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When people sign up for internet service with an ISP, they get e-mail service included with their internet service. You can send e-mail messages to another e-mail address but you can't send e-mail messages to a web page address.
How do I sign up with an ISP? You get a friend who has an ISP to help you or go to a local ISP in your neighborhood. Often the local ones offer service cheaper than the big ones and are close and handy if you need frequent help. The software installation and setup instructions you need are given to you by the ISP. The only thing you need to do in advance is have a user ID and password in mind to give to the ISP. They will ask you for these and it is better if you have given them some thought in advance. Tips for User ID and Password The basic rules are that your ID and password are composed of letters and numbers with no spaces. Even if the ISP you choose allows upper and lower case and underscores etc., You will always be better off in the long run sticking to all lower case letters of the alphabet and numbers. It makes it easy to give your e-mail address to others. The ID you decide to use becomes your account name with the ISP. It also forms the front half of your first e-mail address. I say first e-mail because you may have more than one e-mail address if you wish. |
For example, let's say your name is Betty Jones and you are a UPS driver. You could have as your ID idriveups. In all future dealings with you, the ISP will identify you as idriveups.
Let's say you sign up with NetZero which is an ISP. Then your first e-mail address would be idriveups@netzero.net. Your e-mail address(es) are always composed of an ID as the front part, then an "@" followed by the name of the ISP. Sometimes, the ID you choose will already be taken by someone else and then you need to make yours unique. One way to make yours unique is to add numbers. You could, for example, change to idriveups28 where 28 might be your age. It's very important that you choose an ID that you can easily remember. The same goes for a password. For a password choose 8 characters or more and use a mixture of letters and numbers. Some dealings on the internet require that you use at least 8 characters and some require letters and numbers. What's a Browser? A browser is a software program that allows you to use the internet. The modem is the hardware that connects your PC to the internet and the browser is the software that gives you the ability to use the internet as a human being. The browser lets you look up and look at (i.e., browse) all the web pages on the internet.
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