How the Internet Really Works

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?

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 protocols
•  Cryptographic techniques to ensure the secrecy and integrity of your data
•  Censorship, ways to monitor it, and means for circumventing it
•  Cybernetics, algorithms, and how computers make decisions
•  Centralization of internet power, its impact on democracy, and how it hurts human rights
•  Internet governance, and ways to get involved