screening Web Content with the Content Advisor

Internet Explorer, the browser made by Microsoft, has a feature that prevents (in theory anyway) objectionable material from arriving by way of the Internet.  Meanwhile, also using the four-point scale, you tell Internet Explorer which Web sites you find objectionable, and those Web sites are not displayed on your computer. The problem with this system is that it relies on Web site developers to install Content Advisor software, rate their Web sites, and rate their Web sites correctly. Not all developers have signed onto the Content Advisor. The ones who have signed on haven’t necessarily described their sites accurately on the four-point scale. Still, the Content Advisor is worth a try. Setting it up and using it is quite easy, as I explain here.

Setting a password and enabling the Content Advisor

To set up the Content Advisor, you have to supply a password, thereby making you its supervisor. If you’re very concerned about screening Web content, be sure to provide a password that’s hard to guess or crack. To keep your password secure, you should provide one that contains a completely random combination of letters, numbers, and special characters (such as $ and @ signs).

Never lose your password. You need your password to change any of the settings, including setting a new password. Memorize your password or write it down and store it somewhere secure, such as a fire-resistant safe or a safety deposit box at a bank. After you decide on your password, follow these steps to get the Content Advisor up and running: 1. In Internet Explorer, choose Tools -> Internet Options and click the Content tab. 2. Click the Enable button. The first time you attempt to set a password, the Content Advisor dialog box opens and asks you to create a supervisor password. If you have set a password previously and want to change it, skip to the next section, “Changing the Supervisor password.”

3. Click the General tab.

4. In the User Options section, select one or both of the following options: • Supervisor Can Type a Password to Allow Users to View Restricted Content: Select this option if you want the Supervisor password to be used by default. • Users Can See Sites That Have No Rating: If you select this option, the Create Supervisor Password dialog box appears. Enter your password in the Password text box and click OK. This enables the Settings button. Again, be sure to remember your password. Internet Explorer requires it any time you want to change Content Advisor settings.

5. Click OK to close the Content Advisor dialog box. You can now begin using the Content Advisor with its default settings. If you want to change the Ratings and General options in the Content Advisor dialog box, refer to “Modifying the level of the ratings,” later in this article.

Changing the Supervisor password

If you want to change your Supervisor password, follow these steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, choose Tools -> Internet Options and click the Content tab.

2. Click the Settings button. The Supervisor Password Required dialog box appears.

3. Type your existing password in the Supervisor Password Required dialog box and click OK. The Content Advisor dialog box appears.

4. Click the General tab, and then click the Change Password button to open the Change Supervisor Password dialog box.

5. Type your existing password in the Old Password text box, type your new password in the New Password text box, and type your new password again in the Confirm New Password text box.

6. Click OK, enter a hint if necessary, and click OK in the dialog box that acknowledges you have changed your password.

Modifying the level of the ratings

When you first enable the Internet Explorer Content Advisor, the ratings are set to the maximum levels of content screening in all four of the following categories: Violence, Nudity, Sex, and Language. Internet Explorer uses the RSAC (Recreational Software Advisory Council) rating system, which has four levels. Level 0 is the most stringent and Level 4 is the most permissive. When you first enable the Content Advisor, all levels are set to the most restrictive (Level 0), by default. To change the level of any of these ratings, follow these steps:

1. Choose Tools -> Internet Options; then click the Content tab.

2. Click the Settings button, type your password in the Password text box of the Supervisor Password Required dialog box, and then click OK. The Content Advisor dialog box appears, with the Ratings tab displayed. A list box contains the four categories: Language, Nudity, Sex, and Violence.

3. In the list box of the Content Advisor dialog box, click the category for which you want to set the rating levels.

4. Drag the slider control to reset the level for that category.

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for each category that you want to reset, and then click the Apply button.

6. Click OK when you have made all necessary changes. The Content Advisor dialog box closes, and the new ratings settings are put into effect.

Disabling the Content Advisor

You may want to disable the Content Advisor at some point. (Hey, someday the kids are going to grow up and move away.) Just keep in mind that as soon as you enable the Content Advisor, its Enable button magically turns into a Disable button. To permanently turn off the cyber thought police, click the Content tab of the Internet Options dialog box, and then click the Disable button. Now you’re just a password away from disabling the Content Advisor. You can always use the Enable button at a later time if you find the need to use the Content Advisor again. After you have placed a password on the Advisor, you cannot remove it.