Connecting to the Internet can be accomplished in a number of ways. On-campus connections are usually accomplished through an Ethernet connection. For example, North Carolina State University offers a service called ResNet to all students who are living on campus. ResNet is the residential computer network service that lets you connect your personal computer to NC State's computer network and from the network to the Internet.

Off-campus connections are usually made through an Internet Service Provider or ISP for short. ISPs are numerous and finding the best value for your money can be a daunting task. But once you find one that suits your needs, it is a simple task to connect. Your modem will dial into the ISP which will answer and provide you with a connection to the Internet.

National Internet Service Providers include:

• Earthlink
• Compuserv
• America Online
  

Local Internet Service Providers, ones that serve your local area rather than a national area, are numerous and have a distinct advantage over the national ISPs. Since they serve a smaller customer base, there lines are less likely to be busy when you try to dial in from your computer. Finding a local ISP has been made relatively easy with the web site entitled, " ISP Finder." Just click on your area code from the list of area codes and an extensive list of ISPs will come up, most of which are clickable links, so you can do a further investigation into each company.

Free Internet Service Providers are available, but are not very reliable. Lycos and Alta Vista have both closed their free account systems as have other numerous free ISPs. If you would like information about free ISPs, go to http://www.ispnut.com/ and sign up for their free e-mail newsletter.

A web browser is a necessary tool for navigating the web. It is a software application that is used to locate and display web pages or sites. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, both of which are called "graphical browsers" because of their ability to display text as well as pictures.

• Netscape Navigator- The latest version of Netscape Navigator can be be downloaded as part of a suite of software applications known as Netscape Communicator. It is available for no charge at: http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/index.html
  Click on Netscape Browsers.
  

• Microsoft's Internet Explorer- The latest version of Internet Explorer can be download for no charge at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/. Just click on the drop down menu next to "All Products" and choose "Internet Explorer,"
  then choose your operating system.
  

Additional Information:

• Compare Connection Speeds

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