The Internet is probably something you use every day, and yet so many of us know so little about it or how it began. It can be difficult to fully grasp what it is, and it can not possibly be explained fully in a short article. However, it is a good idea to have a general understanding of the basic concepts that the Internet was founded on to maximize the usefulness of this network tool.

Many of us do already know that Internet is simply short for Internetwork. This can be explained through definition; it is the product of networks that are integrated through distinct routers or access points. This means that the user can send and receive information between any computers, anywhere in the world. The information’s interconnecting ports are specified by the user through a router or online web program. For example, an online e-mail program sets up a particular address, or location, for each separate user. So, when you e-mail a friend, family member, or coworker, there is only one specific port from which your information can exit and one specific port for which your information is headed. However, this does not protect you if you type in the wrong e-mail address or if your information is somehow hacked, as is the case with most virus software you may run into.

A key aspect to remember about the Internetwork system in general is that it is not the same thing as the World Wide Web. Many people equate the two and use the terms interchangeably, and it is acceptable in every-day diction, but it is not the accurate way to use these terms. The software and hardware framework of the Internet enables international communications patterns coordinated between computers around the globe. The World Wide Web is a group of correlated resources, such as documents, connected by URL’s and hyperlinks. The World Wide Web is just one of the services transferring data through the Internet, more like a subsection of it. The two are not the same.

Of course, the details and fine tuning of how this amazing network of computers actually works is far more complicated than this article sounds. It is truly incredible that men and women were able to work together on projects leading up to the inventions of the Internet, since the idea is so delightfully original and complex today, even after several decades of daily use.