How Personal & Internet Security Work

Chapter 1. How the Internet Works

The very thing that makes the Internet such an open place, and a great way to communicate with the world and gather information, also makes it easy to attack your computer and potentially invade your privacy. The Internet’s open communications protocols make the security dangers possible.

These protocols do something very simple. They break up every piece of information and message into pieces called packets, deliver those packets to the proper destinations, and then reassemble the packets into their original form after they’ve been delivered so the receiving computer can view and use them. Two protocols do this—the ...