Internet History
What was the original network that led to the Internet that we know today?
ANSWER: ARPANET
The modern Internet evolved from an early US government-funded internetworking project in the 1960s called the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET).
What is the primary means of asynchronous communication on the web?
ANSWER: E-mail
E-mail is the primary method of electronic communication worldwide because it’s fast and convenient, and because it’s asynchronous, users do not need to be communicating at the same time. They can send and respond to messages at their own convenience. E-mail is also convenient for exchanging files via attachments.
EMAIL PRIVACY - Even after you’ve deleted an email message, it doesn’t really vanish. Many Internet service providers and companies archive e-mail, which can be accessed or subpoenaed in the event of a lawsuit or investigation.
Storing and accessing data and applications over the Internet is referred to as this.
ANSWER: Cloud Computing
Cloud computing refers to storing data, files, and applications on the Internet and being able to access and manipulate these files and applications from any Internet-connected device. When you work from the cloud, you don’t need to have everything stored on your own computer’s drives. Instead, you can access your files and programs from any device as long as you have access to the Internet. In addition, cloud computing makes it easier to collaborate and communicate with others.
What tool is an example of cloud computing?
This privacy feature in the most popular web browser enables you to browse the web without retaining a history trail, temporary Internet files, cookies, or usernames and passwords.
ANSWER: Incognito browser in Chrome
When to Use Incognito Mode
What Incognito Mode Doesn't Do
This term refers to digital videos or images that are manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI) to create images and sounds that appear to be real, but are not.
ANSWER: Deepfakes
The term deepfake is a combination of “deep learning” and “fake.” Deep learning is a form of AI that uses algorithms that can learn and make intelligent decisions on their own. The deep-learning algorithms study photos and videos of the target person and then use the learned intelligence to mimic the target person’s behavior and speech patterns. Eventually, those patterns are applied to another image or video, thus transforming one person into another.
Who created the World Wide Web?
ANSWER: Tim Berners-Lee
The World Wide Web was based on a protocol developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991, a physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Berners-Lee wanted a method for linking his research documents so that other researchers could access them. In conjunction with Robert Cailliau, Berners-Lee developed the basic architecture of the web and created the first web browser.
These tools are helpful when team members are working from different locations but still need to collaborate and communicate in real time.
ANSWER: Screen sharing or video conferencing tools
Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet are today's most common video conferencing tools.
What company's cloud computing products are among the most widely used?
ANSWER: Google
Google was one of the first true explorers in the cloud. The Chromebook is Google’s cloud-based system where all the applications and files are stored on the web. Little is installed or saved to a Chromebook hard drive, not even the operating system! Google offers other cloud-based services such as Google Drive, Google Workspace, Gmail, and the Chrome web browser.
What top-level domain does Mount Saint Mary College have for its website?
ANSWER: .edu
The domain name identifies the site’s host, the location that maintains the computers that store the website files. For example, www.msmc.edu is the domain name for the Mount Saint Mary College website. The suffix in the domain name after the dot (“edu”) is called the top-level domain.
Common Top-Level Domains and Their Authorized Users
Currently, Section 230 of this act dictates that the computer platform distributing the information cannot be held responsible.
ANSWER: Communications Decency Act
Because Facebook, for example, does not produce content but just distributes others’ content, it cannot be held responsible for anything posted nor the consequences of any posting. These private companies, however, are not government agencies, so they do have the option of removing users from their service altogether.
Does Section 230 need to change?
One position is that if you remove Section 230 protection, anyone with great wealth could launch so many lawsuits they could drive the tech company out of business. But then does Facebook, for example, have no responsibility at all to monitor what is posted? What if users post information to support human trafficking enterprises?
What do you think?
This is an important ethical issue for our society.
In what decade did the concept of the Internet begin?
ANSWER: 1950s
The concept of the Internet was developed in the late 1950s while the United States was in the midst of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. At that time, the US Department of Defense needed a computer network that wouldn’t be disrupted easily in the event of an attack.
Many employers may visit these types of accounts as a means of gaining information about potential applicants before granting an interview or extending admission or a job offer.
ANSWER: Social media profiles
Even though you may have strong privacy settings, you can’t control what those you allow to access your content do with it. Therefore, treat all information posted on the web as public and avoid posting damaging words and pictures. Bottom line: Make sure your profile, images, and site content project an image that positively and accurately represents you.
When shopping online, the "S" in "https://” is a visual indicator that the website is this.
ANSWER: Secure
Look for visual indicators that the website is secure. Check that the beginning of the URL changes from “http://” to “https://”—with the s standing for secure, indicating that the Secure Sockets Layer protocol has been applied to manage the security of the website.
This navigation aid, featured on some websites, shows users the path they have taken to get to a web page, or where the page is located within the website. Hint: It usually appears at the top of a page.
ANSWER: Breadcrumb trail, or "breadcrumbs"
By selecting earlier links in a breadcrumb trail, you can go directly to a previously visited web page without having to use the Back button to navigate back through the website.
QUESTION: Can anyone think of a commonly used website at MSMC that utilizes this navigation aid?
This term refers to the use of digital communication tools to repeatedly threaten, intimidate, or target someone, often through social media, messaging apps, or email.
ANSWER: Cyber Harassment
Cyber harassment includes acts such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, trolling, and catfishing. Cyberbullying and cyberstalking can include actions such as bombarding a victim with harassing instant messages or text messages, spreading rumors or lies on social-networking sites, posting embarrassing photos or videos of a victim on the web, or infecting the victim’s computer with malware, usually to spy on that person.
This is a subset of the Internet that is dedicated to hosting HTML pages; it is the means by which we access information over the Internet.
ANSWER: World Wide Web
Because the World Wide Web (WWW or the web) is what we use the most, we sometimes think of the Internet and the web as being interchangeable. However, the web is only a subset of the Internet, dedicated to hosting HTML pages; it is the means by which we access information over the Internet. The web is based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is why you find an http:// at the beginning of web addresses.
These enable focused communication around specific topics on social media sites.
ANSWER: Hashtags
A hashtag is a word or phrase with the hash symbol (#) preceding it, used on social media to categorize content and make it more discoverable by topic. When you add a hashtag to a post, anyone searching for that topic can find your content, increasing visibility and engagement beyond your immediate followers. They serve as a user-generated tagging system, creating searchable feeds for specific themes and helping to build online communities around shared interests.
This term refers to buying and selling goods or services through wireless handheld devices like smartphones and tablets.
ANSWER: Mobile Commerce
Apple Pay, Venmo, and other digital payment systems are enabling mobile commerce to be as popular as it is today. At the same time, many businesses have their own apps that push coupons and offers through the apps to customers, using location-based services. Most chain businesses enable you to place an order through their mobile app for in-store pick-up or delivery. Mobile commerce also includes services that enable users to check their bank and credit card account balances, deposit checks, pay bills online, and manage investment portfolios. Tickets and boarding passes can also be sent to smartphones, adding another level of convenience.
Despite being a popular starting point for research, this website is not considered a reliable academic source due to its open-editing model.
ANSWER: Wikipedia
The idea behind content that is managed and edited by many users, such as that found on Wikipedia and other large public wikis, is that the group will keep the content current and valid. However, because wikis are publicly editable, they can’t be trusted completely. If a user adds erroneous content, the community of users can catch and correct it, but if you used Wikipedia as a source, you may have referenced erroneous content before it was corrected.
This tiny device, often implanted under the skin, can store medical data, unlock doors, and even replace credit cards—raising both convenience and privacy concerns.
ANSWER: Human Implantable Microchip
Human-implantable microchips were approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004. The basic advantages of implanted chips are that they can receive and transmit information and are extremely difficult to counterfeit. An implanted chip could positively identify you when you make a retail transaction, virtually eliminating fraud. A chip could provide instant access to medical records to facilitate treatment for unconscious accident victims or track lost or missing children or Alzheimer patients, and law enforcement could track the movement of convicted criminals out on parole.
QUESTION: What are some potential disadvantages of such devices?
The transmission lines with the fastest speeds are referred to as this.
ANSWER: Internet Backbones
All computers and other devices such as tablets and smartphones that are connected to the Internet create a network of networks. These Internet-connected devices communicate with each other in turns, just as we do when we ask a question or reply with an answer. Either it’s a client, a computer that asks for data, or it’s a server, a computer that receives the request and returns the data to the client.
When a client computer puts out a request for information from the server computer, the request travels along transmission lines. These transmission lines are similar to our highway system of roads, with some roads having different speed limits. The transmission lines with the fastest speeds are referred to as Internet backbones.
Audio/video files delivered via RSS are referred to as this.
ANSWER: Podcasts
A podcast is audio content delivered in a series over the Internet that you can download to your device. The mechanism that podcasts use to deliver their content is Really Simple Syndication (RSS). RSS is a format that sends the latest content of the podcast series automatically to an aggregator. An aggregator locates all the RSS series to which you’ve subscribed and automatically downloads the new content to your device. Streaming music services like Amazon Music and Spotify have a podcast aggregator integrated as part of their interface.
This virtual currency allows users to send payments directly to one another without banks or intermediaries, often anonymously—making it a popular choice for both innovation and illicit activity.
ANSWER: Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a form of virtual currency (or cryptocurrency) that eliminates intermediaries or banks to conduct transactions, thus enabling direct anonymous transactions between users. Payments are sent peer to peer from the payee to the recipient with no transaction fees and without the need to supply personal information. The anonymity of Bitcoin transactions has made it the currency of choice for ransomware attacks, for example.
These are words such as AND, NOT, and OR that describe the relationships between keywords in a web search.
ANSWER: Boolean operators
You’ve no doubt searched for something on Google and gotten a list of hits that includes thousands—even millions—of web pages that have no relevance to the topic you’re interested in. Boolean operators can help refine a search. Boolean operators are words such as AND, NOT, and OR that describe the relationships between keywords in a search. With the simple addition of a few words or constraints, you can narrow your search results to a more manageable and more meaningful list.
This term describes misleading or sensationalized headlines designed to attract clicks, often at the expense of accuracy or substance.
ANSWER: Clickbait
Clickbait is used to generate interest and ultimately revenue. Many might argue that although clickbait is annoying, it is relatively harmless.
But is it? What do you think?