num_pages: 256
description: The basics of how computer hardware software and systems work and the risks they create for our privacy and securityComputers are everywhere. Some of them are highly visible in laptops tablets cell phones and smart watches. But most are invisible like those in appliances cars medical equipment transportation systems power grids and weapons. We never see the myriad computers that quietly collect share and sometimes leak vast amounts of personal data about us. Through computers governments and companies increasingly monitor what we do. Social networks and advertisers know far more about us than we should be comfortable with using information we freely give them. Criminals have all-too-easy access to our data. Do we truly understand the power of computers in our world?Understanding the Digital World explains how computer hardware software networks and systems work. Topics include how computers are built and how they compute; what programming is and why it is difficult; how the Internet and the web operate; and how all of these affect our security privacy property and other important social political and economic issues. This book also touches on fundamental ideas from computer science and some of the inherent limitations of computers. It includes numerous color illustrations notes on sources for further exploration and a glossary to explain technical terms and buzzwords.Understanding the Digital World is a must-read for all who want to know more about computers and communications. It explains precisely and carefully not only how they operate but also how they influence our daily lives in terms anyone can understand no matter what their experience and knowledge of technology.
language: English
title: Understanding the Digital World: What You Need to Know about Computers, the Internet, Privacy, and Security
publisher: Princeton University Press