The Internet is a vast network of computers that allows users at various locations to share information and data and communicate with one another. The Internet is comprised of hundreds of millions of computers in more than 100 countries. It is not operated by any one business or government; it is a cooperative venture in which many companies, organizations, and individuals choose to participate by making their computers part of the network.

The Internet's beginnings are traced to a project called ARPAnet, which was begun in the 1960s by the US Department of Defense. Government and academic researchers collaborated to develop computer-to-computer communications using a new technology called packet switching. Packet switching is a means for chopping data into a series of data packets. Each packet is like a postcard with "to" and "from" labels. The packets are passed along by computers in the network until they reach their...