In many countries around the world, businesses and educational institutions make up a large percentage of society. These places need a way to share information and communicate within the company or school. They must also be able to share business plans or other information with external organizations. Computers were originally developed for individual use only. The importance of data sharing forced manufacturers to create techniques to connect computers and this was the beginning of computer networks. Soon the importance of networks was realized in business organizations and today almost every organization in the world has its own computer network. Educational institutions are also following suit because networking provides a method for effective management and can also help improve student knowledge. Computer networks are becoming the main source of operation and communication for businesses and educational institutions. To learn more about computer networks, it is first important to understand the Internet. The Internet was conceived in the early 1960s by people who saw potential in the fact that information and research could be shared between computers. In his book Defining Moments the Internet Revolution (2005), Hillstrom notes that: A researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology named JCR Licklider proposed a plan for a global computer network and approached the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop It. In 1966 Lawrence Roberts of MIT moved to DARPA to develop its plans for the ARPANET. ARPANET was the world's first computer network to come online in 1969 under a contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). The Internet is... the center of paper... in government offices, small businesses and large corporations. Network technicians ensure that computer system designs allow all components, such as the computer, network, and software, to function properly together. They also resolve issues reported by users and automated network monitoring systems and provide recommendations for future system updates. Many of these workers are also responsible for maintaining network and system security (Bureau of Labor, 2009). Without the Internet, businesses and educational institutions would not be able to function or operate as they do now, and the amount of business they conduct would decrease. not be as great. The computer network makes everything simpler and cheaper for everyone. The Internet and computer networks may be the most effective tools in the everyday world.