Understanding the Internet

Although many people think the "Web" is the same as the Internet, the Internet actually consists of five major services:

• World Wide Web (Web)
• Electronic Mail (Email)
• Newsgroups (Usenet) *
• Internet Relay Chat (IRC) **
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

Most people only concern themselves with the Web and email. This walkthrough will focus on the Web. For an email walkthrough, click here.

*While BlueLight Internet does not maintain its own direct newsgroup servers, there are still several ways to access NNTP / Usenet services. Try going to the My BlueLight homepage and use the "Search the Web" tools. Search for the words Usenet servers or Free NNTP to find Web-based and traditional Usenet Newsgroup access.

**BlueLight Internet offers Instant Messaging service through its sister service, NetZero, using NetZero Voice, and also supports popular chat and instant messaging applications such as mIRC, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, and MSN Messenger.