access

To log on to the Internet, where you can browse information, view Web sites, retrieve data, and send or receive e-mail. The term "access" comes from the notion that you are accessing a computer system, known as a server, that enables you to connect to other computers and "get online." You can do this with a computer and a modem through a dial-up connection (via an ISP), or over a network (such as an office LAN). Access can also be used to describe the act of retrieving information. For example, "In order to access that file, you have to FTP into the server."