History of Internet

By Su Hyun Kim

  • 1986

    1986
    In the beginning of 1986, the number of networks grows from 2,000 to nearly 30,000.TCP/IP is available on workstations and PCs such as the newly introduced Compaq portable computer. Ethernet is becoming accepted for wiring inside buildings and across campuses.

  • 1987

    1987
    1987: Network management starts to become a major issue and it becomes clear that a protocol is needed between routers to allow remote management. SNMP is chosen as a simple, quick, near term solution

  • 1988

    1988
    1988: The upgrade of the NSFNET backbone to T1 completes and the Internet starts to become more international with the connection of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

  • 1989

    1989
    1989: World.std.com becomes the first commercial provider of dial-up access to the Internet.

  • 1990

    1990
    1990: Tim Berners-Lee developed HyperText Markup Language (HTML): impacted on how we navigate and view the Internet today.

  • 1991

    1991
    1991: CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) introduced the World Wide Web (WWW) to public.

  • 1992

    1992
    1992: The Internet becomes such a part of the computing establishment that a professional society forms to guide it on its way. The Internet Society (ISOC), with Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn among its founders, validates the coming of age of inter-networking and its pervasive role in the lives of professionals in developed countries.

  • 1993

    1993
    1993: Over 600 websites were created. Marc Andreesen developed the Mosaic Web browser at the Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

  • 1994

    1994
    1994: Yahoo! Is created Jerry Yang and David Filo; this company is later incorporated in March.

  • 1995

    1995
    1995: The first online dating site, Match.com, was launched.

  • 1996

    1996
    1996: The browser war between Microsoft and Netscape heated up.

  • 1997

    1997
    Netflix was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph
    PC makers can remove or hide Microsoft’s Internet software on new versions of Windows 95, thanks to a settlement with the Justice Department. Netscape announces that its browser will be free.

  • 1998

    1998
    1998: The Google search engine is born, changing the way users engage with the Internet.

  • 2000

    2000
    2000: The dot-com bubble bursts. Web sites such as Yahoo! and eBay are hit by a large-scale denial of service attack, highlighting the vulnerability of the Internet. AOL merges with Time Warner

  • 2001

    2001
    2001: A federal judge shuts down Napster, ruling that it must find a way to stop users from sharing copyrighted material before it can go back online.

  • 2003

    2003
    2003: The SQL Slammer worm spread worldwide in just 10 minutes. Myspace, Skype and the Safari Web browser debut.

  • 2004

    2004
    Facebook goes online and the era of social networking begins. Mozilla unveils the Mozilla Firefox browser.

  • 2005

    2005
    2005: YouTube.com launches. The social news3 site Reddit is also founded.

  • 2006

    2006
    2006: AOL changes its business model, offering most services for free and relying on advertising to generate revenue. The Internet Governance Forum meets for the first time.

  • 2007

    2007
    2007- Internet2 officially retires Abilene and now refers to its new, higher capacity network as the Internet2 Network

  • 2008

    2008
    2008 – NASA successfully tests the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. Using software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, dozens of space images are transmitted to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about more than 32 million kilometers from Earth

  • 2009

    2009
    The Internet marks its 40th anniversary.

  • 2010

    2010
    2010: Facebook reaches 400 million active users.

  • 2011

    2011
    2011: Twitter and Facebook play a large role in the Middle East revolts.

  • 2012

    2012
    2012: President Barack Obama's administration announces its opposition to major parts of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act, which would have enacted broad new rules requiring internet service providers to police copyrighted content.

  • 2013

    2013
    2013: Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, reveals that the NSA had in place a monitoring program capable of tapping the communications of thousands of people, including U.S. citizens.

  • 2015

    2015
    2015: Instagram, the photo-sharing site, reaches 400 million users, outpacing Twitter, which would go on to reach 316 million users by the middle of the same year.

  • 2016

    2016
    2016: Google unveils Google Assistant, a voice-activated personal assistant program, marking the entry of the Internet giant into the "smart" computerized assistant marketplace. Google joins Amazon's Alexa, Siri from Apple, and Cortana from Microsoft.