Internet Overview
Internet is defined as an Information super Highway, to access information over the web. However, It can be defined in many ways as follows:
· Internet is a world-wide global system of interconnected computer networks.
· Internet uses the standard Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
· Every computer in internet is identified by a unique IP address.
· IP Address is a unique set of numbers (such as 110.22.33.114) which identifies a computer location.
· A special computer DNS (Domain Name Server) is used to give name to the IP Address so that user can locate a computer by a name.
· For example, a DNS server will resolve a name http://www.tutorialspoint.com to a particular IP address to uniquely identify the computer on which this website is hosted.
· Internet is accessible to every user all over the world.
The concept of Internet was originated in 1969 and has undergone several technological & Infrastructural changes as discussed below:
· The origin of Internet devised from the concept of Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPANET).
· ARPANET was developed by United States Department of Defense.
· Basic purpose of ARPANET was to provide communication among the various bodies of government.
· Initially, there were only four nodes, formally called Hosts.
· In 1972, the ARPANET spread over the globe with 23 nodes located at different countries and thus became known as Internet.
· By the time, with invention of new technologies such as TCP/IP protocols, DNS, WWW, browsers, scripting languages etc.,Internet provided a medium to publish and access information over the web.
Internet covers almost every aspect of life, one can think of. Here, we will discuss some of the advantages of Internet:
· Internet allows us to communicate with the people sitting at remote locations. There are various apps available on the wed that uses Internet as a medium for communication. One can find various social networking sites such as:
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Yahoo
o Google+
o Flickr
o Orkut
· One can surf for any kind of information over the internet. Information regarding various topics such as Technology, Health & Science, Social Studies, Geographical Information, Information Technology, Products etc can be surfed with help of a search engine.
· Apart from communication and source of information, internet also serves a medium for entertainment. Following are the various modes for entertainment over internet.
o Online Television
o Online Games
o Songs
o Videos
o Social Networking Apps
· Internet allows us to use many services like:
o Internet Banking
o Matrimonial Services
o Online Shopping
o Online Ticket Booking
o Online Bill Payment
o Data Sharing
o E-mail
· Internet provides concept of electronic commerce, that allows the business deals to be conducted on electronic systems
However, Internet has prooved to be a powerful source of information in almost every field, yet there exists many disadvanatges discussed below:
· There are always chances to loose personal information such as name, address, credit card number. Therefore, one should be very careful while sharing such information. One should use credit cards only through authenticated sites.
· Another disadvantage is the Spamming.Spamming corresponds to the unwanted e-mails in bulk. These e-mails serve no purpose and lead to obstruction of entire system.
· Virus can easily be spread to the computers connected to internet. Such virus attacks may cause your system to crash or your important data may get deleted.
· Also a biggest threat on internet is pornography. There are many pornographic sites that can be found, letting your children to use internet which indirectly affects the children healthy mental life.
· There are various websites that do not provide the authenticated information. This leads to misconception among many people.