Internet Computing

The Internet has changed the way that many of us do business and live our lives. The Internet is invaluable for the swift transmission of documents and other information through e-mail, voice mail, video teleconferencing, and other communication methods. Other uses of the Internet include electronic data exchange, electronic funds transfer, and e-commerce. Although the capabilities and benefits of the Internet are manifold, its use is not without risk. One of the keys to reducing cyber crime is to make it difficult to break into the connected computer and thereby make it a less attractive target. The Internet has many exciting applications including grid computing in which multiple computers are used during times when they would normally be idle. This application of the Internet allows data to be processed for an application that requires more speed or other capabilities than could be available in some cases — even on a supercomputer.

Keywords Application Software; Browser; Cyber Crime; Data; Database; Grid Computing; Hacker; Hyperlinks; Information Technology; Network; Processing; Server; Supercomputer; Virus; World Wide Web

Business Information Systems > Internet Computing

Overview

Just as the microprocessor before it, the Internet has changed the way that many of us do business and live our lives. Letter writing has nearly become a lost art and fax machines seem destined for the museum as we send messages and documents across the street and across the globe with unparalleled speed and accuracy. Items ranging from books to groceries to furniture can be purchased — and the resultant bills paid — online from the comfort of one's own home. The need for much business travel has been reduced by high speed audio/visual communications that can link participants around the world via the Internet into a teleconference. College students can forgo the time and effort of commuting to class and conforming to the schedule of others by taking online courses at times that are convenient for them. Knowledge workers can avoid the stress and hazards of rush hour traffic and commute from the breakfast table to the home office without ever changing out of their fuzzy slippers. In these ways and more, the Internet is transforming life in the 21st century.

History of the Internet

In its essence, the Internet is a network of computer networks not owned by any one institution or organization. The development of the Internet is guided by the Internet Society; a group of volunteers. The International Architecture Board deals with issues of standards and resources while the Internet Engineering Task Force handles the day-to-day issues of the Internet. It is estimated that there are over one billion pages on the world wide web today and that traffic on the Internet doubles every nine to 12 months. However, it was not always this way. What we think of today as the Internet was started in 1969 by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US Department of Defense. Then called ARPANET, its purpose was to enable research scientists to more easily communicate with each other. The original ARPANET included only four computers on its network. By 1971, however, this number had increased significantly, with approximately 24 computers at 15 sites. Within the next 10 years, this number increased to 200 hosts. During the 1980s, an increasing number of computers using different operating systems were added to the network. In 1991, the first web browser was released, allowing users to access what we know today as the world wide web (Internet Basics, 2001).

Capabilities & Uses of the Internet

The Internet is invaluable for the swift transmission of documents and other information.

Communication

Communication capabilities include e-mail, voice mail, and video teleconferencing. Electronic mail (e-mail) allows users to transmit and receive written messages and attachments of various text, graphic, or other documents. E-mail is exponentially faster than traditional mail, a fact that allows businesses to be more efficient by cutting down response time to messages and receiving documents and information needed for work performance in a timelier manner. Although this can be invaluable when communicating locally, it is essential to organizations that desire to be competitive in the global marketplace.

Long Distance Group Activities

Another popular use of the Internet is the support of group activities such as hosting meetings and conferences with participants at geographically dispersed sites. This use of information technology includes audio and videoconferencing capabilities combined with electronic document exchange capabilities that can obviate the need for extensive travel to meetings. Through the use of the Internet, voicemail messages can be delivered not only to individuals but also to large groups of people. Video teleconferencing allows the participants to not only be heard at remote locations but to be seen as well. This technology is often combined with electronic bulletin boards that allow users to post documents electronically, allowing group members to participate fully; sharing not only audio and visual communications in real time, but documents as well.

Electronic Data Exchange & Funds Transfer

Other uses of the Internet include electronic data exchange and electronic funds transfer. Electronic data interchange is a standard format used in exchanging business data such as price or product identification number. Electronic data interchange technology is particularly important in international commerce where paperwork required for international trade has traditionally created costs of up to seven percent of the value of the items being traded. With this technology, shippers, carriers, customs agents, and customers can send and receive documents through electronic funds transfer, thereby saving both time and money for international transactions. In addition, electronic funds transfer — the electronic movement of money over a communications network — is now an integral part of financial transactions. Credit card transactions are settled by electronic funds transfer between the user and the issuer of the credit card, payroll checks can be transferred into workers' bank accounts using direct deposit, and government support can be delivered by electronic funds transfer onto debit cards recipients may use for purchases or bill paying.

E-Commerce

Because of such funds transfer technologies, the Internet is also increasingly used for e-commerce to buy and sell goods or services — including products and information retrieval services — electronically rather than through conventional means. E-commerce (i.e., electronic commerce) is the process of buying and selling goods or services — including information products and information retrieval services — electronically rather than through conventional means. E-commerce is typically conducted over the Internet.

Risks of Internet Use

Although the capabilities and benefits of the Internet are manifold, its use is not without risk. Networked computers are open to attacks from cyber criminals and need to be protected. Security breaches can affect the validity of data and conclusions, the reliability of processes, and harm not only the organization's reputation and ability to do business, but also the customer's security and safety. Hackers can gain access to sensitive or proprietary information or can alter or corrupt software programs so that they produce invalid results, rendering the system unreliable and unusable. Identity theft is no longer the province of credit card thieves; rather, a single hacker with illegal access to a database containing customers' personal information — including social security numbers, addresses and birth information, and passwords — can exploit the credit and even raid the bank accounts of thousands of victims. Fighting cyber crime requires rapid responses to hacking incidents. The security of computers and computer networks is multifaceted and depends on the vigilance of operating system and software developers, law enforcement, merchants and financial institutions, and individual computer users.

Reducing the Chances of Cyber Crime

One of the keys to reducing cyber crime is to make it difficult to break in; thereby becoming a less attractive target. Although it is not possible to make a computer connected to the Internet completely hacker-proof, there are a number of security approaches that can make hacking more difficult, thereby reducing the threat of cyber crime.

• User identification and authentication is frequently required for many Internet applications. User identification typically consists of the use of user names and passwords. However, these simple tools can be very easy for a cyber criminal to break. To help thwart cyber crime, many companies require the use of longer character strings, the inclusion of numbers as well as letters, making them case sensitive, and requiring that they be changed at regular intervals (e.g., monthly, annually). For businesses where security is paramount, a smart card system can be used as part of an encryption system that uses public keys that are known to everyone and private keys that are known only to the recipient of the message.
• Authorization controls include firewalls (special-purpose software programs or pieces of computer hardware that are designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network and that are often used to prevent unauthorized access to a private network from the Internet). A firewall is located at the network gateway server and examines incoming messages to determine their origin, destination, purpose, contents, and attachments. Based on this information, the firewall makes the decision whether or not to forward the message to the intended recipient. Although firewalls are useful for protecting against intruders, they often filter out executable programs or attachments of excessive length on the assumption that they may contain harmful contents.
• Another way to reduce the possibility of being the victim of cyber crime is to use software designed to protect a computer against malware. Malware is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto the computer without the user's knowledge and against the user's wishes. Malware includes viruses, worms, trojans, and bots. Viruses alter the way that the computer operates or modifies the data or programs that are stored on the computer. Simple viruses can be self-replicating and use up a computer's memory or otherwise disable a computer; more complex viruses can transmit themselves across networks and bypass security systems to infect other computers or systems. Viruses are mostly pranksterish in nature and may be used to launch a hoax, spread a message, or create havoc. Worms are similar to viruses except in the method of transmission (propagating directly through vulnerabilities in an operating system rather than as an attachment passed from system to system). Trojans, or Trojan horses, are innocent looking pieces of software that trick the user into downloading them onto a computer for harmful or even criminal purposes, often to create a secret "back door" into the computer for a remote invasion. Bots are self propagating and are used for legitimate purposes, for example as Internet crawlers for search engines, but can also be used to collect data, log users' keystrokes, and steal information or launch denial-of-service attacks. Initially, malware creators delivered the unwanted code to computers, for example, by way of e-mail attachments. As users became more sophisticated and firewalls became common, a "pull" strategy was implemented whereby users unknowingly download malware onto their own computers simply by clicking on an infected link, ad, or website. Antivirus software searches a computer's hard drive for malware and removes any it finds. Most virus protection software includes automatic update features that enable the software to automatically download updates so that it can be kept up-to-date and able to protect against the latest viruses. One should update virus protection regularly to prevent malicious programs from infecting computers.
• Software is also available to target spyware and adware. Adware is a monetized form of malware that displays advertising while the application is running, frequently interfering with the user's tasks in the form of pop-ups. This type of software often includes additional code called spyware. Spyware is used to track users' personal information and distribute it to third parties without the individual's knowledge or permission. Adware is also used to deliver malicious codes to other computers.
• Other preventative measures include not opening attachments, downloading files, or clicking on hyperlinks sent from unknown persons or sources, installing firewall software, using a secure browser, and not storing financial information on a laptop, tablet, or other easily portable device.
• Internet users should also be wary of scams such as messages appearing to come from their bank or Internet service provider stating that their account information needs to be updated to keep the account active. Such queries should always be followed up directly with the purported sender and not by following a link in the e-mail.

Although high-tech security mechanisms can reduce the probability of cyber crime, there are also low-tech accountability mechanisms that can be used to boost Internet security. These include audit mechanisms and logs that record Internet use. Accountability mechanisms can be used as an audit trail if a breach of security occurs. In addition, Internet-use policies can provide guidelines for how to maintain security when using the Internet. In addition to controls that help increase Internet security, the enterprise should also have a contingency plan for how to recover functioning as quickly and seamlessly as possible in the case of a breach of security. In the end, however, it is important to remember that no computer that is connected to the Internet is completely secure.

Applications

Grid Computing

Grid computing is one of the more exciting ways that the Internet can be used in computing. In grid computing, multiple computers are used during times when they would normally be idle in order to process data for an application that requires more speed or other capabilities than could be available on a single computer. This allows the processing of large amounts of data that in some cases could not even be handled by a supercomputer.

SETI & Grid Computing

Perhaps the best-known example of grid computing is the ongoing project for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). The mission of the SETI Institute is to "explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe." To enable the achievement of this mission, the SETI@home project through the University of California at Berkeley uses desktop computers from over three million volunteers in 226 countries with the enticing but small possibility of detecting the first signal from a civilization beyond our planet. Using a screen saver program that is downloaded from the SETI@home website, these computers process data from the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico in a search for narrow-band continuous and pulsed signals. Between them, the volunteers have contributed 800,000 years of computer time in the creation of the world's most powerful grid computing system.

Although SETI programs could be run on supercomputers that analyze real-time data from a radio telescope, these computers do not look intensely at the data for weak signals or for certain others signals because of limits to the computer power available. Because the data to be analyzed can be easily broken up into small work units (about .25 MB each) that can be processed separately and in parallel, the data are prime candidates for grid processing. The UC Berkeley SETI@home program uses a screen-saver program that receives a work unit of data over the Internet, analyzes the data, and then sends it back to UC Berkeley. The program can be stopped at any time when the user of the personal computer needs to use the computer processor. The screen saver automatically relinquishes access and waits to continue until the user is finished working.

The SETI@home program connects with the Internet only while data are being transferred. This happens when the program has finished analysis of the work unit and needs to send the results to the SETI project and receive another work unit for processing. This is done only with the user's permission. The user can control when to connect to the SETI project or can take the option to automatically transfer data immediately upon completion of processing. Data transmission takes less than five minutes over most common modems and the link is immediately severed after the data have been transferred. After a work unit is returned, it is merged and stored in a large database at UC Berkeley. Work units are sent out multiple times to different computers to verify that they were processed correctly and as a backup in case an individual computer fails to finish processing due to a computer crash or other cause.

One of the assumptions of the SETI project is that any extraterrestrial intelligent life that desired to communicate with Earth would send a signal in a manner that was most efficient for them and that would allow us to easily detect it. Because of this assumption, the SETI@home project looks for data only on very narrow bandwidths because broadcasting on multiple frequencies is not efficient. A narrow bandwidth signal allows the sender to focus power so that a signal has a greater probability of being detectable across the vast distances of space. The SETI@home program acts much like tuning a radio set to various channels in search of a strong signal that is either continuously on or is broadcast in intense pulses. The screen-saver program sifts through the signals searching for any one signal that is louder than the surrounding background noise and that ascends and descends in 12 seconds (the amount of time the telescope takes to move over a given spot in the sky). Signals that qualify under these criteria are further analyzed by UC Berkeley. The majority of these signals (99.9999 percent) are determined to be radio frequency interference. These, along with test signals, are removed at this point. The remaining unresolved signals are then checked against several additional observations over time.

Monsanto Company & Grid Computing

A more down-to-earth example of grid computing was used by Monsanto Company, a large biotechnology company. Monsanto's scientists attempt to identify patterns within the genetic information of crops, which requires the analysis of huge amounts of data. Searching for new genes and learning the structure or sequence requires the examination of a database measured in terabytes. (A terabyte is the equivalent of one trillion bytes; a megabyte is "only" one million bytes, so a terabyte is 106 megabytes.) Analysis of such a high volume of data on Monsanto's supercomputers at the time would have required four to eight weeks, thereby not only limiting the amount of work that can be done on the problem but also limiting what other problems could be analyzed on the supercomputer. Therefore, Monsanto turned to grid computing.

Monsanto linked hundreds of smaller computers together through the Internet and their own networks to create a computing grid. Even when "running," most of the time the processor in a personal computer is idle while waiting for the user to take some action such as starting an application, sending an e-mail message, or calculating a spreadsheet. Through the use of grid computing, this idle time can be used for other tasks. Previously, Monsanto processed these huge amounts of data sequentially. Through the use of grid computing, however, Monsanto was able to "peel off" slices of the database and send the slices to different computers on the grid. The various slices could be processed on the individual computers and then uploaded to Monsanto. The individual computers could then be given another slice. Through this process, Monsanto was able to search for thousands of new genes annually — more than 50 times than had been possible using supercomputers.

Cloud Computing

Like grid computing, cloud computing is a form of distributive computing. Because data storage can be expensive, especially in terms of energy consumption, companies that use large databases may find it more cost-effective to use a cloud service to store their data where energy prices are lower. Cloud service providers also employ their own technical staff and absorb other costs, providing a more convenient and often more dependable service for a lower cost. Applications can also be delivered by way of cloud computing, conserving space on work station or server hard drives.

Terms & Concepts

Application Software: A software program that performs functions not related to the running of the computer itself. Application software includes word processing, electronic spreadsheets, computer graphics, and presentation software.

Browser: A computer program located on the user's computer that enables the user to locate and display information on the World Wide Web.

Cyber Crime: A criminal act dealing with computers and networks or a traditional crime conducted over the Internet. Cyber crimes include fraud, identity theft, hacking, and unauthorized acquisition of data and information.

Data: ( sing. datum) In statistics, data are quantifiable observations or measurements that are used as the basis of scientific research.

Database: A collection of data items used for multiple purposes; stored on a computer.

Grid Computing: The process of using multiple computers during times when they would normally be idle in order to process data for an application that requires more speed or other capabilities than could be available on a single computer.

Hacker: Although the term is used by some to refer to any clever programmer, it has come to be used specifically to refer to an individual who attempts to break into a computer system.

Hyperlinks: Text or symbols on a website that allow the user to automatically link with another page or document. Hyperlinks are usually identified by being different from regular, unlinked text by being in a different color, underlined, etc.

Information Technology: The use of computers, communications networks, and knowledge in the creation, storage, and dispersal of data and information. Information technology comprises a wide range of items and abilities for use in the creation, storage, and distribution of information.

Network: A set of computers that are electronically linked together.

Processing: The activity of converting, analyzing, computing, and synthesizing data or information stored in a computer so that it is in a useful form.

Server: The computer that hosts a network and provides services to the other computers in the network (e.g., a web serve serves up web pages). The term server is also used to refer to the software running on the server computer.

Supercomputer: A member of the category of the largest, fastest, most powerful computers available. Supercomputers perform millions of calculations per second and are designed to perform long and difficult calculations. This category of computers is particularly applicable for scientific applications.

Virus: In computer science, a virus is an application or specific piece of code that loads onto a computer without the user being aware of the change. Viruses often negatively affect the way the computer operates or change the data or programs stored on the computer. Simple viruses can be self-replicating and use up the host computer’s memory until the computer is completely disabled; more complex viruses can transfer themselves across networks and bypass security systems to infect other computers or systems.

World Wide Web: A set of interconnected Internet sites that use the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Electronic pages on the World Wide Web can be viewed and retrieved using the Internet. Also referred to as the web.

Bibliography

Eddy, N. (2014). Cyber-Security Threats Rise in Frequency, Complexity. Eweek, 2. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=97476916

Helland, P. (2013). Condos and Clouds. Communications Of The ACM, 56, 50-59. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=84631586&site=ehost-live

Internet basics. (2001). In World Almanac and Book of Facts (pp. 566-568). New York: World Almanac Books. Retrieved August 30, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=4003251&site=ehost-live

Jian, C., Venkatasubramanian, K. K., West, A. G., & Insup, L. (2013). Analyzing and defending against web-based malware. ACM Computing Surveys, 45, 49-49:35. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=90108284&site=ehost-live

Regalado, A. (2014). Business Adapts to a New Style of Computer. Technology Review, 117, 68-72. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=96678500

Senn, J. A. (2004). Information technology: Principles, practices, opportunities (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

University of California, Berkeley. (2003). SETI@home. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from http://seticlassic.ssl.berkeley.edu

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Suggested Reading

Giffin, S. D. (2002). A taxonomy of Internet applications for project management communications. Project Management Journal, 33, 39-47. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=8603024&site=ehost-live

Grac, I. (2005). Weaving a useful web. Planning, 71, 30-35. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=17595940&site=ehost-live

Levenburg, N. M. & Klein, H. A. (2006). Delivering customer services online: Identifying best practices of medium-sized enterprises. Information Systems Journal, 16, 135-155. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=19967290&site=ehost-live

Meiping C., Tseng. C., & Chang, J. (2005). A survey investigation into the use of the internet among accounting firms. International Journal of Management, 22, 649-660. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=19780592&site=ehost-live

Padilla, R. (2013). Considering the Cloud. Public Management, 95, 30-31. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=85832959

Pons, A. P. (2003). Enhancing the quality-of-service for application service providers. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 44, 3-8. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=11070269&site=ehost-live