What is the difference between the internet and web browsing?

[applefan289]

When most people say the "internet" they actually mean browsing the web through a web browser by using web addresses (like www.macrumors.com).

But what other uses does the internet serve for most people other than web browsing?

I've seen terms like "WAN", but what does a "WAN" look like on a computer screen? Do you access it through a web browser?

It seems that browsing the web is only a portion of the internet, but that is the only portion that I know how to use and access (as well as most people).

So, what does it look like to use other parts of the internet, like "WAN", "VPN", etc.?

 

[aziatiklover]

Get a job at an IT department that should answer your question!

 

[ChristianVirtual]

eMail when not using browser; instead use dedicated clients like Outlook, mail.app.

 

[Sjhonny]

read this:

OSI Model

The internet is a conglomerate of technologies on many different levels, both hard- & software. In essence, it's the 'system' that enables machines all over the world to communicate.

WAN (wireless area network), VPN (virtual private network) & browsing (http) are all on different levels in the OSI-model.

 

[applefan289]

read this:

OSI Model

The internet is a conglomerate of technologies on many different levels, both hard- & software. In essence, it's the 'system' that enables machines all over the world to communicate.

WAN (wireless area network), VPN (virtual private network) & browsing (http) are all on different levels in the OSI-model.

But to access all three, you would need a web browser?

 

[Sjhonny]

But to access all three, you would need a web browser?

(I have to correct myself >.< WAN stands for wide are networking, it's the network between computers in whole regions, even countries.)

You only need a web browser for browsing. To be able to surf the web you need a physical connection to the web already.

To get a VPN up and running you also need a physical connection. VPN is (also) a collective noun for multiple technologies with the purpose of creating a secure virtual (intranet) connection between computers connected to each other over the internet.

 

[nishioka]

But to access all three, you would need a web browser?

WAN and VPN are networking technologies. They're a means to tie two or more locations together for whatever purpose you may have in mind. The end result may be for web browsing (say you're in some country where they censor sites on the internet and you're trying to get around that, for example), but that's not how you utilize the technology.

Say you work at a company headquartered in San Diego, but your branch office is in Kansas City. With a virtual private network (VPN) between the two sites, the benefit is all of the corporate servers, things like Outlook, your phone system, the file server, etc., could live in the San Diego office and be accessible by everyone in the Kansas City office.

What you as the end user in Kansas City will see is that you open up Outlook and your e-mail comes in, or you'll be able to dial a 4-digit extension to reach a coworker in San Diego, like you were all in the same building. In other words, you don't see anything different.

What happens behind the curtain is that when you open Outlook, your computer looks for the Exchange server to request new messages and finds it on the far side of the VPN.

 

[applefan289]

WAN and VPN are networking technologies. They're a means to tie two or more locations together for whatever purpose you may have in mind. The end result may be for web browsing (say you're in some country where they censor sites on the internet and you're trying to get around that, for example), but that's not how you utilize the technology.

Say you work at a company headquartered in San Diego, but your branch office is in Kansas City. With a virtual private network (VPN) between the two sites, the benefit is all of the corporate servers, things like Outlook, your phone system, the file server, etc., could live in the San Diego office and be accessible by everyone in the Kansas City office.

What you as the end user in Kansas City will see is that you open up Outlook and your e-mail comes in, or you'll be able to dial a 4-digit extension to reach a coworker in San Diego, like you were all in the same building. In other words, you don't see anything different.

What happens behind the curtain is that when you open Outlook, your computer looks for the Exchange server to request new messages and finds it on the far side of the VPN.

Thank you very much. Exactly what I was looking for.