But in 1981, the internet was a mere shadow of what it is today. Now, everything on the internet has an IP address: laptops, mobile phones, tablets, cameras, even coffee makers and thermostats.

In Dan Misener's books, Feb. 1, 2011, will go down as the day the internet got too big for its britches as the IANA handed out some of the last available IP addresses.

Moreover, research into the leaked files shows that 35 credit-card transactions on the site -- by 10 different people -- were conducted using House of Commons or Senate IP Internet addresses.

Internet traffic is growing at the rate of 45 per cent a year, according to the Arbor Networks study. Craig Labovitz, the company’s chief scientist,calls this growth rate “significant,” but ...

ICANN is responsible for assigning numerical internet addresses to websites and computers. If someone were to gain control of ICANN's database, that person would pretty much control the internet.