NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET

I BSc CS
Unit I

Mass Media
Mass Media can be defined as a technology which is intended to communicate or reach a mass
audience. Mass media is actually the primary means of communication for the general public to
communicate with each other as well as on a grander level. The most popular types of mass media include
Newspapers, Radio, Television, Internet, Magazines and more!
Mass Communication
Mass Communication refers to the process of disseminating and exchanging information through diverse
media platforms to reach the masses. Mass Communication is different from Mass Media because various
forms of mass media like TV, Radio, the Internet, Print Media, Outdoor Media, etc. are used to facilitate
mass communication, i.e. communicate certain information to the masses.

Types of Mass Communication

 Journalism
 Social Media
 Films
 Television
 Radio
 Advertising
 Public Relations
 Books, Magazines, Newspapers and Journals
 Photography
 Audio Media like Community Radio, Podcasts
 Interactive Media like websites, video games, digital ads, etc.
Characteristics of Mass Media
Mass Media comprises a wide range of media technologies to disseminate or reach over a larger audience
through mass communication. The major characteristics of Mass Media are:
 Mass Media constitutes both technical and institutional methods for communication, production
and dissemination of news.
 It reaches larger audiences or masses and that’s why is referred to as mass media.
 Mass Media has the power to influence society and is also impacted by what’s happening in
society itself.
 Audience or the masses are offered with a wide variety of choices in terms of content, media
platform, etc. to choose from the type of mass media they want to consume.
Types of Mass Media
When it comes to the different forms of media, there are varied formats of modern media such as
print media (newspapers, books, magazines), broadcast media (television, radio), digital media (internet) as
well as video games, music, cell phones, films, amongst others. All these types of mass media comprise
content as well as a device or object which is the medium for delivering the content.

1
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS

There are 6 main types of Mass Media:

1. Traditional Media
2. Print Media
3. Electronic/Broadcasting Media
4. Outdoor Media or Out of Home Media (OOH)
5. Transit Media
6. Digital Media/New Media/Internet

Advantages of Mass Media

 Giving Voice to the Voiceless
Mass media plays an essential role in shining the spotlight on the masses as the general public can
express their views and opinions freely. This way, it becomes the voice of the voiceless thus giving
the right platform for the people to use their right to express freely.
 Effective and Wider Communication
It is through different types of mass media from social media to the digital platforms that the world
has transformed into a global village. This way, mass communication has become useful for the
people, businesses, governments and the whole world to stay connected with each other.
 Diffusion of Diverse Cultures
Mass media also plays a colossal part in spreading arts and cultures to every nook and corner of the
world. With the help of the internet, anyone can learn a new language, know about a different culture
or even travel the whole world without physically going from one place to another.
 Encyclopedia of Information
The internet is truly a massive open source of information and different types of mass media from
search engine platforms to social media platforms and learning websites play a greater role in helping
anyone learn anything anywhere.

WWW

The World Wide Web is a set of all the websites connected to the internet worldwide. It is also known
as WWW or Web. It is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the internet. A webpage
may contain texts, images, and other multimedia. You can access a webpage by the use of a web browser and
navigate between them by using hyperlinks.

Following is the list of several popular web browsers:

o Google Chrome
o Mozilla Firefox
o Opera
o Internet Explorer
o Safari
o Netscape Navigator etc.

2
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Web page
A webpage is a document written in HTML and can be viewed on any web browser. It is contained
within the web server, which can be accessed by entering the URL for that web page, and once it is
loaded, it appears on the user's web browser. Each webpage is linked with a unique URL; hence two pages
cannot have the same URL.
A webpage may contain text, links for other pages, graphics, videos, etc. Moreover, it is mainly used to
provide information to the user in text, images, etc.

A webpage is a part of a website; it means a website contains different web pages. Such
as javaTpoint.com is a website, and the page currently you are accessing is the webpage. It can be
understood as an example of a book. So, a Website is like a complete book, and a webpage is like a page of
that book.

The WWW or Internet contains millions of web pages, and daily, a lot is being added. Tim Berners-Lee
developed the first webpage.

Let's understand some basic terms that are used with Webpage:

o WebSite: A website is a collection of several web pages. These pages are linked together with
hyperlinks. A website has a unique domain name, and we can access it by entering that domain name
in the URL.
o Search Engine: A search engine is an internet service that helps users find any information available
on the internet. Some examples of search engines are Google, Yahoo, Bing, It is usually accessed
with the help of Web browser.
o Web Browser: A web browser or simply browser is application software used to access the internet.
Some examples of Web browsers are Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari, etc. It
does two things:
o It connects to a web server on the internet and requests a page that the user wants to view;
once it finds that page, it displays it on its device.
o It can interpret the set of HTML tags within a page to display the page in the correct format.
o Webserver: A web server can be understood as a computer that hosts or provide a website on the
internet. It contains webserver software and component files of a website such as HTML document,
images, CSS stylesheet, and JS files.
o HTML: HTML is an abbreviation of Hyper-Text Markup Language. A markup language is a
computer language that specifies how a page should be formatted. With the help of HTML, one can
specify fonts, colors, images, headings, and everything that he wants to display on a page displayed
by the browser.

3
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
COOKIE
An HTTP cookie (also called web cookie, Internet cookie, browser cookie, or simply cookie) is a
small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user's computer by the user's web browser while
the user is browsing. Cookies were designed to be a reliable mechanism for websites to
remember stateful information (such as items added in the shopping cart in an online store) or to record the
user's browsing activity (including clicking particular buttons, logging in, or recording which pages were
visited in the past). They can also be used to remember arbitrary pieces of information that the user
previously entered into form fields such as names, addresses, passwords, and credit card numbers.

SEARCH ENGINE

A web search engine or Internet search engine is a software system that is designed to carry out web
search (Internet search), which means to search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular
information specified in a web search query. The search results are generally presented in a line of results,
often referred to as search engine results pages (SERPs). The information may be a mix of web pages,
images, videos, info graphics, articles, research papers and other types of files. Some search engines
also mine data available in databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained only
by human editors, search engines also maintain real-time information by running an algorithm on a web
crawler. Internet content that is not capable of being searched by a web search engine is generally described
as the deep web.

Unit II
INTERNET

Internet is a system that interconnects the different computer systems across the world. It uses the
Internet protocol suite to link devices located in different corners of the world.
The Internet system carries an extensive range of information resources and services including World
Wide Web (WWW), telephony, electronic mail, etc. It uses standard internet protocols, such as TCP/IP and
HTTP, etc.
Features of Internet
Major features of the Internet are listed below:

Easy to Use
The software that is used to access the Internet or web browser is designed in such a way that is very
simple and can be easily learned and used. Also, it is easy to develop.

Flexibility
Flexibility in terms of transfer of data. Basically, the internet network carries information in digital
form in a majority of cases instead of voice information in analog form.

4
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS

Accessibility
Internet service is a worldwide service and access to all. People located in remote or anywhere
interior can also use the Internet. Therefore, information through the internet flows across the networks in a
standardised manner.

Interaction with Media and Flexibility of Communication

Businesses are expanding with the help of the Internet. There is a high degree of interaction with the
media due to internet service. Like, News, magazines, publishing houses, etc. have extended their business
with the help of Internet service. Also, communication is flexible due to internet service. With the help of
text voice, video people can communicate easily.

Low Cost and Security

The maintenance and development costs of Internet service are comparatively low. Also, Internet
service helped the security system both at an individual and national levels. For example CCTV cameras, etc.

Advantages of the Internet

 Online Banking and Transaction:
 Education, online jobs, freelancing:
 Entertainment:
 New Job roles
 Best Communication Medium
 GPS Tracking and google maps

Disadvantages of the Internet

 Time wastage:
 Bad impacts on health
 Cyber Crimes:
 Effects on children:
 Bullying and spreading negativity

Internet Applications
Internet applications are server-based applications. Following are a few Internet Applications −

 World Wide Web (WWW)

 Electronic mail (e-mail)
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
 Telnet (i.e., log-in to the computer located remotely)
 Internet Relay Chat (IRC) (Real time video chatting)

5
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
PROTOCOL

Protocol Definition: It is a digital language through which we communicate with others on

the Internet. protocol meaning is that it a set of mutually accepted and implemented rules at both ends
of the communications channel for the proper exchange of information. By adopting these rules, two
devices can communicate with each other and can interchange information. We can’t even think of
using the Internet without Protocols. Each protocol is defined in different terms and different use with
unique name. Message travel from sender to receiver via a medium (The medium is the physical path
over which a message travels) using a protocol.

TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)

•ARP(Address Resolution Protocol)
•DHCP(Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
•DNS(Domain Name System)
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

TCP

Transmission control protocol is used for communication over a network. In TCP data is broken
down into small packets and then sent to the destination. However, IP is making sure packets are
transmitted to the right address.
Internet Protocol (IP)

IP is also working with TCP. It is an addressing Protocol. IP addresses packets route them and show
different nodes and network Unless it reaches its right destination. The IP protocol is developed in
1970.
FTP

File transfer protocol is basically used for transferring files to different networks. There may be a
mass of files such as text files, multimedia files, etc. This way of file transfer is quicker than other
methods.
SMTP

Simple mail transfer protocol manages the transmission and outgoing mail over the internet.
HTTP

HTTP is based on client and server model. HTTP is used for making a connection between the web
client and web server. HTTP shows information in web pages.
Ethernet

Ethernet is a most important for LAN communication. Ethernet transmits the data in digital packets.
If any computer wants to use this protocol they should contain Ethernet Network Interface Card
(NIC). The card is implemented with unique address code fixed in the microchip.

6
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Telnet

Telnet is an established with some rules which are used to connect to another computer. Telnet is
mainly used for the remote login process. The computer which is requesting for a connection that is a
local computer and which is accepting the connection that is a remote computer. If you give a
command in a local computer that command is executed in the remote computer. Telnet is also based
on client and server model.
Gopher

Gopher is an application layer protocol, which is used for searching and retrieving documents from
remote sites. This is possible to start an online connection with other computers through gopher.
HUB
Hub in computer network is used for connecting multiple computers or segments of a LAN.
Normally, it is used for Peer to Peer small Home Network. LAN Hub receive data packets (frames)
through one port and broadcasts them through all other ports, so that all other computers or other
network devices can see all packets.

IP Address

P (Internet Protocol) addresses are used to identify hardware devices on a network. The addresses
allow these devices to connect to one another and transfer data on a local network or over the internet.

Each address is a string of numbers separated by periods. There are four numbers in total and each
number can range between 0 and 255. An example of an IP address would be: 506.457.14.512

We need billions of IP addresses to identify every computer, router and website on the internet. One
day we’ll run out of unique addresses and a new IPv6 protocol has been designed to meet this need.

IP address format

• The 32-bit IP address is grouped eight bits at a time, separated by dots and represented in decimal format.
This is known as dotted decimal notation as shown in fig.
• Each bit in the octet has a binary weight (128,64,32, 16,8,4,2, 1).
• The minimum value for an octet is 0, and the maximum value for an octet is 255

IP Addresses and Domain Names

Humans are more comfortable with names than numbers. It’s easier to remember a domain name like
wpbeginner.com than a long list of numbers like 192.124.249.166.

The internet’s Domain Name System (DNS) is like a phone book. When you type a domain name like
wpbeginner.com, it automatically looks up the number, the IP address, and connects you to the website.

7
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Static IP Address

A static address is also known as a fixed address which means the system with static address have the
same address when it is connected over the internet too. These addresses are excellent in terms for those
who perform activities related to web hosting, games, voice over internet protocol, etc., These addresses are
generally used by persons using commercial lease lines or the public organizations who need same IP
address every time.

ADVANTAGES:

•Address never change.

•Easy to maintain.
•Ideal for online gaming.
•Speedy and reliable.
•Less down-time.
• Remote access facility.

DISADVANTAGES:

• Static IP address needs to be configured manually.

• Expensive.
• Add to administrative overhead.
• More often there are IP address conflicts.
• Security threats.
Dynamic IP Address

The dynamic internet protocol address or in short dynamic IP address is a temporary address
assigned to our computing device when it connected to the network, the dynamic address automatically
assigned by our IPS. Every time our computer or router reboot the IPS assigns a Dynamic IP address to our
networking device using DHCP protocol. We can check whether we are using a Dynamic IP address or
Static IP address by just checking, what the status of DHCP is. If DHCP enables set to YES, that means we
are using a Dynamic Address, and if the DHCP enable set to NO, then that means we are using a Static
Address. The dynamic address is assigned using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) that the part
of the TCP/IP Suite. The address assigned by the DHCP has an expiration period after which the address
can be given to some other device if required, thus helping devices to share limited address space on the
network.
ADVANTAGES:

•Flexible.
•Cost effective.
•Easier to setup and administer.

8
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
• Any no. of devices can be connected within internal network with internet access to all devices.
• More privacy with changing IP address.

DISADVANTAGE:

•Requires Dynamic Host configuration Protocol (DHCP) to obtain IP address.

• No remote access facility.
Type of IP Addresses

There are two types of IP addresses:

Public IP Address

The public IP address is the unique address given to all computers attached to the network. No two
machines on the network can have the same IP address. Using these addresses machines can
exchange information between each other and can communicate with one another over the network. The
user has no control over the Public IP address as it is provided to him by the ISP whenever the machine
connected to the internet. A public address can be of any nature, i.e., static or dynamic. It depends upon the
need and requirements of the user. Mostly the users have the dynamic type of Public IP address.
Private IP Address

The organizations (IANA) that distribute the IP addresses for use have kept a range of addresses as
private addresses for the private network. Private addresses are the addresses that are used by private
networks like home or office networks. Here the logic is that these addresses are used within single
administration and not on the global network or the internet. The range of addresses set aside for private
networks is as follows:
• 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255 (total 65,536 IP addresses)
• 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255 (total 1,048,576 IP addresses)
• 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255 (total 16,777,216 IP addresses)

What are Domains?

Domains divide World Wide Web sites into categories based on the nature of their owner, and they
form part of a site's address, or uniform resource locator (URL).
Common top-level domains are:
.com―commercial enterprises
.mil―military site .org―organization site (non-profits, etc.)
.int―organizations established by international treaty
.net―network .biz―commercial and personal
.edu―educational site (universities, schools, etc.)
.info―commercial and personal .gov―government organizations .name―personal sites

9
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Internet Technologies
Internet refers to network of networks. In this network each computer is recognized by a globally
unique address known as IP address. A special computer DNS (Domain Name Server) is used to give name
to the IP Address so that user can locate a computer by a name. For example, a DNS server will resolve a
name http://www.tutorialspoint.com to a particular IP address to uniquely identify the computer on which
this website is hosted.

Evolution
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. 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.
Advantages

 Internet allows us to communicate with the people sitting at remote locations. There are various apps
available on the wed that uses Internet as a medium for communication. One can find various social
networking sites such as:
o Facebook , Twitter, Yahoo, Google+

 Apart from communication and source of information, internet also serves a medium for
entertainment. Following are the various modes for entertainment over internet.
o Online Television, Online Games, Songs, Videos and Social Networking Apps

 Internet allows us to use many services like:

o Internet Banking, Matrimonial Services, Online Shopping, Online Ticket Booking, Online
Bill Payment, Data Sharing, E-mail
 Internet provides concept of electronic commerce, that allows the business deals to be conducted on
electronic systems

10
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Disadvantages

 There are always chances to loose personal information such as name, address, credit card number.
Therefore, one should be very careful while sharing such information.
 Another disadvantage is the Spamming. Spamming corresponds to the unwanted e-mails in bulk.
These e-mails serve no purpose and lead to obstruction of entire system.
 Virus can easily be spread to the computers connected to internet. Such virus attacks may cause your
system to crash or your important data may get deleted.
 Also a biggest threat on internet is pornography. There are many pornographic sites that can be
found, letting your children to use internet which indirectly affects the children healthy mental life.

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 and Authentication

Data Encryption
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 and Public Key encryption

11
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
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.

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.

12
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Applications
There are several reasons to implement digital signatures to communications:
 Authentication
o 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
o Once the message is signed, any change in the message would invalidate the signature.
 Non-repudiation
o By this property, any entity that has signed some information cannot at a later time deny
having signed it.

Firewall Security
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.
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.

Unit III
INFOTAINMENT

Infotainment is used to refer to radio or television programmes that are intended both to entertain
people and to give information. The word is formed from 'information' and ' entertainment'.

 Information-based media content that also includes entertainment content in an effort to

enhance popularity with audiences and consumers.
 television programs that present information (such as news) in a manner intended to be
entertaining
 Infotainment- Info tainment- Information Entertainment
 Infotainment Content Delivered Entertaining Attract Consumer's Interest Informative
 Origin of Infotainment This term was 1st used in September 1980 by British information
scientist who put comedy shows on their professional conference.

13
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Evolution of Infotainment How Technology changes the Infotainment Style.
• Newspaper.
• Radio.
• Television.
• Computer.
• Smart Phone.
• In Vehicle Infotainment.

Why Infotainment ?
• To Inform.
• To Educate.
• To Entertain.
• To persuade customer.
• To launch a new product in the market.
• To present the News in an entertaining way.

Journalism vs Infotainment Earlier journalism was concerned with reporting of serious subjects.
Infotainment supports activities as Marketing Advertisement, Sports news, Sales & finance and
Delivery.

The Characteristics Of Infotainment

• The typical style of Infotainment television contains computer-animated logos, eye-catching visuals
and rhetorical headlines. • The phenomenon of infotainment denotes a type of television news where
style triumphs over substance, the mode of presentation becoming more important than the content.

• Infotainment provides stories for its consumers. It tries to search for the thrilling, special and
surprising essence of an event and makes an entertaining, exciting story out of it. • The strongest and
most defining characteristics of Infotainment itself are personalization and emotionalism.

Examples of Infotainment :
 Infotainment on Television. Radio & More TV Shows and Advertisement
 Infotainment on Internet: youtube
 Infotainment on Newspaper: Sudoku etc

Advantage Of Infotainment
Infotainment focuses attention on major issues in a format people will watch.
• Society benefits from more citizen involvement and interest in these issues. Infotainment can
provide a voice to those whom more "serious" journalists sneer at.
• It allows more sides of a story to be heard – a more multi-faceted “truth.”
It also can attract public interest about important subjects, which responsible journalists can then
investigate. Infotainment connects us with one another.
• Such shows are the colonial taverns or Main Street barbershops of our time, a focal point for
discourse.

14
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Disadvantages Of Infotainment
When news is mixed with entertainment, the audience becomes confused.
• We have increasing difficulty separating fact from fiction. As a result, we are misinformed
Infotainment tends to generate or reinforce powerful stereotypes.
• Issues tend to be oversimplified into "us against them." Because media time and space are limited,
we also are uninformed.
• Infotainment takes up "room" that could have gone to other important topics.

Unit IV
What Are Demographics?
Demographic analysis is the study of a population-based on factors such as age, race, and sex.
Demographic data refers to socioeconomic information expressed statistically, including employment,
education, income, marriage rates, birth and death rates, and more.

Governments, corporations, and non-government organizations use demographics to learn more

about a population's characteristics for many purposes, including policy development and economic market
research. For example, a company that sells high-end RVs may want to reach people nearing or at
retirement age and the percentage of those who can afford their products.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 Demographic analysis is the collection and analysis of broad characteristics about groups of people
and populations.
 Demographic data is very useful for businesses to understand how to market to consumers and plan
strategically for future trends in consumer demand.
 The combination of the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence is greatly amplifying the
usefulness and application of demographics as a tool for marketing and business strategy.
 Market segments are often grouped by age or generation.
 Demographic information can be used in many ways to learn more about the generalities of a
particular population.

Understanding Demographics
Demographic analysis is the collection and study of data regarding the general characteristics of
specific populations. It is frequently used as a business marketing tool to determine the best way to reach
customers and assess their behavior. Segmenting a population by using demographics allows companies to
determine the size of a potential market.

The use of demographics helps determine whether its products and services are being targeted to that
company's most influential consumers. The advent of the internet, social media, predictive algorithms, and
big data has dramatic implications for collecting and using demographic information

Types of Demographic Information

For corporate marketing goals, demographic data is collected to build a customer base profile. The
common variables gathered in demographic research include age, sex, income level, race, employment,
location, homeownership, and level of education. Demographical information makes certain generalizations
about groups to identify customers.

15
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Additional demographic factors include gathering data on preferences, hobbies, lifestyle, and more.
Governmental agencies collect data when conducting a national census and may use that demographic data
to forecast economic patterns and population growth to better manage resources.

Why Do Demographics Matter?

Demographics refers to the description or distribution of characteristics of some target audience,
customer base, or population. Governments use socioeconomic information to understand the age, racial
makeup, and income distribution (among several other variables) in neighborhoods, cities, states, and
nations in order to make better public policy decisions. Companies look to demographics to craft more
effective marketing and advertising campaigns and to understand patterns among different audiences.

Who Collects Demographic Data?

The U.S. Census Bureau collects demographic data on the American population every year through
the American Community Survey (ACS) and every 10-years via an in-depth count of every American
household.1 Companies use marketing departments or outsource to specialized marketing firms to collect
demographics on users, customers, or prospective client groups. Academic researchers also collect
demographic data for research purposes using various survey instruments. Political parties and campaigns
also collect demographics in order to target messaging for political candidates.

Why Do Businesses Need Demographics?

Demographics are key to businesses today. They help identify the individual members of an
audience by selecting key characteristics, wants, and needs. This allows companies to tailor their efforts
based on particular segments of their customer base. Online advertising and marketing have made enormous
headway over the past decade in using algorithms and big data analysis to micro-target ads on social media
to very specific demographics.

What are psychographics?

Psychographics are the attitudes, interests, personality, values, opinions, and lifestyle of your
target market. Psychographics are incredibly valuable for marketing, but they also have use cases in opinion
research, prediction, and broader social research.
Psychographics deal primarily with what are known as IAO variables—interests, activities, and
opinions. They attempt to identify the beliefs and emotions of an audience, not just their age and gender.

16
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Why psychographics are important
Psychographics tell you why people buy. They help you build robust user personas. They help you
craft the right message and put it in the right place. They’re less objective and clean, but—for a marketer—
they’re super useful.

3 types of psychographics
The main types of psychographics are interests, activities, and opinions. You can split that into
subcategories as well. (Attitudes are slightly different than opinions; lifestyle and behavior are slightly
different than activities).

1. Interests
Interests are inclinations and affinities.
You can find some basic interests and affinities in your Google Analytics data. I’ll be honest, I really
haven’t done much with Google Analytics’ reported interest data (at least in terms of conversion
optimization), though there are ways to use this data.
For instance, you can see conversion rates and ecommerce data based on affinity category:

2. Activities
Activities are what people do—things like skiing, reading, fishing, weightlifting.
Sometimes this data is irrelevant. For instance, if you sell a SaaS product, you can’t immediately do anything
with the fact that some of your customers like to fish.
But if you ask the right questions—good, open-ended questions that let you know your customer better—you
can learn how customers spend their day, what they care about, where they hang out, and what they align
with. A simple question like, “Other than work and sleep, how do you spend your time?” can elicit great
responses.
You can use trends in activity psychographics to better target your customer via ads, write better content that
uses metaphors and references from their activities, or cater events and even selling to their preferences.

3. Opinions
Everyone has opinions. When people have similar opinions, they tend to form tribes (which is
when Cialdini’s Unity principle comes into play).
Have you noticed an increase in brands displaying their opinions and values? When Super Bowl commercials
have been controversial, and it was usually because they ventured to share an opinion of the world.
Opinions and attitudes are an untapped opportunity for brands. Instead of repeated exposure via display ads,
introducing values to your brand can help people know where to stand in relation to your company.

17
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Psychographic Segmentation?

Psychographic segmentation is the act of identifying and classifying groups of people

based on these shared data points, so that you can customize your brand’s tone and message to
better connect with the people you’re trying to reach.

Psychographic segmentation is how marketers learn to position their products so that compatible
customers can “discover” them. It’s how brands find the right customer match based on customer attitudes
and lifestyles.
For marketers, psychographic segmentation means selecting the most likely buyers based on their
interests, activities and lifestyle choices. Psychographic segmentation is increasingly important today as
consumers group themselves into smaller and smaller “interest tribes” such as Iron Man athletes, Game of
Thrones fans, BBQ smoker cooks, Fortnite players or social justice warriors. It is also easier now to use
psychographic segmentation as a tool because people signal their interests via social media.

The right way to start your psychographic segmentation is to conduct research about the interests and
hobbies of your customers. This is a fairly easy step because the methodology is straightforward and, for the
most part, people are willing to talk about their interests.

The difference between psychographics and demographics

In contrast to psychographic data that covers opinions and interests, demographic data relates to the
structure of a population—factors like age, race, sex, and income. Demographics are, of course, used in a
broad variety of areas, including education, government, business, etc., for things like policy development
and economic research.
Even at a micro level, it’s nice to know your audience’s demographics and which demographics make
the best customers for your business—especially when you’re ramping up ad spend.
Neither data types should stand alone. You can analyze psychographic data in relation to
demographic, geographic, or behavioral data, in addition to firmographic data, which is especially important
for account-based marketing.

18
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Psychographics vs. Demographics

 Demographic information tends to focus on external or physical factors such as age,

ethnicity, gender, location, etc., while psychographic information focuses on
psychological factors such as motivations, beliefs, priorities, etc.
 The most unique strength that psychographic segmentation offers is its inherent
acknowledgement that people are different, and that they are often motivated by vastly
different values, personalities, lifestyles, and/or attitudes. Demographic segmentation, on
the other hand, tends to focus on somewhat generic data points ( e.g., age, location,
occupation, etc.) that can be misleading in terms of perceived commonality among people
groups.
 Demographic information has traditionally been easier to obtain versus psychographic
information due to the widespread availability of publ ic data such as U.S. Census Bureau
statistics, CDC reports, etc. c2b solutions has sought to level the playing field in this
regard by conducting extensive market research in order to develop a robust
psychographic segmentation model and collaborating with a national data compiler
company to project the segments across the U.S. adult population (age 18+).
 When comparing the demographic and psychographic profiles of a target audience, what
often surfaces is the realization that an audience's interests and pr eferences can cut across
demographic classifications. For example, you might have an audience that shares the
same interest in remote-controlled vehicles, but their age ranges and income levels might
be dramatically diverse.
 While using psychographics is admittedly less straightforward than using demographics,
the insights extracted from psychographic information can be used to construct far more
detailed customer profiles. This can pay great dividends in terms of being able to craft a
brand message that resonates with the interests and affinities of a given audience.

Lifestyle Marketing

In consumer marketing, lifestyle is considered a psychological variable known to influence the buyer
decision process for consumers. Lifestyle can be broadly defined as the way a person lives. In sociology, a
lifestyle typically reflects an individual’s attitudes, values, or world view. A lifestyle is a means of forging a
sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity.

Marketing campaigns to reach and persuade consumers are created with the intention to align the
product’s position with the target market’s lifestyle characteristics. Variables such as consumers’ interest in
hunting; their attitude toward climate change; and, their deeply held opinion on fair-trade products, can
therefore be used to both better understand the market and its behaviour, and position products effectively.

Lifestyle is used to segment the marketplace because it provides the broad, everyday view of consumers
lifestyle segmentation and can generate identifiable whole persons rather than isolated fragments” (Plummer,
1974).

19
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
Unit V
What is Cybercrime?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines cybercrime as “criminal activity committed using a computer,
especially to illegally access, transmit or manipulate data.” But that definition may not cover the full scope of
what cybercrime is today. At its root, cybercrime is any illegal activity using a computer, either as the
attacker’s weapon or target. That covers a wide variety of types of crime, from phishing emails and identity
theft that affect individuals, to ransomware and denial of service (DoS) attacks targeting businesses and
organizations. There are also multiple categories of cybercrime offenders, from the hacker-in-a-hoodie
stereotype to organized crime syndicates, cyberterrorists and nation-states.
REASONS BEHIND THE CYBER CRIME
There are many reasons why cyber-criminals are doing cyber-crime; chief among them are
mentioned below:
 For the sake of recognition.
 For the sake of quick money.
 To fight a cause one thinks he believes in.
 Low marginal cost of online activity due to global reach.
 Catching by law and enforcement agency is less effective and more expensive.
 New opportunity to do legal acts using technical architecture.
 Official investigation and criminal prosecution is rare.
 No concrete regulatory measure.
 Lack of reporting and standards
 Difficulty in identification
 Limited media coverage.
 Corporate cyber crimes are done collectively and not by individual persons

CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER CRIME

There are many types of cyber crime prevailing in the system; broadly we can classify them in to
four major categories as discussed below:
1. CRIME AGAINST INDIVIDUALS
Cybercrimes committed against individual persons include such types of crimes like transmission of
Child Pornography, Harassment of any one with the use of a computer such as e-mail, Cyber
Defamation, Hacking, Indecent exposure, E-mail spoofing, IRC Crime (Internet Relay Chat), Net
Extortion, Malicious code, Trafficking, Distribution, Posting, Phishing, Credit Card Fraud and
Dissemination of obscene material including Software Piracy. The potential harm of such a crime to
individual person can hardly be bigger.

20
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
2. CRIME AGAINST PROPERTY
Another classification of Cyber-crimes is that, Cybercrimes against all forms of property. These
crimes include computer vandalism (obliteration of others' property), Intellectual Property Crimes,
Threatening, Salami Attacks. This kind of crime is normally prevalent in the financial institutions or
for the purpose of committing financial crimes. An important feature of this type of offence is that the
amendment is so small that it would normally go unobserved.
3 CRIME AGAINST ORGANIZATION
The third type of Cyber-crimes classification relate to Cybercrimes against organization. Cyber
Terrorism is one discrete kind of crime in this kind. The growth of internet has shown that the standard of
Cyberspace is being used by individuals and groups to pressure the international governments as also to
terrorize the citizens of a country. This crime obvious itself into terrorism when a human being "cracks"
into a government or military maintained website. It is across the world agreed that any and every system
in the world can be cracked.
4 CRIME AGAINST SOCIETY
The forth type of Cyber-crimes relate to Cybercrimes against society. In this category forgery, cyber
terrorism, web jacking, polluting the Youth through Indecent, Financial Crimes, Sale of Illegal Articles,
Net Extortion, Cyber Contraband, Data Diddling, Salami Attacks, Logic Bombs types of crime is included.
Forgery currency notes, revenue stamps, mark sheets etc can be forged using computers and high quality
scanners and printers. Web Jacking hackers gain access and control over the website of another, even they
change the content of website for fulfilling political objective or for money.
Categories of Cybercrime
The list of cybercrimes is long and varied, but cybercrime falls into three main categories:

 Individual: This category includes a variety of cybercrimes carried out against a single person, including
cyberstalking, identity theft and child pornography.
 Property: As more business activity continues to move online, stealing data and intellectual property is one
of the most profitable and common types of cybercrime. This can include phishing attacks that scam credit
card numbers and personal information, sophisticated spear phishing that uses impersonation to request
funds, or ransomware attacks that seek to steal an organization’s files and extort a payment in exchange for
returning them.
 Government: This category of cybercrime often involves state-sponsored attackers and cyberterrorists in
targeting another country’s secrets and critical infrastructure. Attacks include disseminating misinformation
and propaganda, as well as outright digital sabotage affecting critical infrastructure systems.

Types of Cybercrime
The types of cybercrime continue to grow and evolve as new channels of digital communication
develop. Here are broad varieties:

 Phishing:

Perhaps the “original” email scam, phishing is when fraudsters spam users online with emails
promising prizes or threatening an account suspension, for example, then asking them to click on a link or go

21
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
to a site to sort things out. Instead of winning a gift or reactivating that frozen credit card, users instead get
their identities stolen or their computers infected with viruses. Phishing remains the most popular form of
cyberattack, and it has endured despite all efforts to fight it off. In recent years, phishing has evolved in new
directions, such as targeted spear phishing, smishing (via text message) or vishing (using voicemail).

 Identity theft:

Just as it sounds, identity theft involves stealing personal information to use for fraudulent purposes.
Cybercriminals can attack individuals through phishing scams or break into corporate systems and steal
databases of sensitive information such as credit card or Social Security numbers. Entire catalogs of
information are up for sale on the Dark Web, where fraudsters acquire them for their various exploits.

 Ransomware:

Cybercriminals have developed the highly profitable tactic of breaking into databases, extracting and
deleting files, or encrypting them so the organization they belong to can’t get access. The attackers then
extort payments — usually in cryptocurrency — in exchange for returning or unlocking compromised data.
This practice has grown into a veritable ransomware crime wave in 2021. Recently, some groups
have upped the ante by threatening to publish sensitive or proprietary information to force victims to pay
up.

 Denial of service (DoS):

In the traditional DoS version, attackers flood a service or computer network with requests. This
overwhelms the website’s servers, causing them to crash and taking the site offline. Another version of this
type of cybercrime, distributed denial of service (DDoS), uses multiple attackers in different geographical
locations to swamp the network from different IP addresses and make it harder to fight off the attack.

 Malware attacks:

Ransomware is one type of malware attack, but malicious software comes in many varieties, all
designed to infiltrate a computer system and perform an unscrupulous activity on behalf of a
cybercriminal. Spyware, just as its name implies, records activity without the user’s knowledge, while
keyloggers record each keystroke users make on their keyboard. Rootkits can give a hacker control of a
user’s device, such as a webcam. Malware sneaks into systems in many ways: Trojans come disguised as
harmless software, until they are downloaded into the system, while worms exploit security vulnerabilities in
existing software to crawl into the system without the need for a user to download.

 Cyberstalking:

This is the digital evolution of the “analog” crime. In this case, a stalker tracks the victim online,
gleans information from online sources and communicates via digital channels, harassing and threatening the
victim. Some cyberstalkers use spyware and gain access to webcams and digital speakers in order to stalk
their victims. Some cyberstalking escalates to “sextortion,” a form of blackmail where the criminal uses
22
 NME – UNDERSTANDING INTERNET
I BSc CS
photos or videos of the victim to extort money or sex. The FBI has recently become more concerned about
this particular crime after seeing a spike among young people.[2]

 Webjacking and brand exploitation:

In webjacking, criminals don’t steal something from a website, they take the whole site, or the traffic meant
for it. This is usually done by gaining administrator access through fraudulent means and tampering with the
Domain Name System (DNS) to bring users to a criminal site. Webjacking is different from URL phishing,
where the fraudsters create a lookalike website similar to a legitimate one and direct victims there through
phishing emails. But the result is the same: The website collects passwords, credit card numbers and other
sensitive information.

HOW TO AVOID CYBER CRIMES

 Know How To Recognize Phishing. Your bank won't send you an email telling you that your account has
been compromised and asking you to provide sensitive account and personal information like password,
PIN etc. it already has. These are obviously phishing attempts.
 Recognize that your Smart-phone is really a pocketsize computer and is prone to the same types of
attacks directed at your laptop and desktop. Take steps to protect it, such as keeping your operating system
current and creating a strong password.
 Keep your personal information to yourself. For instance, don't put your entire birth date, including the
year, on Facebook. Think about the security questions normally posed by your bank and other secure
locations: "first school you attended," "name of favorite pet" and the like.
 Know the pitfalls of public Wi-Fi. CreditCards.com says, "Avoid public wireless Internet connections
unless you have beefed-up security protection."
 Beware of public computers, too. For instance, Kiplinger says, "Don't access your accounts or personal
information on public hotel computers, which could have software that logs keystrokes and records your
passwords and account numbers.”  Use credit cards, rather than debit cards, when making purchases
online. In case of fraud, you'll get much better protection from liability with a credit card.
 Purchase only from reputable websites (and look for "https" in the Web address). "It is really easy to
create a fake online store or to create a store that sells stuff, but its real purpose is to collect credit card
information," former identity thief Dan DeFelippi told CreditCards.com.
 Check your accounts and your credit reports regularly. Some experts recommend that you check bank
account and credit card activity every day. You can pull a free credit report every four months from
AnnualCreditReport.com to verify that fraudulent accounts have not been created in your name.
 Avoid suspicious E-mails. Don't click on links in suspicious emails, even those that appear to be from
friends. Emailed viruses and malware are the most prevalent cyber threat of identity theft. Just think of
how many emails you've gotten in the last year that appeared to be from friends whose email accounts
were hijacked.
-------------------

23