How does the internet work?
The internet was first conceived by the ARPA, a defence agency in the United States which funded research that connected computers together in the United States to build a network that would still function if one area of a building was destroyed. A few years later an English computer scientist called Tim Berners-Lee was working for CERN in Geneva, Switzerland where he was hired to fix the incompatibility of the varied systems which sparked the invention of the World Wide Web.
For anyone that has watched IT Crowd, there isn’t a button that controls the internet.
Differences between the Internet and the Web
There is a big difference between the internet and the web. The internet consists of many machines and servers connected together exchanging information. The web is an interface in which you can browse to view the data that is being shared between servers and computers.
How is the internet connected?
In modern-day, the internet has a far reach from the United States across Europe and into East Asia. So how does the information travel from one end of the world to the other end in a matter of seconds? There are cables that link countries together either underground or in the depths of the sea which carries information from one country to another. The internet is made up of interconnected computers; if you were simply to cut one cable this will not bring the internet down for that country. The internet is designed in a way that computers and servers are so interconnected that if one part of the world had their internet shut down, the whole internet will continue to function as normal.
In order for computers to know where to send the data, every device connected to the internet as a unique IP address which is like postcode for your computer. So when connecting to a website, their servers will have an IP address which your computer will be directed towards to access the website’s content. Same going the other way, if the company wants to send you an email newsletter of upcoming offers the mail will go to you via your IP address. Every IP address is unique to that device.
https://www.submarinecablemap.com/#/
Who owns the internet?
No one owns the internet, however, governments and agencies can control what their users/citizens can access. The perfect examples are China and North Korea, who respectively block any media that promote subjects that their governments believe to be against the beliefs of the government.
In 2016 the United States handed over the ownership of the database that holds the domain names to a non-profit organisation called ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). They managed the DNS system that is responsible for assigning domain names. In order to keep the DNS system working, ICANN performs a ritual that keeps the DNS running for the next 3 months. This mainly consists of keys and cards that are kept safe and if tampered with, their data will be erased. ICANN take their responsibility seriously as they aid in the running of the internet.
Benefits of the internet
The invention of the internet has enabled the sharing of information between individuals and countries as well as allow everyday users to be connected. This will widen communities on the other side of the world and provide a platform to express thoughts publicly. While before you would need to own a media agency in order to publicise your thoughts and feelings. With platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, they are a great creative platform to display their work, faith, opinions and connect communities today that have similar interests.
The Future of the internet
The internet is always expanding and becoming faster with new technological upgrades. With 5G connection expected soon, our mobile devices will be able to browse the internet at an incredible pace. However, with the popularity of social media and corporations using the internet to capture likes and dislikes for marketing purposes, the internet is under threat in terms of privacy and the sharing of information freely. With corporations, such as Facebook, coming under heavy investigation of data breaches and with the net neutrality bill in the United States being revoked to allow providers to hold special privileges for company and domains to have better speeds. Along with individuals spreading hate messages freely which is causing the government to consider censorship due to certain individuals’ negative behaviour.
With more services using the internet to increase courage and accessibility, the internet will need to continue to expand and handle the demand of the everyday user. We are slowly going towards the internet of things society where soon all our devices will be constantly connected and sharing information. The internet will improve and make life easier, nevertheless we as a society will need to be aware of what information we are sending to corporations and what we will be willing to share with them to improve our experience.