TOPIC 6 : Internet, Privacy and Security

BTC/ETC 1062 – COMPUTING FOR TECHNOLOGY

MADUSHIKA HANSAMALI
CONTENT

➔ Internet
➔ Email
➔ Social Media
➔ Privacy and Security
What is Internet?

● It’s a world-wide network of computer networks. It grows hourly and involves national
governments, communities, and individuals.

● Where is all the information? It actually runs from one computer to another on
“servers,” which are machines that share information across computers.
 INTERNET
● The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s with the creation of ARPANET,
or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network.

● The technology continued to grow in the 1970s after scientists Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf
developed Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP, a communications
model that set standards for how data could be transmitted between multiple networks.

● The online world then took on a more recognizable form in 1990, when computer scientist
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. While it’s often confused with the internet
itself, the web is actually just the most common means of accessing data online in the form
of websites and hyperlinks.

● The web helped popularize the internet among the public, and served as a crucial step in
developing the vast trove of information that most of us now access on a daily basis.
INTERNET

● Where is all the information? It actually runs from one computer to another on
“servers,” which are machines that share information across computers.
INTERNET

● How do individuals and organizations get the Internet? They use an Internet
Service Provider (ISP).

● An ISP is a company that provides

Internet access for its customers
● It may also provide email service
for its customers
● It may provide web file storage
service and/or a limited web
hosting service.
● Examples - Sri Lanka Telecom,
Mobitel, Dialog
INTERNET CONNECTION OPTIONS

https://www.xfinity.com/hub/internet/internet-connections
● What kind of access does the ISP provide? The slowest is called “dial-up
service” because it runs via telephone lines with no added support.
INTERNET CONNECTION OPTIONS

● DSL - Digital subscriber lines. Though still transmitted through the phone lines,
DSL operates at higher frequencies, so it’s faster than standard dial-up.
INTERNET

● Once the ISP has provided access, how does an individual computer allow
Internet access? Via web browsers—software programs that run on the
user’s computer to support access to information at any public web server
in the world
INTERNET : DOMAIN NAMES

● Information from these browsers often comes from different types of sources.

● Domain names (found at the end of a web site address) help identify the kind of age
ncy which owns a particular web site. The most common domain names are:

.com = company such as Amazon.com

.org = organization such as cancer.org

.gov = government such as usa.gov

.edu = educational institutions such as harvard.edu

INTERNET : DOMAIN NAMES
INTERNET: Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

● Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is used to specify addresses on the World Wide
Web.
● A URL is the fundamental network identification for any resource connected to the
web (e.g., hypertext pages, images, and sound files).
Use of Internet
What is Email?

● Short for electronic mail - Email

● Send & receive messages over the internet.
● Must have a device with internet access and an email account from a
service provider such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc
Email: Privacy, Viruses and Spam

● Privacy: CC vs BCC
● Viruses: Never open attachments from unknown senders.
● Safety: Never send personal financial information via email, even if it looks l
ike a legitimate request from your bank or financial institution.
● Spam: unsolicited commercial email (Advisable to Delete, Report Spam)
● Chatting: This is real-time communication with no delay. Usually done with t
hose you know online. Be selective who you chat with. As with spam and p
hishing, scams can occur with chatting as well.
● Important – Sign Out!
Social Media

● Interactive platforms where content is created, distributed and shared by

individuals on the web.
● Purpose - To provide users with a rich experience, dynamic content,
scalability, openness, and collective intelligence.
● What kinds of social media are there?
○ Blogs/Microblogs (eg - Tumblr, Twitter)
○ Collaborative Projects (eg - Wikipedia)
○ Content Communities (eg - Youtube)
○ Social Networking (eg - Facebook, LinkedIn)
○ Virtual Worlds (eg - World of Warcraft)
Social Media
Social Media

● Benefits of having a Social Media presence for organizations

○ Builds awareness
○ Organizational Growth
○ Empower Supporters
● Benefits of Social Media for individuals
○ Build relationships.
○ Share your expertise.
○ Increase your visibility.
○ Educate yourself.
○ Connect anytime.
Social Media

● Disadvantages of having a Social Media presence for organizations

○ A lot of time is required.
○ Qualified personnel is required.
○ Some investment may be required.
○ Bad Publicity.
● Disadvantages of Social Media for individuals
○ Addictive.
○ Privacy problems.
○ It changes lifestyle habits.
○ Lacks emotional connection.
Privacy and Security: Protect your Privacy with Password

Basics:
● Change them frequently
● Don’t write them down or share them
● Don’t use the same password for everything
Choosing
● Mix numbers, symbols, and letters (upper and lower case)
● Avoid actual words
● Use at least 8 characters
● Avoid personally identifiable data such as a birthdate, address, or nickname
Internet Security: Cookies

● Web site owners use “cookies” to track people who visit their site, even particular
sections of their site.
● A cookie is a file created by a web browser, at the request of a website, that is stored
on your computer. These files store information, such as shopping cart contents or
authentication data.
● A cache stores data from the website (such as text or images) so that the web page
will load faster if you access them again.
● Your browser tends to save these files. Even if they are relatively small in size, they
will accumulate over time. It could cause performance issues on your browser.
● It is highly recommended to clear out the cache and cookies once in a while to
make your browser work better and also to protect your privacy.
Protecting your Privacy

If you visit any sensitive sites, or are using a public computer, consider taking the
following steps to preserve your privacy:
● Clear cache (the browsing history your Web browser saves) and delete cookies
(files some Web sites use to track users) after your Internet session is over.
● Delete any documents you may have saved to a public computer.
● If a site asks “Remember this password?” or any similar question, select “no.”
● Log out of any sites or services you have signed in to.