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World Wide Web 411

Working with Web Designers

_{by Ken Goodpaster

© 2006 DK Web Services.}

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Whether a small business or a mega corporation in today's competitive environment, it is unthinkable to go without a presence on the World Wide Web. Statistics consistently show that a Website adds a level of credibility to your organization that often is the deciding factor in whether a client will contact you.

To put it succinctly: If you don't have a Website, get one.

With that said, now what do you do? The decision to build a Website, or even upgrade a previously existing site, can be overwhelming when considering the number of options available for a solution. Just walk down any street in your neighborhood, and you will find no less than half a dozen “experts” in Web design technology.

When hiring a Website designer, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind:

Web Development

Web Development as an Industry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Web development is a broad term that incorporates all areas of developing a Web site for the World Wide Web. This can include graphical Web design, actual coding of pages, backend programming, and Web server configuration. However, among web professionals, Web development usually refers only to the non-design aspects of building Web sites, e.g. writing markup and coding.

For larger businesses and organizations, Web development teams can consist of hundreds of people, while smaller organizations may only require a single webmaster.

Click Here to continue reading. You will be directed to this article on the Wikipedia Website.

"All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details). Disclaimers."

Web 2.0: What is it?

Web 2.0

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The phrase Web 2.0 was coined by O'Reilly Media to refer to a supposed second generation of Internet-based services that let people collaborate and share information online in a new way—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies. O'Reilly Media, in collaboration with MediaLive International, used the phrase as a title for a series of conferences and since then it has become a popular, if ill-defined and often criticized, buzzword amongst the technical and marketing communities.

Click Here to continue reading. You will be directed to this article on the Wikipedia Website.

"All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details). Disclaimers."

Understanding the World Wide Web

_{(Originally published by University Libraries: University at Albany, State University of New York; May 2006.)}

The World Wide Web is a system of Internet servers that supports hypertext to access several Internet protocols on a single interface. The World Wide Web is often abbreviated as the Web or WWW.

The World Wide Web was developed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee of the European Particle Physics Lab (CERN) in Switzerland. The initial purpose of the Web was to use networked hypertext to facilitate communication among its members, who were located in several countries. Word was soon spread beyond CERN, and a rapid growth in the number of both developers and users ensued. In addition to hypertext, the Web began to incorporate graphics, video, and sound. The use of the Web has reached global proportions and has become a defining aspect of human culture in an amazingly short period of time.

What is the Internet?

_{(Originally published by Jupitermedia Corporation, 2006.)}

A global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions.

Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well.

There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such as America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The Internet is not synonymous with World Wide Web.

What is the World Wide Web?

_{(Originally published by Jupitermedia Corporation , 2006.)}

A system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a markup language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files. This means you can jump from one document to another simply by clicking on hot spots. Not all Internet servers are part of the World Wide Web.

There are several applications called Web browsers that make it easy to access the World Wide Web; Two of the most popular being Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

World Wide Web is not synonymous with the Internet.

The Difference Between the Internet and the World Wide Web

_{(Originally published by Jupitermedia Corporation , 2006.)}

Many people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web (a.k.a. the Web) interchangeably, but in fact the two terms are not synonymous. The Internet and the Web are two separate but related things.

The Internet is a massive network of networks, a networking infrastructure. It connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet. Information that travels over the Internet does so via a variety of languages known as protocols.

The World Wide Web, or simply Web, is a way of accessing information over the medium of the Internet. It is an information-sharing model that is built on top of the Internet. The Web uses the HTTP protocol, only one of the languages spoken over the Internet, to transmit data. Web services, which use HTTP to allow applications to communicate in order to exchange business logic, use the the Web to share information. The Web also utilizes browsers, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape, to access Web documents called Web pages that are linked to each other via hyperlinks. Web documents also contain graphics, sounds, text and video.

The Web is just one of the ways that information can be disseminated over the Internet. The Internet, not the Web, is also used for e-mail, which relies on SMTP, Usenet news groups, instant messaging and FTP. So the Web is just a portion of the Internet, albeit a large portion, but the two terms are not synonymous and should not be confused.

The Simplest Security: A Guide To Better Password Practices

_{by Susan Granger
SecurityFocus.com, January 17, 2002.}

Let’s be honest, passwords are annoying. These days, we need a password or PIN everywhere. We have so many that we can’t keep track of them all. We forget to update them; and when we do, it’s difficult to come up with effective ones that we can still remember, so we procrastinate changing them for months, even years. We all know this is bad, but the alternative – the painful, irritating password creation and memorization process – is sometimes more than we can tolerate. There is hope! Passwords don’t have to be complex cryptograms. A few simple methods can help make living with passwords a little easier.

While we may find them annoying, and even take them for granted, it is important to remember why passwords are important: passwords are often the first (and possibly only) defense against intrusion. (Tina MacGregor: “Password Auditing and Password Filtering to Improve Network Security”, SANS Institute, May 13, 2001.) They protect personal information – information we don’t want anyone and everyone to know. In our personal lives, this means financial information, health data, and private documents. In a professional context, this may encompass anything considered crucial to the success of the organization: trade secrets, financial data, intellectual property, customer lists, etc.

Eight Cyber Security Practices to Stay Safe Online

_{Published by the National Cyber Security Alliance.}

The widespread availability of computers and connections to the Internet provides everyone with 24/7 access to information, credit and financial services, and shopping. The Internet is also an incredible tool for educators and students to communicate and learn.

Unfortunately, some individuals exploit the Internet through criminal behavior and other harmful acts. Criminals can try to gain unauthorized access to your computer and then use that access to steal your identity, commit fraud, or even launch cyber attacks against others. By following the recommended cyber security practices outlined here, you can limit the harm cyber criminals can do not only to your computer, but to everyone's computer.

However, there is no single cyber security practice or technological solution that will prevent online crime. These recommended cyber security practices highlight that using a set of practices that include Internet habits as well as technology solutions can make a difference.

The National Cyber Security Alliance's Top Eight Cyber Security Practices are practical steps you can take to stay safe online and avoid becoming a victim of fraud, identity theft, or cyber crime.

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