Internet
History
The concept of the Internet traces back to research commissioned by the United States federal government in the 1960s to build robust, fault-tolerant communication via computer networks. This work, combined with efforts in the United Kingdom and France, led to the primary precursor network, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), in 1969. The interconnection of regional academic and military networks in the 1980s marked the beginning of the transition to the modern Internet, and the subsequent proliferation of networking led to a revolution in information technology.
Technology
The Internet uses a packet-switching structure, in which information is broken down into small packets before being sent. Each packet is then transported individually and can even follow different routes to its destination. Once all the packets forming a message arrive at the destination, they are recompiled into the original message.
Internet services use the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to define the protocols for structuring and transmitting the data. This suite, a set of communications protocols, is used to interconnect network devices on the Internet. It serves as the foundation of any data exchange on the Web, and it also provides end-to-end connectivity specifying how data should be packetized, addressed, transmitted, routed, and received at the destination.
Governance
The architecture and governance of the Internet are open and inclusive, with the key principle being that of shared global ownership. The Internet is governed by a number of bodies. The most notable of these are the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which is responsible for developing and promoting voluntary Internet standards in particular the standards that comprise the Internet protocol suite, and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the assignment of globally unique identifiers on the Internet, including domain names and IP addresses.
Impact
The Internet has had a transformative impact on modern society. The invention of electronic mail (e-mail) in the early 1970s and the launch of the World Wide Web in the 1990s has changed the way people communicate and share information. The Internet has also revolutionized commerce, entertainment, and education, among other sectors. The Internet continues to evolve, with emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) promising to connect people and devices in unprecedented ways.
Security
Internet security is a branch of computer security that involves various security measures taken for ensuring browser security, network security, security of other applications and operating systems. Since the advent of the Internet, it has been used for many purposes such as research, communication, and commerce. This has also led to a significant increase in cyber threats such as viruses, trojans, malware, and hackers. Internet security measures are used to protect against these threats.
See Also
