The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks that began as a US military project. It allows users to access and share information across vast distances. Today, the Internet is a public resource used by billions of people worldwide as a primary source of information through activities like social media, online shopping, communication, and more. While it provides vast access to information and opportunities for connection, overreliance on the Internet also poses risks like reduced social skills, spread of misinformation, and security/privacy issues that come with vast data collection online. Care must be taken to achieve a balanced use of both online and real-world information sources and interactions.

1. TOPIC: Internet as a Source of information

3. The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks -- a
network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information
from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers). It was conceived
by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1969 and was first
known as the ARPANET. The original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a
research computer at one university to "talk to" research computers at other universities. A side
benefit of ARPANet's design was that, because messages could be routed or rerouted in more than
one direction, the network could continue to function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of
a military attack or other disaster.
Today, the Internet is a public, cooperative and self-sustaining facility accessible to hundreds of
millions of people worldwide. It is used by many as the primary source of information consumption,
and fueled the creation and growth of its own social ecosystem through social media and content
sharing. Furthermore, e-commerce, or online shopping, has become one of the largest uses of the
Internet.
INTRODUCTION

4. • Physically, the Internet uses a portion of the total resources of the currently existing
public telecommunication networks. Technically, what distinguishes the Internet is its use of a
set of protocols called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Two recent
adaptations of Internet technology, the Intranet and the extranet, also make use of the TCP/IP
protocol.
• The Internet can be seen as having two major components: network protocols and hardware.
The protocols, such as the TCP/IP suite, present sets of rules that devices must follow in order
to complete tasks. Without this common collection of rules, machines would not be able to
communicate.
• The protocols are also responsible for translating the alphabetic text of a message into electronic
signals that can be transmitted over the Internet, and then back again into legible, alphabetic text.
• Hardware, the second major component of the Internet, includes everything from the computer
or smartphone that is used to access the Internet to the cables that carry information from one
device to another. Additional types of hardware include satellites, radios, cell phone
towers, routers and servers.
How the Internet works

5. • These various types of hardware are the connections within the network. Devices such as computers,
smartphones and laptops are end points, or clients, while the machines that store the information are
the servers. The transmission lines that exchange the data can either be wireless signals from satellites
or 4G and cell phone towers, or physical lines, such as cables and fiber optics.
• The process of transferring information from one device to another relies on packet switching. Each
computer connected to the Internet is assigned a unique IP address that allows the device to be recognized.
When one device attempts to send a message to another device, the data is sent over the Internet in the
form of manageable packets. Each packet is assigned a port number that will connect it to its endpoint.
• A packet that has both a unique IP address and port number can be translated from alphabetic text into
electronic signals by travelling through the layers of the OSI model from the top application layer to the
bottom physical layer. The message will then be sent over the Internet where it is received by the Internet
service provider's (ISP) router. The router will examine the destination address assigned to each packet and
determine where to send it.
• Eventually, the packet reaches the client and travels in reverse from the bottom physical layer of the OSI
model to the top application layer. During this process, the routing data -- the port number and IP address --
is stripped from the packet, thus allowing the data to be translated back into alphabetic text and completing

6. In general, the Internet can be used to communicate across large or small distances, share information from
any place in the world and access information or answers to almost any question in moments.
Some specific examples of how the Internet is used include:
•Social media and content sharing;
•E-mail and other forms of communication, such as Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Internet telephony, instant
messaging, video conferencing
•education and self-improvement through access to online degree programs, courses and workshops and
•searching for jobs -- both the employer and applicant use the Internet to post open positions, apply for jobs
and recruit individuals found on social networking sites like LinkedIn.
Other examples include:
•Online discussion groups and forums
•Online dating
•Online gaming
•Research
•Reading electronic newspapers and magazines
•Online shopping, or e-commerce.
Uses of the Internet

7. Most Popular Websites on Internet

8. Large amounts of information, both public and private, are collected across the Internet, opening users up to
the risk of data breaches and other security threats. Hackers and crackers can break into networks and
systems and steal information such as login information or bank and credit card account records. Some steps
that can be taken to protect online privacy include:
•Installing antivirus and antimalware
•Creating difficult, varied passwords that are impossible to guess.
•Using a virtual private network (VPN) or, at least, a private browsing mode, such as Google Chrome's
Incognito window.
•Only using HTTPS
•Making all social media accounts private.
•Deactivating autofill.
•Turning off the device's GPS.
•Updating cookies so an alert is sent anytime a cookie is installed.
•Logging out of accounts instead of just closing the tab or window.
•Using caution with spam emails and never opening or downloading content from unknown sources.
•Using caution when accessing public Wi-Fi or hotspots.
Security and the Internet

9. The social impact of the Internet can be seen as both positive and negative. On one side, people argue
that the Internet has increased the risk of isolation, alienation and withdrawal from society, pointing to
increases in an emotional response called FOMO, or the fear of missing out. On the other side, people
believe the Internet to have had the opposite effect on society, arguing that the Internet increases civic
engagement, sociability and the intensity of relationships.
Whether the impacts are good or bad, the Internet has changed the way society interacts and connects.
One example of change is the increased focus on personal growth and a decline in a community that is
determined by work, family and space. People are now constructing social relationships based on
individual interests, projects and values. Communities are being formed by like-minded individuals not
only offline and in person, but through the Internet and the multitude of online environments which it
creates and offers. Social networking sites -- like Facebook and LinkedIn -- have become the preferred
platforms for both businesses and individuals looking to perform all kinds of tasks and communicate with
others.
Social impact of the Internet

10. Benefits of Internet using as the
source of information
There is no question about that internet has made the world and its miscellaneous wonders just a
click away. One has to hardly step outside to get what he needs anymore. In the past 10 years,
the use of internet has made tremendous enhancements with the technology advancements. The
internet is faster and provides more information than other resources of information. Users can
easily retrieve the desired answers by typing anything in the search engines. These search
engines are powerful enough to find out the billions sources of data just based on single small
word or a sentence which is useful for research. Sitting in the library, turning the pages as to find
one authentic source, these days are gone now. For students internet as an opportunity of finding
the spectacular wealth of information which strengthen their learning.

11. Use of internet allows researchers in preparing the projects and do professionally work
conveniently. It has made collaborative work easier not just in terms of cost but it is also nearly
immediate sharing of knowledge, ideas and skills. No matter what question or research you have
on any topic or subject, surely there is a particular site which will help the users in searching as
there is a wide amount of data available in the world of internet especially if the facility of
advanced search is used. Internet can be the excellent step for students, researchers, office
workers, teachers if used wisely as it plays an essential role in terms of education.
The students who are using internet in the universities can search the e-library they can take the
lectures from there which were taught in the class. Apart from that, the information on the internet
is more vivid than books. In internet there are audio, video, image materials for users which is
more easy to understand the concept of learning. One of the advantage is that user can sit in the
comfort of home and can research twenty four seven for them who exactly know how to do
searching with the time consumption.
Benefits of Internet using as
the source of information

12. Drawbacks of Internet using
as the source of information
With this unpredictable growing of the internet in public, the internet is not secure and it also creates the theft
of information which is one of the danger act. Researchers or uses personal information is at risk which is
being processed by the rogue persons.
One more and very big disadvantage of using internet is that the people are forgetting the use of books and
the library. There was a time that people used to spend lot of time in reading books of their interest or field
from various authors which increases their knowledge and the use of mind in analytical way of thinking.
Today due to the use of internet everything is available online with a one search tab. It is easy comfort in
today’s world to sit at home and have your researches and assignment through internet without gaining the
knowledge which actually is the purpose of the work.
The information and the material on the internet is not even evaluated that it’s been from the correct source
or the fake one. Anyone from any part of the country can publish anything on the internet and there is no
check on the quality control of the data and it is very difficult to find the genuine source of the information.
The use of internet had increased the communication among the people. The conversation is the thing which
is more likely to be expressed through spoken language. Due to the use of internet a communication barrier
has been arrived due to less personal interaction which results a big loss of the social skills

13. For instance, the latest Wikileaks, comprising million of documents, demonstrate the power of the Internet to change the world and bring
transparency in governance.
Today, the "Net" is the world's single biggest source of information on every known and unknown subject and the world's largest mail-order
catalogue. More than a billion people were using the Internet by 2005. The world is observing The Decade of the International Internet
(2000-2010).
Driving this spectacular growth has been the engine of dotcoms and dotnets, the legions of domain names which populate the net,
becoming household words. Currently, the year's third quarter closed with a base of nearly 202 million domain name registrations, up by
3.8 million over the second quarter's figures and 13.3 million or seven percent over the year.
The Domain Name System (DNS) divides the Internet into a series of component networks called domains that enable e-mail and other
files to be sent across the entire Internet. Each and every site in the Internet is linked with one of the domains.
Universities, for example, belong to the "edu" domain. Other domains are gov (government), com (commercial organizations), mil (military),
net (network service providers), and org (nonprofit organizations).
Internet now single biggest source
of global information

14. The combined base of dotcom and dotnet domain names has surpassed 103 million. New registrations totalled 7.5 million during
this year's third quarter, representing an increase of seven percent from a year ago. The dotcom/dotnet renewal rate for the third
quarter was 72.8 percent, down from 73.2 percent for the second quarter, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief,
published by VeriSign, Inc.
VeriSign's average daily DNS query load (number of queries) during third quarter 2010 was 66 billion per day, with a peak of 78
billion. Compared to the same period in 2009, the daily query average increased 23 percent and the peak grew by 27 percent.
The latest Domain Name Industry Brief also spotlights the importance of International Domain Names (IDNs), as the growth of the
Internet spreads around the globe.
Today the English-speaking world makes up nearly 40 percent of Internet users. Africa had less than five million Internet users a
decade ago; now, it has more than 100 million. In 2000, Asia was level with Europe and North America for users; today it has more
than those two continents combined.
In the coming decade, the Internet will continue to become a ubiquitous, multi-cultural tool, fueled in part by the adoption of IDNs.
By enabling online content and businesses to be represented in local scripts and languages, IDNs help the Internet to expand the
power of technology to regions and cultures, and connect the world in new ways.

15. Conclusion
If we conclude, Internet is somehow behaving like a drug nowadays. people around the world are
getting addicted of it. There are many advantages also along with the disadvantages . It became the part
of our daily routine life. Nobody knows when to stop using internet. This change in the behavior of the
people is a kind of illness nowadays. Overuse of internet is leading people to live into a limited cave and
thinking and they are getting far away from the modern and real life. But it also is taking us in the use of
technology simultaneously. It increased the network of communication, the relations, the world wide
information etc. It is very important to understand and use the right direction of the internet which is very
helpful in everyone’s life.