1.

INTERNET CONCEPTS

DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGIES

Internet- is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet
protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of
millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global
scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking
technologies.
E-mail is defined as the transmission of messages on the Internet.
A computer network is formed when two or more computers are connected together to enable
communication among them.
An Intranet is a private (an internal corporate) network used in organizations to enable the
sharing of documents among co-workers.
An Extranet works in the same manner as an intranet, but provides information to selected users
outside the organization, e.g. a certain university can have an Intranet library containing millions
of articles, but only make it available to staff and students at colleges and universities within the
country.

INTERNET CONNECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS

In order to be able to connect to the Internet and access the World Wide Web, the following
facilities are required:
1. A Computer
This can be a Personal computer, WebTV, Internet phone or a handheld device.
The computer to be used must have the following minimum requirements;
A fast Processor (Pentium I or above) – this is to enable it to quickly access and download
information and programs from the Internet.
RAM memory size of 32 MB or above.
Hard disk capacity of at least 400 MB.
Free disk space on which to download the information or programs from the internet.
A high-quality color screen – to enable the viewing of the various graphics and images.
2. Telecommunication facilities
The Internet relies on Very Small Aperture Telecommunication Systems (VSATS) such as
telephone lines, telephone exchange stations, cable systems, and satellite systems in order to be
able to cover the whole world.
Normally, a computer is connected to the external world through a telephone line, and has to dial
(Call) a remote computer on the internet to establish a connection for data transfer.
On land, data is transmitted from one telephone exchange station to another until it reaches the
destination. However, to transmit data from one continent to another, a base station is used to
transmit the data through a wireless uplink channel to the satellite. The satellite then sends the
data signal through a downlink channel to the base station of the other continent where it is
picked up and sent to the telephone exchange station so that it can be transferred to the
destination computer.
3. Modem
Computers on the Internet use telephone lines to exchange information. Usually, telephone lines
transmit data in analogue form, while computers work with digital data. Therefore, for the
computers to be able to send and receive data over telephone lines, a special interface card called
a modem is needed. The word MODEM stands for modulator-demodulator.
During modulation, the transmitting modem converts computer information (the data to be
transmitted), which is in digital form into analogue form so that it can be transmitted over the
telephone line. At the receiving end, the receiving modem translates the analogue information
back into digital form that the computer can understand; a process called demodulation.

In most cases, modems are external and are bought separately. In such a case, the computer may
be connected to the modem through a Network interface card (NIC), which is fitted in one of
theexpansion slots on the motherboard. However, modern computers come with an internal
modem called an onboard modem that is permanently fixed on the motherboard.
Note. The modem must be fast. This helps to reduce the amount of time spent waiting for web
pages, files, or message from the Internet. Modem speeds are expressed in bits per second (bps)
or kilobits per second (Kbps), e.g. 9600 bps, 4.4 Kbps, 28.8 Kbps, 56 Kbps, etc
4. Internet Service Provider (ISP)
When connecting to the Internet, you are required to sign up with an ISP. An Internet Service
Provider is a commercial organization (or company) that provides internet connections, along
with a set of support services to end users usually for a fee.
Examples of ISPs in Kenya:
Swift Kenya. - Wananchi Online - UUNet
KenyaWeb - Africa Online - NairobiNet
Access Kenya - Interconnect - Kenya Data Networks (KDN)

Selecting an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

When choosing an ISP, you should consider the following:
Ease of Use – The ISP should be able to provide you with a simple-to-install set of software that
will get you online with no difficulty.
Support – Will the ISP provide you with the help you need? Do they offer 24-hour customer
support, or do they offer service only during business hours?
Cost – What are the set-up costs, monthly costs and toll costs for extra hours of use?
Services – The ISP should at least provide e-mail, Internet access, and also offer space for
users’ web sites. They should also provide up-to-date tools and software.
Trial – Can the user try out the services before buying?
Performance – Ask the people who have accounts with the ISP about its performance during
peak hours. Are they slow?
Privacy – Do they have a firm privacy policy? Will they assist you in how to filter undesirable
content
5. Internet Connection to an ISP
There are two main ways of connecting to the Internet;

(i) Dial-up Connection

In Dial-up connections, one has to dial a remote computer on the Internet every time he needs to
access the Internet.
Normally, to gain access the user has to contact an ISP, and the ISP transfers him/her to the
Internet. When the user is through, he/she disconnects from the ISP.
To gain faster dial-up connections, you may call an Integrated Services Digital Network
(ISDN) line, which is a dedicated digital data transmission telephone line that ensures constant
and quick connection to the internet.

(ii) Direct Connection

Direct connections provide continuous, “always on” access to the Internet. This method is
convenient, fast and can handle high bandwidths.
Note. Connectivity speeds are measured in bits per second (bps), e.g. kilobits per second
(Kbps), megabits per second (mbps), etc
6. Internet Software
Internet software is classified into two:
a) Communication software
Communication software is required to manage your connection to the Internet. It includes:
An E-mail program, which is used to send and receive e-mails, e.g. Eudora, Netscape
Messenger, and Microsoft Outlook.
A Web Browser, which is needed to enable you browse the Internet. It lets you view the text,
pictures, videos, hear the sounds that make up the Web sites. It also lets you click on the
hyperlinks that allow you to surf from one page to another.
E.g. Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
b) Protocols
The Internet interconnects millions of computers and telecommunication devices that have
different hardware and software configurations. Therefore, for these incompatible devices to be
able to communicate, special software called protocol is needed.
A protocol is a set of rules that governs how two computers can send and receive data on a
network.
These are special communication rules that govern the sending and receiving of messages by
computers on a network.
There are 2 most common protocol needed by any computer that needs to be connected to the
Internet:
i) Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) - it governs how data is transferred from one place to
another.
ii) Internet Protocol (IP) - It is used to provide routing of data packets from one network to
another (i.e. it determines the addressing system on the internet).
Note. Each network segment or computer on the Internet is recognized by a special number
called the IP address that enables it to send and receive data.

EVOLUTION OF INTERNET
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

The Internet has evolved in 4 stages:

Stage 1: The First Networks

In 1969, Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a research body in the United
States’ Department of Defence built the first network that connected a set of computers operated
by several Universities and scientists who were doing military research, and gave it the name
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).
The aim of setting up ARPANET was:
1. To build a network that could survive a nuclear attack, i.e. a network that could continue to
work in the event of a war even if parts of the network were disabled.
2. To enable the researchers share research data. This enabled the researchers to communicate
fast by sending and receiving information through electronic mails (e-mails).
The network used a special data transmission technique called packet switching, whereby a
computer would send a packet that contained data, address information of the destination, error
detection control and packet sequencing information.
The original network started with 4 computers. The first four sites that were connected to form
ARPANET were the University of California at Los Angeles, Stanford Research Institute, the
University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah. The original speed of links
between the four sites was 56,000 bits per second (56 KBps).
ARPANET formed the backbone on which many organizations started connecting to, and grew
as more computers were added to it. By 1974, 62 computers were already attached.
Stage 2: Internet Starts Running
In 1982, the Defence Communications Agency (DCA) and DARPA established the Transmission
control protocol and Internet protocol (TCP/IP) as the standard connection protocol used on the
ARPANET.
In 1983, ARPANET split into two networks:
1) MILNET, which was dedicated only to military installations. The military used the network
for communication and to tap into the resources available on the Net.
2) INTERNET, which was dedicated to university research, with around 1,000 host computers.
The American government also used INTERNET for commercial purposes.
After the split, non-DOD sites were allowed to connect to INTERNET, and TCP/IP was the
accepted protocol running on the network.
In 1984, Japan started its national network JUNET (Japan UNIX Network), while the United
Kingdom started JANET (Joint Academic and Research Network).
In 1985, the Canadian government developed the BITNET to link all the Canadian Universities,
and also provided connections into the U.S Internet.
Stage 3: National Science Foundation Network
In 1986, the Department of Defence assigned the ARPA project to the National Science
Foundation (NSF). NSF then created NSFNET, a network connecting five supercomputer centres
to enhance computer and network research capabilities in the leading U.S universities. By the
end of 1987, there were 10,000 host computers on the Internet and 1,000 on BITNET.
In 1987, the National Science Foundation acquired high-speed circuits to build a new high-speed
backbone for NSFNET. In 1988, it connected 13 regional internal networks containing 170
LAN’s and 56,000 host computers.
In 1989, the Canadian Research Council replaced BITNET with a high-speed network called
CA*net that used the internet protocols. By the end of 1989, there were almost 200,000 host
computers on the U.S and Canadian Internet combined.
Similar projects were undertaken by other countries in the world, such that by the early 1990s,
most of the individual country networks were linked together into one worldwide network, and
users could easily exchange messages with each other. Each of these individual country networks
each had its own name, access rules, and fees structure. However, all the networks used the same
standard as the U.S INTERNET network.
By late 1990s, the network differences in each of the countries had disappeared, and the U.S
name; INTERNET began to be used to mean the entire worldwide system of networks that used
the internet TCP/IP protocols.
As the importance of the internet grew, businesses spent billions of dollars to improve it with the
aim of offering better services to their clients. Software and hardware manufacturers started to
compete as they came up with new technologies to meet interconnecting needs. This resulted in
increase in the message transmission capacity (bandwidth). Today, the internet has grown and
covered the wholeworld. Governments, private organizations and individuals are using the
internet to send messages and conduct business.

IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERNET

Banking
Banking has been revolutionized with the introduction of Internet banking which is an online
facility whereby the client can get full access to his account via his computer and also pay bills
online. You can also transfer money online at a touch of a button and make online payments.

Improved Communication
The internet has eased communication between people from virtually everywhere in the world.
People can communicate with ease with anyone in the world via email. Video conferencing and
chat rooms enable people to chat in real time. The internet also allows people within an
organization to communicate easily and also communicate with other businesses across the
globe
Entertainment/leisure

Everyone has their definition of ‘entertainment.’ Once, going out and meeting friends was a fun
activity, but for today’s generation, ‘Netflix and chill’ has become a new definition of
entertainment.

Many other platforms, such as Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, etc., have started releasing Tv
series and movies on their channel. You can access all of these if you have a good internet
connection.

News Updates/news & information dissemmination

The internet plays a significant role in journalism and media nowadays. The internet has given
platforms to different news channels and newspapers to make their online presence.

Now the news is available online and on our mobile phones. The information keeps updating
each minute, and you can check them whenever and wherever you want.

Worldwide Connectivity

With the help of the internet, people, businesses, organizations, and government authorities can
connect internationally. Anyone can learn about the different languages, cultures, beliefs, and
diversity of other countries while sitting at the ease of their home.

The government authorities from different countries can also connect to discuss various issues.

Globalization

It focuses on establishing the global economy, exchanging goods and services, culture, or
population by removing the physical boundaries among different nations and businesses.

Public Services

The government has launched many websites for the public. These websites give a platform to
the public to perform and use different services like tax payment.

The internet has evolved new technologies that the government can use to provide different
services to its citizens and implement various projects for people’s welfare.

Digital Marketing

Nowadays, the internet plays a significant role in the digital marketing of any brand or product.
The internet helps businesses to reach a wide range of audiences from around the world.

Brand Image
The internet is a great platform to showcase one’s skills and talents. The companies can also use
these platforms to show their values and beliefs online to their audiences. They can use different
social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., to build their brand image.

Research activities

WEB BROWSERS

Web Browsers (Web Browsing Software)

These are application programs that enable one to find and retrieve information from the
Internet, and view and send hypertext and hypermedia documents over the World Wide Web
(www).
Note. Information on the web is structured into pages. Therefore, a web browsing program
enables the user to search for data by specifying the address of the web page that contains the
data.
Examples of web browsers.
−Internet Explorer (from Microsoft)
−Navigator (from Netscape)

WEB SITE

Website is a location on web and is hosted on a web server. It is a set of related web pages. It is
accessed using Internet address known as Uniform Resource Locator

Static Websites

Static websites are also known as flat or stationary websites. They are loaded on the client’s
browser as exactly they are stored on the web server. Such websites contain only static
information. User can only read the information but can’t do any modification or interact with
the information.

Static websites are created using only HTML. Static websites are only used when the
information is no more required to be modified.
Dynamic Websites

Dynamic websites shows different information at different point of time. It is possible to change
a portion of a web page without loading the entire web page. It has been made possible using
Ajax technology.

Server-side dynamic web page

It is created by using server-side scripting. There are server-side scripting parameters that
determine how to assemble a new web page which also include setting up of more client-side
processing.

Client-side dynamic web page

It is processed using client side scripting such as javascript. And then passed in to Document
Object Model (DOM).

2. INTERNET SERVICES
a) Online chatting

The Internet has a chatting system that allows a large number of people from various locations
of the world who are on a computer to hold live and interactive electronic conversations among
themselves. Anyone interested in chatting can join a discussion forum on one of the listed topics.

b) Conference services
The Internet allows users to have access to various types of information they might require to
make accurate and informed decisions, e.g. it provides information on business, education,
sports, politics, etc. Conferencing on the web is the dynamic exchange of all kinds of information
(e.g. text, graphics, audio, video, etc.) in a situation whereby the conversations are organized by
item and allow a participant to contribute spontaneous responses to any item in the conversation.
Application of conferencing on the Web
The conversation can:
Help in community-building, project management and distance learning.
Provide important information that can assist in decision-making.
Provide any required technical support.
Help to organize electronic meetings, etc.
c) Formation of Newsgroups (electronic discussion groups)
A discussion group is a collection of users who have joined together to share information and
ideas on a defined topic, e.g. education, politics, scientific research, cooking, etc. Using a facility
called Usenet; individuals can join discussion groups on the Internet, and gain access to a wide
variety of information topics. You can ask questions, discuss problems and read interesting
stories. The discussions are conducted through large electronic bulletin boards where anyone can
read or write any articles and post messages on the topic for others to see and respond to.

Disadvantages

Only people who happen to be signed on at the same time are able to talk because messages are
not stored.

The topics are usually open to all without security, and therefore intruders can participate

d) Electronic mails (e-mail)

An E-mail is a system that enables sending and receiving of electronic messages in form of
letters, data and graphics through computers.
e) Telnets
Telnet is an abbreviation for Terminal Network. Telnet provides a connection to
the remote computer in such a way that a local terminal appears to be at the
remote side.
TELNET that enables a user on one computer to use another computer across the
network, i.e., the user is able to run programs on the other machine as if he/she is
a local user. Telnet is a protocol, which enables a user on one computer to log in
to another computer on the Internet.

f) Surfing
Surfing refers to searching a particular information using Search Engines.
Surfing is exploring many pages to reach the desired information. It helps us
expand our knowledge.

g) World wide web(www)

The World Wide Web -- also known as the web, WWW or W3 -- refers to all the
public websites or pages that users can access on their local computers and
other devices through the internet. These pages and documents are
interconnected by means of hyperlinks that users click on for information.

3. EMAIL
4. IMPACT OF INTERNET TO SOCIETY
Here are the negative effects of the internet.

1. It is addictive.
2. Lead to inadequate sleep.
3. Causes low self-esteem.
4. Cybercrime and
5. Information overload.

And here are the positive effects of the internet.

1. Makes life easier by enhancing connectivity.

2. Quick access to information.
3. Aid study.
4. Eases communication.
5. Gives us access to large audience.

The positive consequences of the internet include:

a) It furnishes beneficial communication using emailing and instant messaging services to

any part of the world.
b) It enhances business interactions and transactions, conserving essential time.
c) Banking and shopping online have compelled lifelessly sophisticated.
d) You can access the latest news from any part of the world without relying on the TV or
newspaper.
e) Employment application has also become easier as supreme opportunities are advertised
online with online applications evolving the criterion.

The negative impacts of the internet include:

a) Accessible availability of unlawful or inadequate materials online that is not age-suitable.

b) The obsession with social networks can disrupt an individual’s life, both privately and
professionally.
c) Many miscreants utilize the internet to hack into people’s accounts for spurious activities
comprising snatching data or banking information.
d) However, others have been understood to misuse the internet for circulating hate and
terrorism, two dangerously destructive scenarios.

5. INTERNET SECURITY

Internet security refers to securing communication over the internet. It includes specific security
protocols such as:

 Internet Security Protocol (IPSec)

  Secure Socket Layer (SSL)

Internet Security Protocol (IPSec)

It consists of a set of protocols designed by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It provides
security at network level and helps to create authenticated and confidential packets for IP layer.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL)

It is a security protocol developed by Netscape Communications Corporation. ). It provides

security at transport layer. It addresses the following security issues:

 Privacy
 Integrity
 Authentication

Threats
Internet security threats impact the network, data security and other internet connected systems.
Cyber criminals have evolved several techniques to threat privacy and integrity of bank accounts,
businesses, and organizations.

Following are some of the internet security threats:

 Mobile worms
 Malware
 PC and Mobile ransomware
 Large scale attacks like Stuxnet that attempts to destroy infrastructure.
 Hacking as a Service
 Spam
 Phishing

Email Phishing
Email phishing is an activity of sending emails to a user claiming to be a legitimate enterprise.
Its main purpose is to steal sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card
details.

Such emails contains link to websites that are infected with malware and direct the user to enter
details at a fake website whose look and feels are same to legitimate one.

What a phishing email may contain?

Following are the symptoms of a phishing email:

Spelling and bad grammar

Most often such emails contain grammatically incorrect text. Ignore such emails, since it can be
a spam.

Beware of links in email

Don’t click on any links in suspicious emails.

Threats

Such emails contain threat like “your account will be closed if you didn’t respond to an email
message”.

Spoofing popular websites or companies

These emails contain graphics that appear to be connected to legitimate website but they actually
are connected to fake websites.

DATA ENCRYPTION

\Introduction
Encryption is a security method in which information is encoded in such a way that only
authorized user can read it. It uses encryption algorithm to generate ciphertext that can only be
read if decrypted.

Types of Encryption

There are two types of encryptions schemes as listed below:

 Symmetric Key encryption

 Public Key encryption

Symmetric Key encryption

Symmetric key encryption algorithm uses same cryptographic keys for both encryption and
decryption of cipher text.
Public Key encryption

Public key encryption algorithm uses pair of keys, one of which is a secret key and one of
which is public. These two keys are mathematically linked with each other.

Hashing
In terms of security, hashing is a technique used to encrypt data and generate unpredictable hash
values. It is the hash function that generates the hash code, which helps to protect the security of
transmission from unauthorized users.

Hash function algorithms

Hashing algorithm provides a way to verify that the message received is the same as the
message sent. It can take a plain text message as input and then computes a value based on that
message.

Key Points

 The length of computed value is much shorter than the original message.
 It is possible that different plain text messages could generate the same value.

Here we will discuss a sample hashing algorithm in which we will multiply the number of a’s,
e’s and h’s in the message and will then add the number of o’s to this value.

For example, the message is “ the combination to the safe is two, seven, thirty-five”. The hash of
this message, using our simple hashing algorithm is as follows:
2 x 6 x 3 ) + 4 = 40

The hash of this message is sent to John with cipher text. After he decrypts the message, he
computes its hash value using the agreed upon hashing algorithm. If the hash value sent by Bob
doesn’t match the hash value of decrypted message, John will know that the message has been
altered.

For example, John received a hash value of 17 and decrypted a message Bob has sent as “You
are being followed, use backroads, hurry”

He could conclude the message had been altered, this is because the hash value of the message
he received is:

(3x4x1)+4 = 16

This is different from then value 17 that Bob sent.

Digital Signature
Digital signatures allow us to verify the author, date and time of signatures, authenticate the
message contents. It also includes authentication function for additional capabilities.

A digital signature should not only be tied to the signing user, but also to the message.

Applications
There are several reasons to implement digital signatures to communications:

Authentication

Digital signatures help to authenticate the sources of messages. For example, if a bank’s branch
office sends a message to central office, requesting for change in balance of an account. If the
central office could not authenticate that message is sent from an authorized source, acting of
such request could be a grave mistake.

Integrity

Once the message is signed, any change in the message would invalidate the signature.

Non-repudiation

By this property, any entity that has signed some information cannot at a later time deny having
signed it.

Firewall is a barrier between Local Area Network (LAN) and the Internet. It allows keeping
private resources confidential and minimizes the security risks. It controls network traffic, in
both directions.

The following diagram depicts a sample firewall between LAN and the internet. The connection
between the two is the point of vulnerability. Both hardware and the software can be used at this
point to filter network traffic.
There are two types of Firewall system: One works by using filters at the network layer and the
other works by using proxy servers at the user, application, or network layer.

Key Points

 Firewall management must be addressed by both system managers and the network
managers.
 The amount of filtering a firewall varies. For the same firewall, the amount of filtering
may be different in different directions.