Page 117 - digitalliteracy

6.1 Leaving a Trail on the Web

extension is “.edu” (see Table 6.1). When you use a web browser to find a website, you can
locate that website by using either the domain name or the IP address. Like snowflakes, no
two domain names or IP addresses are the same, so every website has a record of every com-
puter that has visited.

Table 6.1: Common web extensions

Web extension Meaning

.com Commercial website; commonly used to show a business on the web
.edu An educational organization, usually a college or university

.gov Government entities in the United States
.mil Used by U.S. military units

.org Organization; often used by nonprofit organizations or trade groups
.biz Used by many small businesses on the web
.info A resource site on the web

.net Usually an Internet service provider or other company involved in the web; also used
by some businesses

A Closer Look: What Is Your Computer IP Address?

Retrieve the IP address of the computer you are using (and the domain name server or ISP
associated with that IP address) by logging on to http://www.ip-tracker.org. When the web
page opens, your computer IP address will appear in the box above the red box labeled “Lookup
IP Address With IP Lookup.” Click the red box, and a new page should appear that displays two
smaller red boxes that display IP lookup location information for your IP Address and extra IP
lookup finder information. Scroll down to view how much information is on the Internet about
the computer you are using. You can also look up a website and obtain its IP address at http://
www.ip-tracker.org/locator/ip-lookup.php.
Reflection Questions

1. What new information did you learn from this exercise about electronic tracking? What
surprised you most about the information you found?
2. What types of information have you shared on the Internet that might be harmful to
you if it was tracked back to your computer IP address and shared publicly?

The Trail of URLs in Your Computer History

In addition to an IP address, every website also has a web address. This web address, also
called a uniform resource locator (URL), indicates the path someone would follow to locate
a specific page on a website. Like your home address, the web address is necessary for some-
one to locate information on the World Wide Web.

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