Week 5 EOC: What is the origin of the word 'Spam'?

When we hear of Spam we immediately relate it to the Hormel Foods processed luncheon meat, but not in the Internet world.  Spam is related to junk emails or abuse on the Internet, mainly consisting of  junk e-mails sent to people who have not requested them.   So, how did the word 'Spam' get to be a common word in the Internet?  It is thought that the first E-mail Spam came about in 1978.
'Use of the term "spam" was adopted as a result of the Monty Python skit in which our SPAM® canned meat product was featured. In this skit, a group of Vikings sang a chorus of "spam, spam, spam . . . " in an increasing crescendo, drowning out other conversation. Hence, the analogy applied because UCE was drowning out normal discourse on the Internet.' (http://www.spam.com/about/Internet.aspx).  The best way to get people to submit their e-mail addresses is by providing them with valuable information such as a monthly newsletter.

So is spamming illegal?  'Part of the problem is that the explosive growth of the Internet, and the very recent rise of professional spammers, has moved much faster than the laws, or the knowledge of the people who are supposed to enforce them. For example, most people at the US FCC, which has jurisdiction over interstate junk faxes, don't even know what junk e-mail is, let alone how the laws they enforce apply to it. (The FCC's Consumer Litigation department can be reached toll-free at 1-888-225-5322)' (http://spam.abuse.net/faq/)

Others think Spam got its name when a group of people decided to throw Spam luncheon meat to a moving fan, the mess this creates all over the room, walls and furniture is how they felt about receiving unwanted junk e-mails.

Week 5 EOC: What is IPv6?

For a long time the server provider for America has been IPv4, the birth to IPv6 has become the talk of the town among web designer and programmers. The change has come about because most experts believe we are getting close to running out of IP addresses. This will be a significant jump to what we have now, allowing information to be more secure because it will include encryption and will be more compatible with mobile applications.

‘The most notable change between IPv4 and IPv6 is the actual address. An IPv4 address was composed of 32 bits [4 bytes], which was portioned between network and host. The new IPv6 address is now 128 bits long [16 bytes], with the host portion being derived from a MAC address.’  (http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/web-hosting/archive/2010/10/26/colocation-america-begins-ipv6.aspx)

By having the new Ipv6 allows to have more IP addresses therefore more available uses for the Internet. One of the benefits is that it will allow a better quality of service when accessing live videos or making phone calls, this is because it gives priority to certain packets going through the internet.  Although Ipv6 will soon be available it will not be widely accepted right away, this can be because businesses will either have equipment that can run on IPv6 but may not have Internet capabilities to run on IPv6.  In these situations they will need a dual stack router which will allow both to run. The most important feature of IPv6 is the security and mainly developed for the mobile devices.

Week 5 EOC: What is the octet?

According to Webster’s Online Dictionary this is the definition of octet: ‘Octet (computing), a group of 8 bits, often referred to as a byte. Often used in networks and RFC request for Comment pages by the IETF Internet Engineering Task Force.’ (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/).

So the octet in relation to the internet is how eight different components come together and function as what we know as the Internet. There are different networks and a process it must follow for information to be submitted via the internet.  There are organizations of different networks; this is because it cannot all function in only one network.  A big part of the internet is funding it, ‘Through agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the federal government pays for some high-speed backbones that carry Internet traffic across the country and the world.’  ‘The government has also funded the Internet2, a super-fast net-work that can transfer data at an astounding 2.4 gigabits per second, for use by universities.’ (How the Internet Works pg 8).  Closer to home we have the regional networks which provide internet access within a geographic area.  These regional networks are bonded together and broken into even smaller networks to provide a much better service. 

Another big component for the internet are the registrars, this is usually provided by much bigger companies that provide domain names for the public to either individuals or companies.  After you or your company has a domain you want others to find you on the internet, this is where the internet service providers come in, another part the octet group. The internet service providers are mainly known as backbone because for a monthly fee people can access the internet via their home or place of business.

The InterNIC tracks the connections between the IP addresses and domain names; this network is also responsible for maintaining the registered domain names through the registries.  Lastly but yet very important is ‘The Internet Society is a private nonprofit organization that makes technological and architectural recommendations that pertain to the Internet, such as how TCP/IP and other Internet protocols should work.’ (Book: How the Internet Works pg 9).  This is another important part of the Octet internet system because as the internet grows their recommendations are very important as they find ways to best meet the demands of a fast growing Internet.

As you can see the Internet cannot function with just one network there is collaboration between different networks and each one has a very important part in making the Internet functional.  So next time you visit a website, just think of all the different networks needed so you can enjoy viewing that website from the comfort of your own home.