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Bittorrent File Sharing: How it Works

The MPAA hates it. The RIAA sues people over it. Yet it is the most participated form of internet use by straight volume of data. How does bittorrent downloading work? What copyright laws does it infringe, if at all?

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Paul's Internet for Beginners Blog

Parent's Guide to Internet Safety

Tuesday July 1, 2008
The headlines and statistics about Internet predators can be unnerving. It’s difficult enough being a parent without worrying about Internet safety as well. Luckily, parenting a child online is not so different from parenting a child in the “real world.” The key is to remember that the Internet is a lot more like the real world than like television. Christy Matte explains here...

How Hackers Hack.

Monday June 30, 2008
At the conceptual level, hacking is pretty straightforward. To attack personal computers through modems, for example, a hacker will start by scanning for vulnerable systems. They may use "demon dialers" or "wardialers" to make repetitive phone calls to modems on the public Internet. To find DSL or cable openings, hackers will use port-scanner programs that repeatedly "ping" IP addresses of networked systems to see if there are openings. Then, hackers will do all sorts of things next... (Photo by Dave Martin / Getty Images)

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