Internet Access: The Basics.

Article
02/20/2014

Archived content. No warranty is made as to technical accuracy. Content may contain URLs that were valid when originally published, but now link to sites or pages that no longer exist.

This chapter describes how to configure Windows 95 to access the Internet and offers some basic tips for browsing and accessing information on the Internet.

The latest figures indicate that more than 20 million people are now connected to the Internet, a worldwide collection of networks and gateways linked, in most cases, with the TCP/IP suite of protocols. The Internet allows a broad spectrum of business people, academics, government users, and others to exchange ideas and information in a new way. Windows 95 offers you three ways to connect to the Internet:

You can join The Microsoft Network online service from the Windows 95 desktop to send and receive mail on the Internet and access Internet newsgroups. For more information, see Chapter 29, "The Microsoft Network."
You can install TCP/IP and Dial-Up Networking — both of which are provided with Windows 95 — to connect to Internet access providers. You connect to an access provider by using Dial-Up Networking to dial in to their PPP or SLIP servers, which are directly connected to the Internet.
You can install TCP/IP and a network adapter so that you can connect to a company's network server that is directly connected to the Internet.

Windows 95 supports all the protocols you need to connect to an Internet access provider, including a 32-bit implementation of TCP/IP, and PPP or SLIP. In addition, Windows 95 provides FTP and Telnet clients, which can be used to browse the Internet and download files from Internet servers.

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Connecting to the Internet

To connect a computer running Windows 95 to an Internet access provider, you need to do the following:

Obtain an Internet account with an Internet access provider. This is provided automatically if your company has a direct connection to the Internet.
Install TCP/IP and Dial-Up Networking, and make sure TCP/IP is bound to the Microsoft Dial-Up adapter or a network adapter.
Install a modem (if you dial in to the Internet) or a network adapter (if you have a direct network connection to the Internet).
Define a Dial-Up Networking connection to an Internet access provider and define IP address information for each connection, or for your network adapter, if required.

For more information about how to do these tasks, see "Connecting to the Internet" later in this chapter.

Before you connect to the Internet, you need to decide what kinds of information you want to provide or exchange. The most common tools for finding and exchanging information and the most common sources of information are described briefly in the following list and in more detail in "Navigating the Internet" later in this chapter.

Sending and receiving mail.

You can send and receive mail to other individuals on the Internet or join an Internet mailing list. There are servers around the world that maintain and manage Internet mailing list communities. To send and receive mail on the Internet, you need to run an electronic mail application, a Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) client, and connect to a SMTP server. You should ask your Internet access provider if they provide this support. After you have an electronic mail account, you can join a mailing list by sending an electronic mail message to a particular mailing list server.

USENET newsgroups.

Newsgroup servers, supporting Net News Transport Protocol (NNTP), share information and commentary on defined topics. Each newsgroup is a bulletin board where members post and reply to messages. To connect to a newsgroup, you need the following:

Access to an NNTP server
A newsgroup account provided by an Internet access provider
An NNTP reader (an application that allows you to view newsgroup information), which is available commercially or as shareware from many Internet sites

Searching the Internet.

A variety of tools are available to help you find the information you need on the Internet. Many Internet access providers provide some of these tools, which include the following:

Web browsers are multifaceted tools that allow you to dynamically view the World Wide Web (WWW), a network of servers that uses hypertext links to find and access files. A browser allows you to view documents on servers around the world without having to manually type each location. Most currently available browsers include versions of FTP, Telnet, Gopher, Mail and WAIS, giving you wide-ranging capabilities to search, connect, and download information on the Internet.
File transfer protocol (FTP) is a file-sharing protocol that allows you to find and connect to servers, and then transfer text and binary files between a host computer and a computer. Archie is a database and a system for locating files on FTP servers. FTP sites are indexed by title and keyword and Archie searches these indexes for the file you want. A version of FTP is provided in Windows 95.
Telnet is a connectivity tool that allows you to start a terminal session with a telnet server. A version of Telnet is provided in Windows 95.
Gopher is a search tool that presents information in a hierarchical menu system similar to a table of contents. Veronica searches for text that appears in Gopher menus.
WAIS (Wide-Area Information Service) indexes large text files, documents, and periodicals. You can search WAIS indexes for a wide variety of information.
Finger commands allow you to view the status of a remote site or user.
Mail readers allow you to use electronic mail on the Internet if your Internet access provider provides you with an account.
Search engines are sites on the Internet that allow you to enter a search command and receive a list of sites containing the specified information. Search engines generally require a Web browser, such as Mosaic.
Helper applications are add-on tools to Internet browsers that allow you to incorporate multimedia features into files. Many Internet sites provide locations where you can find and download helper applications.

Note: Windows 95 provides Telnet and FTP clients for searching and browsing the Internet as described in "Navigating the Internet" later in this chapter. The section also provides addresses to Internet sites where you can download other Internet browsing and search tools.

Downloading information.

After you locate information, you can download it to a computer using FTP, which allows you to copy files from a host to a remote server.

Useful publications

For more information about accessing and using the Internet, the following books are recommended:

Baczewski, P., and Bang, S.; Barnett, J. The Internet Unleashed. Indianapolis, IN: Sams Publishing**,** 1994.
Braun, E. The Internet Directory. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1994.
Dougherty, D., and Koman, R. The Mosaic Handbook for Microsoft Windows. Sebastapol, CA: O'Reilly, 1994.
Falk, B. The Internet Roadmap. Alameda, CA: SYBEC Inc., 1994.
Gilster, P. The Internet Navigator. New York, NY: Wiley, 1994.
Hahn, H., and Stout, R. The Internet Complete Reference. Berkeley, CA: Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1994.
Hahn, H., and Stout, R. The Internet Yellow Pages. Berkeley, CA: Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1994.
Kehoe, B. Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PTR Prentice Hall, 1994.
Lynch, D., and Rose, M. Internet System Handbook. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1993.
Maxwell, C., and Jan, G.C. New Riders Official Internet Yellow Pages. New Riders Publishing, 1994.
Notes, G. Internet Access Providers: an International Resource Directory. Westport, CT: Mecklermedia, 1994.
Randall, N. The World Wide Web Unleashed. Indianapolis, IN: Sams Publishing, 1994.
Smith, R., and Gibbs, M. Navigating the Internet. Carmel, IN: Sams Publishing, 1993.
Tennant, R., Ober, J., and Lipow, A. Crossing the Internet Threshold: An Instructional Handbook. Berkeley, CA: Library Solutions Press, 1993.
Tolhurst, W., Pike, M., and Blanton, K. Using the Internet. Indianapolis, IN: Que, 1994.

Connecting to the Internet

Connecting a computer running Windows 95 to the Internet consists of the following steps:

Obtaining an Internet PPP or SLIP account from an access provider (unless you are connecting through an Internet server on your network). PPP is a newer standard and offers more automatic authentication, security, and many other advantages.
Obtaining account information (such as the user name and password) from the access provider; this is needed to connect to their server.
Installing and configuring a modem.
Installing Microsoft TCP/IP by using the Network option in Control Panel.
Installing Dial-Up Networking and defining a Dial-Up Networking connection to the Internet. If your Internet access provider does not dynamically assign you DNS and IP addresses, you can set these in Dial-Up Networking for each connection you create to the Internet.

– Or –

Installing a network adapter and defining an IP address in the network adapter's TCP/IP properties dialog boxes.
Connecting to the Internet.
Browsing the Internet by using FTP or Telnet provided with Windows 95, or by using Gopher, Archie, WAIS, and other Web browsers, which are available commercially or as shareware from Internet servers.

Installing and Configuring a Modem

Windows 95 supports a variety of modems for dial-in access. You do not need to configure a modem differently to connect to the Internet than you would for any other Dial-Up Networking connection. For information about installing and configuring modems, see Chapter 25, "Modems and Communications Tools." For information about configuring communications ports, see Chapter 19, "Devices."

Obtaining an Internet Account

Most users connect to the Internet by dialing in to an Internet access provider's server that is directly connected to the Internet. An Internet access provider is a company or institution that provides access to the Internet for a fee. The list of providers is long and growing. According to the Internet Network Information Center (InterNIC), there are more than 160 commercial Internet access providers around the country. Access providers offer a range of services and charge for them in a variety of ways.

Tip Using an Internet access provider by way of remote access is a fairly inexpensive way to reach the Internet, but its effectiveness is limited by the speed of the connection and the modem. For a good modem and a normal phone line, this speed tends to be roughly between 14.4 and 28.8 kilobytes per second (kbps).

You can find an access provider by purchasing books or magazines that list them, some of which are included in the preceding section, or by accessing lists through an online service such as America Online® or CompuServe®. Online lists of access providers include:

PDIAL list, access by sending electronic mail to info_deli_server@netcom.com.
America Online or CompuServe PCWorld forums.

In deciding which access provider to use, you should consider the following:

Does the access provider offer full Internet access?
Does the access provider support PPP?
Does the access provider offer technical support?
What kind of connection speeds does the access provider support?
What kind of search tools do they provide?
Does the access provider have an adequate number of phone lines and a large enough pipe to the Internet in order to provide good response time?
What range of services, such as mail, does the access provider offer, and at what charge?

After you have chosen an access provider, obtain the following information from the access provider when you establish a PPP or a SLIP account. You need this information in order to configure Windows 95 to access the Internet:

Access phone number, preferably local
Logon name
Logon password
Your host and domain name, if electronic mail is part of your connection services. Your host name can include a POP3 host name and a SMTP host name, which are protocols used to send and receive messages on the Internet, respectively.
The NNTP server name, if Internet newsgroups are part of your connection service.

You also need to know the following:

Domain Name System (DNS) server and IP address

Access providers who support PPP will generally automatically assign IP address each time you dial in to the access provider. However, some PPP access providers might require manual configuration of an IP address as described in "Setting the Domain Name System Server and IP Addresses" later in this chapter. You also need, in most cases, to configure the IP address of the access provider's DNS server.

All SLIP accounts require you to manually configure an IP address on your computer when you connect.

More information is provided about these settings in the following sections and in Chapter 12, "Network Technical Discussion."

Internet Access Providers Successfully Tested With Windows 95

The number of companies providing access to the Internet changes daily. In addition, the services that any one Internet access provider offers also often change. During the development of Windows 95, Microsoft tested almost 200 Internet access providers to see if Windows 95 could successfully connect through them to the Internet. The following table presents those access providers to which Windows 95 consistently connected during this testing process. Notice that the information contained in this table is subject to change.

SLIP	PPP	Company	Phone number
Yes	Yes	a2i Communications	415-293-8078
No	Yes	Actrix Networks Ltd.	644-389-6316
Yes	Yes	Adhesive Media, Inc.	512-478-9900
No	Yes	AMT Solutions Group, Inc. - Island Net	800-331-3055
Yes	Yes	APK- Public Access UNI* Site	216-481-9428
Yes	Yes	BARRNet (Bay Area Regional Research Network)	415-725-7003
No	Yes	Beckmeyer Development	510-530-9637
Yes	Yes	Berbee Information Networks Corporation	608-288-3000
Yes	No	Caprica Telecomputing Resources	213-266-0822
No	Yes	CCNET Communications	800-CCNET-4-U
Yes	No	CERFnet (California Education and Research Federation Network)	619-455-3942
No	Yes	CFTnet	813-980-1317
No	Yes	CICNet (Committee on Institutional Cooperation Network)	313-998-6700
Yes	Yes	Cloud 9 Internet	914-682-0626
Yes	No	Commercial Link Systems	49-431-979-0161
No	Yes	Communications Accessibles Montreal	514-288-2581
Yes	Yes	CompuTech	509-624-6798
No	Yes	CyberGate, Inc.	305-425-GATE
No	Yes	Cyberspace	206-505-5577
No	Yes	Demon Internet Systems (DIS)	4-44(0)-81-349-0063
Yes	No	Digex (Digital Express Group)	301-847-5000
No	Yes	DKnet	45-39-17-99-00
Yes	No	Engineering International, Inc.	505-343-1060
Yes	No	ESDATA Ltd.	372-2-527-504
Yes	Yes	EUnet Austria	43-1-317-4969
No	Yes	EUnet Belgium	32-16-201-015 x3635
No	Yes	EUnet Bulgaria	359-52-259-135
No	Yes	EUnet Finland	358-0-400-2060
No	Yes	EUnet France	33-1-53-81-60-60
Yes	Yes	FREE.ORG	715-387-1700
No	Yes	Fullfeed Communications	608-246-4329
Yes	No	Global Enterprise Service, Inc. (JvNCnet)	609-897-7309
Yes	Yes	Helix	604-689-8544
Yes	Yes	HookUp Communication Corporation	905-847-8000
No	Yes	ICE Online	604-298-4346
No	Yes	IEunet Ltd., Ireland's Internet Services Supplier	353-1-679-0832
Yes	Yes	IgLou Internet Services	502-968-8500
No	Yes	ILINK,LPD	512-388-2393
No	Yes	Individual Network e.V. (IN)	49-441-980-8556
No	Yes	Infinet, L.C.	800-849-7214
No	Yes	InterAccess	800-967-1580
Yes	Yes	International Internet Association (IIA)	201-928-1000
No	Yes	Internet Access Cincinnati	513-887-8877
No	Yes	Internet Direct, Inc.	602-274-0100
No	Yes	Internet Express	800-592-1241
No	Yes	Ireland On-Line	353-(0)-91-92727
No	Yes	ITnet S.p.A.	39-10-353-2747
Yes	Yes	JARING (MIMOS - Malaysian Institute of Microelectronics Systems)	60-3-254-9601
No	Yes	MBnet	204-474-6236
No	Yes	Metrix Interlink Corp.	514-933-9171
Yes	Yes	MIDnet	402 472-7600
No	Yes	MIND LINK! Communications Corp.	604-534-5663
No	Yes	MIX	414-351-1868
Yes	Yes	MrNet	612-342-2894
No	Yes	Msen, Inc.	313-998-4562
No	Yes	MV Communications, Inc.	603-429-2223
No	Yes	NB*net - New Brunswick's Regional Network	506-694-6404
No	Yes	Net Access	215-576-8669
No	Yes	Network Access Services	206-733-9279
No	Yes	NevadaNet	702-784-6861
No	Yes	NorthWestNet	206-562-3000
No	Yes	Northwest Nexus Inc.	206-455-3505
Yes	Yes	Northwest Technical Services Group	206-562-3000
No	Yes	Nuance Network Services	205-533-4296
No	Yes	Olympus Net	206-385-0464
No	Yes	On-Ramp Technologies, Inc.	214-746-4710
No	Yes	Paradigm Communications Inc.	203-250-7397
No	Yes	Personal InterNet Gate (PING)	43-1-319-43-36
No	Yes	PIPEX	44-223-424-616
No	Yes	Portal	408-973-9111
No	Yes	RAINet Pacific Systems Group	503-227-5665
Yes	Yes	RESTENA	352-42-44-09
No	Yes	Resudox	613-567-6925
No	Yes	Rocky Mountain Internet, Inc.	719-576-6845
No	Yes	Route 66 Networks, Inc.	206-324-6666
No	Yes	SEANET (OSD, Inc.)	206-343-7828
Yes	Yes	Sense Media	206-451-9400
No	Yes	Slip Net	415-281-3197
Yes	Yes	SunBelt	803-324-6205
Yes	Yes	SWITCH	41-1-268-1520
Yes	No	Teleport, Inc.	503-223-4245
No	Yes	Texas Metronet	214-705-2900
Yes	No	The Black Box	713-480-2684
No	Yes	The Cyberspace Station	619-634-2894
No	Yes	The Internet Access Company	617-275-2221
No	Yes	UUNET Canada, Inc.	416-368-6621
No	Yes	UUNET Technologies, Inc.	800-488-6386
No	Yes	Vnet Internet Access, Inc.	800-377-3282
No	Yes	Wimsey Information Services	604-923-4000
Yes	No	WLN	206-421-4741
Yes	Yes	World Wide Access	708-367-1870

Installing TCP/IP

Connecting the millions of computer networks on the Internet would not be possible without a standard set of protocols. Each Internet standard is described in a document called a request for comment (RFC). TCP/IP is the standard on the Internet because it combines a number of different protocols that make it possible to communicate across interconnected networks that have diverse hardware and operating systems.

To connect to the Internet, you must install TCP/IP. Windows 95 will automatically allow (bind) TCP/IP to work with a network adapter or Microsoft Dial-Up adapter. You can install TCP/IP when you run Custom Setup of Windows 95, or if you choose a different Setup Type, you can install it after Setup by using the Network option in Control Panel.

To install TCP/IP

In the Network option in Control Panel, click the Add button.
In the Select Network Component Type dialog box, double-click Protocol.
In the Select Network Protocol dialog box, in the Manufacturers list, click Microsoft and then in the Network Protocols list, click TCP/IP. Click OK.

To verify that TCP/IP is bound to the Microsoft Dial-Up adapter or a network adapter

In the Network option in Control Panel, click the Configuration tab.
In Configuration properties, scroll through the list of network components to see if an arrow to the right of TCP/IP points to the Dial-Up adapter or other network adapter.

When you install Dial-Up Networking or another network adapter, Windows 95 automatically binds TCP/IP to the adapters if TCP/IP has been previously installed. If your computer has multiple network adapters, an entry for TCP/IP is displayed for each one. You must configure each adapter with its own TCP/IP settings.

Setting the Domain Name System Server and IP Addresses

The Internet uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to translate computer and domain names into IP addresses. A DNS server maintains a database that maps domain names to IP addresses as specified by network administrators. The DNS organizes the names of hosts in a hierarchical fashion, similar to a file system. For more information, see Chapter 12, "Network Technical Discussion."

Before you can use TCP/IP to connect to the Internet, you need to configure a computer to recognize DNS information. Some Internet access providers dynamically assign IP addresses for DNS servers, but most do not. Most PPP Internet access providers do dynamically assign IP addresses. If an access provider does not dynamically assign either a DNS IP address or your IP address, you should set these in the TCP/IP Settings dialog box in Dial-Up Networking for each connection you create.

If, however, you have a static, direct LAN connection to the Internet or other TCP/IP network, then you should set the DNS IP address and your IP address in TCP/IP properties in the Network option in Control Panel. You do not need to set this information if your LAN's Internet access server dynamically assigns these to you; for example, if you are using a server with Dynamic Host Configure Protocol (DHCP) capabilities, such as a Windows NT 3.5 server, it will dynamically assign IP address information.

Note: The following procedures assume that your computer has Microsoft TCP/IP installed as a network protocol. If your site uses another vendor's version of TCP/IP, you must configure the protocol as recommended by the protocol vendor.

To set the DNS IP address if you have a direct LAN connection to the Internet

In the Network option in Control Panel, click the Configuration tab.
In the network component list, double-click TCP/IP for the network adapter.
In the TCP/IP Properties dialog box, click the DNS Configuration tab.
Click Enable DNS, and then, in the Host and Domain boxes, type your host name and domain name, respectively. These names identify you on the Internet.
In the DNS Server Search Order box, type the address of your LAN's DNS server in the DNS Server Search Order box.

If your network has more than one DNS server, type each DNS server and then click Add. DNS settings are currently global across all instances of TCP/IP. This allows you to rely on a secondary DNS server if the primary DNS server is down. The first server listed is the first one searched.

To set the DNS IP address for each connection in Dial-Up Networking

In Dial-Up Networking, right-click the connection you defined for the Internet, and then click Properties.
In the connection's properties, click Server Type, and then click TCP/IP Settings.
In the TCP/IP Settings dialog box, click the option named Specify An IP Address, and type your IP address.
Click the option named Specify Name Server Address, and then type the IP address of the DNS server in the Primary DNS box.

Important: Because IP addresses identify nodes on an interconnected network, each host on the internetwork must be assigned a unique IP address, valid for its particular network.

To define your IP address if you have a direct LAN connection to the Internet

In the Network option in Control Panel, double-click TCP/IP for the network adapter.
In the TCP/IP Properties dialog box, click the IP Address tab, and then click the Specify An IP Address option.
In the IP Address box, type your IP address. After you type the address, your subnet mask will be provided automatically. Click OK.

To define your IP address if your access provider does not dynamically assign one

In the TCP/IP Settings dialog box, click the option named Specify An IP Address, and then type your IP address.

Making a Dial-Up Networking Connection

After you install and configure TCP/IP, you need to configure a Dial-Up Networking connection to an Internet access provider. The way you configue the connection settings depends on the type of Internet server to which you are connecting.

To connect to a PPP server that supports the Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) or the Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP), all you have to do is click the Dial-Up Networking connection you defined and type your user name password in the Connect To dialog box. These types of servers include Windows NT 3.5, Shiva NetModem and LanRover, or any UNIX® server that supports PAP and CHAP.

To connect to PPP servers that does not support PAP or CHAP, or to SLIP servers, you need to change settings in Dial-Up Networking for each Internet connection you define, as described in the following procedures.

For more information about defining a Dial-Up Networking connection, and about PAP and CHAP, see Chapter 28, "Dial-Up Networking and Mobile Computing."

Connecting to a PPP Server

A PPP server that does not support PAP or CHAP might require that you use a terminal window to log on. In this case, you need to specify in Dial-Up Networking that a terminal window be displayed after dialing. To provide security when there is no support for PAP or CHAP, you can require that an encrypted password be used. You can also increase the connection speed by disabling network protocols other than TCP/IP.

To display a terminal window after dialing

In Dial-Up Networking, right-click the connection icon you created for the Internet, and then click Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Configure button, and then click the Options tab.
In the Options dialog box, click the option named "Bring Up Terminal Window After Dialing" so it is checked, and then click OK.

To increase connection speed and require encrypted passwords

In Dial-Up Networking, right-click the connection icon for Internet, and then click Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Server Types button.

In the Server Types dialog box, you can increase the speed with which you connect to an Internet access provider, by making sure the following options are not checked.
- Log On To Network
- NetBEUI
- IPX/SPX Compatible
If you need to use an encrypted password, make sure the option named Require Encrypted Password is checked.

You are now ready to connect to an Internet access provider.

To connect to a PPP server that does not support PAP or CHAP

In Dial-Up Networking, double-click the connection icon you created for the Internet.
In the Connect To dialog box, click Connect.
In the Terminal Window dialog box, type your user name and password and any other information that your access provider requires.
After you have been successfully logged on, click F7 to continue.

Note: Windows 95 does not allow you to write a script to automate the terminal window logon process.

Connecting to a SLIP Server

Windows 95 Dial-Up Networking clients support SLIP and can connect to any remote access server using the SLIP standard. However, SLIP is available only on the Windows 95 compact disc.

To install SLIP

In the Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel, click the Windows Setup tab, and then click the button Have Disk.
In the Install From Disk dialog box, type the path name to the ADMIN\APPTOOLS\SLIP directory on the compact disc, and then click OK.
In the Select Network Service dialog box, click UNIX Connection For Dial-Up Networking, and then click Install.

Both CSLIP and SLIP will appear in the Server Types dialog box in Dial-Up Networking

There are two types of SLIP accounts, uncompressed SLIP and compressed SLIP (CSLIP). You set what type of SLIP account you have for each connection you create in Dial-Up Networking.

To select the type of SLIP account for a connection in Dial-Up Networking

Right-click a connection icon, and then click Properties.
In the connection's properties, click Server Type.
In the Server Type dialog box, click Slip: UNIX Connection or CLSIP Connection With IP Header Compression in the Type of Server box.

Note: If you are having trouble running TCP/IP applications after connection, you might need to change the server type from CSLIP to SLIP or vice versa.

SLIP servers do not have the capability to negotiate your TCP/IP address. Therefore, you must set Dial-Up Networking to display a terminal window after you dial the Internet server. After you type your user name and password, IP address information will be displayed in the terminal window as described in the following procedure.

To connect to a SLIP server

In Dial-Up Networking, right-click the connection icon you created for the Internet, and then click Properties to specify that a terminal window be displayed as described earlier in this section. Click OK.
In General properties, click the Server Types button.
In the Server Types dialog box, click the option named SLIP UNIX Connection or the option named CSLIP UNIX Connection With IP Header Compression, and then click OK.

You can also make sure the Log On to Network check box is cleared because SLIP servers allow you to log on only in a terminal window. Notice that the only protocol allowed is TCP/IP.
In Dial-Up Networking, double-click the icon for the connection.
In the Connect To dialog box, click Connect.
After the modem establishes a connection, the Post Dial Terminal Screen dialog box appears for you to log on to the SLIP server and receive your IP address.

You must follow the provider's guidelines for logging on to its server. Most Internet access providers require only that you type a user name and password. However, other access providers require additional information.

In most cases, after you type your user name and password, the access provider will display two IP addresses, a host IP address and your IP address. (If the access provider does not display the IP addresses, you should find them out from them.) The second address displayed is usually your IP address, which you should write down, and then click F7.
In the SLIP Connection IP Address dialog box, type your IP address, and then click OK.
If your Internet access provider assigns you the same IP address each time you connect then, after you finish your Internet session, type your IP address in the TCP/IP Settings dialog box for that connection in Dial-Up Networking. The next time you connect to the Internet SLIP server using this connection you will not have to type your IP address.

Note: You can use ping commands at the command prompt to differentiate the local from the host IP address. At the command prompt, type ping and the local IP address (for example, 123.45.6.7), and then ping to another server on the Internet. If the local address works, and the server address does not, contact the access provider.

After you connect to an Internet access provider, Windows 95 displays a dialog box named Connected To Internet (or whatever name you gave the Dial-Up Networking connection to the Internet). You can minimize this dialog box and begin your Internet session by running FTP, Telnet, or other Internet browsing applications as described later in this chapter.

Using WINIPCFG to Verify Internet Connections

The IP configuration utility (WINICPFG) is a troubleshooting utility that displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values for any computer running Microsoft TCP/IP. Network configuration values include the current IP address allocated to the computer and other useful data about the TCP/IP allocation. This utility is of particular use on systems running DHCP, allowing users to determine which TCP/IP configuration values have been configured by DHCP.

The IP configuration utility does not, however, dynamically update information. If you make any changes, such as disconnecting, you must exit the IP configuration utility and restart it again.

To run WINIPCFG, click the Start button, click Run, and type winipcfg.

Technical Notes for IP address on TCP/IP Networks

This section provides details about IP addresses and subnet masks.

Every host interface, or node, on a TCP/IP network is identified by a unique IP address. This address is used to identify a host on a network; it also specifies routing information in an internetwork. The IP address identifies a computer as a 32-bit address that is unique across a TCP/IP network. An address is usually represented in dotted decimal notation, which depicts each octet (eight bits, or one byte) of an IP address as its decimal value and separates each octet with a period. An IP address looks like this:

102.54.94.97

Network ID and Host ID

Although an IP address is a single value, it contains two pieces of information: the network ID and the host (or system) ID for your computer.

The network ID identifies a group of computers and other devices that are all located on the same logical network, which are separated or interconnected by routers. In internetworks (networks formed by a collection of local area networks), there is a unique network ID for each network.
The host ID identifies your computer within a particular network ID. (A host is any device that is attached to the network and uses TCP/IP.)

Networks that connect to the public Internet must obtain an official network ID from the InterNIC to guarantee unique IP network IDs. After receiving a network ID, the local network administrator must assign unique host IDs for computers within the local network. Although private networks not connected to the Internet can choose to use their own network identifiers, obtaining a valid network ID from InterNIC allows a private network to connect to the Internet in the future without reassigning addresses.

The Internet community has defined address classes to accommodate networks of varying sizes. Each network class can be discerned from the first octet of its IP address. The following table summarizes the relationship between the first octet of a given address and its network ID and host ID fields. It also identifies the total number of network IDs and host IDs for each address class that participates in the Internet addressing scheme. This sample uses w.x.y.z to designate the bytes of the IP address.

Class	w values 1,2	Network ID	Host ID	Available networks	Available hosts per net
A	1–126	w	x.y.z	126	16,777,214
B	128–191	w.x	y.z	16,384	65,534
C	192–223	w.x.y	z	2,097,151	254

1 Inclusive range for the first octet in the IP address.

2 The address 127 is reserved for loopback testing and interprocess communication on the local computer; it is not a valid network address. Addresses 224 and above are reserved for special protocols (IGMP multicast and others), and cannot be used as host addresses.

A network host uses the network ID and host ID to determine which packets it should receive or ignore, and to determine the scope of its transmissions (only nodes with the same network ID accept each other's IP-level broadcasts).

Because the sender's IP address is included in every outgoing IP packet, it is useful for the receiving computer to derive the originating network ID and host ID from the IP address field. This is done by using subnet masks, as described in the following section.

Subnet Masks

Subnet masks are 32-bit values that allow the recipient of IP packets to distinguish the network ID portion of the IP address from the host ID. Similar to an IP address, the value of a subnet mask is frequently represented in dotted decimal notation. Subnet masks are determined by assigning 1s to bits that belong to the network ID and 0s to bits that belong to the host ID. When the bits are in place, the 32-bit value is converted to dotted decimal notation, as shown in the following table.

Address class	Bits for subnet mask	Subnet mask
Class-A	11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000	255.0.0.0
Class-B	11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000	255.255.0.0
Class-C	11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000	255.255.255.0

The result allows TCP/IP to determine the host and network IDs of the local computer. For example, when the IP address is 102.54.94.97 and the subnet mask is 255.255.0.0, the network ID is 102.54 and the host ID is 94.97.

Although configuring a host with a subnet mask might seem redundant after examining the previous tables (since the class of a host is easily determined), subnet masks are also used to further segment an assigned network ID among several local networks.

For example, suppose a network is assigned the Class-B network address 144.100. This is one of over 16,000 Class-B addresses capable of serving more than 65,000 nodes. However, the worldwide corporate network to which this ID is assigned is composed of 12 international LANs with 75 to 100 nodes each. Instead of applying for 11 more network IDs, it is better to use subnetting to make more effective use of the assigned ID 144.100. The third octet of the IP address can be used as a subnet ID, to define the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. This splits the Class-B address into 254 subnets: 144.100.1 through 144.100.254, each of which can have 254 nodes. (host IDs 0 and 255 should not be assigned to a computer; they are used as broadcast addresses, which are typically recognized by all computers.) Any 12 of these network addresses could be assigned to the international LANs in this example. Within each LAN, each computer is assigned a unique host ID, and they all have the subnet mask 255.255.255.0.

The preceding example demonstrates a simple (and common) subnet scheme for Class-B addresses. Sometimes it is necessary to segment only portions of an octet, using only a few bits to specify subnet IDs (such as when subnets exceed 256 nodes). Each user should check with the local network administrator to determine the network's subnet policy and the correct subnet mask. For all systems on the local network, the subnet mask must be the same for that network ID.

Navigating the Internet

This section provides some tips to help you find and access information on the Internet after you have connected.

Using Microsoft TCP/IP Utilities

Windows 95 provides a variety of TCP/IP utilities for copying files, initiating host sessions with other servers, and checking the status of your IP configuration. For more information about these tools, see Appendix A, "Command-Line Commands Summary." For more information about steps for using TCP/IP utilities such as ping to verify your connection, see the troubleshooting section of Chapter 12, "Network Technical Discussion."

FTP is a file-transfer protocol that allows the transfer of text and binary files between a host computer and a computer. FTP requires you to log on to the remote host for user authentication, but logging on as anonymous can be used to acquire various free software and documentation through the Internet. Some FTP servers have a limit to the number of anonymous users they can handle at any one time, so you might have to attempt to connect more than once to get a connection.

You can use FTP to access the Microsoft FTP server to get troubleshooting help and other information. This support service uses anonymous FTP to provide documentation, utilities, updated drivers, and other information for many Microsoft systems products.

To get support from Microsoft by using the Internet

Make sure you are connected to your Internet provider as described earlier in this chapter.
To start FTP, click the Start menu, click Run, type ftp, and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type open ftp.microsoft.com
When you are prompted to specify a user name, type anonymous
Type your Internet account name (your electronic mail name) as your password, using the format userid@hostname.domain.

As you type your Internet account name, characters might not appear on the screen. This is a security measure to protect your password.

You are now connected to the root directory of the Microsoft FTP site.

For information about navigating and downloading files, see the following section.

Using FTP to Browse and Download Files

This section describes how to see a listing of directories and files at an FTP site, and how to change directories and download files. Most FTP servers contain text files that describe the layout of their entire directory structure to help you find what you need. For example, the text file on DIRMAP.TXT/ describes that server's directory structure.

To list the directories and folders at an FTP site

At the ftp> prompt, type ls

To view more details about the current directory

At the ftp> prompt, type ls -l

This command provides a detailed listing similar to the following:

dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 23	16:23	advsys
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	5:37	deskapps
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	10:52	developer
-r-	1	owner	group	4161	Sep 19	7:43	dirmap.txt
-r-	1	owner	group	712	Aug 25	15:07	disclaimer.txt
-r-	1	owner	group	860	Sep 1	8:40	index.txt
-r-	1	owner	group	522031	Sep 21	0:17	LS-LR.ZIP
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	12:36	MSEDCert
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 22	16:24	MSFT
-r-	1	owner	group	28160	Nov 29	1993	MSNBRO.DOC
-r-	1	owner	group	22641	Feb 8	9:58	MSNBRO.TXT
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 24	15:09	peropsys
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Sep 19	16:01	Softlib
-r-	1	owner	group	5095	Oct 20	1993	support-phone#.txt
dr-	1	owner	group	0	Aug 22	16:38	TechNet
-r-	1	owner	group	802	Aug 25	8:09	WhatHappened.txt

In this listing:

The left column indicates whether the item is a file (r) or a directory (dr).
The fifth column indicates the byte size of each file.
The last column describes the name of the file, directory, or link.

A link to a file or directory somewhere else on the FTP site (similar to a shortcut to a folder or file in Windows 95).

To change directories

At the ftp> prompt, type cd directory_name

For example, to get more information about desktop applications, type cd deskapps

To go back to the previous directory

At the ftp> prompt, type cd

If you have navigated through many directories and want to go back to the beginning, instead of typing cd .. again and again, you can type cd / to return to the root directory of this host.

Tip Notice that the forward slash "/ " is used (as opposed to the backslash " \" that MS-DOS and Windows users are accustomed to) On most UNIX computers, the way to change directories is with the forward slash. Currently, most FTP servers you access only understand that particular command, so the forward slash will always work. However, if you dial into a computer running Windows NT, such as ftp.microsoft.com, it understands both the forward slash and the backslash.

Downloading Files with FTP

To download files from the Internet, you must indicate whether the file is an ASCII or a binary file. By default, when you begin using FTP, you are working in ASCII mode. To transfer text files, it is not necessary to change modes; however, you cannot transfer a binary file while you are in ASCII mode.

Tip Most text-based FTP clients are case-sensitive, so make sure you use the correct case when you attempt to transfer resources from these FTP sites.

To switch from ASCII to binary transfer mode

At the ftp> prompt, type binary

The following message appears to confirm the change to binary transfer mode:

200 Type set to I

To switch from binary transfer mode to ASCII

At the ftp> prompt, type ASCII

The following message appears to confirm the change to ASCII:

200 Type set to A

To transfer a file to your computer

At the ftp> prompt, type get filename

For example, to get the directory map on the Microsoft FTP server, type

get dirmap.txt

To place the file on a computer with a name other than the one it had on the server, type

get filename newname

If you get an error, remember that you are using software that is case-sensitive, so make sure you typed the word dirmap.txt exactly.

When you see the ftp> prompt again, look in Windows Explorer for the DIRMAP.TXT file and open it by using a text processor such as WordPad.

To disconnect from your host

At the ftp> prompt, type disconnect

To stop using FTP

At the ftp> prompt, type quit

Using Windows 95 Telnet

Much of the information on the Internet is still available only if you use Telnet. Windows 95 provides a version of Telnet that you can run from the Start menu.

To run Telnet from the Start menu

Click the Start menu, click Run and, then type telnet
In Telnet, click the Connect menu, and then click Remote Session.
In the Connect dialog box, type the host name of the Telnet site to which you want to connect to.
In the Term Type box select a terminal mode. The default is VT-100.
In the Port box, select a port. The default is Telnet.
To start the Telnet session, click the Connect button.
To capture data to a file, type terminal/start logging

For more information about using Telnet, see online Help.

Browsing the Internet with Public Domain Tools

In addition to FTP and Telnet, there are a variety of applications available on the Internet to navigate it, including Mosaic, Gopher, Archie, and WAIS. These applications allow you to easily access the Internet, and they offer greater searching and browsing capabilities than FTP and Telnet. The following sections provide information about several of these applications. You should contact your Internet access provider to find out locations for these programs.

Note: There are many TCP/IP applications from other vendors that offer Internet browsing, viewing, and connection capabilities. Many of these applications are 16-bit and do not currently work with the 32-bit version of TCP/IP provided with Windows 95.

To download these public domain and shareware applications, you need to use FTP as described in Appendix A, "Command-Line Commands Summary."

Caution: Windows 95 provides a 32-bit Windows Sockets interface (Winsock.dll). Any attempt to override the Windows 95 interface could cause TCP/IP applications to not work correctly or could cause the computer to stop responding.

Using Mosaic

NCSA Mosaic is a graphical network navigational tool that provides users with access to networked information on the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) distributed information system. NCSA Mosaic enables the user to retrieve and display a wide variety of data types, including text, image, video, and audio. It uses a hypertext user interface similar to Windows Help files, so you can click on a word or image of interest, and Mosaic connects you to the appropriate resource. There are now numerous versions of Mosaic available.

To access Mosaic

Connect to ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu.
At the ftp> prompt, type cd /Web
Read the FAQ.TXT file in this directory and follow the instructions for installing Mosaic.
To connect to the Microsoft Word Wide Web server, click in the Document URL box, and then type https://www.microsoft.com
Click the highlighted words to navigate around the web site.

Using Gopher

Gopher is a tool that offers menu-based access to Internet information. Gopher hides the intricacies of FTP from the user and bypasses complicated TCP/IP addresses and connections. Users can choose information from a list of menus, and Gopher makes the connections that are necessary to retrieve the files. Gopher is most helpful when you need to find specific pieces of information on the Internet.

Using Archie

Archie is a server that supports a database of anonymous FTP sites and their contents. It was created by the Archive Group at McGill University in Montreal, where it is maintained. Archie stores the contents, descriptions, and filenames about a great number of FTP sites. Archie applications are available from many major Internet sites.

Using Wide-Area Information Server (WAIS)

With WAIS, you can browse the hundreds of databases and library catalogs on the Internet in an organized way. WAIS searches the contents of documents based on words as opposed to titles, which is what as other search tools use. After a search, WAIS displays a list of documents. This list, however, can be extremely large, so WAIS sorts the documents based on how many times a key word was found in each one. If the list is too large, you can narrow the search by specifying categories.

Tips for Adding a Gateway Server

A dedicated connection to the Internet provides many advantages over connecting by using a modem with a telephone line to an Internet access provider. Having a gateway server can improve performance and reduce costs. You'll need to set up hardware and obtain a domain name so others can send information to your gateway.

If you set up a dedicated computer to act as a router or gateway server to the Internet, it should use a high-speed connection, such as T1 or 56KB lines, instead of a slower telephone line. The T1 line connects to the computer using a special network adapter.

Networks that connect to the public Internet must obtain an official network ID from the InterNIC to guarantee IP network ID uniqueness. The InterNIC can be contacted by using electronic mail at info@internic.net (in the United States, call (800) 444–4345, or for Canada and overseas, call (619) 455–4600). Internet registration requests can be sent to hostmaster@internic.net. You can also use FTP to connect to is.internic.net, then log on as anonymous and change to the /INFOSOURCE/FAQ directory. After receiving a network ID, the local network administrator must assign unique host IDs for computers within the local network.

Troubleshooting Internet Connections

Your modem does not dial.

Use the Modem troubleshooter in online Help.
See the modem troubleshooting section in Chapter 25, "Modems and Communications Tools"

You cannot connect to the Internet access provider.

Check the Server Types dialog box in Dial-Up Networking to make sure your server type is correct. If you have a PPP account, make sure the server type is not SLIP or CSLIP. If you have a SLIP account, make sure you have the correct type selected, either CSLIP or SLIP.
If you have a SLIP account, make sure you typed the correct IP address in the SLIP Connection IP Address dialog box.
Check the Network option in Control Panel to make sure TCP/IP is bound to the dial-up or network adapter.

You connect to the Internet access provider but cannot obtain information from other Internet sites.

Try using ping commands to connect to other Internet sites.

To test a connection is working by using ping commands

At the MS-DOS prompt, type

ping 198.105.232.1 (Microsoft FTP server) or 198.105.232.6 (Microsoft WWW server)

If this works, then TCP/IP is working over your connection.

At the DOS prompt, type ftp.microsoft.com.

– Or –

Run FTP or Telnet.

If this works, then your DNS settings are correct and working.

If there is no response, check to make sure the DNS IP addresses are correct by running IP configuration utility. To run WINIPCFG, click the Start button, click Run, and type winipcfg.

You cannot view or download hypertext documents.

To view or download hypertext documents, such as World Wide Web home pages, you must use an Internet browser. The Telnet and FTP utilities that are provided with Windows 95 only support basic navigation on the Internet.