2210 · 0478Paper 1 · Computer Systems§5.1, §5.2, §5.3

5. The Internet and Its Uses

Internet vs World Wide Web, URLs, HTTP/HTTPS, browsers, cookies, blockchain, cyber security threats and how to stop them.

In the 2029–31 syllabus the web moves to 3.4 and cyber security to 4.2 (five core principles, SQL injection, TLS, VPN). Digital currency is removed entirely. What changes in 2029 → · Study the new topics: 3. Data transmission and networking, 4. Data integrity and cybersecurity

Read the Smart Notes Watch lectures (7) Ask the corner

Statometer83BankerNext Paper 194%

Marks a paper14.9 · 20%Rank#6 of 10 · #4 on P1Trend · last 12→Full stats

Everything for this topic — study hub

O Level / IGCSE · 2210 · 0478 · Paper 1

This topic is rows 15–17 of the study route.Open it on your study route

Statometer — what 25 real papers say about this topic and each of its 3 syllabus bullets

Banker · #6 of 10 in O Level / IGCSE · recomputed with every new session

Banker#6 of 10 in O Level / IGCSE#4 on Paper 1→ Steady

Set in nearly every paper and worth a big slice of it — revise first, expect it.

Next Paper 1: 94%; 9 in 10 chance it is set
Marks a paper: 14.9 / 75; 20% of Paper 1 · fair share 17%
Appeared in: 25 / 25; Paper 1 sittings 2023–2026
Last set: May/Jun 2026; 0478/13 · Q7 · 5 marks · 11-series streak

Marks in each of the last 12 Paper 1 sittingsOct/Nov 24 → May/Jun 26

What the papers say

Set in 25 of 25 Paper 1 sittings on the current syllabus — treat it as certain.
Worth about 14.9 marks a paper (20% of Paper 1).
Last set May/Jun 2026 · 0478/13 · Q7 for 5 marks — in the most recent series.
Set in each of the last 11 series without a miss.
Steady at around 15.3 marks a paper year on year.
Lives on “Explain” and “Describe” — 63% of its questions: full sentences with a reason, not one-word answers.
Most of its marks (88%) come in extended questions of 6+ marks — plan the answer before writing.
Its biggest question so far: 23 marks (May/Jun 2025 · 2210/12 · Q5).
Inside the topic, §5.1 The internet and the world wide web carries the most marks (53%) and §5.2 Digital currency the least (1%).
It is examined mostly as AO1 (Knowledge & understanding, 69%), the rest AO2 (25%) — definitions and descriptions in syllabus words score.
The examiner has commented on 111 of its questions — read “What the examiner said” before you practise.

Command words

Share of questions using the word (a question can use several). What each wants →

Question shapes

1–2 mk0
3–4 mk14
5–6 mk43
7–9 mk24
10+ mk57

Average 9 marks a question · 24% with a figure or table · 22% with code · biggest 23 marks

Assessment objectives — how it is examined

Every part of every current-syllabus question filed under Cambridge's AO1 / AO2 / AO3 (from its command word and what it asks you to do), so you know whether this topic pays for definitions, for applying, or for judging and building.

AO1 69%

AO2 25%

AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge

Paper 1 as a whole

Paper 1	Syllabus	Measured
AO1 Knowledge & understanding	60%	64%
AO2 Apply to a context	20%	24%
AO3 Evaluate & judge	20%	12%

Syllabus = Cambridge's grid; measured = the bank's current-syllabus papers.

Inside the topic — every syllabus bullet, measured

Each part of each question is filed under the bullet it examines; the numbers are per Paper 1 sitting, exactly like the topic's. Open a bullet for its own Statometer.

5.1The internet and the world wide web#5 of 20 on Paper 1Banker · 8270% next paper6.1 marks18/25 sittings→ May/Jun 2026Banker · 8270%
6.1 · 53% of topic18/25May/Jun 2026latest series · →
Asked in nearly every paper — the bullet to know cold.Syllabus: internet vs WWW; URLs; HTTP/HTTPS; web browser functions; locating and displaying a web page (DNS, IP, web server, HTML); session and persistent cookies
Next Paper 1
70%
7 in 10
Marks a paper
6.1
8% of the paper · 53% of the topic
Asked in
18 / 25
Paper 1 sittings · 84 questions
Last asked
May/Jun 2026
0478/13 · Q5 · 3 marks · 10-series streak
Asked in 18 of 25 Paper 1 sittings — about 7 papers in 10.
About 6.1 marks a paper (8% of Paper 1; 53% of the topic's marks across its 3 bullets).
Last asked May/Jun 2026 · 0478/13 · Q5 (3 marks) — in the most recent series.
Asked in each of the last 10 series.
Usually “Describe” or “Explain”: full sentences with a reason, not one-word answers.
Biggest chunk of marks so far: 14 in Oct/Nov 2024 · 2210/12 · Q7.
It is examined mostly as AO1 (Knowledge & understanding, 65%), the rest AO2 (30%) — definitions and descriptions in syllabus words score.
Last 12 sittings→ Steady
Assessment objectives
AO1 65%
AO2 30%
AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge
Describe48%
Explain39%
Give38%
State32%
Practise its 84 questions Biggest: 14 marks · Oct/Nov 2024
5.2Digital currency#20 of 20 on Paper 1Occasional · 1118% next paper0.4 marks4/25 sittings→ May/Jun 2025Occasional · 1118%
0.4 · 1% of topic4/25May/Jun 20253 series ago · →
Rotated in occasionally — the bullet students skip and then meet.Syllabus: what a digital currency is and how blockchain tracks its transactions
Next Paper 1
18%
1 in 5 or less
Marks a paper
0.4
1% of the paper · 1% of the topic
Asked in
4 / 25
Paper 1 sittings · 4 questions
Last asked
May/Jun 2025
2210/11 · Q9 · 2 marks · 3 series ago
Asked in only 4 of 25 Paper 1 sittings — rare, which is exactly why it catches candidates out.
About 0.4 marks a paper (1% of Paper 1; 1% of the topic's marks across its 3 bullets).
Last asked May/Jun 2025 · 2210/11 · Q9 (2 marks), 3 seriess ago.
Usually “Give”: short, precise answers in syllabus words.
Biggest chunk of marks so far: 4 in Oct/Nov 2024 · 0478/11 · Q8.
It is examined mostly as AO2 (Apply to a context, 62%), the rest AO1 (39%) — you must apply it to the scenario or the given data — a definition alone will not score.
Last 12 sittings→ Steady
Assessment objectives
AO1 39%
AO2 62%
AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge
Give50%
Complete25%
Draw25%
Identify25%
Practise its 4 questions Biggest: 4 marks · Oct/Nov 2024
5.3Cyber security#6 of 20 on Paper 1Banker · 8077% next paper5.5 marks20/25 sittings↘ May/Jun 2026Banker · 8077%
5.5 · 46% of topic20/25May/Jun 2026latest series · ↘
Asked in nearly every paper — the bullet to know cold.Syllabus: threats (brute-force, data interception, DDoS, hacking, malware, pharming, phishing, social engineering) and the solutions that keep data safe
Next Paper 1
77%
8 in 10
Marks a paper
5.5
7% of the paper · 46% of the topic
Asked in
20 / 25
Paper 1 sittings · 88 questions
Last asked
May/Jun 2026
0478/13 · Q7 · 5 marks · 4-series streak
Asked in 20 of 25 Paper 1 sittings — about 8 papers in 10.
About 5.5 marks a paper (7% of Paper 1; 46% of the topic's marks across its 3 bullets).
Last asked May/Jun 2026 · 0478/13 · Q7 (5 marks) — in the most recent series.
Asked in each of the last 4 series.
Easing: 6.1 → 5.4 marks a paper.
Usually “Explain” or “Describe”: full sentences with a reason, not one-word answers.
Biggest chunk of marks so far: 10 in May/Jun 2026 · 2210/12 · Q5.
It is examined almost entirely as AO1 (Knowledge & understanding, 77%) — definitions and descriptions in syllabus words score.
Last 12 sittings↘ Easing
Assessment objectives
AO1 77%
AO2 23%
AO1 Knowledge & understanding
AO2 Apply to a context
AO3 Evaluate & judge
Explain51%
Describe43%
Identify39%
State39%
Practise its 88 questions Biggest: 10 marks · May/Jun 2026

14% of the topic's marks sit in question parts that belong to another topic (scenario questions cross sections) or that no bullet claims; they count for the topic, not for a bullet.

Marks a paper, year by year

151617181920212223242526

Grey years are the previous syllabus (2015–2022, 99 questions) — history, not counted in the rates.

By exam series

Feb/Mar4/4 · 13.8 mk
May/Jun12/12 · 16.6 mk
Oct/Nov9/9 · 13 mk

Practise 138 real questions Smart Notes Quiz Flashcards Every topic on the Statometer

What you need to know3syllabus §5.1, §5.2, §5.3

5.1The internet and the world wide web — internet vs WWW; URLs; HTTP/HTTPS; web browser functions; locating and displaying a web page (DNS, IP, web server, HTML); session and persistent cookies
5.2Digital currency — what a digital currency is and how blockchain tracks its transactions
5.3Cyber security — threats (brute-force, data interception, DDoS, hacking, malware, pharming, phishing, social engineering) and the solutions that keep data safe

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Infographics2draw these the way the examiner expects · download as PNG

URL anatomy & fetching a web page

O Level

Cyber threats vs defences

O LevelAS

Browse all infographics →

Key terms14use these exact words in the exam

URL DNS HTTPS cookie blockchain DDoS malware phishing pharming firewall proxy server SSLbiometricstwo-factor authentication

Dotted terms are defined in the glossary.

Code help2referenced to the Cambridge pseudocode guide

Password strength check (validation + security)

pseudocode Run in Playground

DECLARE P : STRING
DECLARE i, Digits : INTEGER
DECLARE Ch : CHAR
P ← "Zak2026!"
Digits ← 0
FOR i ← 1 TO LENGTH(P)
   Ch ← SUBSTRING(P, i, 1)
   IF Ch >= '0' AND Ch <= '9' THEN
      Digits ← Digits + 1
   ENDIF
NEXT i
IF LENGTH(P) >= 8 AND Digits >= 1 THEN
   OUTPUT "Strong enough"
ELSE
   OUTPUT "Too weak"
ENDIF

Caesar-shift encryption (symmetric key idea)

pseudocode Run in Playground

DECLARE Msg, Out : STRING
DECLARE i, Key, Code : INTEGER
Msg ← "HELLO"
Key ← 3
Out ← ""
FOR i ← 1 TO LENGTH(Msg)
   Code ← ASC(SUBSTRING(Msg, i, 1)) - 65
   Out ← Out & CHR((Code + Key) MOD 26 + 65)
NEXT i
OUTPUT Out

💡 Same key decrypts by shifting back — that is what 'symmetric' means.

Playground examples1runnable program for this topic

Caesar cipher — encrypt & decrypt
Shift letters with ASC and CHR, wrapping with MOD 26. Same key both ways = symmetric encryption.
O LevelASA2PseudocodeString handling §5.5 · 2210 §5 / 9618 §6.2 security
Run

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Quiz: The Internet and Its Uses (60)🃏 Flashcards: mix this topic (71)🌐 Internet, WWW, URLs & browsers (19)🪙 Digital currency & blockchain (11)🛡️ Cyber security threats (21)🔒 Cyber security solutions (20)Past-paper questions (138)🌐 URL → web page walkthrough ⛓️ Blockchain demo 🔐 Encryption & HTTPS 🪤 Examiner's traps 🎮 Play ArenaZ 🎮 Play RoyaleZ 🎮 Play PacketZ 🎮 Play SpireZ 🎮 Play ImposterZ

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Everything for this topic — study hub

Statometer — what 25 real papers say about this topic and each of its 3 syllabus bullets

What you need to know3syllabus §5.1, §5.2, §5.3

Video lectures7ZAK's YouTube channel · play here

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