Its pretty easy to connect a P.C to the Internet, contrary to the belief that it is a cumbersome
task. All one needs is an Internet enabled P.C and an Internet Service Provider (ISP). By
saying "Internet enabled P.C" , i mean to say that a P.C which has either a dial-up modem or a
LAN card.

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A modem is a device which converts analog signals to digital signals and vice
versa. This enables data transfer to take place between a P.C and a telephone line. After
setting up a modem one has to register with the Internet Service Provider and he is given a
username and password. The user has to log on to the Internet using his username and
password. The key role of a password here is to prevent unauthorised access to the user
account.

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One can also connect to the Internet using a LAN card. When you connect to the Internet
using a LAN card, you are actually logging on to a network. This network has a main server,
which has a leased cable line with the bandwidth ranging from 256 Kbps  to 1 Mbps. This
server shares its connection with remaining users like us. What a LAN card does is that it
connects to this network using TCP/IP and a cable. This type of Internet connection is usually
faster than a conventional dial-up modem.

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Once a user is connected to the Internet he can surf the net and download data, etc., the list of
uses is endless.