The two basic features of the internet are browsing webpages and email. To do either of these you need to use programs designed for this. The two main web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Fire Fox.

Two email programs used a great deal are Outlook Express/Windows Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird

To send or receive email using one of these email programs you will need to first configure your email program. See the instructions included on this website to do that.

Below is a view of what a web browser page looks like. Note the address field, this is where you type in the web url (Uniform Resource Locator) e.g. http://www.arvig.com .

You can set your home page (the page that first comes up when you log on to your browser) by following these instructions.

Internet Explorer
• Click on Tools
• Click on Internet Options
• At the top of the General page, you can type in the url of the site you want and then click on apply to save the new setting.

Fire Fox
• Click on Tools
• Click on Options
• Under Startup and then Home Page: , type in the url of the site you want and then click on ok to save the new setting.

Both web browsers give you the opportunity to save or bookmark your favorite sites. When you find a site you particularly like and would like to save click on:
Internet Explorer - Favorites
Mozilla Fire Fox - Bookmark