Important Services Provided by the Internet In this modern world, the Internet has become essential to living, working

and easily communicating with people, whether in the next room or on the other side of the world. Some important services provided by the Internet have become common place, like: i.) ii.) iii.) iv.) v.) vi.) The email, The World Wide Web Search Engines File Transfer Protocol (FTP) ecommerce News group

These now common services allow people to become a part of the much bigger world. Communication, education, e-commerce and unlimited access to information found on the Internet provide innumerable benefits. Electronic Mail More commonly known as email, electronic mail started as an afterthought to the Internet. You create texts and send them over a network of computers. Today, email holds the number one position as the most popular service offered on the Internet. A protocol for sending, receiving and storing electronic messages, email has become the preferred method of communication. Email service on the Internet handles around 247 billion emails every day.

Advantages of emails

Emails are easy to use. You can organize your daily correspondence, send and receive electronic messages and save them on computers.

Emails are fast. They are delivered at once around the world. No other form of written communication is as fast as an email.

The language used in emails is simple and informal. When you reply to an email you can attach the original message so that when you answer the recipient knows what you are talking about. This is important if you get hundreds of emails a day.

Emails do not use paper. They are environment friendly and save a lot of trees from being cut down.

Emails can also have pictures in them. You can send birthday cards or newsletters as emails.

Products can be advertised with emails. Companies can reach a lot of people and inform them in a short time.

Disadvantages of emails

Emails may carry viruses. These are small programs that harm your computer system. They can read out your email address book and send themselves to a number of people around the world.

Many people send unwanted emails to others. These are called spam mails. It takes a lot of time to filter out the unwanted emails from those that are really important.

Emails cannot really be used for official business documents. They may be lost and you cannot sign them.

Your mailbox may get flooded with emails after a certain time so you have to empty it from time to time.

The World Wide Web?

The World Wide Web (also known as the Web, WWW or W3) Essentially, the World Wide Web is made up of a lot of interconnected computers (via phone lines, cables, or satellites). Some of these computers are designed to serve out webpages. These computers are called web servers, which are usually running 24/7. Other computers, like the one we are using to read this text on the internet, are called clients. Client computers make requests to server computers, like asking for a web page and its associated graphics. The server computer responds by feeding (or serving) the web page data back to the client. This creates a convenient and user-friendly environment through which email, FTP, Telnet, Usenet Newsgroup, search engines etc. can be accessed. Because of this and also because of the ability of the Web to work with multimedia and advanced programming languages, the World Wide Web has been the fastest growing and the most interesting part of the Internet. The Internet is often confused with the World Wide Web. The Internet consists of a wide range of technologies including email, file data transfer, protocols (communications infrastructure) as well as the Web. The World Wide Web is just one component of the Internet. News Group These are discussion groups on the internet with common interest and attributes who share news, information to one another. The subject of the news depends on the interest of the group e.g. sports, Music, Medicine, entertainment etc. the name of the group describes the information discussed in the group.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) File Transfer Protocol (FTP)is a standard Internet protocol for transmitting files between computers on the Internet. Like the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which transfers displayable Web pages and related files, and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which transfers e-mail, FTP is an application protocol that uses the

Internet's TCP/IPprotocols. FTP is commonly used to transfer Web page files from their creator to the computer that acts as their server for everyone on the Internet. It's also commonly used to download programs and other files to your computer from other servers. As a user, you can use FTP with a simple command line interface (for example, from the Windows MS-DOS Prompt window) or with a commercial program that offers a graphical user interface. Your Web browser can also make FTP requests to download programs you select from a Web page. Using FTP, you can also update (delete, rename, move, and copy) files at a server. You need to logon to an FTP server. However, publicly available files are

easily accessed using anonymous FTP.

E-commerce With the growth of the Internet and the number of its users, a huge market share was created. Before, to hold an enterprise you had to have an office and cover all kinds of additional expenses, whereas now you can just create a website with one of the several e-commerce script solutions, and have your own online shop in a matter of minutes.

The ability to do business without the usual constraints of time or distance make e-commerce one of the most important services provided by the Internet. With the single click of a mouse, online customers can purchase

almost anything day or night from the comfort of their own home. This has allowed a lot of small businesses to grow, making their products available worldwide to a much wider audience. This levels the business playing field and allows small business to compete with large corporations.

Search Engines Search engines are programs that search documents for

specified keywordsand returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found. A search engine is really a general class of programs, however, the term is often used to specifically describe systems like Google, Bing and Yahoo! Search that enable users to search for documents on the World Wide Web. are programs that search documents for specified keywordsand returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found. A search engine is really a general class of programs, however, the term is often used to specifically describe systems like Google, Bing and Yahoo! Search that enable users to search for documents on the World Wide Web. Web Browsers Web browsers are computer programs that are installed on client computers to request web page files from server computers. It's the program you're using to access this website and read this text. Once a request is made via the browser (by clicking a link or entering a web address in the address bar), the

web server sever sends the requested data back to the browser. The browser then interprets the data and displays it on the screen. Popular web browsers include Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, Internet

Explorer. Each of these browsers differ somewhat in terms of features, but their purpose is the same. They're all meant to request and present web pages to the user. "Mobile browsers" are web browsers designed for use on a mobile devices like PDAs and cell phones.

Internet addressing Internet addressing is a system used to help identify individuals or resources attached to the Internet, generating a single unique address for individuals and resources. The system is set up much like traditional residential or business addressing in that other Internet users utilize these addresses to communicate, collaborate, or share information. For example, if you want to send someone an e-mail message, you must first know his or her e-mail address. If you want to visit someone's Web site, you must first identify his or her Web address. Each of these Internet addresses - whether an IP, an e-mail address, or a Web address - must be unique. Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses

An IP address is a unique, numeric identifier used to specify Internet hosts and networks. IP addresses are part of a global, standardized scheme for identifying machines that are connected to the Internet. IP numbers consist of four groups of numbers, and are expressed with numbers between 0 and 255, separated by periods. For example, the 146.186.157.6 IP is the host of the Penn State University Web site. The 146 represents the network, and the 186.157.6 represents the host or location of the Penn State home page. Domain Names Domain Names are nothing more than a textual representation of IP addresses. They are designed to provide users with a more friendly way of remembering an Internet resource. Just like IP addresses, the components of a domain name are also separated by periods. Every domain name contains what is known as a top-level domain. A top-level domain represents the purpose of the organization or entity. For example, an Internet address ending in .edu specifies that the domain is used by an educational institution. Listed below are six of the most commonly used toplevel domains.

.com = commercial organizations

.edu = educational and research organizations .gov = government organizations .mil = military organizations .net = gateway or host network .org = nonprofit or miscellaneous organizations

Due to the rapid growth of the Internet, an expanded IP addressing scheme has been developed. This new addressing scheme will provide

.us = United States .de = Germany .fr = France .se = Sweden .th = Thailand

Domain Name System (DNS) Due to the difficulty of remembering, recognizing, and using IP addresses, an Internet addressing scheme, called Domain Name System (DNS), was developed in 1984 to help simplify the transfer and access of information contained on the Internet. The purpose of a DNS is to register and associate domain names to IP addresses. Furthermore, domain names and their associated IP addresses are stored on DNS servers, which are used to translate domain names into their associated IP addresses. For example, when a user types in the domain name www.cnn.com, a DNS server routes its search to locate the domain name. If the domain name

is found, the user is directed to the correct computer via an IP address, which in this case is 207.25.71.25. Additionally, the DNS provides users with the ability to send anyone with e-mail access a message if they know his or her unique e-mail address. Similarly, a user can display almost any Web page if its unique Web address is known. Every time you specify a domain name, a server translates the name into its associated numeric IP address, so that data can be routed to the correct destination. Web Addresses A Web address, also known as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), is a string of letters and symbols that, when combined, construct a unique address that routes users to specific Web sites. For example,

http://cnn.com/WEATHER/images.html is a URL or Web address used at CNN. The first part, http://, stands for hypertext transfer protocol, which is the standard communications protocol used to transfer pages on the Web. The second portion, www.cnn.com, is used to identify the computer that hosts the Web site. The /WEATHER/ portion of the URL refers to a specific location, or directory, on the CNN Web site containing weather-related information and additional Web address links. The last part of the domain name, images.html, refers to a specific document or Web page that contains weather maps from around the world. The html extension of this file indicates that the computer language used in the image file is HTML or Hypertext Markup Language.

Through the utilization of URLs and Web addresses, a user can visit virtually any Web site. There are currently millions of Web sites to choose from, and more are being added every day. How Data Travels Over the Internet Sending data over the Internet is a little more complicated than putting a letter in an envelope and sending it through the mail. Data transmission over the Internet relies on creating, transmitting, and reassembling information based on standards or protocols. In order for computers to successfully transmit data, they must be configured to follow the Internet standards. Servers are specialized computers, sometimes called host computers, which are designed to manage resources on a network. A server is the hub to which other computers may be attached, providing a centralized network storage area for data and software applications. Computers attached to servers are called clients. When networked, a client can access data and software stored on a server. Most clients can access information and data on a variety of servers. In all likelihood, the computer you are working on is a client that is attached to a server (or host computer). In order to send data over the Internet, the client is required to divide information and data up into small packets, each containing some data, recipient information, and sender information. An individual packet is sent out along the fastest available path to its assigned destination and reassembled at the destination.

Reasons for Increasing Security Compromises It is becoming increasingly difficult to make any information system impervious to security incursions. Early computer systems and their networks could assume a clear distinction between users and intruders. This came to be known as a fortress model of security: the trusted users formed a clear and distinct group as opposed to outsiders. However, with the growth of the distributed computer system based on widespread computer networks, this model has become ineffective as a means of maintaining protection of an organization's computer systems. CERT (originally called the Computer Emergency Response Team) is a leading research and advisory organization devoted to all facets of computer security. CERT has determined that this change in architecture is a major reason for the increasing vulnerability of networks to inside and outside attack. They describe today's systems as migrating from a bounded to an unbounded system. A bounded system was one in which all the parts were known and could be completely administered in a controlled manner, with all the parts characterized. With early mainframe-based systems using dumb terminals and dedicated communication circuits, such control was possible. An unbounded system is the exact opposite. Due to the distributed nature of the system, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to get "the whole picture." Instead, we are forced to trust other individuals, hardware, software, and organizations to help secure computing resources. The Internet is the best example of such an unbounded system that has become integral to the operations of many organizations. Important information, even financial, is transferred along a

network that is so vast and can be compromised at so many points that it is not possible for any one organization to maintain control. We are therefore forced to accept the possibility of security attacks.* Security Services The computer security field does not have a uniform set of terminology. However, if we want to discuss how to protect computer resources, it is necessary to define some of the primary security services. Privacy (or Confidentiality): Security is nearly synonymous with the concept of privacy, which, for networks, is the protection of transmitted data from outside attack. The level of security varies based upon the importance and/or characteristics of the data to be shielded. To guarantee privacy, it may be necessary to protect the source, destination, and other characteristics of the data as it travels along the network. Authentication: When a user or a system receives a message, the identity of the sender must be verified. This process, known as authentication, determines if the sender is who he or she claims to be. This can normally be done based on at least one of the following three forms of information:

Something you may have (a special message format) Something you know (a password or PIN) Some attribute (fingerprint, signature, etc.)

Integrity: By their very nature, today's computer networks can be extensive, permitting messages to move around the world if necessary. As part of our

security measures, we need to ensure that we have maintained the integrity of the data, that it was not tampered with or destroyed during its travels. Non repudiation: When a person signs a document, it is then assumed that he or she cannot deny having seen the form or accepting what was written on it and cannot later repudiate their signature. By digitally signing a transmission, computer systems can likewise prove who sent the message or who received it. Access Control: Most operating systems provide some form of ability to limit and control access to the host system, applications, and data. This has become a necessity with the development of distributed systems and networking. To achieve this, each entity, whether another machine or an individual, must be identified. After authentication, the security administrator and the operating system security subsystem may give permission to resources based on the sets of access rules maintained. Though the strength of these services may vary based on OS, hardware, and organization requirements, security software tries to provide each of these services in one form or another. Security Threats Stallings describes four general categories of security attack*:

Interruption: An asset of a system (computer data, equipment, etc.) is destroyed or becomes unavailable or unusable. Some examples of this include the destruction of a piece of hardware, such as a hard disk, the

severing of a communication circuit, or the immobilizing of an operating systems file management system or database.

Interception: An unauthorized party gains access to an asset. This is an attack on confidentiality. The unauthorized party could be a person, a program, or a computer. Examples include wiretapping or using a sniffer device to capture network data, and the unauthorized copying of files or programs.

Modification: An unauthorized party gains access to an asset and tampers with it. This would be an attack on integrity. Examples are changing values in a data file, altering a program to function differently than originally designed, and modifying the content of messages or data being transmitted in a network.

Fabrication: An unauthorized party inserts a counterfeit object into the system, an attack on authenticity. Examples include the addition of bogus records into a file or inserting fake messages into a network.

Security threats are often characterized as either passive or active. In passive attacks, messages are monitored. If the attacker can determine the message's contents, it can then be released for others to use. With traffic analysis, messages are intercepted. Even if it is not possible to read the message, the attacker can gain valuable information from the message's other

characteristics, such as location of the sender or receiver, message length, etc.

Active attacks are becoming much more common. In these, the data is modified or false data is inserted. Active attacks most often take at least one of four forms*:

Masquerade: One entity pretends to be a different, legitimate entity. Replay: Data is captured and then retransmitted. Modification: A portion of a message is altered, delayed, or reordered. Denial of Service: This is becoming the most prevalent form of active attack on the Internet and occurs when the network is disrupted either by overloading it with false messages or disabling the network directly.

Website
A website is made up of a collection of files sitting on a web server. These files usually include:

Image and/or video files Text files that tell the web browser how to layout the page and what text to include Script files (small programs) that add functionality or effects to the webpage

Role of Internet in the modern era

The modern era has been now extremely advanced and well-developed and the basic reason for this development is actually the launch of the internet and its applications which have provided the individuals with the easiest routine in their daily lives. The modern era of the internet has made even the most tiring and physically demanding works on the finger tips. For example the shopping which is indeed a very complicated affair, can be easily done on the internet in the modern times, via e-commerce. This technology has emerged as one of the breakthrough uses of the internet. The internet has changed the face of the lives of people, turning them completely into the modern and latest lifestyle with its developments. Today, instead of the newspapers, the people use the internet to access the e-news which provides with not only the news papers completely but also various different news channels from all over the world. Even the live video news from the news channels can be accessed through the net, overpowering the other media, even including the television. The modern developments through the internet have also widened the opportunities for business and professional developments. The need to advertise the products of any business companies are no more a major problem, as the companies can develop their own website and information regarding the products to convince the customers wit their works. There are also several open opportunities of making money through the internet, with the most common profession being the web site development with the increasing demand of webdevelopment personals used to develop the websites to promote their business and companies. Internet is indeed the major advancement in the modern era, enabling the common people to sit at home and rule the world.