Internet is used all over the world to connect billion of computer together. Internet is not secure because it is a public network. There are many chances that your device or computer get hacked.

What is intranet:

An intranet is a private network which is made for communication within the organization. It is a secure network by which employees of the company can exchange information with each other. An intranet is made by connecting different LANs and WAN’s within the company.

In college or university, users use files and files are only accessed within the university. As no user can access the files outside university so it is a more secure network than the internet. To setup intranet, the university has to buy switches, hubs and routers by its own expense. Intranet uses leased lines to make the network working and use TCP/IP protocol for data travel and displaying data on the screen.

In an intranet, organizations use a public network for sending private messages. Encryption/decryption is applied for sending and receiving any type of data in the organization. All data is filtered through firewall servers for securing data.

Intranet has a web server that is set up to host local websites and documents are shared in real time. If any employee of the company wants to connect to the intranet then he has to connect his computer with LAN. In intranet different users are given different permission e.g. if the manager wants to access database then he has limited access to data while if a company owner wants to access database then he will be given full access to the database.

Features of intranet:

• Employees of the company unite with each other and chat with each other through a private social network of the company. They can pass a good time with each other and stay focus on their work. Employees, managers, and other staff get motivation from the social network and concentrate on their mission
• Employees of the company inspire from the social activities and become more productive and initiative
• Company staff shows more engagement for challenging leadership
• By using the intranet, strong communication is built within the organization
• Users can find and view information faster
• Teamwork is improved as all the information is organized and easily accessible by authorized users
• Intranet provides a better platform for developing and deploying applications. There is an improvement in business operations also
• Company staff can see the required information from the dashboard of their computer screen. Employees can only work on files that they need. Documents and information is managed properly in intranet

Disadvantages of intranet:

• Hidden or unknown costs and complexity
• Intranet can get suspicious traffic such as spyware, phishing, spam, or malware
• If the firewall is not installed on the system then there are higher chances that system get hacked
• A strong password should be implemented so that outside users cannot guess password
• Management of the company fears to lose control of the intranet
• Most of the computers of the company can be easily hacked and it can spread the virus over all the attached computers
• If the intranet is not managed properly then  document duplication may occur and can create confusion in the employees
• If the administrator gives access control to multiple people then it becomes hard to control. So it is better to grant permission to each department and set their scope level.

Examples of intranet:

Some of the popular intranet software are listed below:-

• Samepage
• SharePoint
• eXo Platform
• Honey
• ShotPoint
• HyperOffice Collaboration
• BizPortals 365
• Workspace 365
• BancWorks

What is extranet:

An extranet is also a type of secure network by which customers and vendors communicate with the intranet. Suppose a company want to share some data with the customers then the company gives access to its data through VPN (a virtual private network). The company gives customers the login and password to give access to its private data. This type of network is known as extranet by which people outside the company can access the data of the company securely. Only authorized users can access the data.

If intranets are built in the university and there are multiple branches of university, to connect intranets of different branches of university we use extranets. By using extranets outside users can access to the data of university. Outside users must have login and password to for accessing data.

Features of extranet:

• It is easy to use extranets and can access the majority of information
• The training cost is low
• Customer service is better handled
• Online handling, inventory management and supply chain is integrated well
• Communication is done easily
• Less administration
• Outside users can access more information through desktop/mobile any time in a day
• Workflow is managed in simply way

Disadvantages of extranet:

• It is expensive to implement extranet
• If some outside user get access to intranet then he can give information to the competitors of the company and can misuse the information
• The user of the company can unknowingly share documents over the geographically attached branch and sensitive information of the company can be leaked
• There is a chance of fraud in the extranet
• It is possible that an unauthorized user can access the company’s computer as a contractor or visitor
• If the firewall of the company is not set correctly then wrong people can get access and can damage the internal systems and data
• Employees needed to be trained before using the company computer
• An employee with unauthorized access can break security and get access to human resource computer. An employee can then check confidential salary data
• Additional security in the firewall is required

Examples of extranet:

Some of the popular extranet software are listed below:-

• Huddle
• AxisRooms OTA Exatranet
• HyperOffice Extranet
• ITG Website Development
• Workzone Extranet
• Ingeniux Cartella
• BrainKeeper
• Claromentis Extranet
• Open Social
• Kahootz Extranet

Intranet vs extranet:

• An intranet is independent while extranet is dependent on intranet and internet
• An intranet is called a particular area while extranet is called a private domain
• Intranet can have firewall protection while extranet always has firewall protection
• Intranet sometimes can require a login id while extranet always require a login id
• An intranet is used to see and share the same information while extranet is used to receive and send private messages
• An intranet is unique to an organization at the same time while extranet is unique to the organization who want to send private information to their customer and supplier