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Using the internet

Here are some helpful tips about how to get the most from the internet.

What you can do on the internet

There are lots of things you can do on the internet. You can:

  • keep in touch with family and friends
  • manage your finances with online banking
  • do your shopping online and have it delivered to you
  • watch TV and movies, or listen to the radio
  • keep up with the news or find out about things that interest you.
An illustration of the internet connecting devices together.

Connecting to the internet

To explore the internet, you first need to connect to it. You can do this in a few ways:

  • use your home computer via a home Wi-Fi connection
  • use a public Wi-Fi connection from a café or library
  • use your smartphone by connecting through the 4G and 5G phone network.

Things to watch out for on the internet

There is a world of entertainment and information available on the internet, but sadly, there are some risks too. Computer viruses or other unwanted software from the internet can damage your computer or steal your personal information. However, there are things you can do to protect yourself:

  • use anti-virus protection software to protect your computer. Anti-virus protection programs like AVG and Avast! can be downloaded for free from the internet
  • there are many other paid anti-virus products to choose from, including from such reputable companies as Bitdefender, McAfee and Norton, and they sometimes offer free trials
  • Windows 10 computers come with Defender virus protection software, but you can still purchase additional protection if you prefer
  • your web browser, such as Google's Chrome, Microsoft's Edge or Apple's Safari, may warn you against known malicious websites, but it still pays to be very cautious about clicking any links on untrusted websites.

Getting around online

Websites are places where you can find information on the internet. Here are some ways you can find a website:

  • type in a web address into your web browser's address bar. For example: www.abc.net.au.
  • type words or phrases into a search engine, such as Google or Bing
  • use a Bookmark or Favourite to save websites for easy access.

You can often move from one area of a web site to another by clicking on web links. Web links are clickable text or images:

  • text web links will often be a different colour to the text around them and/or be underlined
  • images that are web links are harder to spot
  • to check if an image or text is a link, hover your mouse cursor over the text or image and, if it is a link, the cursor will change from an arrow to a hand with a pointing finger
  • always be cautious about clicking on links on untrusted websites, emails, or text messages.

You can make it easy to return to a site by using Bookmarks or Favourites:

  • these are shortcuts you can save to your web browser to make it easier to find the website again in the future
  • some web browsers call them Bookmarks, and others call them Favourites – but they do the same thing
  • On a Windows computer, you save a bookmark by clicking the star on the address bar and confirming the name and location.

If you need to print a web page, there are a few options to choose from:

  • use the Print button on the web page if there is one
  • if not, use the Print button in the web browser if there is one
  • or select Print in the File menu of the browser.

Playing by the rules

The laws of copyright apply to the internet:

  • text, images, music, TV shows and films on the internet are often copyrighted
  • the copyright symbol often shows that something is protected by copyright. Even if the symbol is not present, you should assume the content is protected
  • it is usually against the law to copy, edit or reproduce content found on the internet without permission. If you want to use content from a website, you should ask permission from the website owner. You can usually find this information in their Contact us page
  • there are many ways of accessing content without breaking copyright, some free, some paid, such as Spotify or iTunes for music, and ABC iView or YouTube for video.

Many websites have terms and conditions which you should read before agreeing to anything:

  • terms and conditions are the rules which govern how you can use the website
  • be sure to read the terms and conditions if you are going to sign up or register for something online.
beconnected.esafety.gov.au