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The History of Computer Networking
A broad timeline of computer networking, from terminals sharing one machine to local networks, wide area links and the global internet.
Networks and the Web
Networks and Security
Connecting computers, the early internet and the web, and keeping them safe.
A Brief History of Computer Security
A short overview of computer security across the decades, from guarding the machine room to passwords, viruses, encryption and today's attacks.
The Development of the First Computer Virus: A Cautionary Tale
The cautionary tale of early self-spreading programs, from the experimental Creeper to the 1988 Morris worm, and why no single first can be named.
The Development of the First Computer Viruses
How the idea of self-replicating programs grew from 1940s theory to early personal computer incidents in the 1980s, with credit shared and disputed.
The Development of the World Wide Web
How Tim Berners-Lee and colleagues built the web at CERN around 1990 as a layer on the internet, and how early web browsers spread it worldwide.
The Early Days of Computer Networking and the Internet
How the research networks of the 1960s and 1970s actually connected computers, from leased lines and small interface computers to linking separate networks.
The Early Days of Computer Security: A Computing Challenge
The time-sharing era's security problems, including passwords, access control and shared files, before the internet connected everything.
The Early Days of the Internet: A Computing Revolution
The people and institutions behind ARPANET and the early internet, from ARPA's research funding to BBN, the first four sites and early email.
The History of Computer Networking: A Computing Milestone
Packet switching explained: how several people in the 1960s developed the idea of sending data in small pieces, and why it shaped network design.
The History of the Computer Network Architecture: A Computing Milestone
How layered designs and shared protocols let networks from different computer makers interconnect, from proprietary systems to OSI and TCP/IP.
The History of the Computer Network: A Computing Milestone
How computers moved from standalone machines to office and campus local area networks in the 1970s and 1980s, with Ethernet, file servers and shared printers.
The History of the Internet and Computing
How shared internet protocols and the growth of connected networks tied computing and the internet together during the 1980s and 1990s.
The History of the Internet of Things (IoT): A Computing Revolution
How everyday objects gained sensors and network links, from 1980s and 1990s ideas to today's smart devices, and the privacy and security trade-offs.
The History of the World Wide Web: A Computing Milestone
The web explained as distinct from the internet, from hypertext ideas such as Memex and Xanadu to its spread in the early 1990s.
The Impact of the Computer on Cybersecurity and Data Protection
How computing created new risks and new protections for information, including encryption, privacy laws and the trade-offs that come with them.
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