Is your computer a zombie? We can help.

Time for another analogy.

Let’s say you have a full-size grand piano that you want to send through the mail.  It’s too big to send in one box so you have to split it up into a bunch of little boxes or “packets.”  These packets have all different parts of the piano stored inside them.  The mail service you are using also requires that you not send more than four pieces of the piano per day.  However, if you send it to the wrong receiver through the wrong postal service, they will reject the pieces of the piano.

Replace the grand piano with something huge (movie, video game, etc.), the postal service for the internet and the different packages for these things called packets.  Packets are little parcels of the big thing you’re receiving.  If you send whatever you’re sending to the wrong computer, the computer you’re trying to send it to will probably reject it.

There’s also internet monitoring devices called in-line devices.  Now say you’re internet connection is a string.  The in-line device is like a knot in the string – everything still passes through and people don’t know it’s there, but it has the ability to open the packets up and see what’s inside before it sends them on.

As always, comment with questions.  If you would like to get to me more quickly, go to http://coyotetechy.blogspot.com and use the Meebo chatroom, the MeeboMe widget or the Google Voice widget to contact me.

Matt

LEARN MORE

Pianos – Wikipedia
Packets – Wikipedia
In-line Devices – SecurityFocus