The A to Z Guide to the Internet

L

Left click- Clicking on the button on the left side of the mouse. The left button is the primary selector tool on the standard mouse. When you use the left button to click on an icon on the computer screen, the program will open.

Link- This is reference to another document, resource or web page. Links are “clickable,” meaning that placing your cursor over the link and clicking will take you directly to the information that you are looking for. Links are a short form the official term “hyperlink.”

Links can also be used as a form of “internet” currency. Google ranks websites based on the number of related links that they have to and from their website. Many online businesses seek links to add to their websites so they can increase their ranking on Google and other search engines.

Log in- This term is sometimes spelled “login” and is interchangeable with the term “log on.” To “log in” to the Internet is the act of connecting to the World Wide Web. The term is also used to refer to the act of entering your user name and password into a website, e-mail program, instant messenger system, message board or chat room. When you are “logged on” to the Internet, website or program, you have access to all of the features available. Many sites that require privacy ask you to register with the site and then login with a name and password.

Login Name- Also called a “user name” or “user ID,” this is the name you use to access certain programs, websites, software or networks. A login name is the “nickname” for a user on the Internet. Normally, the user can pick their own login name. Quite often, a login name for e-mail programs is the first part of the e-mail address. Many people choose to use the same or similar login names for all of their Internet activity.