Chapter 4

Assembling Your Gear and Climbing on the Net

In This Chapter

Choosing a computer, or another device, for Internet access

Using an Internet-enabled phone or tablet

Jumping onto a Wi-Fi network

Hooking up to DSL and cable accounts

Dialing in to slow, old-fashioned Internet accounts

Staying safe with firewalls, virus checkers, and spyware checkers

Our favorite Internet setup: broadband with a router (a what?)

What you can do after you’re connected

Great!” you say, “How do I connect my device to the Internet?” The answer is, “It depends.” (You’ll hear that answer perhaps more often than you’d like.) The Internet isn’t one network — it’s 100,000 separate networks hooked together, each with its own rules and procedures, and you can get to the Net from any one of them. Readers of previous editions of this book pleaded (they said other things too, but this is a family-oriented book) for step-by-step directions on how to get on, so we made this chapter as “steptual” as possible.

Here (drumroll, please) are the basic steps:

1. Figure out which type of device you have or can use.
2. Figure out which types of Internet connections are available where you are.
3. Sign up for your connection, if it requires an account.
4. Set up your device to use your new connection, and decide whether you like it.
5. Install the software you need to protect your device from viruses and spyware, for some kinds of devices.

   See Chapter 2 for scary descriptions of the types of Internet dangers you need to protect yourself from.

If you have more than one device to connect to the Internet, see Chapter 5. For example, you might want to be able to access the Net from a computer and a tablet or two at your home or office.

Internet accounts are easy to use, but they can be tricky to set up. In fact, connecting for the first time can be the most difficult part of your Internet experience. Installing and setting up Internet connection software used to require that you type lots of scary-looking numerical Internet addresses, hostnames, communications-port numbers — you name it. These days, making the connection is much easier, partly because Internet software can now figure out most of the details itself, but mostly because all recent versions of Windows, Macs, and Linux and all tablets and smartphones include setup software that can step you through the process.

What Kind of Device Do You Need?

Because the Internet is a computer network, the only way to hook up to it is to use some kind of computer. But computers appear in all sorts of disguises — including phones, tablets, MP3 music players, and toasters (okay, not really) — and they may well already be in your home, whether you know it or not.

Hey, I don’t even have a computer!

If you don’t have a computer and aren’t ready or able to buy one, you still have options.

A likely place to find Internet access is in your public library. Most libraries have added Internet access centers, with clusters of Internet-connected computers among the bookshelves. These computers tend to be popular, so call ahead to reserve time or find out which hours are less crowded.

Another option is your local cybercafé or restaurant. You can surf the Net while sipping your favorite beverage and sharing your cyber experience. If you want to check out the Internet, a cybercafé is a great place to try before you buy. Some have computers ready for you to use, whereas others require you to bring your own laptop. (See Chapter 5 for laptop safety tips.)

If you want to use the Internet from your very own home, you’re stuck getting some kind of computer, tablet, smartphone, or other device. Luckily, almost any newish computer can connect to the Internet, and you can get perfectly usable ones for less than $300. Tablets and smartphones can be even cheaper.

Yup, I have this old, beige box in the closet

Almost any personal computer made since 1980 is adequate for some type of connection to the Internet. But unless you have a really good friend who is a computer geek and wants to spend a lot of time at your house helping you get online, don’t bother fooling with that old clunker — unless, of course, you’re looking for a reason for the geek to spend a lot of time at your house, but that’s your business.

If you can afford it, we strongly encourage you to buy a new computer or at least one that isn’t more than two or three years old. Old computers tend to run old versions of software. New computers come with Internet software already installed and are configured for the latest in web technology. Any version of Windows older than Windows Vista or any Mac system older than OS X is more hassle than it’s worth to try to use.

Yup, I got a brand-new BitBucket 2015

Ah, you have a computer, either desktop or laptop. (Or maybe you’re thinking about buying one.) Most Internet users connect by way of a broadband connection, Wi-Fi (a wireless connection described in the section “Getting Wi-Fi with Your Latté”), or in a few areas where broadband isn’t available, by the computer dialing over the phone line. When you first turn on your new computer, or when you run one of the Internet programs that comes installed, your computer offers to attempt to connect right then and there. First read the rest of this chapter, starting with the section “The Types of Internet Connections.” We have some warnings and some options we think you ought to consider first.

Yup, I’m getting a tablet such as an iPad

If you don’t care about having a real keyboard, you can also consider a tablet computer, such as the iPad, Nexus, Surface, Kindle Fire, or Galaxy Tab. These flat, magazine-size computers look like oversized cellphones. The screens are about the size of a book, so they’re convenient for reading and watching videos, but not so helpful for typing. We were initially skeptical about tablets, but now we take ours everywhere. Phablets are somewhere between a phone and a tablet in size – small enough to fit in a large pocket. If you expect to do a lot of typing, you can even get add-on keyboards that connect to your tablet. Unless you have large fingers, they work pretty well.

Some tablets (and phablets) can connect to the cellular phone network. All can connect using Wi-Fi, described in the section “Getting Wi-Fi with Your Latté” later in this chapter. The advantage of a cellular tablet is that you can get online anywhere there’s cell service, but you have to pay a monthly connection fee. Wi-Fi works only where there’s a Wi-Fi signal, but there’s no monthly charge.

Yup, I got this little smartphone

The newfangled, Internet-enabled smartphone is a tiny computer that happens to have a phone antenna, a microphone, and speakers built in. They have smaller screens and smaller, onscreen keyboards, so industry groups devised a way to show web pages on those screens and navigate around them. When you leave the phone store, your smartphone will be set up to connect to the Internet. Read “Internet via Smartphones and Tablets” later in this chapter.

Like computers, which come primarily in Windows, Mac, and Linux varieties, smartphones come in several flavors. The major types of smartphones are:

• Android: This system is open source (anyone can see the code and create compatible software). Because it’s sponsored by Google, you can use your Google Apps (such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Maps) on these phones. Android phones are available from a number of manufacturers and work on most cellphone networks.
• iPhone: The iPhone is a beautiful thing, and its sleek design created a huge sensation when it debuted in 2007. All iPhones are made by Apple. Figure 4-1 shows an iPhone displaying email.
• Windows Mobile: A variety of phones use a version of Windows designed for phones and other handheld devices. Windows Mobile phones are available from several manufacturers.

For each of these smartphone operating systems, you can buy a variety of different phones in different shapes and sizes. Some have little keyboards, some flip open, some have larger screens, some are bigger or heavier, some can connect to the Internet by way of Wi-Fi as well as by using the cellphone system, some allow you to use an external keyboard — you get the idea. Shop around. New smartphone models are available every month.

The Types of Internet Connections

If you use a computer at a library, at work, at a cybercafé (generically known as a Wi-Fi hotspot, a place where you can connect to Wi-Fi), or at someone else’s house, you don’t need to worry about how it connects to the Internet, because someone else has already done the work. But if you want to use your computer, tablet, phone, or other device at home, you have several ways to connect:

• Using cellular data from a smartphone or a tablet with cellular data
• Using Wi-Fi
• Using a fast phone line (DSL line)
• Using your cable TV company
• Using a regular phone line (a.k.a. dial-up)

(If you’re truly in the boondocks, you can also use a satellite to connect, usually via the same company from which you get satellite television.) Each of these connections is described in this chapter.

Table 4-1 shows what kind of device can device how.

Table 4-1 Devices and How They Connect to the Internet

Chapter 5 describes how to set up your own Wi-Fi hotspot using your own DSL line or cable connection.

Internet via Smartphones and Tablets

You pay a lot extra for a smartphone. The phone itself can cost several hundred dollars, and you also pay for Internet use with something called a data plan, which costs $15 to $50 per month for a set amount of Internet usage. Email and audio uses very little of your data plan, while streaming video can max out the plan and cost you extra. With some smartphones (including the iPhone), you’re forced to buy a monthly data plan. Nearly all smartphones can also use Wi-Fi (see the section “Getting Wi-Fi with Your Latté”) when they’re within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot. Wi-Fi is usually faster than mobile data, and isn’t charged against your mobile data plan.

In most cases, each smartphone is available from and will work with only one carrier, so if you have preferences among carriers, you limit your choice of phones. Be sure you understand the monthly plan that comes with the phone and that the monthly data quota matches your usage. If you simply check email a few times a day, an itty-bitty plan is enough, but if you plan to stream video an hour each way on your commute, you need an all-you-can-eat plan.

All smartphones come with a web browser and an email program. (Otherwise, what’s smart about them?) Most allow you to download additional application programs (apps) from a website. Some applications are free and others cost a few bucks. You can download maps (Google Maps has a smartphone version), instant messaging, and Internet games. Most can also play Internet audio and video files, so you can watch YouTube during your commute, preferably if someone else is driving.

The great thing about a smartphone, or a tablet that includes a cellular connection, is that when you buy one, the store sets up your Internet connection for you. Don’t walk out of the store until you’ve set up your phone or tablet for email (described in Chapter 8) and know how to use the web browser (which we talk about in Chapter 6).

For much more information on the mobile Internet, see Mobile Internet for Dummies, written and published by people you know and trust. For more details on smartphones, go to www.dummies.com and search for specific phone models.

Getting Wi-Fi with Your Latté

In olden days, people would visit a coffee shop and order cups of coffee, of which there was a maximum of two kinds, regular and decaf, and then chat with people sitting right next to them. Now, of course, that situation is hopelessly 20th century. We cruise into the coffee shop with our laptop, tablet, or smartphone, order a half-caf single-shot mocha cappuccino grande with 2 percent milk and cocoa drizzle, hold the sprinkles, put on our Bluetooth earpiece, and talk or exchange messages with people thousands of miles away, utterly ignoring the losers at the next table. The magic of Wi-Fi makes this possible, as coffee shops install Wi-Fi hotspots (public areas with Wi-Fi Internet access) to which customers can connect.

The amount of effort needed to get online using Wi-Fi varies from none to way too much. At some coffee shops, airports, and other places, Wi-Fi is free, while others require you to whip out a credit card to use it. You can set up your own Wi-Fi hotspot, too; see Chapter 5.

Watch out for bogus hotspots: see the sidebar “Snoops at the coffee shop.”

Wi-Fi can be free, or not

More and more store and restaurants provide free Wi-Fi to attract your business. Some hotspots put a password on their Wi-Fi, to deter freeloaders outside on the sidewalk. In that case, there’s usually a note next to the counter with the password, or you can just ask the barista. Or they may limit the amount of time you can use the Wi-Fi. We think it’s rude to use the Wi-Fi without buying something, especially for small, locally-owned spots.

Other places make you pay by the hour or the day. This fee adds an extra, annoying step to the connection process, the one where you pay. After your device is turned on, fire up your web browser. No matter what your home page is, the network is set up so that your browser shows its home page, which allows you to make payment arrangements.

There are about as many ways to pay for Wi-Fi access as there are flavors of coffee. Maybe you buy or are given a ticket at the counter with a code number to enter. More likely, the coffee shop made a deal with one of the large, national mobile phone providers, T-Mobile or AT&T, which makes a sideline of Wi-Fi. In this case, you pay with a credit card, either by the hour (at about $6 per hour) or by buying a package of hours. You sign up via your web browser — the Wi-Fi network lets you connect to the sign-up page for free, but you have to sign up and pay to do anything else.

Connecting to Wi-Fi from a tablet or phone

All mobile devices connect in more or less the same way.

1. Open the Settings app.

   On Androids, it’s a blue gear icon. On iPhones and iPads, the gear is gray. On Windows Mobile, it’s a red gear. (Who decides these things?)

2. On iPhones and iPads, tap Wi-Fi.

   It’s already displayed on other the systems.

3. If Wi-Fi is turned off, turn it on by sliding its slider to On.
4. When you see the list of networks, tap the one you want.
5. If the Wi-Fi hotspot requires a password, your device asks you for it.

   Your phone or tablet should remember this Wi-Fi network in future, including its password.

Connecting to Wi-Fi from a laptop

To get your computer connected to Wi-Fi, follow these steps:

1. Turn on or wake up your computer.

   If your computer doesn’t look for a Wi-Fi network by itself, tell it to connect.

2. In Windows 8 or 8.1, display the Charms bar by swiping in from the right side of the screen or moving your mouse to the upper right-hand corner, click Settings, and click the Wireless Network icon (a set of five bars).

   In Windows 7 or Vista, Click the Networking icon on the task bar or choose the Start⇒Connect To command to see the list of available Wi-Fi networks.

   On a Mac, click the Wi-Fi icon (a set of concentric curves) at the top of your screen, near the clock.

3. Click the name of the network when it appears.

   If you see a Connect Automatically checkbox, leave it checked if this is a network you want to connect to whenever you are in its vicinity

4. If you are prompted for a password, enter it.
5. Click Connect.

The next time you come back, your computer remembers the network and connects automatically.

Airports, hotels, and beyond

Coffee shops are hardly the only places that offer Wi-Fi. If you spend much time in airports (John does because he’s on a lot of advisory boards), you find lots of Wi-Fi — with about the same options as in the coffee shops. The same two providers dominate, with a lot of little local ones as well. After a while, frequent travelers learn Wi-Fi folklore — say that there’s free Wi-Fi in the airline club on the mezzanine in Terminal C of Newark airport, and you can use it from the food court downstairs.

Large cable providers, notably Comcast and Time-Warner (who may be one company by the time you read this), also have networks of hotspots for the benefit of their customers while they’re on the road. Even better, their hotspots are federated, which means that anyone with an account on one cable provider can use the other cable providers’ hotspots at no charge. If you have a cable account, and you see a hotspot with a cable provider’s name such as Comcast’s Xfinity, try connecting and logging in with email address and password you use for your email account at your cable provider.

Hotels, like cafés, treat Wi-Fi as either a service — like the ice machine on each floor — or a profit center, like your room’s minibar full of overpriced beer. Some hotels still offer wired Internet connections (in which case a cable on the desk in your room plugs into your computer), and others go Wi-Fi. If you’re at an ice-machine-style hotel, you may just be able to turn on your computer and go online with no fuss, or you may have to sign in through your browser, even though you don’t have to pay. Some hotels with Wi-Fi give you a slip of paper with a login code when you register, to deter visitors who would otherwise sit in the lobby and use it for free. In minibar-style hotels, you have to log in through your browser. Most hotels put the charge on the room bill; some want your credit card number so that they can bill you separately. The typical charge is $10 per day, from noon to noon, but we’ve seen hourly rates, lower rates, and higher rates. Some hotels bundle the rate in a business package with long-distance phone calls and other goodies.

If you encounter a problem with a hotel’s Internet service, rarely does anyone at the hotel know anything about it, though they should be able to give you an 800 number you can call to talk to someone at the company that provides the service.

Wi-Fi and email don’t mix

Wi-Fi connections in coffee shops, airports, and hotels sure are convenient, but remember: They aren’t private. This situation is a particular problem when you send and receive email, because you usually want your mail to be private and because your computer needs to send your network login and password over the Internet back to your mail server to pick up your mail. With a modest amount of advance planning, it shouldn’t be hard to get your mail working securely on the road.

The simplest approach is webmail — a secure website where you can log in to read and send mail. Check to see whether your mail system offers optional webmail. If so, even if you don’t use it at home, you might want to use it on the road, particularly if the webmail offers a secure server. See the section “The Web Is a Fine Place to Read Your Email” in Chapter 8 to find out how webmail works. Normally, we don’t worry about secure websites (https:// versus http://), but public Wi-Fi is one of the few cases where people might actually be snooping and the https security helps.

If you want to be truly paranoid, create an account at Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, or another webmail site, use it during your trip, and then close the account when you return home. Be sure not to use the same password you use for other sites or accounts.

Speedy Connections: DSL and Cable Internet

The most popular way to connect your computer to the Internet, available almost but not quite everywhere, is a broadband (high-speed) connection. This type of connection can be fast, with downloads often exceeding 10 million bits per second. Broadband connections are now available and affordable by mere mortals in all but the most rural locations in the United States and Canada. (Even rural locations can connect using the same satellite that provides satellite TV.)

If you want to connect a computer, or a couple of computers, to the Internet, or you want to set up your own Wi-Fi hotspot in your home or office (as described in Chapter 5), you’ll want a broadband connection.

What is broadband, anyway?

There are two types of broadband Internet connections — DSL and cable:

• A Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a phone line that you order from your local telephone company, usually shared with the same line that connects your regular phones.
• A cable Internet account is provided by your local cable TV company, using the same cable connection that brings you 250 brain-numbing TV channels. Many cable companies also offer phone service, as part of a package.

DSL and cable Internet accounts have a lot in common: They’re fast and they don’t tie up your regular phone line. Some broadband accounts have a permanent connection that works a lot like a connection to a local network in an office. Others require you to log on every time you want to use the Internet. The Internet Service Provider (or ISP — your phone or cable company) provides most of the equipment — for example, the modem — and sometimes sends an installer to set it up with your computer. Ask your cable company about its Internet access and ask your phone company about its DSL. Then get one or the other.

Basic high-speed cable or DSL costs $30 per month depending on your location, plus installation and the cost of the special modem you need, minus whatever discount you receive for buying a package of broadband and other types of services the provider supplies. You usually get the best price with a package combining Internet with some or all of its phone, cable TV, and mobile phone services. Most providers offer faster service at higher prices, often a lot higher, like $100 per month for the fastest cable options.

A hidden cost in getting either cable or DSL Internet access is having to take a day off from work to wait for the installers, unless you feel brave enough to install it yourself. Sometimes the installers must make two trips to get things working. Try to make the first appointment in the morning. Also, the cable company or phone company is usually also your ISP unless you pay extra, so you don’t have a choice of ISPs. In theory, the phone company provides DSL access on equal terms to all ISPs — but, in practice, its own ISP somehow always seems to be more equal than the others.

What’s in an account?

An Internet account — DLS or cable — comes with

• That all-important username and password: You have to be able to connect, after all.
• One or more email addresses, each with its own mailbox: Most accounts have from one to five email addresses. If you have a family, every family member can have a separate address.
• Webmail (a website where you can read your mail): Webmail is useful when you want to check your mail and you’re not at your own computer with your own email program. You can use a web browser to display your messages from any computer. See Chapter 8.

Your account should also come with a toll free or local number you can call for support. Every ISP has a website showing prices, sign-up instructions, and support information.

Cable and DSL modems

To connect to a DSL or cable account, you use a DSL or a cable modem. The phone or cable company often provides it (usually for a fee). Don’t buy a DSL modem yourself — you need a modem compatible with your provider’s equipment, but cable modems are now well enough standardized that you’ll save money in the long run if you buy a $90 cable modem rather than renting one for $5/mo. When the cable installer comes, she should hook up the modem whether it’s one you’re renting or one you’ve bought.

If you live in a part of the country that gets thunderstorms, a nearby lightning strike will often blow out your modem. (You can probably guess how we learned about this.) If you buy a modem, ask if there’s an extended warranty that covers failures due to electrical surges. Normally extended warranties are a bad deal, but in this specific case, they aren’t.

How your computer connects to the modem

DSL and cable modems connect to your computer in one of 2 ½ ways:

• Network adapter: A network adapter (or LAN adapter or Ethernet adapter or network interface card) was originally designed for connecting computers into networks. If you have more than one computer in your home or office, you can use network adapters to connect the computers into a local-area network (LAN), as described in Chapter 5. A network adapter has an RJ-45 jack, which looks like a regular phone jack but is a little bigger, into which you plug your modem or network cable. Check the back and sides of your computer for holes that look like overgrown phone jacks. All modern PCs (and all Macs other than Macbook Air) have network adapters built in.
• Wireless network adapter: If your computer isn’t located close to a phone or cable outlet or you have a laptop you carry around the house, you can create a wireless network, often called Wi-Fi. It works much the same as a wired network, only without the wires (duh!). All laptops, tablets, and smartphones built in the past five years have built-in Wi-Fi.
• USB: Almost all computers come with one or more USB (Universal Serial Bus, if you care) connectors, which are used for connecting all kinds of stuff to your computer, from mice to cameras to printers. A USB port on a computer looks like a small, narrow, rectangular hole. On tablets and phones, there’s a micro-USB slot shaped like a flat trapezoid.

Getting your cable Internet hooked up

To sign up for a cable account, call your local cable company to open one. Unless you decide to install it yourself (which isn’t all that hard), a technician comes and installs a network-connection doozus (technical term) where your TV cable comes into your house, brings a cable modem (which can look like a junior laptop computer with a spike hairdo) and/or router if you haven’t bought your own, and hooks them together. Magic.

If you have cable television, the cable is split and one segment goes to your cable modem. If you don’t have cable television, the cable company may have to install the actual cable before it can wire up your computer network. When the technician goes away, however, you have a permanent, high-speed connection to the Internet (as long as you pay your bill, about $30 to $200 a month, depending on speed and how many other services you get).

Getting your DSL hooked up

DSL service is supposed to use your existing phone line and in-house wiring. But DSL often works better if the phone company runs a new wire from the place where your phone line enters your building to wherever you use your computer. (Phone companies call this situation a home run.) For most kinds of DSL to work, you have to live within a couple of miles of your telephone central office, so DSL is unavailable in many rural areas.

DSL is available at different speeds. The higher speeds cost more (surprise, surprise!). The lowest speed, usually 640 Kbps or more, is adequate for most users although not very satisfactory for watching video.

If DSL service is available in your area, call your phone company to arrange for DSL service. Either it ships you the equipment to install yourself or a phone installer comes with a network connection box that you or the installer hook to your computer. Some DSL modems connect to a network adapter or USB connector, and most include a router (described in more detail later) that can also provide a Wi-Fi connection. And be sure to read the nearby sidebar, “Avoiding the DSL buzz.”

Wires galore!

Once your broadband connection is set up should look something like the one shown in Figure 4-2. The details may vary a little — John’s DSL came with filters that include the two-for-one splitter, and the modem includes a Wi-Fi router, so there’s no cable to the computer. For a cable setup, the phone wire comes from the modem rather than to the wall.

After the DSL or cable Internet installer

The installer configures your computer to communicate with the Internet. Follow the instructions to connect to your account the first time; some DSL and cable modems come with a software CD you may need to use. Don’t let the installer leave until you’ve gotten online and you know the connection works.

Even if you plan to use your computer via Wi-Fi (described in Chapter 5), it’s easier to do the initial setup by plugging your computer into the router or modem with an Ethernet or USB cable. Wi-Fi has issues, like which of several networks in your neighborhood is the right one to use, while with a cable, there’s no choice, it’s the one at the other end of the cable.

Chances are good, at this point, that you’re on the Internet. You should be able to start up a web browser, such as Internet Explorer, and type the name of a website in the Address bar at the top. (Try our net.gurus.org.) The web page should appear momentarily. If you have a connection with a username, it may ask you whether to connect. (Well, yeah, that’s the idea, but sarcasm is lost on machinery.)

If you still can’t connect, you can try configuring Windows yourself.

Configuring Windows 8.1 to connect

Windows 8.1 detects an Internet connection if one exists, so you may not have to do a thing. It spots Wi-Fi or a connected DSL or cable modem and does the right thing. If you have to set the connection up yourself, or fiddle with it afterwards, follow these steps:

1. Press the Windows key until you see the Windows 8.1 Start screen. (That’s the screen entitled “Start” with the multicolored boxes.) If you’ve installed a Windows 7–style menu, press the Windows key once and you’ll see a menu with a search box in the lower left corner of the screen.

   Either way, you are ready to search for the Network and Sharing Center, the application that enables you to see and configure your network setup.

2. Type network sharing.

   If you are on the Windows 8.1 Start screen, a Search box appears for you to type into, along with one search result: The Network and Sharing Center. If you use a Windows 7–style menu, it should also appear as a search result.

3. Choose Network and Sharing Center.

   The Network and Sharing Center displays a number of options, depending on what kind of connection you have. We cover some of the other options for dialup and wireless later in this chapter and in Chapter 5.

4. Click Set Up a New Connection or Network, and then click Connect to the Internet, and then click Next.
5. Enter the information provided by your ISP.

   In particular, enter the login name and password that your ISP gave you.

Configuring Windows 7 to connect

Windows 7 also detects an Internet connection if one exists. If you need to do it yourself, choose Start⇒Control Panel⇒Network and Internet⇒Network and Sharing Center. Then follow steps 2–4 for Windows 8.1.

Configuring Windows Vista to connect

If your network connects with a wired LAN connection and doesn’t require a login or password (this includes most cable modems), Vista normally configures itself automagically. For connections that require a login, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start⇒Connect To and then click the little Set Up a Connection or Network link.
2. For the Network Connection type, choose Connect to the Internet and click Next.
3. Select Broadband (PPPoE).
4. Enter the required information in the boxes.

Configuring a Mac to connect

To set up a connection from Mac running OS X, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen, choose System Preferences, and click the Network icon. You see the Network window shown in Figure 4-3.

Either the USB Ethernet or Ethernet entry in the left-hand column should be green if your Mac is connected via cable to your modem. Click USB Ethernet to see its settings and follow the instructions from your ISP.

Checking your DSL or cable connection

After you’re connected, you can check the status of your connection:

• Windows 8 or 8.1: Display the Network and Sharing Center by pressing the Windows key until you see the Windows 8.1 Start screen, typing “network sharing”, and choosing Network and Sharing Center. (If you use a Windows 7–style menu, press the Windows key to display a search box.) You see an informational screen similar to Figure 4-4.
• Windows 7: Display the Network and Sharing Center by choosing Start⇒Control Panel⇒Network and Internet⇒Network and Sharing Center. Look in the View Your Active Networks section, shown in Figure 4-4.

  

• Windows Vista: Choose Start⇒Control Panel⇒Network and Sharing Center. Broadband connections appear in the upper part of the window.
• Macs: Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu and click the Network icon.

I’m In!

When you’re connected to the Internet, you can monitor your connection or reconnect or disconnect. There’s a Networking icon on the Windows taskbar; it’s in the lower right corner of the screen, to the left of the digital clock. Here’s where it is and what it does:

• Windows 8.1: A mobile-phone-connection-bars Networking icon appears in the lower right corner of the screen. Hover over it to see the active connections. When you click, the Network “charm” slides out from the right-hand side of the screen with more networking options, including choosing a Wi-Fi network and turning airplane mode on and off.
• Windows 7: The same Networking icon appears in the lower right corner of the screen. Click it to see what you’re connected to. Click Open Network and Sharing Center at the bottom of its window to see more information (refer to Figure 4-4).
• Windows Vista: A two-computer-screen icon appears in the lower right corner of the screen. Right-click the icon to see options.

Mac users see a Wi-Fi icon in the upper right of the screen. If you need information about a wired connection, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu and click the Network icon.

If you use a broadband account, you never need to disconnect. We love being able to saunter up to our computers at any time to check the weather, our email, a good buttermilk waffle recipe, or which movies Joe E. Brown was in, without having to wait for our computer to reconnect.

If you dial in to the Internet, you eventually want to disconnect (hang up) so that you can use your phone line to talk to actual human beings. You can leave the rest of your programs (such as your web browser and email program) running even when you aren’t connected to the Net. To disconnect a dialup connection, double-click or right-click the Networking icon, which we just described, and choose Disconnect.

Essential Software to Keep Your System Safe

Okay, you’re connected. Before you start surfing the web and emailing, you need to protect your computer from the Terrors of the Internet: viruses and spyware. Chapter 2 describes the concepts behind them, and now is the time to use protection.

Walling out the bad guys

A firewall is a barrier between your computer (or computers) and the Internet. In big companies, the firewall may consist of a computer that does nothing but monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic, checking for bad stuff. At your home or office, you have two good options:

Use firewall software you already have

Here’s how to find it on a Windows:

• Windows 8 or 8.1: Press the Windows key until you see the Windows 8.1 Start screen, type firewall, and choose Windows Firewall (not the one “with Advanced Security,” which takes you deep into geekland). (If you use a Windows 7–style menu, press the Windows key to display a search box.) You see a screen that looks like Figure 4-5.
• Windows 7: Choose Start⇒Control Panel⇒System and Security⇒Windows Firewall.
• Windows Vista: Click the little Security Center shield in the notification area at the bottom of the screen and then click Windows Firewall.

Look for the “Windows Firewall state” and make sure it is “On.” If not, click “Turns Windows Firewall on or off.” When that’s done, your computers have basic protection from hackers.

On a Mac, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu and click Security & Privacy. Then click the Firewall tab and click the Turn On Firewall button.

Use a router

A router is a small box that sits between your computer (or computers) and your broadband modem. Your modem may have a router built in; ask your installer. A router has one plug for a cable to your DSL or cable modem, several plugs (usually four) to which you can connect computers, and usually an antenna for wireless Wi-Fi connections. The router has firewall software running all the time. See Chapter 5 for how to use a router to connect more than one computer to one Internet account. As often as not, your DSL or cable modem includes a router, so you’re all set. (If it has a Wi-Fi antenna, or at least four sockets on the back, it’s a router.)

Even if you have only one computer that connects to the Internet, we recommend using a router. If your broadband provider didn’t give you one, it costs about $40 and we’re sure that you’ll want to hook a second computer to the Internet before long. The firewall programs included in Windows 8.1, 7, Vista, and XP work fine, too. Hey, why not use both?

A router is a particularly good idea if you have a broadband connection that is always on (that is, always connected). The router is always on, too.

No viruses need apply

Viruses are sneaky programs that arrive by way of email or in downloaded programs, and immediately get up to no good. (See Chapter 2 for details.) You need to run a virus checker program all the time, and you need to update its list of viruses regularly so that the program can detect the latest viruses.

Many virus checkers are available. The free AVG from the free.avg.com website isn’t bad, particularly at the price. Microsoft also has a good virus checker, named Windows Defender that comes preinstalled with Windows 8.1. If you use Windows 7 or earlier, download Microsoft Security Essentials for free from windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download. Mac user should get ClamXAV from www.clamxav.com.

There are third party anti-virus programs available by paid subscription, but we don’t find them to be any better than the free Windows Defender or Microsoft Security Essentials. Many PCs come with one preinstalled, with a free trial after which you see increasingly hysterical warnings that you need to buy a paid subscription NOW NOW NOW! Just un-install the other anti-virus and use these Microsoft programs.

Be sure that your virus checker is set to automatically download updates, which it should do at least several times a week.

Detecting spyware

Spyware is a class of programs that sneak onto your computer, usually when you’re browsing the web, and run unbeknownst to you, doing God-knows-what. (See Chapter 2 for details.) A number of antispyware programs are available for free, although no single program seems to spot all types of spyware. We recommend that you run several antispyware programs from time to time, to sweep your hard disk and look for bad stuff.

Along with Windows Defender, which is built into Windows 8.1, and Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7 and Vista, the three free programs we use are:

• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, at www.malwarebytes.org: Another competent anti-malware package, with a basic free version and a fancier paid version.
• Spybot Search & Destroy, at www.safer-networking.org: It’s shareware; donations are appreciated. Note that several unscrupulous programs have started using the word spybot in their names, so don’t just use a search engine to find the program; from your web browser, type the address shown in this paragraph.
• Ad-Aware Personal Edition, at www.lavasoft.com: It’s also free, although the developer wants you to buy the fancier, paid version.

For help with downloading and installing a spyware-checking program, see Chapter 2. Macs host very little spyware, but if you are worried and don’t mind paying for a program, you can download and install MacScan from macscan.securemac.com.

In addition, follow a few basic rules, which will make more sense after you read the later chapters of this book. (Don’t worry: We mention the rules again in those later chapters, too.) Here they are:

• Don’t use Internet Explorer as your browser. Most spyware is designed to use features of Internet Explorer to worm its way onto your computer. Instead, use Firefox or Chrome, as described in Chapter 6.
• Don’t use Internet Explorer within other applications. For example, some email programs have an option to use Internet Explorer to display messages that contain HTML (web formatting). Turn off these options.
• If you use Windows, turn on Automatic Updates and download and install the updates it suggests. Microsoft issues security fixes to Windows about once a week. Windows 8.1, 7, and Vista download and install updates automatically unless you turn off this feature. In Windows 8 or 8.1, press the Windows key until you see the Windows 8 or 8.1 Start screen, type update, and choose Windows Update to check whether this feature is on. (If you use a Windows 7–style menu, press the Windows key to display a search box.) In Windows 7, you can ensure that Automatic Updates are on by choosing Start⇒Control Panel⇒System and Security⇒Windows Update. In Windows Vista, choose Start⇒Control Panel⇒Security⇒Windows Update. In the System Properties dialog box that appears, click the Automatic Updates tab. Choose the first or second option so that Windows lets you know when updates are available.

Our Favorite Internet Setup

You’re probably wondering, “The authors of this book have used the Internet forever. What do they recommend as the very best way to connect to it?” Okay, you’re probably not wondering that, but we wish you were. And we’ve got the answer.

The best Internet setup (in our humble opinions) is this:

• A computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux — they’re all fine).
• A DSL or cable Internet account — broadband rocks! FiOS would be even better, but they don’t offer it where we live.
• A router, to provide a firewall between your computer (or computers) and the Internet. Our routers also do Wi-Fi, so we can connect wirelessly (as described in Chapter 5).

You’re Connected — Now What?

When you connect to your ISP, your computer becomes part of the Internet. You type stuff or click in programs running on your computer and those programs communicate over the Net to do whatever it is they do for you.

You can run several Internet programs at a time, which can be quite handy. You may be reading your email, for example, and receive a message describing a cool, new site on the World Wide Web. You can switch immediately to your web browser program (usually Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari), look at the web page and then return to the mail program and pick up where you left off. Most email programs highlight URLs (web addresses) and enable you to go straight to your browser by clicking the URL in your email message.

You aren’t limited to running programs that your Internet provider gives you. You can download a new Internet application from the Net and begin using it immediately — your ISP just acts as a data conduit between your computer and the rest of the Net.

To find out more about using the web, see Chapter 6. If you want to start off with email, read Chapter 8. Or, just flip through the rest of this book to see what looks interesting!