1 Unit- 4 Introduction to Internet MHM

History and the evolution of the internet.

In 1969, the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) developed an
experimental network called ARPAnet to link together four supercomputing centres for military research.
This network had the many and difficult design requirements that it had to be fast, reliable, and capable of
withstanding a nuclear bomb destroying any one computer center on the network. From those original four
computers, this network evolved into the sprawling network of millions of computers we know today as the
internet. 

The internet itself is really a massive "network of networks." Essentially, it is a collection of Internet service
providers (ISPs) who each operate their own networks, with their own clients, and agree to interconnect with
each other and exchange packets. Many of the large ISPs sell connections to their network to smaller ISPs,
some of whom again sell connections to other ISPs. 

An affiliated organization, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) coordinates the work of numerous
committees that define Internet communication standards and research methods of explaining and improving
Internet communication. The actual communication standards are referred to as RFCs (Requests for
Comments) and are voluntarily adhered to by all ISPs. 

Internet uses can be simply categorized as publishing and getting information on various subjects like
marketing, management, science, new technologies, training materials, jobs, higher education, mathematics,
music, games, software, etc. and E-Commerce 

This is what the Internet has become today, starting from its modest birth in 1969, to become an
indispensable service for the human race at present and will remain the same in the future.

Applications/Advantages of Internet

1) E-mail: Email is now an essential communication tools in business. With e-mail you can send and receive
instant electronic messages, which works like writing letters. Your messages are delivered instantly to people
anywhere in the world, unlike traditional mail that takes a lot of time. Email is free and fast when compared
to telephone, fax and postal services. Just compare the costs of sending out physical mailing to 5,000
addresses, with the costs of an e-mailing to 50.000 e-mail addresses.

2) 24 hours a day - 7 days a week: Even if no staff is in your office, visitors will come to your website
using Internet.

3) Information: Information is probably the biggest advantage internet is offering. There is a huge amount
of information available on the internet for just about every subject, ranging from government law and
services, trade fairs and conferences, market information, new ideas and technical support. You can almost
find any type of data on almost any kind of subject that you are looking for by using search engines like
google, yahoo, msn, etc.

4) Online Chat: You can access many ‘chat rooms’ on the web that can be used to meet new people, make
new friends, as well as to stay in touch with old friends.

5) Services: Many services are provided on the internet like net banking, job searching, purchasing tickets,
hotel reservations, guidance services on array of topics engulfing the every aspect of life.

6) Communities: Communities of all types have sprung up on the internet. Its a great way to meet up with
people of similar interest and discuss common issues.
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7) Ecommerce: Along with getting information on the Internet, you can also shop online. There are many
online stores and sites that can be used to look for products as well as buy them using your credit card. You
do not need to leave your house and can do all your shopping from the convenience of your home. It has got
a real amazing and wide range of products from household needs, electronics to entertainment.

8) Software Downloads: You can freely download innumerable, softwares like utilities, games, music,
videos, movies, etc from the Internet.

Disadvantages

Theft of Personal Information

If you use the Internet for online banking, social networking or other services, you may risk a theft to your
personal information such as name, address, credit card number etc. Unscrupulous people can access this
information through unsecured connections or by planting software and then use your personal details for
their benefit. Needless to say, this may land you in serious trouble. 

Spamming 
Spamming refers to sending unwanted e-mails in bulk, which provide no purpose and needlessly obstruct the
entire system. Such illegal activities can be very frustrating for you as it makes your Internet slower and less
reliable. 

Virus Threat
Internet users are often plagued by virus attacks on their systems. Virus programs are inconspicuous and may
get activated if you click a seemingly harmless link. Computers connected to the Internet are very prone to
targeted virus attacks and may end up crashing. 

Pornography
Pornography is perhaps the biggest disadvantage of the Internet. Internet allows you to access and download
millions of pornographic photos, videos and other X-rated stuff. Such unrestricted access to porn can be
detrimental for children and teenagers

Social Disconnect
More and more people are getting engulfed in virtual world and drifting apart from their friends and family.
Even children prefer to play online games rather than going out and mingling with other kids. This may
hamper a healthy social development in children. 

Internet working:
The Internet is a group of computers connected to share the information they hold. The
connected computers belong to various agencies - government, universities, companies,
individuals etc.
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Hardware and Software requirements

1.Hardware: Home users need a computer with a modem connected to a telephone line to use the Internet.
.The hardware required is

1. A Computer

2. Modem

3. Telephone line or

2. Software: TCP/IP software is needed so the computer can speak the Internet's language. The user must
install dialing software and the client programs to do the desired functions. First, however, the user must
have someplace to call. This requires an Internet Service Provider (ISP). After an Internet account is
established, the user makes a phone connection. There are many dialup programs, and Windows 95 even
comes with its own dialer, browser, and telnet applications.

Once connected, the user launches software to browse the World Wide Web, send and receive email, and
download files, among other things. Users can also do off-line tasks with some software, such as mailers.

3. Networks: Networks are used to transmit data and facilitate Internet access,.

4.Addressing: Standard Internet addressing is accomplished through a combination of the user's username

and domain name. The username is whatever name the user requested, or in some cases had assigned.

 INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER 

(ISP) is an organization that provides access to the Internet. Internet service providers can be
either community-owned and non-profit, or privately owned and for-profit. Access ISPs directly connect
clients to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space
for smaller businesses and other people (colocation). Transit ISPs provide large amounts of bandwidth for
connecting hosting ISPs to access ISPs
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An Internet service provider (abbr. ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a business or
organization that provides consumers or businesses access to
the Internet and related services.
Main ISP’s in India:
 BSNL Broadband
 Bharti Airtel
 Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
 Reliance Communications
 Sancharnet
 Spice Telecom
 Tata Teleservices

TYPES OF INTERNET CONNECTIONS

i. Dial-up
Dial-up access is a form of Internet access via telephone line. The client uses a modem connected to a
computer and a telephone line, to dial an Internet service provider's (ISP) node to establish a modem-to-
modem link, which is then routed to the Internet.

Modem : Modem (from modulator demodulator) is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to
encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information.
The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital
data

ii DSL (Digital subscriber line): DSL or xDSL, is a technology that provides digital data transmission over
the wires of a local telephone network.

iii. Broadband wireless access: Wireless Broadband is a technology that provides high-speed wireless
internet and data network access over a wide area.

iv. Cable modem: A cable modem is a type of modem that provides access to a data signal sent over the
cable television infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver Fundamentals of IT India
Development Gateway broadband Internet access in the form of cable internet.

v. ISDN: Integrated Services refers to ISDN's ability to deliver at minimum two simultaneous connections,
in any combination of data, voice, video, and fax, over a single line. Multiple devices can be attached to the
line, and used as needed. That means an ISDN line can take care of most people's complete communications
needs at a much higher transmission rate, without forcing the purchase of multiple analog phone lines.

Search Engines
Although the internet is highly rich with information, the information is not always organized in a way that a
person expects. When "browsing", it is hard to get to the particular information one is looking for. To
provide an alternative, there are some specialized sites that can perform the search for users, with more or
less same accuracy. These sites are referred to as search engines. Some of the most popular of them are:
Examples : Google, Yahoo, MSN, Netscape, Alta Vista Search

Steps to do a search
 To do a search, first access a search engine site. Eg. www.search.com
 Each one of them provides you with a convenient box in which you can type the word
or sentence to search and press Enter. Eg. Types of computers
5 Unit- 4 Introduction to Internet MHM

 The results are displayed in a list.You can then click each link and check it. If a link doesn't provide
the type of informationyou are looking for, you can click Back (the shortcut to go back on most
browsers is Alt +left arrow key) and click the next link in the list.
 If you still don't find what you are looking for, you can change the word or sentence that you
 typed and start searching again. You can also try another search engine site. Most of the search
engine sites provide more services than searching the web. For example, both Yahoo and MSN
provide free email services.

World Wide Web :The World Wide Web (abbreviated as WWW or W3, commonly known as the Web), is
a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view
web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia, and navigate between them via
hyperlinks.

Web browser
A web browser is a software application that enables a user to display and interact with text, images, videos,
music and other information typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local
area network. Important web browsers:
• Mosaic, April 22,1993
• Netscape Navigator and Netscape Communicators, October 13, 1994
• Internet Explorer, August 1995
• Opera,1996
• Mozilla Firefox, 2004

An Internet Address: Messages are transmitted from one computer to another; every computer in the
Internet must have a unique and specific address. An Internet or IP address, as it is sometimes called, consists
of four numbers separated by periods. The smallest address would be 0.0.0.0 while the biggest would be
1234.5678.9101.1121. Only computers are expected to remember all these numbers without getting
confused.

Domain Name System

The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the
Internet has a unique address, called the "IP address". But it is hard to remember everyone's IP address. The
DNS makes it easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the IP
address. So instead of typing 192.0.34.65, you can type www.indg.in, which is easier to
remember. Domain names have the format: hostname.subdomain.top-level-domain.
Eg. www.indg.gov.in.
The third set of letters of an address are intended to indicate the type of organization hosting the computer.
Domain name Meaning
COM Commercial organizations
GOV Government institutions
NET Major Network support centers
ORG Organizations other than those above
Fundamentals of IT India Development Gateway www.indg.in
Two letter codes - The final two letter codes indicate the country of origin. Eg:.'in' is used for India