Internet:

A global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are l
inked into exchanges of data, news and opinions.
Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentra
lized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its oper
ators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make
available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design
works exceedingly well.
There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such a
s America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to
gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP)

history of internet
Internet - A global network of thousands of computer networks linked by data lin
es and wireless systems.
[Background history on the Internet -The Internet, originally the ARPAnet (Advan
ced Research Projects Agency network), began as a military computer network in 1
969. Other government agencies and universities created internal networks based
on the ARPAnet model. The catalyst for the Internet today was provided by the Na
tional Science Foundation (NSF). Rather than have a physical communications conn
ection from each institution to a supercomputing center, the NSF began a "chain"
of connections in which institutions would be connected to their "neighbor" com
puting centers, which all tied into central supercomputing centers. This beginni
ng expanded to a global network of computer networks, which allows computers all
over the world to communicate with one another and share information stored at
various computer "servers," either on a local computer or a computer located any
where in the world. The Internet is not governed by any official body, but there
are organizations which work to make the Internet more accessible and useful.]

Technology behind internet

The following Internet technologies and software tools exist on the Internet : T
here are four basic technologies on which the Internet is based:
E-mail
-- allows users to send messages to each other.
Telnet
-- allows users to connect and user computers directly on the Internet.
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) -- allows users to connect to a remote computer for the
sole purpose of uploading/downloading files.
World Wide Web
-- Binding of above technologies. Supports the user friendly (easy) access to al
l forms of media (text, graphics, sound, video etc. in a hypertext framework. Sp
ecial programs, Browsers, are required to access and use the WWW (e.g. Netscape)
.
Other tools developed to extend Internet functionality include:
Listserv
-- (E-mail list server) Discussion of common interests via E-mail.
USENET
-- News Groups. Discussion of common interests via a specialised medium.
Archie
-- search engine for FTP.
WAIS
(Wide Area Information Server) -- A popular way to search large bodies of electr
onic information. Key word search. Forerunner of WWW.
Gopher
-- the first user friendly interface for the Internet. Another important forerun
ner to the WWW and WWW browsers.

terminology of internet
Introduction to Internet Terminology

AVI - (Audio Video Interleaved) A Microsoft Corporation multimedia video format.

It uses waveform audio and digital video frames (bitmaps) to compress animat
ion.
Bandwidth - The capacity of an electronic line, such as a communications network
or computer channel, to transmit bits per second (bps).
Bitmap - A representation, consisting of rows and columns of dots, of a graphics
image in computer memory. The value of each dot (whether it is filled in or not
) is stored in one or more bits of data. For simple monochrome images, one bit i
s sufficient to represent each dot, but for colors and shades of gray, each dot
requires more than one bit of data. See more graphics formats
Bits and bytes -
Bit stands for binary digit: 0 or 1
A byte is made up of 8 bits
It takes 1 byte to store one ASCII character ASCII stands for the American Stand
ard Code for Information Interchange
The combination of bits (which makes up one byte) below represents the letters b
elow
A 0100 0001
B 0100 0010
C 0100 0011
K stands for kilo and = 1024 (2 to the tenth power)
M stands for mega. A MB, megabyte is about a million bytes (1024x1024)
G stands for giga. A GB, gigabyte is about a billion bytes (1024x1024x1024)
T stands for tera. A TB, terabyte is about a trillion!
RAM is usually measured in MB
Hard disk spaces is usually measured in gigabytes
Blog - A blog is information that is instantly published to a Web site. Blog sc
ripting allows someone to automatically post information to a Web site. The info
rmation first goes to a blogger Web site. Then the information is automatically
inserted into a template tailored for your Web site.
Bookmark - a way of storing your favorite sites on the Internet. Browsers like N
etscape or Internet Explorer let you to categorize your bookmarks into folders.
Boolean logic - a type of logic (using AND, OR, NOT operators, for example) used
by search engines to find information on the Internet and in electronic databas
es. (For example, to find computer viruses instead of human viruses, you might t
ry the keywords "computers and viruses.")

Chat - real-time, synchronous, text-based communication via computer.

Cookie - Information (in this case URLs, Web addresses) created by a Web server
and stored on a user's computer. This information lets Web sites the user visits
to keep of a user's browsing pattterns and preferences. People can set up thei
r browsers to accept or not accept cookies.
Cyberculture - "a collection of cultures and cultural products that exist on and
/or are made possible by the Internet, along with the stories told about these
cultures and cultural products." David Silver, "Introducing Cyberculture," Res
ource Center for Cyberculture Studies: http://www.com.washington.edu/rccs/ [last
accessed11/24/2001].
Digit - A single character in a numbering system. In decimal, digits are 0 throu
gh 9. In binary, digits are 0 and 1. The os and 1s equate to "on and off functio
ns. Digitization allows for perfect copying. When text, music, voice and video a
re in digitized, they can be electronically manipulated, preserved and regenerat
ed without degredation of quality at high speed. Each copy of a computer file is
exactly the same as the original. See more comprehensive definitions.
Domain Name - A method of identifying computer addresses. Your e-mail address ha
s a domain address. If you have an "edu" at the end of your e-mail address that
means your account is affiliated with an educational institution. A "com" extens
ion means you have a business account. A government account has a .gov suffix.
dpi - (dots per inch) the way the resolution of display and printing is measured
.

...
Introduction to Internet Terminology

AVI - (Audio Video Interleaved) A Microsoft Corporation multimedia video format.

It uses waveform audio and digital video frames (bitmaps) to compress animat
ion.
Bandwidth - The capacity of an electronic line, such as a communications network
or computer channel, to transmit bits per second (bps).
Bitmap - A representation, consisting of rows and columns of dots, of a graphics
image in computer memory. The value of each dot (whether it is filled in or not
) is stored in one or more bits of data. For simple monochrome images, one bit i
s sufficient to represent each dot, but for colors and shades of gray, each dot
requires more than one bit of data. See more graphics formats
Bits and bytes -
Bit stands for binary digit: 0 or 1
A byte is made up of 8 bits
It takes 1 byte to store one ASCII character ASCII stands for the American Stand
ard Code for Information Interchange
The combination of bits (which makes up one byte) below represents the letters b
elow
A 0100 0001
B 0100 0010
C 0100 0011
K stands for kilo and = 1024 (2 to the tenth power)
M stands for mega. A MB, megabyte is about a million bytes (1024x1024)
G stands for giga. A GB, gigabyte is about a billion bytes (1024x1024x1024)
T stands for tera. A TB, terabyte is about a trillion!
RAM is usually measured in MB
Hard disk spaces is usually measured in gigabytes
Blog - A blog is information that is instantly published to a Web site. Blog sc
ripting allows someone to automatically post information to a Web site. The info
rmation first goes to a blogger Web site. Then the information is automatically
inserted into a template tailored for your Web site.
Bookmark - a way of storing your favorite sites on the Internet. Browsers like N
etscape or Internet Explorer let you to categorize your bookmarks into folders.
Boolean logic - a type of logic (using AND, OR, NOT operators, for example) used
by search engines to find information on the Internet and in electronic databas
es. (For example, to find computer viruses instead of human viruses, you might t
ry the keywords "computers and viruses.")
Browser - A software program that allows users to access the Internet. Examples
:
Non-graphical a user interface for computers which allows you to read plain te
xt, not pictures, sound, or video, on the Internet. It is strictly text based, n
on-Windows, and does not place high memory demands on your computer. An example
is lynx .(http://lynx.browser.org/)
Graphical a user interface for computers which enables people to see color
, graphics, and hear sound and see video, available on Internet sites. These fea
tures are usually designated by underlined text, a change of color, or other dis
tinguishing feature; sometimes the link is not obvious, for example, a picture w
ith no designated characteristic. Examples are Netscape and Internet Explorer.
CGI (Common Gateway Interface script) - a specificiation for transferring inform
ation between a Web server and a CGI program, designed to receive and and return
data. The script can use a variety of languages such as C, Perl, Java, or Visua
l Basic. Many html pages that contain forms use a cgi program to process the dat
a submitted by users/clients.
Chat - real-time, synchronous, text-based communication via computer.
Cookie - Information (in this case URLs, Web addresses) created by a Web server
and stored on a user's computer. This information lets Web sites the user visits
to keep of a user's browsing pattterns and preferences. People can set up thei
r browsers to accept or not accept cookies.
Cyberculture - "a collection of cultures and cultural products that exist on and
/or are made possible by the Internet, along with the stories told about these
cultures and cultural products." David Silver, "Introducing Cyberculture," Res
ource Center for Cyberculture Studies: http://www.com.washington.edu/rccs/ [last
accessed11/24/2001].
Digit - A single character in a numbering system. In decimal, digits are 0 throu
gh 9. In binary, digits are 0 and 1. The os and 1s equate to "on and off functio
ns. Digitization allows for perfect copying. When text, music, voice and video a
re in digitized, they can be electronically manipulated, preserved and regenerat
ed without degredation of quality at high speed. Each copy of a computer file is
exactly the same as the original. See more comprehensive definitions.
Domain Name - A method of identifying computer addresses. Your e-mail address ha
s a domain address. If you have an "edu" at the end of your e-mail address that
means your account is affiliated with an educational institution. A "com" extens
ion means you have a business account. A government account has a .gov suffix.
dpi - (dots per inch) the way the resolution of display and printing is measured
.

Firewall - The name "firewall" derives from the term for a barrier that prevents
fires from spreading. A computer "firewall" is a barrier between your computer
and the outside world. Just like a fire is most likely to
spread through open doors in a building, your computer is most vulnerable at it
s ports (the doors). Without ports you could not go on the Internet or let Inte
rnet traffic enter your computer.

Flash - Animation software used to develop interactive graphics for Web sites as
well as desktop presentations and games (Windows and Mac) by the company Macrom
edia. Flash on the Web is displayed by a browser plug-in. Non-Web presentations
are run by a Flash player, included on a floppy or CD-ROM. Flashcan be used to c
reate vector-based graphics in one or more timelines that provide a sequential p
ath for actions.
FTP - Using file transfer protocol software to receive from upload) or send to (
download) files (text, pictures, spreadsheets, etc.) from one computer/server to
another.
.gif - (graphic interchange format) the usual format for a graphic that is not a
photo. Animated gif files are embedded with coding that creates movement when t
he graphic is activated. See more graphics formats

HTML - A type of text code in Hypertext Markup Language which, when embedded in
a document, allows that document to be read and distributed across the Internet.

HTTP - The hypertext transfer protocol (http) that enables html documents to be
read on the Internet.
Instant Messaging (IM) - a text-based computer conference over the Internet betw
een two or more people who must be online at the same time. When you send an IM
the receiver is instantly notified that she/he has a message.
IP Address - (Internet Protocol) The number or name of the computer from which y
ou send and receive information on the Internet.
JAVA - a computer language, developed by Sun Microsystems, that lets you encode
applications, such as animated objects or computer programs, on the Internet
Javascript - A Web scripting language developed by Netscape. It was developed i
ndependently of the full JAVA language and is an "open" language, free for anyon
e to use and adapt. For example, The Java Script Source has many scripts peopl
e can adapt for their own purposes.
.jpg (or jpeg)- (joint photographic expert group) a file format for photographs
on Web pages. The "jpg" format compresses large photo files so they don't take u
p as many kilobytes of memory. See more graphics formats
software behind internet
===protocols
In order for computers to communicate with one another, standard methods of info
rmation transfer and processing have been devised. These are referred to as "pro
tocols" and some of the more common ones such as TCP, IP, UDP, POP, SMTP, HTTP,
and FTP are discussed here.
When two humans converse, they may have to use the same language but they genera
lly understand each other without having to adhere to rigid rules of grammar or
formal language frameworks. Computers, on the other hand, have to have everythin
g explicitly defined and structured. If computers wish to communicate with one a
nother, they have to know in advance exactly how information is to be exchanged
and precisely what the format will be. Therefore, standard methods of transmitti
ng and processing various kinds of information are used and these methods are ca
lled "protocols". Protocols are established by international agreement and ensur
e that computers everywhere can talk to one another. There are a variety of prot
ocols for different kinds of information and functions. This article will discus
s some of the common protocols that the average PC user is likely to encounter.
TCP/IP
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol) are two different
procedures that are often linked together. The linking of several protocols is
common since the functions of different protocols can be complementary so that t
ogether they carry out some complete task. The combination of several protocols
to carry out a particular task is often called a "stack" because it has layers o
f operations. In fact, the term "TCP/IP" is normally used to refer to a whole su
ite of protocols, each with different functions. This suite of protocols is what
carries out the basic operations of the Web. TCP/IP is also used on many local
area networks. The details of how the Web works are beyond the scope of this art
icle but I will briefly describe some of the basics of this very important group
of protocols. More details can be found in the references in the sidebar. (Inci
dentally, one characteristic of AOL is that they do not use the standard TCP/IP.
Thus their network is a sort of separate "gated" community.)
When information is sent over the Internet, it is generally broken up into small
er pieces or "packets". The use of packets facilitates speedy transmission since
different parts of a message can be sent by different routes and then reassembl
ed at the destination. It is also a safety measure to minimize the chances of lo
sing information in the transmission process. TCP is the means for creating the
packets, putting them back together in the correct order at the end, and checkin
g to make sure that no packets got lost in transmission. If necessary, TCP will
request that a packet be resent.
Internet Protocol (IP) is the method used to route information to the proper add
ress. Every computer on the Internet has to have it own unique address known as
the IP address. Every packet sent will contain an IP address showing where it is
supposed to go. A packet may go through a number of computer routers before arr
iving at its final destination and IP controls the process of getting everything
to the designated computer. Note that IP does not make physical connections bet
ween computers but relies on TCP for this function. IP is also used in conjuncti
on with other protocols that create connections.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Web pages are constructed according to a standard method called Hypertext Marku
p Language (HTML). An HTML page is transmitted over the Web in a standard way an
d format known as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). This protocol uses TCP/IP
to manage the Web transmission.
A related protocol is Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer (HTTP
S), first introduced by Netscape. It provides for the transmission in encrypted
form to provide security for sensitive data. A Web page using this protocol will
have https: at the front of its URL.
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) lives up to its name and provides a method for copy
ing files over a network from one computer to another. More generally, it provid
es for some simple file management on the contents of a remote computer. It is a
n old protocol and is used less than it was before the Word Wide Web came along.
Today, Its primary use is uploading files to a Web site. It can also be used fo
r downloading from the Web but, more often than not, downloading is done via HTT
P. Sites that have a lot of downloading (software sites, for example) will often
have an FTP server to handle the traffic. If FTP is involved, the URL will have
ftp: at the front
===firewall
A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block u
nauthorized access while permitting authorized communications. It is a device or
set of devices configured to permit, deny, encrypt, decrypt, or proxy all (in a
nd out) computer traffic between different security domains based upon a set of
rules and other criteria.
There are several types of firewall techniques:
Packet filter: Looks at each packet entering or leaving the network and accepts
or rejects it based on user-defined rules. Packet filtering is fairly effective
and transparent to users, but it is difficult to configure. In addition, it is s
usceptible to IP spoofing.
Application gateway: Applies security mechanisms to specific applications, such
as FTP and Telnet servers. This is very effective, but can impose a performance
degradation.
Circuit-level gateway: Applies security mechanisms when a TCP or UDP connection
is established. Once the connection has been made, packets can flow between the
hosts without further checking.
Proxy server: Intercepts all messages entering and leaving the network. The prox
y server effectively hides the true network addresses
==========Internet browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversi
ng information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is ident
ified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and may be a web page, image, video
, or other piece of content.[1] Hyperlinks present in resources enable users to
easily navigate their browsers to related resources.
Although browsers are primarily intended to access the World Wide Web, they can
also be used to access information provided by web servers in private networks o
r files in file systems.
The major web browsers are Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Saf
ari, Google Chrome, and Opera.