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How the Internet Works promises "an exciting visual journey down the highways and byways of the Internet," and it delivers. The book's high quality graphics and simple, succinct text make it the ideal book for beginners; however it still has much to offer for Net vets. This book is jam- packed with cool ways to visualize how the Net works. The first section visually explores how TCP/IP, Winsock, and other Net connectivity mysteries work. This section also helps you understand how e-mail addresses and domains work, what file types mean, and how information travels across the Net. Part 2 unravels the Net's underlying architecture, including good information on how routers work and what is meant by client/server architecture. The third section covers your own connection to the Net through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and how ISDN, cable modems, and Web TV work. Part 4 discusses e-mail, spam, newsgroups, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and Net phone calls. In part 5, you'll find out how other Net tools, such as gopher, telnet, WAIS, and FTP, can enhance your Net experience. The sixth section takes on the World Wide Web, including everything from how HTML works to image maps and forms. Part 7 looks at other Web features such as push technology, Java, ActiveX, and CGI scripting, while part 8 deals with multimedia on the Net. Part 9 shows you what intranets are and covers groupware, and shopping and searching the Net. The book wraps up with part 10, a chapter on Net security that covers firewalls, viruses, cookies, and other Web tracking devices, plus cryptography and parental controls. |
