In the web environment, a single user views documents from the internet via the Internet browser. The browser allow users to navigate through links and pages to find information, multimedia content, or programs. The user interacts with the browser, sending commands to the web server in which the current web page resides. Clicking on links retrieves files from the remote server to the local browser client, similar to connecting to a remote server in the desktop environment. Some multimedia and information cannot be viewed in the browser, they require a browser plug-in or helper application to view.
Links also connect users to other web sites located on other remote servers.
Connecting to web sites is done via links or knowing the web address of the site, the web address being analogous to the name of the computer in your network. Unless you are accessing a restricted site requiring a user name, most web sites do not require a user account to access. These unrestricted sites allow users to browse via an anonymous or guest account. This login is transparent to the user so this action is never seen when accessing different web sites. The client-side browser processes and views web pages and images.