Email, Web Browser and Search Engine Notes for SSC Exams

Email, web browsers and search engines are everyday tools, and SSC asks questions about their terms, such as CC, BCC, URL and the names of browsers. These email, browser and search engine notes for SSC list all the important points with tables and practice questions. Read it with the Internet and Networking Notes and Computer Network Notes notes.

Email Basics

• Email (electronic mail) was invented by Ray Tomlinson, who also started the use of the @ symbol in 1971.
• An email address has two parts: the user name and the domain name, separated by @, such as name@example.com.
• Popular email services: Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, Proton Mail.

Email Terms

Web Browsers

The first graphical web browser was Mosaic, and Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web (1989) and the first web browser. A browser works with HTTP or HTTPS to show web pages written in HTML.

Search Engines

• A search engine is a program that searches the web for the information typed by the user. Examples: Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Baidu.
• Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998.
• A search engine uses a crawler (spider) to collect pages, an index to store them and a ranking system to show results.
• A search query is the word or phrase typed in the search box.

URL, Domain and Web Terms

History of the Internet and the Web

The internet is the worldwide network of networks, while the World Wide Web (WWW) is the collection of web pages and websites that we access through the internet. The web is only one service of the internet; email and file transfer are other services.

Email Features in More Detail

• An email address has the format username@domain. The part after @ is the domain of the mail service.
• Compose writes a new mail, Reply answers the sender, Reply All answers all the recipients and Forward sends the mail to someone else.
• Signature is text automatically added at the end of every mail.
• Filters and labels arrange the mails; Archive removes the mail from the inbox without deleting it; Trash holds the deleted mails for some days.
• Mailing list is a group of addresses used to send one mail to many persons.
• Email client software (Outlook, Thunderbird) downloads the mail to the computer, while webmail (Gmail, Yahoo Mail) is used in the browser.
• The protocols are SMTP for sending and POP3 or IMAP for receiving.
• Netiquette means good manners on the internet: use a clear subject, do not type in capital letters (it means shouting), and avoid spam.

Web Browser Features

Important shortcut keys in a browser: Ctrl + T opens a new tab, Ctrl + W closes the tab, Ctrl + Shift + T reopens the closed tab, Ctrl + D bookmarks the page, Ctrl + H opens the history, Ctrl + Shift + N opens the incognito window, F5 refreshes the page and F11 shows the full screen.

Search Engines and How They Work

• A search engine works in three steps: crawling (finding pages by a bot called a spider or crawler), indexing (storing the pages in a large database) and ranking (showing the best results first).
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) means improving a website so that it ranks higher in the search results.
• Meta search engines collect the results from many search engines.
• Other search engines: Bing (Microsoft), Yahoo, DuckDuckGo (private), Baidu (China) and Yandex (Russia).
• Search operators help to search better: quotation marks find an exact phrase, a minus sign removes a word and "site:" searches inside one website.
• A portal is a website that gives many services in one place, such as news, mail and search.
• A blog is a website with regular posts, and a wiki is a website that anyone can edit, such as Wikipedia.

Domain Names and Extensions

• ICANN manages the domain name system of the world.
• Web hosting is the service that keeps a website on a server connected to the internet.
• A static website shows the same content to all, and a dynamic website changes its content from a database.

Important Questions Explained

Question 1: In which field are the names hidden from other recipients?
Answer: BCC (Blind Carbon Copy).

Question 2: Who invented email?
Answer: Ray Tomlinson.

Question 3: What is the full form of URL?
Answer: Uniform Resource Locator.

Question 4: Who created the World Wide Web?
Answer: Tim Berners-Lee.

Question 5: Which folder stores the unwanted bulk mails?
Answer: The Spam (junk) folder.

Question 6: Which of these is a search engine: Chrome, Google, Safari or Firefox?
Answer: Google. The others are browsers.

Quick Tips to Remember

• Remember that CC is visible to everyone and BCC is hidden.
• Learn the browser and developer pairs: Chrome with Google, Edge with Microsoft, Safari with Apple.
• Do not confuse a browser (Chrome) with a search engine (Google).
• Link .gov with government and .edu with education.
• Remember Ray Tomlinson for email and Tim Berners-Lee for the WWW.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Writing Google as a browser and Chrome as a search engine.
• Mixing CC and BCC.
• Writing the full form of URL as Uniform Resource Link.
• Confusing the internet with the World Wide Web.
• Writing Internet Explorer as the latest Microsoft browser.

Quick Revision Points

• CC = visible copy; BCC = hidden copy.
• Email inventor: Ray Tomlinson. WWW inventor: Tim Berners-Lee.
• Browser shows web pages; search engine finds web pages.
• URL = web address; domain name = website name.
• Spam = unwanted bulk mails.

Practice Questions With Answers

1. What does BCC stand for?
   Answer: Blind Carbon Copy (Hidden recipients).
2. Who is the inventor of email?
   Answer: Ray Tomlinson (1971).
3. Chrome is a?
   Answer: Web browser (Google).
4. Google is a?
   Answer: Search engine (Founded 1998).
5. What is the full form of URL?
   Answer: Uniform Resource Locator (Web address).
6. Who invented the World Wide Web?
   Answer: Tim Berners-Lee (1989).
7. The first page of a website is called?
   Answer: Home page (Index page).
8. A saved mail that is not sent is in?
   Answer: Draft (Folder).
9. .gov is the domain of?
   Answer: Government (.edu is education).
10. Unwanted bulk mail is called?
    Answer: Spam (Junk mail).

More Practice Questions With Answers

1. Who proposed the World Wide Web?
   Answer: Tim Berners-Lee (1989).
2. Which was the first popular graphical browser?
   Answer: Mosaic (1993).
3. Which shortcut reopens a closed tab?
   Answer: Ctrl + Shift + T (Browser).
4. Which shortcut opens the incognito window?
   Answer: Ctrl + Shift + N (Private mode).
5. What do the spiders of a search engine do?
   Answer: Crawl the web pages (Crawler).
6. What does SEO stand for?
   Answer: Search Engine Optimization (Ranking).
7. Which extension is for educational institutions?
   Answer: .edu (Education).
8. Which protocol is used to receive email and keep it on the server?
   Answer: IMAP (Syncs devices).
9. What is a website that anyone can edit?
   Answer: Wiki (Wikipedia).
10. Which service keeps a website on a server?
    Answer: Web hosting (Server).
11. When was Gmail launched?
    Answer: 2004 (Google).
12. What is stored in the browser to load pages faster?
    Answer: Cache (Temporary files).

How to Practise This Chapter

1. Read the tables once and learn the key facts by heart.
2. Revise the quick revision points the next day.
3. Attempt the practice questions above without looking at the answers.
4. Solve a full SSC CGL Tier 1 mini mock to test your general awareness.
5. Check the previous year papers to see how SSC asks computer questions.

Related Notes and Practice Papers

• Computer Network Notes
• Internet and Networking Notes
• Internet Protocols Notes
• Computer Knowledge Notes for SSC
• SSC CGL Tier 1 Mini Mock

Explore More SSC Subjects

SSC exams test many subjects, so connect this topic with the related subjects below:

• General Science Notes
• General Awareness Notes
• Quantitative Aptitude Notes
• Reasoning Notes
• Electrical Engineering (SSC JE) Notes
• All SSC subjects and notes

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between CC and BCC?

In CC, all recipients can see the other recipients, while in BCC the names of the recipients are hidden.

Who invented email?

Ray Tomlinson invented email and introduced the @ symbol in 1971.

What is a web browser?

A web browser is software used to open and view web pages, such as Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

What is a search engine?

A search engine is a program that searches the web for information, such as Google and Bing.

What is the difference between a browser and a search engine?

A browser is used to open websites, while a search engine is a website used to find information.

What is a URL?

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a web page.

What is spam?

Spam is unwanted bulk email.

Who created the World Wide Web?

Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1989.

How many questions come from this topic in SSC exams?

One or two questions usually come from the internet, email and browsers.

What is the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web?

The internet is the global network of computers, while the World Wide Web is the collection of web pages that we view using the internet.

What is incognito mode?

Incognito mode is a private browsing mode in which the browser does not save the history, cookies or form data.

What is SEO?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the work of improving a website so that it appears higher in the search engine results.