Internet
global system of connected computer networks based on IP addressing and routing protocols
The Internet is the biggest world-wide communication network of computers. The Internet has a
lot of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry
many different kinds of information. The short form of internet is the 'Net'. The World Wide Web
is one of its biggest services. It is used by countless people all over the world.
Logo of DARPA, an organization
funded by the US government, which
helped develop the Internet
The Internet was developed in the United States by the Department of Defence Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Internet was first connected in October 1969[1] and was
called ARPANET. The World Wide Web was created at CERN in Switzerland in 1990 by a British
(UK) scientist named Tim Berners-Lee.
Today, people can pay money to access the Internet from internet service providers. Some
services on the Internet cost nothing to use. Sometimes people who offer these free services use
advertising to make money. Censorship and freedom of speech on the Internet can be
controversial.
Services
Visualization of Internet routing paths
The Internet is used for many things, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer and other
documents of the World Wide Web.
The most used service on the Internet is the World Wide Web (which is also called the "Web" or
“www”). The web contains websites, including social media, blogs, and wikis like Wikipedia.
Webpages on the Internet can be seen and read by anyone (unless the page needs a password,
or it is blocked).
The second biggest use of the Internet is to send and receive e-mail. E-mail is private and goes
from one user to another. Instant messaging is similar to email, but allows two or more people to
chat to each other faster.
Some governments think the internet is a bad thing, and block all or part of it. For example, the
Chinese government thinks that Wikipedia is bad, so often no one in China can read it or add to
it.[2] Another example of the internet being blocked is in North Korea.[3] Some parents and
schools block parts of the Internet they think are bad for children to see.
Dangers
The Internet makes communication easy. Yet, communication can be dangerous, too. People
often send secret information, and sometimes other people can steal that information. They can
use the Internet to spread lies, steal secrets, or give dangerously bad advice. For example,
Facebook has had some problems with privacy settings.
Some websites may trick people into downloading viruses that can harm a computer, or
spyware that spies on its users (looks at what they are doing and tells someone else).
E-mails can have harmful files with them as "attachments".[4]
In internet chatrooms, people might be preying on others or trying to stalk or abuse them.
The Internet contains content that many people find offensive , as well as content intended to
be offensive.
Criminals may steal people's personal information or trick people into sending them money.
Related pages
Communications satellite
Media studies
World Wide Web
ARPANET
Further reading
References
1. "A brief history of the internet" ([Link] .
[Link]. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
2. posted by abennett (2004-06-14). "Chinese censors block access to Wikipedia" ([Link]
[Link]/20130629134343/[Link] . ITworld. Archived
from the original ([Link] on 2013-06-29. Retrieved
2009-10-16.
3. "Rapport @ 09 GB" ([Link]
G/pdf/Internet_enemies_2009_2_.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original ([Link]
g/IMG/pdf/Internet_enemies_2009_2_.pdf) (PDF) on March 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-
16.
4. "Internet Safety: Internet 101 - Viruses, worms and Trojans" ([Link]
5180116/[Link] . [Link].
Archived from the original ([Link] on
2013-07-05. Retrieved 2009-10-16.