Uses Of Internet | Internet Safety Tips | Internet Uses

With the advent and popularity of the internet, easy access to high speed internet connection and computers, attaining higher education has been made easier than ever for those who want and need it. This is called Online Education.

Things To Look For

Just like traditional methods of learning, online education and online degrees are now widely accepted. They’re recognized as genuine educational qualifications. However, that doesn’t mean you can just enroll or opt for any university website offering online education (or distance learning).

You should take the time to ensure that the online degree and course that you’re eyeing is certified and that the institution providing it is recognized by the US Department Of Education.

Wide Coverage

So you’re looking to take up business management, graphics design, law, accounting, or perhaps engineering?

Don’t worry! There are online courses and degrees that have you covered.

Yes, you can take a look at almost every field and you can be assured that you’ll find an online course that covers it. Even not-so-popular fields of study and education have found their way on the internet and are now gaining popularity!

Even those courses that cannot rely solely on internet access and online classrooms use the internet to make learning and teaching easier. For example, healthcare courses combine the traditional methods of teaching (training at hospitals, clinics, etc) along with virtual classes and online classes.

It’s For Everyone

Whether you have a part time job, kids at home, or if you’re a stay-at-home mom or dad, working full-time, a small businessman, etc – the flexibility offered by online education has made it possible for people from every walk of life to continue learning without ruining their schedule.

24/7 access to course materials, the opportunity to go back to the lessons again and again, etc – there is simply no excuse for someone not to attain the level of education they want. Many believe that the internet is still at its infancy stage. You can expect more developments that’ll make life a little easier for us. And with it, you can expect online education or distance learning to be improved and for its options to expand.

For years, Mac platform have been relatively immune to virus and malware attacks, but now there is one of the first moderately-sized exploits that take advantage of Mac users.

This attack is a trojan distributed via BitTorrent, disguised as a pirated copy of the new iWork 09. The malware take administrator access and connects to remote servers through the internet. The creator of the malware can even take complete remote control of the infected machine.

As of January 21st, 20,000 machines had been infected.

To avoid this malware, simply don’t try to download and install pirated software, and make sure that your anti virus is always regularly updated.

A file can be put on a “Shared Location” or onto a File Server for instant use by colleagues. Mirror servers and peer-to-peer networks can be used to ease the load of data transfer.

Internet chat and instant messaging systems allow people to stay in touch in a convenient way while working at their computers. Messages can be sent and received instantly. In addition, these systems also allow file transfer, as well as voice and video contact.

Social networking websites allow people to stay in touch with friends and family, and knowing their activities by viewing their profiles. The concept of a social networking website is to store people’s profiles and connecting them between one and another. A personal profile can include pictures and videos to be shared.

Computer users can easily connect to other computers and information stores around the world using the internet. The access can be done with or without security, authentication and encryption, depending on the needs.

Remote access is encouraging new methods of working from home and information sharing in many businesses. Using Virtual Private Network (VPN), a businessman can use a remote desktop session to access his PC in the other side of the world.

Reputable companies are establishing their online presence by developing their company websites. The websites are stuffed with information about the company’s profile, the latest news about the company, partners, and the company’s product line. 

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) started from an optional two-way voice chat provided by some of the instant messaging systems that started around the year 2000. The benefit of VoIP is that it can be free or cost much less than a normal telephone call, because the Internet carries that voice traffic. VoIP is surely a cheap solution for long distance call.

- Take good care of your credit cards information when doing business or shopping online. Avoid purchasing from suspicious looking sites. Search for information about the website that you are going to purchase something from on the search engine.

- Change your passwords often

- Make sure that you have an anti-virus program that is capable to detect a suspicious website.

This is an example of a message in a Scareware pop-up:

WARNING: YOUR COMPUTER IS VULNERABLE! CLICK HERE TO PROTECT YOURSELF!

When you click on these kinds of pop-ups, your pc will download and install malware. The program will pretend to scan your computer and then found many problems on your machine. If you want to fix those problems, you will have to pay to get the full version of the software. When you paid for the software, all those problems on your machine will miraculously dissapear!

What should you do if you enconter this kind of pop-ups:

Do not click on any close window buttons you see in the pop-up. It is better to right click on the item in the taskbar, then click close. If it doesn’t work, you should exit your browser entirely.