The term domain name has multiple related meanings: It can refer to a unique name that identifies a computer or computers on the Internet. These names appear as a component of a website Universal Resource Locator (URL), such as 'subdomain.domain.com'. This type of domain name is also called a hostname. Domain names also the product that domain name registrars (retailers of domain names) provide to their customers. These names are often called registered domain names. Domain names are also used for other purposes in the Domain Name System (DNS) – for example the special name which follows the @ sign in an email address, or the Top-level domain names like .com. Domain names are often referred to simply as domains and domain name registrants are frequently referred to as domain owners, although domain names, technically, are leased from a domain name registrar. Read the full background at Wikipedia

The Domain Name System (DNS) associates various information with domain names; most importantly, it serves as the "phone book" for the Internet by translating human-readable computer hostnames, e.g. www.example.com, into IP addresses, e.g. 208.77.188.166, which networking equipment needs to deliver information. It also stores other information such as the list of mail servers that accept email for a given domain. In providing a worldwide keyword-based redirection service, the Domain Name System is an essential component of contemporary Internet use. Read the full background at Wikipedia

ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN's tasks include responsibility for Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) top-level domain name system management, and root server system management functions. More generically, ICANN is responsible for managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses. Read the full background at Wikipedia

A top-level domain (TLD), is the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any domain name. For example, in the domain name www.example.com, the top-level domain is com (or COM, as domain names are not case-sensitive). Management of top-level domains is handled by the ICANN. Top-level domains are classified into three types: country code top-level domains (ccTLD): Used by a country or a dependent territory. It is two letters long, for example .us for the United States. With some historical exceptions, the code for any territory is the same as its two-letter ISO 3166 code. generic top-level domains (gTLD): Used (at least in theory) by a particular class of organizations (for example, .com for commercial organizations). It is three or more letters long. Most gTLDs are available for use worldwide, but for historical reasons .mil (military) and .gov (governmental) are restricted to use by the respective U.S. authorities. gTLDs are subclassified into sponsored top-level domains (sTLD), e.g. .aero, .coop and .museum, and unsponsored top-level domains (uTLD), e.g. .biz, .info, and .name. infrastructure top-level domains (iTLD): The top-level domain .arpa is the only confirmed one. .root has been known to exist without reason. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Internet security is the prevention of unauthorized access and/or damage to computer systems via internet access. Internet security practices are primarily focused in four major areas: penetration testing, intrusion detection, incidence response, and legal compliance. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Policies and mechanisms for Internet governance have been topics of heated debate between many different Internet stakeholders, some of whom have very different visions for how and indeed whether the Internet should facilitate free communication of ideas and information. The definition of Internet governance has been contested by differing groups across political and ideological lines. One of the key debates centers around the authority and participation of certain actors, such as national governments and corporate entities, to play a role in the Internet's governance. The position of the US Department of Commerce as the controller of the Internet has attracted criticism from those who felt that its control should reflect its international nature. A hands-off approach by the U.S. Departmetn of Commerce helped contain this criticism. Other areas of controversy included the creation and control of generic top-level domains (.com, .org, and possible new ones, such as .biz or .xxx). There were also suggestions that individual governments should have more control, or that the International Telecommunication Union or the United Nations should have a role in Internet governance. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Issues such as jurisdiction and sovereignty have quickly come to the fore in the era of the Internet. The Internet does not tend to make geographical and jurisdictional boundaries clear, but Internet users remain in physical jurisdictions and are subject to laws independent of their presence on the Internet. As such, a single transaction may involve the laws of at least three jurisdictions: 1) the laws of the state/nation in which the user resides, 2) the laws of the state/nation that apply where the server hosting the transaction is located, and 3) the laws of the state/nation which apply to the person or business with whom the transaction takes place. So a user in one of the United States conducting a transaction with another user in Britain through a server in Canada could theoretically be subject to the laws of all three countries as they relate to the transaction at hand. Read the full background at Wikipedia

A domain name registry, also called Network Information Centre (NIC), is part of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet which converts domain names to IP addresses. It is an organization that manages the registration of Domain names within the top-level domains (such as .com or .org) for which it is responsible, controls the policies of domain name allocation, and technically operates its top-level domain. It is potentially distinct from a domain name registrar (retailers of domain names). Domain names are managed under a hierarchy headed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which manages the top of the DNS tree by administrating the data in the root nameservers. National domain name registries manage country code top-level domains (ccTLD) such DENIC in Germany (.de), or Nominet in the United Kingdom (for .uk), or CIRA in Canada (for .ca). Read the full background at Wikipedia

Telecom or Telecommunication is the assisted transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums, semaphore, flags, Morse Code, or heliograph. In modern times, telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic transmitters such as the telephone, television, radio or computer. Telecommunication is an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry's contribution was estimated to be $1.2 trillion in 2006. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Internet access provider (IAP, or Internet service provider, ISP) employ a range of technologies to enable consumers to connect to their network. For "home users", the most popular options include dial-up, DSL (typically ADSL), Broadband wireless access, Cable modem, FTTH, and ISDN. For customers who have more demanding requirements, such as medium-to-large businesses, or other ISPs, DSL, Ethernet, Metro Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Frame Relay, ISDN, ATM, satellite Internet access and SONET are more likely. With the increasing popularity of downloading music and online video and the general demand for faster page loads, higher bandwidth connections are becoming more popular. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Computer crime, cybercrime, e-crime, hi-tech crime or electronic crime generally refers to criminal activity where a computer or network is the source, tool, target, or place of a crime. These categories are not exclusive and many activities can be characterized as falling in one or more category. Additionally, although the terms computer crime and cybercrime are more properly restricted to describing criminal activity in which the computer or network is a necessary part of the crime, these terms are also sometimes used to include traditional crimes, such as fraud, theft, blackmail, forgery, and embezzlement, in which computers or networks are used to facilitate the illicit activity. As the use of computers has grown, computer crime has become more important. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just broadband, is high-speed Internet access – typically contrasted with dial-up access over a modem. In practice, the advertised bandwidth is not always reliably available to the customer; ISPs often allow a greater number of subscribers than their backbone connection can handle, under the assumption that most users will not be using their full connection capacity very frequently. This aggregation strategy works more often than not, so users can typically burst to their full bandwidth most of the time; however, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems, often requiring extended durations of high bandwidth, stress these assumptions, and can cause major problems for ISPs who have excessively overbooked their capacity. As takeup for these introductory products increases, telcos are starting to offer higher bit rate services. As the bandwidth delivered to end users increases, the market expects that video on demand services streamed over the Internet will become more popular, though at the present time such services generally require specialized networks. The data rates on most broadband services still do not suffice to provide good quality video. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Cyber law (also referred to as Cyberlaw) is a term used to describe the legal issues related to use of communications technology, particularly "cyberspace", i.e. the Internet. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are, as it is an intersection of many legal fields, including intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. In essence, cyber law is an attempt to apply laws designed for the physical world to human activity on the Internet. Read the full background at Wikipedia

E-mail spam, also known as "bulk e-mail" or "junk e-mail," is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail. A common synonym for spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE). E-mail spam slowly but exponentially grew for several decades to several billion messages a day. Spam has frustrated, confused, and annoyed e-mail users. Laws against spam have been sporadically implemented, with some being opt-out and others requiring opt in e-mail. The total volume of spam has leveled off slightly in recent years, and is no longer growing exponentially. The amount received by most e-mail users has decreased, mostly because of better filtering. About 80% of all spam is sent by fewer than 200 spammers. Botnets, networks of virus-infected computers, send about 80% of spam. The cost of spam is borne mostly by the recipient, so it is a form of postage due advertising. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Most current real-world computer security efforts focus on external threats, and generally treat the computer system itself as a trusted system. Some knowledgeable observers consider this to be a disastrous mistake, and point out that this distinction is the cause of much of the insecurity of current computer systems – once an attacker has subverted one part of a system without fine-grained security, he or she usually has access to most or all of the features of that system. Because computer systems can be very complex, and cannot be guaranteed to be free of defects, this security stance tends to produce insecure systems. There are many similarities (yet many fundamental differences) between computer and physical security. Just like real-world security, the motivations for breaches of computer security vary between attackers, sometimes called hackers or crackers. Some are teenage thrill-seekers or vandals (the kind often responsible for defacing websites); similarly, some website defacements are done to make political statements. However, some attackers are highly skilled and motivated with the goal of compromising computers for financial gain or espionage. Read the full background at Wikipedia

The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, working at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland and released in 1992. The last few years have seen tremendous evolution and an explosion of new options for architecting web applications based on client based JavaScript technologies. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is designated as the successor of IPv4, the current version of the Internet Protocol, for general use on the Internet. The main change brought by IPv6 is a much larger address space that allows greater flexibility in assigning addresses. The extended address length eliminates the need to use network address translation to avoid address exhaustion, and also simplifies aspects of address assignment and renumbering when changing providers. It was not the intention of IPv6 designers, however, to give permanent unique addresses to every individual and every computer. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Mobile computing is a generic term describing one's ability to use technology 'untethered', facilitated by devices which provide mobile computer functionality. Technical and other limitations of mobile computing include: insufficient bandwidth, security standards, power consumption, transmission interferences, and human interface with device. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Privacy Read the full background at Wikipedia

Malware, a portmanteau from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. Many computer users are unfamiliar with the term, and often use "computer virus" for all types of malware, including true viruses. Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software. Read the full background at Wikipedia

An IP address is a unique address (such as 147.132.42.18) that certain electronic devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP) – in simpler terms, a computer address. The IP address acts as a locator for one IP device to find another and interact with it. On the public Internet (as opposed to private internets or intranets), IP addresses are managed and created by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). The IANA generally allocates super-blocks to Regional Internet Registries, who in turn allocate smaller blocks to Internet service providers and enterprises. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Cybersquatting, according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price. The term is derived from "squatting," which is the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use. Cybersquatting however, is a bit different in that the domain names that are being "squatted" are (sometimes but not always) being paid for through the registration process by the Cybersquatters. Cybersquatters usually ask for prices far greater than that at which they purchased it. Some cybersquatters put up derogatory remarks about the person or company the domain is meant to represent in an effort to encourage the subject to buy the domain from them. Others post paid links via Google, Yahoo, Ask.com and other paid advertising networks to the actual site that the user likely wanted, thus monetizing their squatting. As with many controversial issues, some argue that the dividing line of cybersquatting is difficult to draw, or that the practice is consistent with a capitalistic and free market ethos. Cybersquatting is one of the most loosely used terms related to domain name intellectual property law and is often incorrectly used to refer to the sale or purchase of generic domain names such as example.com. Read the full background at Wikipedia

The foundation for today's global Internet e-mail service was created in the early ARPANET and standards for encoding of messages were proposed as early as, for example, in 1973 (RFC 561). An e-mail sent in the early 1970s looked very similar to one sent on the Internet today. Conversion from the ARPANET to the Internet in the early 1980s produced the core of the current service. Read the full background at Wikipedia

IP-based networks, including the Internet, route information between computers based on their IP address (such as 208.77.188.166). Directly using these numbers would cause many problems, so Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical service of such networks. DNS accepts a domain name (such as www.example.com) and responds with information about that name, such as its matching IP address. DNS can also perform reverse look-ups (given an IP address, return the corresponding name). Unfortunately, DNS was not designed to be secure. DNSSEC was designed to protect Internet resolvers (clients) from forged DNS data. It is widely believed that deploying DNSSEC is critically important for securing the Internet as a whole, but deployment has been hampered by some difficulties. Some of these problems are in the process of being resolved, and deployments in various domains have begun to take place. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is wireless, and is commonly associated with a telecommunications network whose interconnections between nodes is implemented without the use of wires, such as a computer network. Wi-Fi is a commonly used wireless network in computer systems which enable connection to the internet or other machines that have Wi-Fi functionalities. WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. One example of an important use for wireless networks is as an inexpensive and rapid way to be connected to the Internet in countries and regions where the telecom infrastructure is poor or there is a lack of resources, like most developing countries. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Network neutrality (equivalently net neutrality, Internet neutrality or simply NN) is a principle that is applied to residential broadband networks, and potentially to all networks. A neutral broadband network is one that is free of restrictions on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, on the modes of communication allowed, which does not restrict content, sites or platforms, and where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams. The possibility of regulations designed to mandate the neutrality of the Internet has been subject to fierce debate in various fora. Though the term did not enter popular use until several years later, since the early 2000s advocates of net neutrality and associated rules have engaged in mutual campaigns of propaganda with broadband providers over the ability to use "last mile" infrastructure to block opposed internet applications, and content providers (e.g. websites, services, protocols), particularly those served by competitors. Neutrality proponents also claim that telecom companies seek to impose the tiered service model more for the purpose of profiting from their control of the pipeline rather than for any demand for their content or services. Others have stated that they believe net neutrality to be primarily important as a preservation of current freedoms. As Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the Internet Protocol, has stated, "The Internet was designed with no gatekeepers over new content or services. A lightweight but enforceable neutrality rule is needed to ensure that the Internet continues to thrive. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive, as determined by a censor. The rationale for censorship is different for various types of data censored. Censorship is the act or practice of removing material from things we encounter every day on the grounds that it is obscene, vulgar, and/or highly objectionable. Whether it is on TV, in music, books, or on the Internet, censorship is an inescapable part of human society. Read the full background at Wikipedia

WHOIS (pronounced "who is") is a protocol which is widely used for querying an official database in order to determine the owner of a domain name, an IP address, or an autonomous system number on the Internet. WHOIS lookups were traditionally made using a command line interface, but a number of simplified web-based tools now exist for looking up domain ownership details from different databases. The use of the data that is returned from query responses has evolved from those origins into a variety of uses including: 1. Supporting the security and stability of the Internet by providing contact points for network operators and administrators, including ISPs, and certified computer incident response teams; 2. Allowing users to determine the availability of domain names; 3. Assisting law enforcement authorities in investigations, in enforcing national and international laws, including, for example, countering terrorism-related criminal offenses and in supporting international cooperation procedures. In some countries, specialized non governmental entities may be involved in this work; 4. Assisting in the combating against abusive uses of ICT's, such as illegal and other acts motivated by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, hatred, violence, all forms of child abuse, including paedophilia and child pornography, the trafficking in, and exploitation of, human beings. 5. Facilitating inquiries and subsequent steps to conduct trademark clearances and to help counter intellectual property infringement, misuse and theft in accordance with applicable national laws and international treaties; 6. Contributing to user confidence in the Internet as a reliable and efficient means of information and communication and as an important tool for promoting digital inclusion, e-commerce and other legitimate uses by helping users identify persons or entities responsible for content and services online; and 7. Assisting businesses, other organizations and users in combating fraud, complying with relevant laws and safeguarding the interests of the public. Presently studies are undertaken to determine the uses and abuses of whois information. Other studies that are ongoing concern the accuracy of whois information, and the effectiveness of the processes for reporting inaccurate public whois information. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Currently one of the key areas in progress towards multilinguilisation of the Internet revolves around the complex issue of the domain name system (DNS) whish was originally developed using the ASCII character set, employing only Roman characters and a limited number of symbols. An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet domain name that (potentially) contains non-ASCII characters. Such domain names could contain letters with diacritics, as required by many non-English languages, or characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese or Hindi. However, the standard for domain names does not allow such characters, and much work has gone into finding a way to internationalize domain names into a standard ASCII format, thereby preserving the stability of the domain name system. (Also read Geoff Huston article: Internationalizing the Internet) Read the full background at Wikipedia

The Internet protocol suite (commonly TCP/IP) is the set of communications protocols that implement the communications stack on which the Internet and most commercial networks run. It is named for two of the most important protocols in it: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which were also the first two networking protocols defined. Today's IP networking represents a synthesis of two developments that began to evolve in the 1960s and 1970s, namely LANs (Local Area Networks) and the Internet, which, together with the invention of the World Wide Web have revolutionized computing. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) is a protocol optimized for the transmission of voice through the Internet or other packet-switched networks. VoIP is often used abstractly to refer to the actual transmission of voice (rather than the protocol implementing it). This latter concept is also referred to as IP telephony, Internet telephony, voice over broadband, broadband telephony, and broadband phone. VoIP can facilitate tasks and provide services that may be more difficult to implement or more expensive using the PSTN. Examples include: The ability to transmit more than one telephone call over the same broadband connection. This can make VoIP a simple way to add an extra telephone line to a home or office. Conference calling, call forwarding, automatic redial, and caller ID; zero- or near-zero-cost features that traditional telecommunication companies (telcos) normally charge extra for. Secure calls using standardized protocols (such as Secure Real-time Transport Protocol.) Most of the difficulties of creating a secure phone connection over traditional phone lines, like digitizing and digital transmission, are already in place with VoIP. It is only necessary to encrypt and authenticate the existing data stream. Location independence. Only an Internet connection is needed to get a connection to a VoIP provider. For instance, call center agents using VoIP phones can work from anywhere with a sufficiently fast and stable Internet connection. Integration with other services available over the Internet, including video conversation, message or data file exchange in parallel with the conversation, audio conferencing, managing address books, and passing information about whether others (e.g. friends or colleagues) are available to interested parties. Advanced Telephony features such as call routing, screen pops, and IVR implementations are easier and cheaper to implement and integrate. The fact that the phone call is on the same data network as a users PC opens a new door to possibilities. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Read the full background at Wikipedia

In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the efforts of one or more people to temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Cloud computing is Internet-based ("cloud") development and use of computer technology ("computing"). The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet, based on how it is depicted in computer network diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided "as a service", allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet ("in the cloud") without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. According to a 2008 paper published by IEEE Internet Computing "Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, entertainment centers, tablet computers, notebooks, wall computers, handhelds, sensors, monitors, etc." Read the full background at Wikipedia

A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. It generally includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression) and security devices. Read the full background at Wikipedia

A peer to peer (P2P) computer network uses diverse connectivity between participants in a network and the cumulative bandwidth of network participants rather than conventional centralized resources where a relatively low number of servers provide the core value to a service or application. P2P networks are typically used for connecting nodes via largely ad hoc connections. Such networks are useful for many purposes. Sharing content files containing audio, video, data or anything in digital format is very common, and realtime data, such as telephony traffic, is also passed using P2P technology. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Full power analog television broadcasts, which operate between the 54 MHz and 806 MHz television frequencies (Channels 2-69), are slated to cease operating in February 2009 per a United States digital switchover mandate. At that time, full power TV stations will be required to switch to digital transmission and operate only between 54-698 MHz. This is also the timetable that the white space coalition has set to begin offering wireless broadband services to consumers. The delay allows time for the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to test the technology and make sure that it does not interfere with existing television broadcasts. Similar technologies could be used worldwide as much of the core technology is already in place. Read the full background at Wikipedia

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks. For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as "Triple Play" service (adding mobility is called "Quadruple Play"). IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet Television. Read the full background at Wikipedia

Being able to dial telephone calls the way customers have come to expect is considered crucial for the convergence of classic telephone service (PSTN) and Internet telephony (VoIP), and for the development of new Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia services. The problem of a single universal personal identifier for multiple communication services can be solved with different approaches. One simple approach is the Electronic Number Mapping System (ENUM) – also known as Telephone Number Mapping. ENUM also permits connecting the IP world to the telephone system in a seamless manner. Read the full background at Wikipedia