Not only has the Internet revolutionized the way we communicate, entertain, and learn, it has forever changed the way we shop, socialize, and conduct business. An estimated 144 million Americans are plugged into cyberspace, and thousands more enter the online world every day. Even if you're not wired, you've heard the buzz, billions of dollars in E-commerce, E-books changing the way we read, and fabulous music libraries acquired for nothing, thanks to Napster and its clones.

The popular image of the WWW is one of earnest geeks and capitalist kids gulping a Starbucks as they sling code. That icon masks something that until recently could only be called the online world's dirty little secret and possibly the biggest threat to modern society. Not only is the web a city filled with endless things to do and sights to see, like any city, it comes with its share of dark, threatening alleys, where not even the most eager explorer would want to end up.

Moreover, the very process of interacting on the Internet, including the informal code of behavior called netiquette, seems to lower consumers' guard. Most people believe that the Internet is a wonderful land of endless information, where nothing bad can happen. That couldn't be any further from the truth.

graphers and pedophiles on the web, sadly, are nothing new. But because the Internet is so vast and uncharted, the full scope of its dark side has never been fully explored. And the amount of bad stuff out there is truly staggering, rigged auctions, viruses, adoption scams, credit card fraud, and identity theft, to name a few.

As more people get hooked up and as more criminals go online, we will see ever more sophisticated computer crimes. The key to catching these perps is to get them before they strike. All law enforcement officials, not just specialists, should be trained in computers and computer related crimes. Teams and committees should be formed not only to catch Internet crooks but to find out how they ope

Some common words found in the essay are:
E-commerce E-books, Future Internet, law enforcement, future internet, con artists,
Approximate Word count = 696
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)