Internet, Intranet and Extranet: Definitions, Features, Uses and Importance

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Intranet, Internet & Extranet - Basics in Computing (3 Terms in 3 Lines)

Intranet

  • Private network
  • Only to members
  • Share sensitive information
  • Security by firewall
  • Regulated by organizational policies
  • An intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It may consist of many interlinked local area networks and use any WAN technologies for network connectivity. The main purpose of an intranet is to share company information and computing resources among employees.

Extranet

  • Organizational and external members
  • Between members and external agencies
  • Regulated on contractual agreements
  • An extranet can be viewed as part of a company՚s intranet that is extended to users outside the company like suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other business associates.
  • Used to exchange data, large information, product catalogue and joint training programs

Internet

  • Unregulated and uncensored
  • Global system
  • Accessible to everyone
  • Sharing information throughout world
  • worldwide, publicly accessible computer network of interconnected computer networks (internetwork) that transmit data using the standard Internet Protocol (IP) .
  • The Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, etc. World Wide Web (WWW) is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs
  • Used for communication, online banking, advertisement, R&D
  • Problems include cyber-crime, phishing, hacking, virus etc.

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