IGCSE ICT: Communication — Practice Questions

These questions cover Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 Topic 10: communication by email (10.1) and effective use of the internet (10.2). They test email features and netiquette, spam, the internet, intranet, extranet and WWW, web address structure, evaluating online information and the protocols HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and SSL.

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — Cambridge International holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or Cambridge directly.

Related: Communication revision notes · Communication study guide

---

Section A: short answers

1. State what is meant by netiquette. [1]

2. Name the protocol used to upload files from a computer to a web server. [1]

3. Give two features of a wiki. [2]

4. State what an ISP provides. [1]

---

Section B: structured questions

5. A sports club secretary emails the 120 club members about a change to the training times.

(a) Explain why the secretary should use bcc rather than cc. [2] (b) Describe how an email group would help the secretary. [2] (c) The secretary wants to send the new timetable as a large file. Give one problem with sending large attachments and one way of overcoming it. [2]

6. An employee receives many unwanted emails advertising products.

(a) State the name for this type of email. [1] (b) Describe two effects these emails can have. [2] (c) Describe two methods the employee can use to reduce them. [2]

7. Look at this web address: https://www.citylibrary.org.au/events/june.html

(a) Identify the domain name, the domain type and the country code. [3] (b) Explain what the https at the start shows. [2]

8. A manufacturing company has an intranet. Its suppliers are to be given access to stock levels.

(a) Describe two differences between the internet and an intranet. [2] (b) Name the type of network the suppliers would use and describe how access would be controlled. [2]

---

Section C: extended questions

9. A student is researching a history project using a search engine. Describe how the student should evaluate whether the information found is suitable to use. [4]

10. Explain the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web. [2]

11. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a search engine rather than a printed encyclopaedia to find information. [6]

12. Describe three ways that young people’s access to inappropriate material on the internet can be restricted. [3]

---

Worked answers

1. The set of rules for polite and acceptable behaviour when communicating online, for example by email. [1]

2. FTP (File Transfer Protocol). [1]

3. Any two of: can be edited by any authorised user; content can be added or changed quickly; keeps a history of edits; pages linked by hyperlinks; may contain errors because many people edit it. [2]

4. Access to the internet (credit also email accounts, web hosting or filtering services). [1]

5. (a) With bcc the members cannot see each other’s email addresses (1), which protects their privacy and stops addresses being misused, for example for spam (1). [2] (b) All 120 addresses are stored under one group name (1), so the secretary types one name instead of every address, saving time and making sure no member is missed (1). [2] (c) Problem: the file may exceed the size limit / take a long time to upload or download (1). Solution: compress the file, for example into a .zip file, or send a link to a shared copy (1). [2]

6. (a) Spam. [1] (b) Any two: fills the inbox so important emails may be missed; wastes time deleting them; may contain phishing links or malware; uses up network bandwidth and storage. [2] (c) Any two: use a spam filter; block the sender; do not reply or click unsubscribe links in suspicious emails; do not publish the email address publicly; untick options that allow companies to share the address. [2]

7. (a) Domain name: citylibrary (1); domain type: .org (1); country code: .au (1). [3] (b) HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP (1); data sent between the browser and the server is encrypted (SSL), so it cannot be read if intercepted (1). [2]

8. (a) Any two: the internet is public and worldwide, an intranet is private to the organisation; intranet access needs a username and password; intranet information is more relevant to the organisation and more reliable; an intranet is often behind a firewall. [2] (b) An extranet (1). Suppliers are given user IDs and passwords and can only access the parts of the intranet they are authorised to see (1). [2]

9. Any four: check how up to date it is, for example the publication date (1); check reliability by looking at the author or organisation, such as a university or government site (1); check for bias, for example whether the site is trying to sell or persuade (1); check validity by comparing with other sources or books (1); check that references are given and the information is relevant to the project (1). [4]

10. The internet is a worldwide network of interconnected computer networks (the hardware and connections) (1). The WWW is the collection of web pages and resources that are accessed using the internet, so it is a service that runs on the internet (1). [2]

11. Up to 6 marks for points on both sides:

• Advantages: search engines are faster (1); far more information is available (1); information may be more up to date (1); results can be refined using keywords (1); can be used from anywhere with an internet connection (1).
• Disadvantages: too many results, so relevant information can take time to find (1); information may be unreliable, biased or incorrect because anyone can publish (1); results may be influenced by advertising (1); an encyclopaedia has been checked by experts (1). [6] Answers with only advantages are limited to 4 marks.

12. Parental control: software or settings at home that filter websites and set time limits (1). Educational control: school filters that block inappropriate sites on the school network (1). ISP control: the internet service provider filters content before it reaches the user (1). [3]

Frequently asked questions

What makes a strong answer about evaluating websites? Use the four syllabus checks: up to date, reliable, biased and valid. Give a concrete action for each, such as checking the date or the author.

Do I need to know what HTTP stands for? Yes. HTTP is HyperText Transfer Protocol and HTTPS is its secure variant; both appear in the 0417 syllabus by name.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Information and Communication Technology (0417) syllabus for 2026, 2027 and 2028, Version 3, Topic 10 “Communication” (10.1 Communication with other ICT users using email, 10.2 Effective use of the internet).