How the Internet Really Works - An Illustrated Guide to Protocols, Privacy, Censorship, and Governance

An accessible, comic book-like, illustrated introduction to how the internet works under the hood, designed to give people a basic understanding of the technical aspects of the Internet that they need in order to advocate for digital rights.

The internet has profoundly changed interpersonal communication, but most of us don't really understand how it works. What enables information to travel across the internet? Can we really be anonymous and private online? Who controls the internet, and why is that important? And... what's with all the cats?

How the Internet Really Works answers these questions and more. Using clear language and whimsical illustrations, the authors translate highly technical topics into accessible, engaging prose that demystifies the world's most intricately linked computer network. Alongside a feline guide named Catnip, you'll learn about:

The "How-What-Why" of nodes, packets, and internet protocolsCryptographic techniques to ensure the sec recy and integrity of your dataCensorship, ways to monitor it, and means for circumventing itCybernetics, algorithms, and how computers make decisionsCentralization of internet power, its impact on democracy, and how it hurts human rightsInternet governance, and ways to get involved
This book is also a call to action, laying out a roadmap for using your newfound knowledge to influence the evolution of digitally inclusive, rights-respecting internet laws and policies.

Whether you're a citizen concerned about staying safe online, a civil servant seeking to address censorship, an advocate addressing worldwide freedom of expression issues, or simply someone with a cat-like curiosity about network infrastructure, you will be delighted -- and enlightened -- by Catnip's felicitously fun guide to understanding how the internet really works!

Inhaltsverzeichnis:

Chapter 1: How is the Internet Networked?
Chapter 2: What Form Does Information Take on the Internet?
Chapter 3: How Do Devices Communicate on the Internet?
Chapter 4: How Does Information Travel on the Internet?
Chapter 5: How Do People Relate to Information on the Internet?
Chapter 6: What Can Interfere With Information Traveling Across the Internet?
Chapter 7: How Can Information Travel Anonymously Over the Internet?
Chapter 8: What Control Do Machines Have?
Chapter 9: How does the Internet Build on Previous Technology?
Chapter 10: Who Controls the Internet?
Chapter 11: How is Power Distributed Over the Decentralized Internet?
Chapter 12: How Can Civil Society Engage in Internet Governance?

Rezension:

"Comprehensive and presents the subject well. It will be very helpful to all people doing IME, digital literacy training, and other educational activities."
Stephane Bortzmeyer

"In How the Internet Really Works . . . the reader gets a short, interesting, and entertaining overview of the Internet . . . in a jargon-free style."
Ben Rothke, Senior Information Security Manager, Tapad