Web Basics

Documents used to live on our computers—now they live online. In this quick explainer, you’ll learn how local and online documents differ, why it matters, and how online tools make collaboration easier. Whether you're writing notes, sharing slides, or editing a spreadsheet, knowing how to choose and manage documents is a key digital skill. Watch to learn how to work smarter with files in today’s connected world.

Back in the old days, documents mostly existed on paper that could be copied, shared and stored for future reference. When someone far away needed the document, it could be sent in the mail.

Today, documents play the same role, but computers and the internet have changed how we think about them.

Let’s say you needed to create a document that summarizes a recent meeting. In this example, you use software on your computer to do it. With your work done, you give the file a name and save it in a folder on your computer.

To share the document, you find the doc on your computer and attach it to an email. This is called a local file, because it’s saved in a folder on your computer.

This system works, but can cause problems. If your computer dies, the file could be lost. Further, if you send a file to another person who saves it on their computer, the file now has two versions that become difficult to manage when changes are made.

These problems went away when you discovered online documents. In this case, you log in to a website to create a new document, usually for free. There is no file saved on a computer. The document exists as a web page that automatically saves your work.

The web site organizes your documents and makes them available anywhere you can log in, including smartphones and tablets.

Instead of sending attachments to colleagues, you can share the online document via email and control who can view and edit it. Once invited, they can access the document in their browser. This makes collaboration easier because there’s only one version of the document.

It’s also possible to publish the document so that anyone with a link can view it without logging in.

And it’s not just meeting notes. Presentations and spreadsheets can also be online documents. Of course, online documents aren’t perfect. They may require an internet connection to work and usually have fewer features compared to software on a computer.

The good news is, you have a choice. Most documents can be either local or web-based, depending on the situation.

This means you could create a document using software on your computer and then import it into an online system. Or vice-versa.

We’ve come a long way and now, documents are more efficient and flexible than ever before. How you use them is up to you.

Every device on the internet has an address—and that’s what keeps everything connected. This video explains what an IP address is, how it works like a digital mailing address, and why it’s one of the most important pieces behind how the internet functions. Watch to discover the hidden system that helps information travel across the web.

With a computer or device, we can connect to billions of websites, apps and devices anywhere in the world with the click of a button.

It works because, behind the scenes, everything on the internet uses the same set of rules that is known as a protocol. By understanding the basics of the protocol, we can see what makes the internet work.

Think about it like this… You can send a letter to almost anyone in the world if you know a few basic things, like their house number, street, and city. And because you also have an address, they can write back. That’s because most of the world uses the same rules for physical addresses. This is a kind of protocol.

The internet is no different. Instead of houses, the internet has billions of computers and devices. For information to get from one device to another using the internet, the device needs its own address. This is not a physical address, but an Internet Protocol address, or IP address. IP addresses, like physical ones, link the whole network together.

This means that everything on the Internet has an IP address that looks like this or this. When you connect to the internet, your Internet Service Provider assigns an IP address to your computer or device, using software built into the device.

It’s this IP software, like mail in real life, that helps define the destination for your message and the return address.

For example, when you want to view a website, that website actually lives on a computer on the internet. That website and your computer both have IP addresses. When you click the link, the protocol sends a request for the web page using an IP address and the web page is delivered to your IP address.

It’s this request-and-deliver process that makes the web work, and at its heart are billions and billions of IP addresses.

In fact, the original protocol design allowed for about 4 billion addresses, and we nearly ran out. Today, a new protocol is in place that allows for nearly unlimited addresses.

So, even if the number of computers, devices and websites grows exponentially in the future, we’ll still have all the IP addresses we need to connect every one of them through the internet.

Every time you click a link, a URL is doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes. But what exactly is a URL—and how does it help your browser find the right page? In this short explainer, you’ll learn how web addresses are built, how they connect you to websites, and how to read them like a pro. Whether you're curious or cautious online, understanding URLs is a smart step toward digital fluency.

If you’ve used the web, you’ve seen how website addresses, or URLs, help you move from site to site. If we look closely, there’s a lot more to URLs than meets the eye.

When you visit a web page, what appears on the screen usually lives on a computer called a server. The URL, which stands for Universal Resource Locator, tells your web browser exactly where to find the page or file you want on the server.

Imagine you love a dog photo on a web site and save a web page’s URL that looks like this.

This link has everything your web browser needs to show this page and it starts with the protocol. This part of the URL tells the web browser what kind of information is being communicated. HTTP tells the browser it’s a web page. And HTTPS tells the browser it’s a secure web page.

You’re probably used to seeing a subdomain like “www” in front of website addresses. It’s a default that usually isn’t needed for links to work. However, some websites use this part of the URL to connect to a separate part of the website, like support.doggopics.com. And subdomains can be confusing. Criminals may try to fool you by adding a familiar subdomain to their website address.

That’s why paying attention to the domain name is so important. It tells the browser where to find the website’s server. It’s like a street address for finding a house.

This name includes .com, which is called a top level domain. These can be different and may relate to the website’s purpose, location, or affiliation.

Now we have an address for finding the web page, which we can imagine being a folder on a server. Everything that appears on the web page is in this folder.

After the domain name in the URL, there are words, separated by forward slashes.

This is called the file path. It tells the browser that within the website folder, there is a folder called “pages” and inside the pages folder is a page called “cute dogs”. Here, the URL matches how the server is organized.

But that’s not all. This page was designed with anchors, which means your web browser can go to a specific part of a page. The anchor in the URL can be found after a question mark and includes a hash symbol, like this:

This tells the browser to go to the domain, find the right folder, the right page and then, the right part of the page.

As you can see, URLs contain a lot of information if you know where to look.

And once you know the basics, you’ll start to see that they often reveal how the web works behind the scenes.

To unlock the full potential of the web, users need more than just access — they need accounts. This video breaks down how website accounts work, why they're essential for a digital lifestyle, and how to manage them securely. Whether you're new to the internet or helping others get started, this video is a practical guide to creating and protecting online accounts.

Many useful websites and apps have two versions. The first version is public and open to everyone. This version may have services offered, business hours and contact information.

The second version is private and requires users to have an account with login information. Once they log in, the sites offer personalized information and tools for managing bank accounts, accessing documents and more.

A key to living a digital lifestyle is creating accounts that give you access to private parts of useful websites and apps.

Here’s how accounts work for Angie, who is getting started with the Internet:

Angie first needs a way to send and receive digital messages online. So, she creates an email account and email address, which is usually free. This is important because it’s part of her online identity and something she’ll need to create other accounts.

With an email address in place, Angie can go to websites and look for words like “create an account” or “new account”. When she clicks this link or button, a form appears that asks for information that establishes her online identity.

The website needs two types of account information: her personal information and her login information. Angie carefully fills out a form that asks for her name, email address, and personal information. This establishes her online identity and creates a way for the site to send her email messages.

Next, she creates a username and secret password for logging into the website.

This information will unlock the website’s most useful services. The username may be Angie’s email address or a unique and memorable name. Angie decides to use the username “angieonline”.

Next, she needs to create a password to go with that username – and the password deserves special care. If it is shared or stolen it could cause major problems.

Someone could use her password to log into her accounts and steal money or her online identity.

So, she follows a few rules about passwords. First, she uses a password that is difficult to guess. Names, numbers or dates that are part of her identity should not be used. Second, she includes a combination of letters, numbers and symbols, like this. And third, if her password is written down, it is hidden from view.

Now that Angie has an account and what she needs to login, she is on her way to living a more digital lifestyle and using personalized websites that are designed to help her be more connected, productive and efficient.

To access the most useful parts of the web, you need more than just a browser—you need an online identity. This video introduces the concept of online identity and shows how it works like a digital key to unlock services, tools, and personalized experiences on websites. Watch now to see how creating accounts gives you access to the full power of the internet.

In the real world, we are often asked for identification. That’s because organizations need proof that we are who we say we are. Once an organization knows your identity, they can personalize their services and can help you more efficiently.

Websites also need this kind of information, but there’s a problem. It’s hard to give a website the same identification that works in the real world.

So, you need a way to help the website establish who you are online. This information, like your name, email address and more, represents your online identity, something that many websites require.

Think about it like this: The most useful resources on websites are typically hidden from view. To use them, you need a key. That key is your online identity - it unlocks the most useful parts of websites.

By creating an account and providing personal information to the website, you can establish your identity and unlock access to banking information, government services, communication tools and more that are personalized and unique to you.

Consider Angie, who is new to the internet and doesn’t yet have an online identity. When she visits websites and apps, the most interesting and useful services are not available without an account that establishes her identity.

To solve this problem, she creates accounts across a number of websites, which unlocks a wide variety of resources. Some websites, like social networking sites, are free and when unlocked, provide tools for connecting and communicating with friends and family. Other websites help Angie store and share information that is important to her, like photos, videos and documents.

While many websites are free to use, some may require payment with a credit or debit card along with her online identity.

These sites often offer powerful services that help with her work or help protect her information. Because Angie’s online identity may contain her location, age, nationality and more, it can provide access to websites like her bank and government services.

For Angie, having an online identity is an essential part of her digital lifestyle that has unlocked useful parts of the web that help her stay connected and be more productive.

Your password isn’t enough. With more of our lives online, we need stronger protection against hackers and identity theft. That’s where two factor authentication (2FA) comes in. This video explains how 2FA works using a simple real-world analogy, and shows why enabling it is one of the easiest ways to stay secure online.

So much of our lives are online today, and all that is protecting most of it is a simple password.

If a criminal accesses or guesses it, they can steal your identity, take your money and more.

That’s why many websites are offering an extra layer of security that prevents a stolen password from causing problems.

It’s called two factor, or multi-factor authentication. Just like it sounds, this type of security requires more than one type of information for accessing a website or app. Think about it like this…

Let’s imagine a storage building that contains bags of your money, photos of your family, important documents and more. For a long time, you could go to the entrance and provide a password to access your property. Your password was memorized which means it’s something that you know by heart.

This system worked for a while, but criminals started trying to guess passwords and the risk became too high. So the owner of the building added a new layer of security, another factor.

Now, you go to the building and provide a password, just as before. But that only gets you to the lobby. To open your door, you now need a code.

This isn’t a code you know by heart. It’s something that you can only receive right when you need it. It’s another factor - something you have.

In this case, you can use an app on your phone that provides a code that is connected to the lock on your door. As long as you enter the code before it expires, you can enter the room.

This is the big idea behind two factor authentication. Knowing only one factor, your password, will only get a criminal into the lobby of your building. To get to your room, they would need a code that is only provided to your phone and expires quickly. That’s the second factor - a code that you have.

Today, more and more websites and apps are offering two factor authentication.

It’s usually a feature you have to enable for your account at no cost. The site or app will provide instructions on how to access the codes. Some systems send text messages, others use a free app like Google Authenticator.

The next time you log in, you’ll enter a username and password you know. Then, the site will ask for your authentication code. In most cases, you’ll use your phone or device to access the code and enter it to complete the login.

Two-Factor or Multi-Factor Authentication is a much more secure method for keeping your personal information safe. To help keep criminals out of your online life, enable it on accounts where it is offered.

Before diving into an app or signing up for a website, there's usually a little checkbox: “I agree to the Terms of Service.” But what are you really agreeing to? This short video unpacks what these agreements mean, why they matter, and how they can impact your rights, privacy, and experience online. Watch before you click “accept” next time.

The first time you use an app or online service, you’re likely to see a checkbox that says something like, You agree to our Terms of Service. To proceed, you have to check the box.

You might assume that the Terms of Service doesn’t really matter or reading it isn’t worth your time. So, you check the box without knowing what it says. And that’s where problems can begin. Think about it this way.

Imagine visiting a water park with slides and pools. Before you jump in, you need to sign a contract that looks a lot like Terms of Service. The water looks inviting, so you quickly sign it and jump in.

Then two weeks later, a commercial for the water park appears and there you are, in a swimsuit, on TV. You’re horrified and frustrated. How could this happen? They didn’t ask me about this. Did they?

The contract you signed when entering the park was legally binding. That contract said your image could be used in advertising, but you never saw that section. Now, it’s too late.

The water park contract and Terms of Service on websites and apps are similar. Both are meant to make the relationship between you and the company clear and help avoid disputes.

So that check mark has a lot of power. When you check it, you are agreeing to a set of rules, written by the company, that could impact your privacy, your access to the site and your ability to resolve disputes with the company, among other things.

An example is social networking. Before using a new service, you must check the Terms of Service box. This time, however, you read it and find that it outlines items like ownership of what you share and what represents misuse of the service.

Down in the middle of the document you see information on privacy and find that the company has the right to sell your personal information to other companies, including your email address. In another section, you learn that your account can be closed at any time, without notice.

Suddenly, this new service looks different to you. The terms of service have details that matter and could influence your decision to join. This time, you decide it’s not worth it.

Reading and understanding the Terms of Service agreement provided a way to know your rights and understand the website’s policies. So, it’s not just a single checkbox. If you check it, you are agreeing to a number of checkboxes for rules that could matter to you.

If the rules seem fair to you, check the box and dive in. But if you don’t agree with them, you have the freedom to not check the box and find another service that better fits your needs.

Your web browser has a built-in privacy tool—but do you know what it really does? This short explainer breaks down private or incognito browsing and shows how it works, what it hides (and what it doesn’t), and when to use it. Whether you’re sharing a device or keeping your shopping secrets safe, this video explains how to browse without leaving behind visible traces.

Your web browser has a twin that’s designed to help increase your privacy when using the web.

This twin version is usually called a private window or incognito mode and knowing how to use it is part of being smarter on the web. Let’s take a look...

You never see it, but your web browser does a lot when you visit websites.It logs what pages you visit in your browsing history. It saves a type of file called a cookie that contains information about your use of the website, like login info or what you saved in a shopping cart.

The browser also saves the search terms you used.

And all these items are saved for future reference when you close your normal browser.

A browser in private or incognito mode is different: it doesn’t keep a record of your browsing history, cookies, search terms, and more. As soon as you close the browser, they disappear.

Using a private window might sound like you can browse the web anonymously or without anyone knowing what you do. But, this isn’t the case. When you visit websites, information is still logged on the internet.

The internet connection you use, like the wifi at work, still sees what sites you visit. The goal isn’t complete privacy. Instead, Private browsing is a way to browse the web without leaving evidence, in the browser, of your actions.

Imagine you’re planning a surprise vacation by searching for and browsing websites using a normal browser. Then your spouse uses the computer and sees evidence of your plans via the browser history, search terms and even ads. If you had used a private window, this information would disappear when you closed the browser - and your secret could be safe.

Or let’s say you’re using a shared computer at a library and log into your favorite social networking sites. A normal browser might remember your login information and allow someone else to login as you. By using a private or incognito browser, your login info is deleted once you close the browser and you can feel safe.

Or suppose you’re a blogger who is logged into your website and making changes. You’d normally have to log out To see how those changes look to visitors, and then log back in to keep working.

Instead, you can simply view the site using a private browser window. Because it doesn’t save login information, it will show you the version of the site a new visitor would see.

All popular web browsers offer a private or incognito mode. You can usually find your browser’s more private twin under the File menu. While there are some differences, they all operate in the same basic way and help you browse the web without leaving tracks that others can see.

Ever wondered why some songs, photos, or stories can be used freely while others can’t? This video explains how copyright laws work, why they expire, and what happens when a creative work enters the public domain. Learn how public domain content becomes a free, shared resource for creators everywhere—and how you can use it, too.

Imagine for a moment, you’ve written a song and people love it. Because you wrote it, you own it and can use it to earn a living and control if and how it is used by others.

This is the basic idea of copyright law.

These laws make it possible for creative people to earn a living from their creations. But copyright has limits.

Let’s fast-forward to three generations from now. By this time in future, the song lives on and could be useful to others, but you’re not around to control ownership or make money from it.

The question becomes: If someone wants to use your song after so much time, should permission still be required?

Or, does it make more sense for the copyright to expire after a period of time and for the song to be open for use by everyone without permission or payment? This is one way to think about works that are not copyrighted and in the public domain.

In most countries, creative works can only be owned for a period of time. Once that time passes, the story, diagram, song, photograph or any other creative work becomes part of the public domain and is available for use without payment or permission.

This means a huge amount of older creative work is available for use. Want to use a song in your commercial? If the song is in the public domain you can use it for free and without permission!

Want to use an old image to create art? Public domain photos are available without a fee or permission. But the public domain contains much more than old articles, songs and art.

The owner of any creative work can choose to make it part of the public domain at any time.

Many creators contribute their work to the public domain to encourage use by others and contribute to a publicly shared resource. Further, some organizations don’t use copyright for their publications, making them part of the public domain. For example, most works created by the U.S. government like reports and statistics are not copyrighted as a matter of policy and are free to use in the U.S.

The real beauty of the public domain is that it is a truly public resource that is not controlled by any government, organization or person. You can find huge collections of public domain materials with a simple online search.

And unlike copyright, which requires permission from the creator, public domain works can be modified, reproduced or distributed without payment or permission.

If you’re ready to get creative, the public domain may be the perfect place to start.

Can you use someone else’s video, photo, or song without asking? In some cases — yes. This short video breaks down the four rules of Fair Use, helping you understand when it’s okay to use copyrighted content and when it’s not.

When a creative person creates something like a song, short story, photo or painting, they own that work by default and can control how it’s used by others.

This is because of copyright law. This law means that most works cannot be used by others without permission from the owner. While this system can help copyright owners earn money from what they create, it can also prevent uses that could be valuable to society.

For example, should a teacher need explicit permission to use a copyrighted photo in his class? Should a columnist need permission to quote a copyrighted book when reviewing it?

Copyright law allows for some flexibility in the use of copyrighted works without permission from the owner. This is called Fair Use and it’s not a black and white issue. It represents a gray area that relies on judgment more than specific rules.

Fair use is really focused on fairness between two parties: the copyright holder and the user. Fair use laws are designed to designate what kinds of uses are fair to both parties and which ones are unfair to the copyright owner, or may cause them harm.

There are four factors that help decide when a use may be considered fair use and not copyright infringement.

The first is the purpose and character of the use. If the work is used in non-profit situations and/or in education, research, news or critique, it’s more likely to be considered fair use. Commercial use is rarely considered fair use.

The second factor is the nature of the original work. If the work is factual and published it’s more likely to be fair use. The opposite is true if the work is fictional and unpublished.

The third factor is the amount of the work used. Here, smaller is better and proportion matters in uses that may be fair. For example, a newscast might use three seconds of a four-minute song and the use may be fair. It also matters if the part of the work used is substantial or represents the heart of the work, like the chorus of a song. If so, it may be unfair. Smaller, less substantial uses are more likely to be fair use.

The fourth factor is market value. If use of the work may impact the copyright owner’s ability to earn income now or in the future, it may not be fair use.

An additional and recent consideration is Transformative Use, which means the work is used in a completely new or unexpected way with a new expression, meaning or message.

An example is parody. Here, if a TV show uses a scene from a movie that makes fun of the original, it’s a parody and may be considered a transformative use that’s fair.

It’s important to remember that fair use is a gray area and each situation is different.

To avoid copyright infringement, analyze how closely your use of a copyrighted work matches the four factors above along with transformative use. If you’re not sure, don’t hesitate to contact the copyright owner with questions.

Snapping a photo is easy—but sharing it online comes with more than just likes and comments. In this short explainer, you’ll learn how online photo sharing works, what hidden information your pictures carry, and how to protect your privacy while still having fun. Whether you're posting to social media or sending a group shot to friends, this video shows how to share photos responsibly in today’s digital world.

These days, it’s no wonder that digital photos seem to appear everywhere.

Cameras on smartphones and other devices mean it’s inexpensive, easy and fun to snap digital photos wherever you are. But what happens after the photos are taken? How you share your photos is important.

Let’s say you take a photo with a group of friends and share it on social media so your friends will see it. They learn about your life, leave comments and “like” your photo. You love to see those likes!

In some cases, you may be able to identify or “tag” your friends in the photo. You may also be able to add the location where the photo was taken. The photo itself may even have information about your phone and other data you never see.

This means your photo is much more than a pretty picture. It’s a digital marker of where you were, when you were there, whom you were with and more.

As you take and share photos online, you leave a digital trail that can become a permanent part of your online identity. The problem is that it’s difficult to know how your photos and online identity will be used in the future.

An old photo you shared could come up in a job interview. Or when applying for admission to a university. It could be used without your permission in advertising or for other purposes that reflect poorly on you. Photos shared publicly today can potentially become problems tomorrow.

The reality is that photo sharing is fun and safe for the most part. But awareness is key. Before sharing photos on apps and websites, consider the risks. You can always choose to make your account or individual photos private so only friends can access your photos.

If you’re not sure, consider sending photos in texts or private messages. Also, learn about settings on your phone and favorite apps. You can usually turn off features that add location information to photos.

And remember, when you take photos of friends, you have a responsibility to make sure the photo is shared with care. It never hurts to ask if it’s OK to share photos of them publicly.

It’s easy to forget about the risks of sharing photos. By sharing with respect and responsibility, there’s no end to the connections you could make, the fun you could have, and the likes you could earn.

A digital lifestyle means using the internet, devices, and online tools to stay connected, informed, and creative. In this short explainer, you’ll follow Angie’s journey from feeling left behind to discovering the confidence and opportunities that come with going digital. Learn how tools like online identity, social networking, and social media can help you communicate more, do more, and feel part of something bigger.

Not long ago, before the Internet, we lived a limited kind of lifestyle where location mattered more. To communicate with friends and family we needed to be near a phone, or see them in person. To learn about the news, weather and sports, we needed to find a newspaper, television or radio.

Finding communities of people, activities and opportunities was more difficult because they were far away and hidden from view.

Today, things have changed and now it’s now possible to live a more digital lifestyle that takes advantage of computers, smartphones and the internet. Using these tools, you can reach far beyond your local area and find new opportunities to be more informed and productive.

Consider Angie’s story. For most of her life, she wasn’t that interested in technology. Her world was limited and she felt like she was falling behind. But now that she is using the internet and a smartphone, her lifestyle has changed for the better.

Now Angie is part of a digital community, just like her friends and family. By using technology, she is more engaged and informed than ever before. She can now learn about news and weather any time she wants.

But more than that, she’s able to connect to events and people who are working to make her community better. Angie’s digital lifestyle means that her reach has grown to include opportunities she never saw before.

There are a few things that make this digital lifestyle work for Angie. First is her online identity. This is how others know who she is online. Her online identity makes many things possible.

Second is social networking. Using websites and apps, Angie is able to create a personal account and connect to people and organizations that interest her.

These connections mean she has access to online communities of people and a constant supply of news and information that motivates her and helps her make more informed decisions.

Third is social media. Using her computer or phone, Angie is able to easily create and share her own digital media, like photos, videos, audio and articles.

She loves creating media and sharing it on her social networks for friends, family and peers to see and acknowledge. Today it’s hard for Angie to imagine what it was like before her digital lifestyle. Now, thanks to technology she has more opportunities and connections than ever.

Everything you do online leaves a trace — but those traces don’t disappear. This short video explains how your digital footprint is formed, why companies track it, and how it can affect your future. Learn how to be more intentional with what you post, click, and share.

Let’s pretend, for a moment, that you are a detective trying to solve a crime. You and your hound find the trail of a criminal in the woods and notice footprints. Because of your training, you can tell what direction they were headed, how fast they were going, what size shoe they wear, what kind of shoe, approximate weight and more.

This is valuable information for the investigation - the criminal didn’t even know that clues were being left behind automatically.

Something similar happens on the internet. When we visit websites, search for information, leave comments, upload videos, like pages and more, we leave another kind of footprint that’s also valuable. This is your digital footprint.

To understand why your digital footprint is valuable, we have to consider how business works on the web. Organizations depend on collecting and analyzing what people do on their website.

That information can help the website, make recommendations, inspire helpful features, connect people, sell products and more.

The organization may also be able to sell the information to advertisers. The bottom line is that your digital footprint is being tracked and saved because it’s valuable.

And leaving tracks is unavoidable. By simply using the web, we leave digital footprints by default. And for the most part they are harmless. However, digital footprints do come with risks.

Unlike a footprint left in the woods, our digital footprints don’t get washed away. Your digital footprint leaves tracks across the web that lasts much longer than we can remember.

That comment you left on a blog five years ago? It’s still there. This means your digital footprint is part of your online identity and doesn’t go away.

The problem is that your digital footprints could be discovered and used to make decisions when you apply for school or a job. What seemed like a funny video to share 3 years ago could seem inappropriate today - and keep you from getting a job.

So, if digital footprints are unavoidable and saved by organizations, what can we do? First, we can choose to be respectful and responsible online. Before posting on a public website, imagine how it would look to a future employer or on the front page of a newspaper.

Second, we can take steps to protect our privacy. This means understanding how our favorite websites and services collect and use our information. Find the site’s privacy settings and choose a level that works for you.

Third, consider having more than one account or persona online. This could be a professional account and personal account. By consciously switching between accounts, you can keep private information private, but still have an online presence that can be found easily.

Our digital footprints can be both helpful and a risk. As you use the web for work school or to be social, keep in mind that your actions are being tracked and it’s your responsibility today to prevent problems in the future.

Podcasts are everywhere—and for good reason. They offer on-demand audio episodes you can download or stream at your convenience anytime, anywhere. This short explainer shows how podcasts work, what they’re used for, and how they can fit into your daily routine. Whether you're commuting, cooking, or walking the dog, there's a podcast out there for you.

It wasn’t that long ago that TV shows were broadcast only. People gathered around at a specific time because broadcasts happened in real time. If you weren’t there on time, you missed the show.

Over time, that all changed with the invention of digital video recorders or DVRs, which made it possible to record or subscribe to your favorite shows and watch them at any time.

Something similar happened to radio shows, which are also broadcast in real time.

Podcasting made it possible to record or subscribe to a radio style show, and listen to it, like a tv show on a DVR, any time you like.

Most podcasts have a theme, consistent hosts and are organized into episodes that are published on a regular basis.

Free podcasting apps or programs make it easy to subscribe and listen from your device or computer.

When you subscribe to a podcast, new episodes will arrive automatically via an internet connection when they’re published.

Usually, recent episodes will be downloaded to your computer or device for listening offline, but you can also stream most podcasts without downloading the file.

Popular subjects are interview shows, true crime, politics, history, pop culture and more.

Subscribe to a few podcasts and see what you like. It may also help to ask friends for suggestions.

To listen, just open the app, click or tap an episode and take it in. Many people listen to podcasts when they would otherwise listen to music.

Podcasting can turn a commute, road trip or flight into an educational experience. It can make exercise or gardening more interesting and fun. For many, it can be an alternative to watching a screen.

Many podcasts are advertising or donation supported, which can help make them free to you. To support a podcast you like, rate them on podcast services, tell your friends and consider supporting their sponsors.

Today, you’re likely to find podcasts devoted to almost any hobby or interest you have. The variety is wide and growing, in part, because almost anyone with an idea, computer and internet connection can create and publish a new podcast. Yes, you could be a podcaster.

Podcasting represents a vast, always-on resource that’s free, easy to use and full of education, entertainment and experiences that can be helpful and productive.

The only question is - what will you listen to today?