Corey Bailey

Audio Engineering

ARTICLES

The Internet This is a very basic description. If you want to know more, this article is full of search terms that you can use for your own research. The part of the name; “net” stands for network. A network is two or more computers that are linked via wires or wireless technology and they are capable of sending data to each other. So, the internet consists of a network, of many networks, that are all connected by an array of networking technologies. This includes academic, business, government, private and public networks from local to worldwide. At first, the internet was only available to the government and universities, but then it went public in the first half of the 1990’s and has grown exponentially ever since. The internet carries a vast range of information, resources and services. Today, it rivals brick and mortar establishments for trade. You can see a graphical representation of the internet here: https://www.opte.org/the- internet/ Although the internet provides many valuable services, it can also be the equivalent of the Wild West because some of the information is misleading. I often refer to the internet as the “outernet” because of the advent of home networks. The Internet of Things (IoT), usually refers to a physical object capable of connecting to the internet or a network. A smart house, a smart phone or a personal computer are some examples. Some History The Internet was established in the US in the early1960’s, by several people and organizations. In 1962, during the cold war, a scientist from M.I.T., named J.C.R. Licklider and the government office of ARPA proposed a solution; a “galactic network” of computers that could talk to one another. Such a network would enable government leaders to communicate even if another government or enemy group destroyed the telephone system. Although we may not be aware of it, we communicate online through data packets. Information is transported from your computer, across the internet to it’s destination, in data packets. They are usually sent at regular intervals and take a set amount of time and each packet can take its own route from place to place. In 1965, another M.I.T. scientist developed a way of sending information from one computer to another that he called “packet switching.” Packet switching breaks data down into blocks (packets) before sending it to its destination. Without packet switching, the government’s computers would have been just as vulnerable to attacks as the cell phone system. The Internet was first called the “ARPANET.” Robert W. Taylor led the development of the ARPANET which, was an acronym that stood for “Advanced Research Projects Agency Network” after the US Government agency (ARPA) where an individual proposed linking computers together. The name ARPANET was abandoned about 1990. In 1969, the ARPANET delivered its first message; a communication from one computer to another. One computer was located in a research lab at UCLA located in Los Angeles, CA and one was at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Each computer filled a large room. Although the word ’LOGIN’ was short and simple, it crashed the ARPANET. So, Stanford University’s computer only received first two letters of the message. By the end of 1969, four computers were networked. The fledgling internet grew steadily through the 1970’s as more computers were added. By the end of the 1970’s, two computer scientists named Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn began developing a way for all of the computers on the internet to communicate. They called their invention Transmission Control Protocol, (TCP). Later, they added a protocol, known as Internet Protocol. The acronym that we use to refer to this is ‘TCP/IP.’ Currently, there are two types of IP addresses that are in use for the internet; IVP4 and IVP6. An IVP4, IP address consists of several numbers separated by periods or dots such as; 76.50.181.100. An IVP6 address usually consists of a shorter number such as; 192.0.1.2/24. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides an IP address every time that you connect to the internet. That IP address will be either Dynamic or Static. A Dynamic IP address will change every time you log on and a Static IP address will be the same every time you log on. Most ISP’s charge extra for a Static IP. Hackers, Social Media, ISP’s and many others learned early on that an IP address carries a wealth of information about you and that information can be valuable. While the Internet has grown exponentially, the issuance of domain names and it’s maintenance has been controlled by several company’s. Today, the internet is maintained by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). VPN VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. The public internet has brought into existence new forms of exploitation, such as Spam E-mail, Trojan horses and various types of Malware. With the public internet, new terms such as Cyberbullying, Doxxing, Flame Wars and Ransomware have been created. Many companies collect extensive information from users which, some see as a violation of privacy. Hence, the popularity of a VPN service. A VPN service will route your IP address through a server that is typically out of the country and change it in the process. Some services can sell you a modified wireless router so that your entire connection is through their service, starting with your connecting device which, will keep your ISP out of your business. What a VPN Cannot Do VPN’s cannot make online connections completely anonymous, but they can increase privacy and security. A VPN does not make your Internet connection private. You can still be tracked through tracking cookies and device fingerprinting, even if your IP address is hidden. A VPN does not make you immune to hackers. You will still need to be diligent by not allowing tracking cookies and the like through your browser settings. I personally have my browsers set to maximum security. My browsers are set so tight that they won’t let me go to a website that is suspicious. Those sites that won’t let me browse because of my security policies, simply loose my business. Many browsers have a VPN built in that can be turned on or off. The use of a VPN in your browser can make the surfing of some sites difficult or impossible. So, be ready to switch off the VPN option in your browser if necessary. VoIP VoIP enables you to connect your phone service over IP networks as opposed to over a land line. This may be not as secure as a land line but it is more cost-effective than having both. VoIP uses the internet for calling, this means you can make calls directly from a phone, computer, or app. VoIP also offers additional features like voicemail to email, which sends a recording of a voicemail directly to your email so that you can access it on your computer or phone. Another feature is simultaneous ring. This is where calls show up on your desk phone and on your mobile device, in case you’re out of the office and expecting an important call. You can also easily route calls from the destination phone to any mobile phone in the system. The downside of a VoIP service is that when you lose power, your phone service is also dead. Web Pages On August 6, 1991, British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee published the first-ever website while working at CERN. Tim Berners-Lee developed HTML, HTTP and URL’s. So, with the creation of a single web page, the World Wide Web was born. Today, the number of websites is somewhere north of 1.8 Billion. Web Page Hosting There are two main types of internet hosting for your website. Typically, the cheapest form of internet hosting is called Shared Hosting. This is where everyone shares space and other resources on the same server or servers. Several hosting companies are usually involved with the server(s) to share the cost and often they are owned by the same company or group of investors. I often refer to shared hosting as “Server Malls.” Not only are you reading this article via shared hosting, you are using the internet to read it. Another form of hosting is called Dedicated Hosting. Dedicated hosting is where one person or company rents the space. Dedicated hosting is generally more expensive because it can be tailored to fit the bandwidth needs of the person or company. Return to TOP of page © Corey Bailey Audio Engineering

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