How the Internet actually works

To most people, the Internet is the place to which everyone plugs in their computer and views webpages and sends e-mail. That's a very human-centric viewpoint, but if we're to truly understand the Internet, we need to be more exact:

The Internet is THE large global computer network that people connect to by-default, by virtue of the fact that it's the largest. And, like any computer network, there are conventions that allow it to work.

This is all it is really - a very big computer network. However, this article will go beyond explaining just the Internet, as it will also explain the 'World Wide Web'. Most people don't know the difference between the Internet and Web, but really it's quite simple: the Internet is a computer network, and the Web is a system of publishing (of websites) for it.

Computer networks

And, what's a computer network? A computer network is just two or more of computers connected together such that they may send messages between each other. On larger networks computers are connected together in complex arrangements, where some intermediary computers have more than one connection to other computers, such that every computer can reach any other computer in the network via paths through some of those intermediary computers.

Computers aren't the only things that use networks - the rail network is very similar to computer networks, just that transports people instead of information.
Trains operate on a certain kind of track - such a convention is needed, because otherwise the network could not effectively work. Computers in a network have conventions too, and we usually call these conventions 'protocols'.

There are many kinds of popular computer network today. The most conventional by far is the so-called 'Ethernet' network that physically connects computers together in homes, schools and offices. However, WiFi is becoming increasingly popular for connecting together devices so that cables aren't required at all.

Connecting to the Internet

When you connect to the Internet, you're using networking technology, but things are usually a lot muddier. There's an apt phrase, "Rome wasn't built in a day" because neither was the Internet. The only reason the Internet could spring up so quickly and cheaply for people was because another kind of network already existed throughout the world - the phone network!

The pre-existence of the phone network provided a medium for ordinary computers in ordinary people's homes to be connected onto the great high-tech military and research network that had been developed in years before. It just required some technological mastery in the form of 'modems'. Modems allow phone lines to be turned into a mini-network connection between a home and a special company (an 'ISP') that already is connected up to the Internet. It's like a bridge joining up the road networks on an island and the mainland - the road networks become one, due to a special kind of connection between them.

The Internet

The really amazing about the Internet isn't the technology. We've actually had big Internet-like computer networks before, and 'The Internet' existed long before normal people knew the term. The amazing thing is that such a massive computer network could exist without being built or governed in any kind of seriously organised way. The only organisation that really has a grip on the core computer network of the Internet is a US-government-backed non-profit company called 'ICANN', but nobody could claim they 'controlled' the Internet, as their mandate and activities are extremely limited.

What I have described so far is probably not the Internet as you or most would see it. It's unlikely you see the Internet as a democratic and uniform computer network, and to an extent, it isn't. The reason for this is that I have only explained the foundations of the system so far, and this foundation operates below the level you'd normally be aware of. On the lowest level you would be aware of, the Internet is actually more like a situation between a getter and a giver - there's something you want from the Internet, so you connect up and get it. Even when you send an e-mail, you're getting the service of e-mail delivery.

Being a computer network, the Internet consists of computers - however, not all computers on the Internet are created equal. Some computers are there to provide services, and some are there to consume those services. We call the providing computers 'servers' and the consuming computers 'clients'. At the theoretical level, the computers have equal status on the network, but servers are much better connected than clients and are generally put in place by companies providing some kind of commercial service. You don't pay to view a web site, but somebody pays for the server the website is located on - usually the owner of the web site pays a 'web host' (a commercial company who owns the server).

Making contact

I've established how the Internet is a computer network: now I will explain how two computers that could be on other sides of the world can send messages to each other.

Imagine you were writing a letter and needed to send it to someone. If you just wrote a name on the front, it would never arrive, unless perhaps you lived in a small village. A name is rarely specific enough. Therefore, as we all know, we use addresses to contact someone, often using: the name, the house number, the road name, the town name, the county name, and sometimes, the country name. This allows sending of messages on another kind of network - the postal network. When you send a letter, typically it will be passed between postal sorting offices starting from the sorting office nearest to the origin, then up to increasingly large sorting offices until it's handled by a sorting office covering regions for both the origin and the destination, then down to increasingly small sorting offices until it's at the sorting office nearest the destination - and then it's delivered.

In our postal situation, there are two key factors at work - a form of addressing that 'homes in' on the destination location, and a form of message delivery that 'broadens out' then 'narrows in'. Computers are more organised, but they actually effectively do exactly the same thing.

Each computer on the Internet is given an address ('IP address'), and this 'homes in' on their location. The 'homing in' isn't done strictly geographically, rather in terms of the connection-relationship between the smaller computer networks within the Internet. For the real world, being a neighbour is geographical, but on a computer network, being a neighbour is having a direct network connection.

Like the postal network with its sorting offices, computer networks usually have connections to a few other computer networks. A computer network will send the message to a larger network (a network that is more likely to recognise at least some part of the address). This process of 'broadening out' continues until the message is being handled by a network that is 'over' the destination, and then the 'narrowing in' process will occur.

An example 'IP address' is '69.60.115.116'. They are just series of digit groups where the digit groups towards the right are increasingly local. Each digit group is a number between 0 and 255. This is just an approximation, but you could think of this address meaning:

• A computer 116
• in a small neighbourhood 115
• in a larger neighbourhood 60
• controlled by an ISP 69
• (on the Internet)

The neighbourhoods, the ISP, and the Internet, could all be consider computer networks in their own right. Therefore, for a message to the same 'larger neighbourhood', the message would be passed up towards one of those intermediary computers in the larger neighbourhood and then back down to the correct smaller neighbourhood, and then to the correct computer.

Getting the message across

Now that we are able to deliver messages the hard part is over. All we need to do is to put stuff in our messages in a certain way such that it makes sense at the other end.

Letters we send in the real world always have stuff in common - they are written on paper and in a language understood by both sender and receiver. I've discussed before how conventions are important for networks to operate, and this important concept remains true for our messages.

All parts of the Internet transfer messages written in things called 'Packets', and the layout and contents of those 'packets' are done according to the 'Internet Protocol' (IP). You don't need to know these terms, but you do need to know that these simple messages are error prone and simplistic.
You can think of 'packets' as the Internet equivalence of a sentence - for an ongoing conversation, there would be many of them sent in both directions of communication.

Reliable message transfer on the Internet is done via 'TCP'. IP is fundamental to the Internet, but TCP is not - there are in fact other 'protocols' that may be used that I won't be covering.

Names, not numbers

When most people think of an 'Internet Address' they think of something like 'www.ocportal.com' rather than '69.60.115.116'. People relate to names with greater ease than numbers, so special computers that humans need to access are typically assigned names ('domain names') using a system known as 'DNS' (the 'domain name system').

All Internet communication is still done using IP addresses (recall '69.60.115.116' is an IP address). The 'domain names' are therefore translated to IP addresses behind the scenes, before the main communication starts.

At the core, the process of looking up a domain name is quite simple - it's a process of 'homing in' by moving leftwards through the name, following an interrogation path. This is best shown by example - 'www.ocportal.com' would be looked up as follows:

• Every computer on the Internet knows how to contact the computers (the 'root' 'DNS servers') responsible for things like 'com', 'org', 'net' and 'uk'. There are a few such computers and one is contacted at random. The DNS server computer is asked if they know 'www.ocportal.com' and will respond saying they know which server computer is responsible for 'com'.
• The 'com' server computer is asked it knows 'www.ocportal.com' and will respond saying they know which server computer is responsible for 'ocportal.com'.
• 'The 'ocportal.com' server computer is asked if it knows 'www.ocportal.com' and will respond saying that it knows the corresponding server computer to be '69.60.115.116'.

Note that there is a difference between a server computer being 'responsible' for a domain name and the domain name actually corresponding to that computer. For example, the 'ocportal.com' responsible DNS server might not necessarily be the same server as 'ocportal.com' itself.

Meaningful dialogue

I've fully covered the essence of how messages are delivered over the Internet, but so far these messages are completely raw and meaningless. Before meaningful communication can occur we need to layer on yet another protocol (recall IP and TCP protocols are already layered over our physical network).

There are many protocols that work on the communications already established, including:

• HTTP - for web pages, typically read in web browser software
• POP3 - for reading e-mail
• SMTP - for sending e-mail

I'm not going to go into the details of any of these protocols because it's not really relevant unless you actually need to know it.

The information transferred via a protocol is usually a request for something, or a response for something requested. For example, with HTTP, a client computer requests a certain web page from a server via HTTP and then the web server, basically, responds with the file embedded within HTTP.

Each of these protocols operates on more or more so-called 'ports', and it is these 'ports' that allow the computers to know which protocol to use. For example, a web server (special computer software running on a server computer that serves out web pages) uses a port of number '80', and hence when the server receives messages on that port it passes them to the web server software which naturally knows that they'll be written in HTTP.

The World Wide Web

I've explained how the Internet works, but not yet how the web works. The web is the publishing system that most people don't realise is distinguishable from the Internet itself.
The Internet uses IP addresses (often found via domain names) to identify resources, but the web has to have something more sophisticated as it would be silly if every single page on the Internet had to have it's own 'domain name'. The web uses 'URLs' (uniform resource locators), and I'm sure you know about these as nowadays they are printed all over the place in the real world.

A typical URL looks like this: :///

For example: http://www.ocportal.com/index.php

HTTP is the core protocol for the web. This is why URLs usually start 'http://'.

Typically the 'resource identifier' is simply a file on the server computer. For example, 'mywebsite/index.html' would be a file on the server computer of the same path, stored underneath a special directory.

We now have three kinds of 'Internet Address', in order of increasing sophistication:

• IP addresses
• Domain names
• URLs

If a URL were put into web browser software by a prospective reader then the web browser would send out an appropriate request (usually, with the HTTP protocol being appropriate) to the server computer identified by the URL. The server computer would then respond and typically the web browser would end up with a file. The web browser would then interpret the file for display, much like any software running on a computer would interpret the files it understands.

An 'HTML' file is the kind of file that defines a web page. It's written in plain text, and basically mixes information showing show to display a document along with the document itself.

I've explained how typical web pages are just files on the disk of a server computer. Increasingly, things are slightly less direct. When you visit something like eBay you aren't just reading files. You're actually interacting with computer software, and the web pages you receive are generated anew by that software every time a request is made. These kinds of systems are known as 'web applications' and are becoming increasingly prevalent.

Author: Chris Graham

Internet and Small Business

Technology has played an imperative role in business operations. The advent of internet has given a new methodology to conduct business faster in a cost effective way in a limited time and space.

Internet is wrapped up with thousands of interconnected networks connected worldwide. The deployment of Internet in business has given rise to perform business worldwide to unlimited audience and it is one of the best methods for globalizing business. Internet is a powerful tool for winning a business strategy that assists companies to compete with their competitors and to improve customer satisfaction and hence internet business model has been formulated to assist companies to choose the right model at the right time.

Internet business is simply not designing websites to promote the products it has its unique process to automate any business function. Internet business helps manufacturers to understand the customer’s wants and needs by understanding their behavior when they visit company websites or research any relevant information and this in-turn helps manufacturers and marketers to produce customize and personalize product.

Internet business has changed the marketing practices of company to the great extent and hence marketers need to be more and more proactive and creative to reach and convince their audience to buy products.

Today many companies have also set up extranets with their suppliers to facilitate information exchange, transactions and payments. Internet business has given birth to e-commerce which is more and more specific when compared to internet business or e-business. The term e-commerce encourages companies to sell their products or services through internet. To be more precise about internet business; it is simply performing business using internet for worldwide audience in order to globalize business.

Advantages of Internet Business - Internet Business has its unique advantages

There is no need of physical location and hence you don’t need to have your own or rent place for starting up business as how traditional business requires.

Of course you need location that is DOMAIN NAME for website registration and its very cheap you can get for about $5 to $25 with free web hosting service.

You need website for selling your product or service. If you know programming and designing you can always do it on your own or you can hire a web developer and/or designer based on your requirement or even you can become an affiliate of some site which needs no website since your merchant will provide you website.

You can advertise your products or services for free in most of the websites say free classified advertisement site.

Since internet works on the principle of 24x7 you can reach your customer at any time.

Internet business is not geographic specific and hence you can reach global audience.

Disadvantages of Internet Business -Of course, internet has major advantages but it has some disadvantages too.

Through internet it is very difficult for the user to recognize what is genuine and what is not because users will not have the ’Touch and feel’ of some product before they buy.

Internet makes you feel isolate and hence it separates manufacturer and customer, and this ultimately end-up in lack of trust between two parties.

It is also difficult for the user to choose the product as there may be many products with different varieties advertise through internet.

Business Models:

Every Business needs model to run its business and operations. When it comes to internet it is not that companies have design or built their own models Most of the companies sustain with the following business models through internet.

Products
Professional Services
Information Business
Internet profession
E-Publishing
E-Advertising

Let’s understand the above six proven internet business model.

Products: This Internet business model includes stuffs like electronic goods, books, computer hardware and software, household, jewelry, etc. Companies may already use direct marketing to market its product.

Adopting this model is most inexpensive method to communicate universally, and consumers can look into the product through company’s website or online catalogue as it cost only the fraction of what printed catalogue cost and the duplication is achieved virtually. The vital part is to note that internet is not the business strategy. However, it helps business to formulate strategy more effectively and efficiently. These are none other than the Internet or Online retailer.

Professional/Specialized Services: This model includes Professional services such as accountants, consultants, architects etc. The use of technology has encouraged service business to devise innovative strategies to support the very nature of the business.

Service industry advertise its services electronically that is through internet and since internet reaches global audience by breaking the geographic barriers and hence today service sectors enjoy massive profit and growth since internet has out-performed the traditional advertising and it directly reaches its prospective audience.

Information business: This E-business model is for those who gather, create and sell knowledge. Internet has given a new room for this kind of business. Today people use internet for many reasons and information search through internet ranks top. Many netpreneur today adopted this business methodology and has created a success because there is lot of scope for business in this digital era and information business is one such businesses which grows with a full pace.

Internet Careers: Many people have started making careers in internet itself. This business model includes graphic artist, web designers and developers, software programmers, computer and software trainers through online, Internet marketing professionals etc. This is considered as fastest growing business and many people have started business model.

Electronic Publishing: Today people can find free news, magazines, and newsletters in the digital format. In this business model any factual written material can be published in digital format and uploaded in the website. Online or Electronic publishing is exploding since its too cost effective when compared to the printed version of newspapers, magazines, newsletters etc. There are many innovative ways that a company can generate revenue from this business model.

E-Advertising: Electronic advertising, the business model which grows constantly and is expected to out-perform the traditional advertising methods. From this business model companies can simply sell advertising space on the web which in turn generates a mutual understanding to both the parties (advertisers and publishers).

Advertisers get revenue by posting advertisement in their website and publishers gets traffic to his website and/or brand awareness of his (publishers) product through advertisement. This is really a big business and one can monetize his/her website (if available) by just selling the website space.

The above mentioned internet business model has been adopted by many companies and have created a history in this digital era. Thus internet has become the right source and a powerful tool for the businesses to create a new and innovative business strategy in order to sustain the market.

Different authors have defined Internet business models in a different manner but the actual proposition and meaning is same. To see the different internet business model terms have a look at this article. Read Here

As a Wannabe internet business you have to analyze which internet business model is best for you or where you actually fit in the whole scenario.

Author: Idris

Internet Security: Human Resource Management Implications

The rise of the Internet has resulted in many important issues being raised. One of these major issues relates to privacy and security concerns.
These issues become important ones for organizations to consider for several reasons. Firstly, because private employee information is recorded on computers, secondly because organizations have their own important information recorded on computers, and thirdly because many organizations conduct business over the Internet via an informational home page or by Internet retailing.
The question of security will become an important one for organizations and will likely become the responsibility of the human resource department in many organizations, with the questions of security and privacy an extension of information systems generally handled by the human resource department (Bernardin & Russell).
In this paper, the privacy and security issues that arise from the Internet will be investigated. Recognizing that the Internet is relatively new and rapidly changing, the investigation will be completed with an eye for looking forward to the future.
Firstly, I will discuss the modern history of the Internet and how it relates to privacy and security concerns. I will then discuss several key security and privacy issues relevant to organizations. I will then briefly discuss the protection options available to deal with these issues.
THE INTERNET AND PRIVACY & SECURITY
Privacy is not a new concept, but one that has been of importance to people for centuries.
The advent of the Internet however, is taking privacy issues to a new level. Privacy is described as “the ability of individuals to determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about them is communicated to others” (IBM).
Security also becomes of wider concern. With the importance of the Internet and information technology to society, it becomes a tool that can be used against national security, against individuals or against organizations.
As well as this, the mass of information available on the Internet can be misused.
The Internet has become a profound part of our society, impacting on every aspect of it. With this wide impact, security issues reach out across various topics and take on various forms.
Also relevant is the fact that the Internet remains in its infancy, with the Internet revolution described as “one that experts estimate is less than 10 percent complete” (IBM).
As the Internet grows and changes, new security and privacy issues will appear. As the environment changes, the privacy and security issues will be reconsidered.
There is no doubt that the issues the Internet creates are likely to change, as the Internet and society continue to adapt to each other. Even recognizing this, by assessing the issues now we can begin to see their current impact and also their future direction.
SECURITY AND PRIVACY ISSUES
Hackers
Everyone is under threat from hackers, from the organization, to government information, and through to individuals. The reason for hacking varies as widely as those that become victims of hacking,
“crackers are not necessarily after secret files or valuable corporate data, many just want a machine - fast. Most victimized machines are merely launch pads for other attacks” (Tanase). Essentially, hackers hide themselves by operating through a chain of machines.
Reasons for hacking are extremely varied and can include accessing information, changing information records and launching viruses.
For the organization, information may be extracted to be used against the organization. This information could then be used in various way. Disgruntled employees may seek information to use against the organization.
The threat of misuse also depends on the nature of the organization. A university for example has a threat of students changing their results records, while an organization involved in controversial issues, such as a gun manufacturer may be threatened by anti-gun protesters. Hackers may also operate by damaging company web sites.
The reasons and form of Internet hacking crimes are just as varied as typical crimes.
As the Internet becomes more widespread, Internet crimes may come to mirror all crimes. For example, just as a disgruntled employee may vandalize their place of employment, a disgruntled employee may vandalize the organization’s web site.
Current Effect on Business
Hacker attacks are the largest threats for governments and businesses, with ninety percent of business and governments suffering hacker attacks each year (Krebs).
Of those businesses, only one third were willing to report the attacks to the FBI (Krebs).
Eighty percent reported financial losses as a result but the majority were not willing to quantify these financial losses (Krebs).
The majority of organizations and government departments do suffer from security breaches. Also noted is that this is not all from hackers, a major component is also from company staff. The fact that the majority are not willing to report or verify the problems, is an indication that this is a problem that is thought to be significant as well as damaging.
Organizations generally avoid reporting such problems to avoid alarming shareholders, while government departments avoid public concern. With shareholders and the public warranted in their right to know of these breaches, there is a future likely, where such breaches will be required to be reported.
The reality is that these threats cannot be ignored. A study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology recognized that “information and the systems that process it are among the most valuable assets of any organization. Adequate security of these assets is a fundamental management responsibility” (NIST).
The report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology provides a framework for determining a security system program. The needs of the programs are twofold:
“Agency programs must: 1) assure that systems and applications operate effectively and provide appropriate confidentiality, integrity, and availability; and 2) protect information commensurate with the level of risk and magnitude of harm resulting from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, or modification” (NIST).
This considered system and approach to determining may mirror how organizations will approach security considerations in the future.
It is also noted that “many organizations and consumers are only just beginning to realize the value of applied information technology and the increased efficiency and effectiveness of innovations in data collection and management” (IBM).
With increased realization will come increased use of information by organizations, and with this increased use will come a greater need for privacy and security considerations.
Information on the Internet
The Internet is also capable of infringing on a person’s privacy as a publisher of information.
We can see the Internet as a tool for communicating information, just as television, newspapers and other media are.
The difference with the Internet is that the information published is not as well controlled.
With television and newspapers, controls are in place to determine what will be communicated. It is generally not possible for a person to publish information without it being verified in some way.
However, with the Internet, a person can publish and communicate messages to people from all over the world with no requirement to have checks on the information.
Essentially, the Internet allows anyone to say anything, and to say that anything to a lot of people.
This leads to the Internet being capable of being used as a tool to defame others.
A recent court case shows that this does happen, where the case is described as follows:
“A state-court jury awarded $3-million Tuesday to a University of North Dakota physics professor who sued a former student for libel after she accused him in an online article of being a pedophile. The professor, John L. Wagner, 41, filed his lawsuit after an article titled "Kinky, Torrid Romance by Randy Physics Professor" was published on the Web site Undnews.com” (Bartlett).
This example shows how information on any subject can be widely published on the Internet. The guilty verdict indicates that the law does consider this to be a case of defamation.
The ease of publication on the Internet and the difficulty in controlling it is also evidenced by the fact that the article is now posted on another web site (Bartlett).
This situation is one that may find controls placed on it in the future, controls that act as a safeguard for what can and cannot be published on the Internet as fact.
The guilty verdict in this case also leads the way for other defamation claims to be made and defamation laws to be determined for the Internet.
While this is a case against a person, it is also possible that this same type of defamation could be carried out in regards to an organization, its products or its services. It is feasible that a disgruntled customer could publish damaging reports about the company.
More Possibilities
The possibilities of using the Internet for illegal advantages include scams as new and ingenious as the Internet itself.
One opportunity that is not currently illegal, though is concerning, is using one piece of software as a means for distributing another.
One example that is causing universities concern is KaZaA, software that is used to store and swap video clips and MP3 files. This software is specifically targeted at students and is downloaded by large numbers of students. It has been reported that this software has “software attached to it that could allow the company to use student computers and university bandwidth for commercial ventures, such as serving Internet advertisements or selling computer storage space” (Carlson).
While this is not an illegal process, it is a misleading one for the user. It also shows how technology can be used for purposes other than that which we purchase them for. This is important because this is one way information can be hidden within programs and there is potential for this to be used illegally in the future. It is also said that universities are specifically targeted because they have a considerable amount of unused hard drive space (Carlson). This could apply equally to many organizations, so organizations may also become a target of these programs in the future.
SECURITY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION
Security Programs
Security programs currently consist of two main types. The first are virus programs that prevent damaging computer viruses from being received. One of the most interesting things about these programs is that they require constant updating.
These constant updates illustrate how quickly virus concerns change. Essentially, one group of people are constantly creating new viruses, while a second group remain alert to these viruses and create antidotes for the viruses.
The second type of security program is firewall software. Firewall software prevents hackers from accessing a computer. Just like viruses, these programs are under constant upgrading to keep up with hacker technology changes.
Security and Privacy Consultants
Security and privacy concerns have also created a new industry of consultants, who offer advice, personnel and systems to governments, organizations and also individuals.
An example of one of these firms is Rent-A-Hacker, whose company profile reads as follows:
“Rent-A-Hacker was formed to afford anyone the means to protect their valuable information assets. Unlike most Cybersecurity firms whose goal is to sell you security products, our focus is on auditing, detection and proactive prevention” (Rent-A-Hacker).
To achieve these goals, the organizations makes use of experts in Internet security and in hacking. This organization is an example of where the future of Internet security may lead.
With experts developing new ways to breach Internet security, software programs may no longer be enough. A defence system of equally effective experts may be the only way to combat hackers and other breachers of both security and privacy.
Government Actions
The Government plays an important role in effecting privacy and security concerns and does this on two levels. The first is in their role in setting the rules for the private sector. The second is in establishing guidelines for the government’s own use of information (IBM).
With the broad implications of the Internet it is also recognized that government control becomes essential, “the growing interconnectedness of society underscores the need for government officials to understand the broad implications of the Internet and the information technology revolution (IBM).
The government meets this challenge by producing a set of internationally-accepted principles, with these principles developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and are known as the OECD guidelines (IBM).
These guidelines include ‘fair information practices’ for organizations that outline appropriate security of data and disclosure of data practices (IBM).
IBM describes the US security and privacy measures, saying:
“The US has legislatively-required protections in focus areas: government, credit reporting, banking and finance, health, and children’s information. In other commercial areas, such as retail and online marketing, the US relies on its common-law traditions coupled with industry responsibility and leadership to chart the way” (IBM).
Legal Protection
The legal component of the Internet is handled largely by the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice. The actions of the section are described, saying:
“Section attorneys advise federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents; comment upon and propose legislation; coordinate international efforts to combat computer crime; litigate cases; and train all law enforcement groups. Other areas of expertise possessed by CCIPS attorneys include encryption, electronic privacy laws, search and seizure of computers, e-commerce, hacker investigations, and intellectual property crimes” (CCIPS).
Legal protection in the US is wide and varied, covering a variety of issues that the Internet relates to.
This includes the considerations of e-commerce, covering topics including Internet gambling, online sales of healthcare products and consumer protection (CCIPS).
Laws are also existent relating to computer crimes. These crimes include cyberstalking, Internet fraud, child pornography and identity theft (CCIPS).
Insurance Protection
Another industry that reflects the rising importance of Internet security is the insurance industry.
Policies purchased for 2001 were just under $100 million in 2001, with it expected to rise to at least $1 billion by the year 2007 (Salkever).
The policies available for organizations include protection from “virus attacks, denial-of-service assaults, cracking into company systems, and Web-site defacements. Some companies even write policies that cover cyber-extortion, where an online intruder or an insider steals crucial data such as customer credit-card files and demands a payoff. The rising tide of lawsuits against companies whose employees have used corporate e-mail inappropriately has also caught the attention of e-insurers” (Salkever).
It is also noted that with the insurance industry becoming a major part of Internet security, they will have the opportunity to shape the computer security business.
This will occur by insurance companies defining what types of security products and practices are acceptable. Following this, premiums will differ based on what software protection systems are used, effectively rating product systems and influencing the business consumers choice.
This is also expected to effect business, with e-insurance becoming a requirement, “as cyber-insurance goes from exotica to a business necessity, the computer-security industry will have to adapt to keep the insurers happy” (Salkever).
There is certainly potential for insurance companies to influence both the coverage required by organizations and the products and actions required to attain this coverage, “that's the wave of the future, as insurers exert even more pressure on the technology practices of any company wishing to insure this increasingly important facet of business” (Salkever).
Also recognized is the possible relationship between insurance companies and security products with it being argued “that insurers will demand responsibility from software companies for flaws in their products -- and that they'll have the legal firepower to hold the software outfits accountable” (Salkever).

Author: H.silistre

Free Internet Marketing

Free internet marketing is becoming a fast popular tool to market various kinds of products or services online. Such type of marketing through the internet is also known as internet advertising, web marketing, e-marketing or online marketing. Numerous internet users are still ignorant about the potential of internet marketing. Advances in technology related to the internet have brought many special benefits to marketing. A lower cost for the distribution of information to a wide global audience is one such advantage.

There are more than a billion users of the internet spread across the world. This number represents a large consumer base or marketplace. Such buying or selling of goods or services online is called e-commerce. Other advantages resulting in an increase in the number of people opting for online shopping are competitive prices, easier comparison of prices of similar products, wider range of products, and the comfort of shopping from home and having products delivered to wherever one chooses.

The internet has both creative as well as technical aspects which are integrated by internet marketing techniques. These aspects include design, development, advertising and sales. In order to be effective, internet marketing requires a well planned strategy that integrates a particular company’s business model and sales goals with the appearance and function of its website. This enables the company to focus on its target market by way of proper advertising type, media and design.

Free internet marketing and the quantum of revenue created depends on a proper identification of the target end user group. It starts with identifying who the potential customer is and what is their requirement. It is essential to know their problems and desires. The seller should put oneself in their place and try to find out what would make them feel better. Therefore before embarking on an internet marketing venture, it is advisable to research the target market interested in free internet marketing.

After identification of the target consumer base, the next step is to become aware of the competition. The activities of competitors related to the products and the strategies adopted by them to promote their sales online should be carefully evaluated. Their weaknesses with regard to the quality of products sold and guarantees, if any, are to be sought out. Competitors can be of various types. They are: The typical business houses and retail stores which have created online outlets.

Online service companies which offer services ranging from travel, dating and banking services online. Internet marketing has also spawned a special group of pioneers who have devised ingenious techniques of online marketing including article marketing, pay-per-click ads, mini-sites etc. Affiliate marketing is one of the least understood but most profitable forms of internet marketing. Through such programs it is possible for an online marketer to join an affiliate program and promote it products or services on the internet.

Free internet marketing does not have a single effective strategy for internet marketing. The individual situation determines the success and effectiveness of any internet marketing plan. As internet marketing becomes more popular and successful, it would become the choice as a full-fledged career, offering the freedom rarely seen in other professions.

Author: Carrie Bliss