From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TheInternet is the world’s largest global communicationnetwork forcomputers and other devices.It connects many smaller networks fromhomes,schools,businesses, andgovernments. These networks share different kinds ofinformation. The short form of the Internet is “the Net.” One of its most popular services is theWorld Wide Web, which is used by billions of people every day.
Logo ofDARPA, an organization funded by the US government, which helped develop the Internet
Today, people use Internet services by paying Internet service providers (ISPs).Some websites and tools are free, while others may show ads to earn money. There are also ongoing debates about censorship and freedom of speech on the Internet.
The most used service on the Internet is theWorld Wide Web (which is also called the "Web" or “www”). The web containswebsites, includingsocial media,blogs, andwikis likeWikipedia.Webpages on the Internet can be seen and read by anyone (unless the page needs apassword, or it is blocked).
The second biggest use of the Internet is to send and receive e-mail. E-mail is private and goes from oneuser to another.Instant messaging is similar to email, but allows two or more people to chat to each other faster.
Some governments think the internet is a bad thing, and block all or part of it. For example, the Chinese government thinks that Wikipedia is bad, so often no one inChina can read it or add to it.[2] Another example of the internet being blocked is inNorth Korea.[3] Someparents and schools block parts of the Internet they think are bad forchildren to see.
The Internet makes communication easy. Yet, communication can be dangerous, too. People often send secret information, and sometimes other people can steal that information. They can use the Internet to spread lies, steal secrets, or give dangerously bad advice. For example,Facebook has had some problems withprivacy settings.
Some websites may trick people intodownloadingviruses that can harm a computer, orspyware thatspies on its users (looks at what they are doing and tells someone else).
E-mails can have harmful files with them as "attachments".[4]
TheInternet is a worldwide network of interconnectedcomputer networks that transmitdata bypacket switching using the standardInternet Protocol (IP). It is a "network of networks" that has millions of interconnected smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry variousinformation and services, such aselectronic mail,online chat,file transfer, and the interlinkedWeb pages and other documents of theWorld Wide Web. Thegeneral public are allowed to use the internet, in almost all countries.
