How to Identify the Components of an URL

The beginning of a URL uses the HTTP protocol.

You probably type in dozens of URLs every day as you browse the Internet, visiting all your favorite websites. URL is short for Uniform Resource Locator. It is the technical name of what you think of as a website address. Knowing what each part of a URL means and how to identify it can help you remain safe online and avoid falling for scams and fake websites.

Instructions

1. Identify the part of the URL that precedes the "://" characters. This part identifies the protocol used for the URL. "http://," the most common beginning for an URL, identifies the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). This protocol is used for the transfer of Web pages. A similar protocol is HTTPS, a secure version of HTTP. You may notice URLs beginning with "https://" when visiting websites that handle personal information, such as your bank. You may also encounter URLs beginning with "ftp://," signaling the use of the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Some URLs begin with "mailto://," identifying the rest of the URL as an email address.

2. Find the part of the URL located between "://" and the first "/". This part identifies the server on which the website is located, and is composed of several separate sections, separated by periods, in the form "subdomain.domain.extension". Numerous scams take advantage of people's limited knowledge of the way URLs function by creating websites that look legitimate, but are not. For example, if a bank's true website is located at "http://www.yourbank.com/", scammers would create a website at "http://www.yourbank.com.scamming.net/" then begin sending email directing customers of that bank to change passwords at the scam website.

3. Identify the part of the URL located after the first "/". This part, if present, identifies the exact file your browser is accessing, including the folders and subfolders it may be placed in. For example, if you are accessing the file "myaccount.html", contained in the "customers" folder on your bank's website, the URL would be "http://www.yourbank.com/customers/myaccount.html".

References

• IBM: The Components of a URL
• Stanford University: Uniform Resource Locator (URL) Syntax

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish