4. The internet and your web browser

Week 1 of 2

What you will be able to do

  • Explain in plain words what the internet and the web are, and how you connect to them.
  • Use a web browser: the address bar, links, tabs, back and forward, refresh, bookmarks and downloads.
  • Read a web address and know what https and the padlock mean.
  • Save mobile data while you learn.

Why this matters

Almost everything you will learn and do in IT happens in a web browser: courses, email, documents, cloud services, job sites and company tools. Using a browser confidently is the foundation for the rest of this course.

1. The internet and the web

  • The internet is a worldwide network that connects billions of computers and phones, so they can send information to each other.
  • The web (World Wide Web) is the part of the internet made of websites: pages you open in a browser. Email, video calls and apps also use the internet.
  • You connect through Wi-Fi (wireless, from a router at home, school or a café), mobile data (from your phone's SIM, or a hotspot or MiFi), or a cable.

Turning on your phone's hotspot lets your laptop use your phone's data: on Android, Settings → Network → Hotspot; on iPhone, Settings → Personal Hotspot. Then pick it from the laptop's Wi-Fi list.

2. Web browsers

A browser is the app that opens websites. Common ones are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge (built into Windows), Safari (built into Macs and iPhones) and Firefox. They all work in the same way:

Part What it does
Address bar Type a web address (or a search) here and press Enter
Back / Forward arrows Go to the previous page, or forward again
Refresh (circular arrow) Load the page again if it looks wrong or stuck
Tabs Several pages in one window: Ctrl + T (Command + T) opens a new tab; Ctrl + W closes one
Bookmarks (star) Save a page so you can return to it: select the star in the address bar
Downloads Files you save from websites: Ctrl + J (Command + Shift + J in Chrome on Mac) shows the list
Zoom Ctrl + and Ctrl − make the page bigger or smaller

A link is text or a picture that opens another page when you click it. The mouse pointer turns into a small hand over a link.

3. Reading a web address

https://itlearning.tech/course/view.php?id=2

Part Meaning
https:// The connection is encrypted: others on the network can't read what you send. A padlock shows in the address bar
itlearning.tech The domain name: whose site this is. Check it carefully: scammers use look-alikes such as itlearning-tech.com or itlearnlng.tech
/course/view.php?id=2 The page within the site

Only type passwords or card details on pages that use https and have the domain you expect. The padlock only means the connection is private, not that the site is honest (topic 7).

4. Saving data

Mobile data costs money. To make it last:

  • Download big files and course videos on Wi-Fi when you can.
  • Lower video quality on YouTube: the settings (gear) icon → Quality → 360p or 480p.
  • Close tabs you don't need: some keep loading in the background.
  • Turn off automatic updates over mobile data on your phone, and set your laptop's connection as metered (Windows: Settings → Network → your connection → Metered connection).

Watch

Internet Basics

ETDtogo · 3 min. What the internet is and how to visit websites.

Browser Basics

LearnFree · 3 min. Using a web browser.

Try it

  1. Open your browser and go to itlearning.tech. Find the padlock and check the domain name.
  2. Open three tabs: this course, wikipedia.org and a news site. Switch between them, then close two.
  3. Bookmark this course's page. Close the browser, open it again and use the bookmark.
  4. Download a file from any trusted site and open your browser's download list to find it.

Check your understanding

  1. What is the difference between the internet and the web?
  2. What does https with a padlock tell you, and what doesn't it tell you?
  3. Which part of a web address shows whose website it is?
  4. Name two ways to use less mobile data.
Last modified: Sunday, 8 November 2026, 3:26 PM