Like many successful inventions, the Internet has undergone growing pains and evolved in phases. It continues to mature and adapt with time.

To remember the Internet's past is to remain open and curious about its future. Seeing how far along it has come inspires us to wonder about where it's going. Accordingly, the fine folks at AVG have put together the following infographic about the history of the Internet.

Among the milestones in the Internet's history are the following:

1969: A connection is made between the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Stanford Research Institute, and Arpanet is born.

1971: The first Internet virus, Creeper, is unleashed.

1979: Arpanet user Kevin Mackenzie uses the first emoticon.

1986: The US National Science Foundation creates a network to link existing university supercomputer networks.

1990: The first search engine, Archie, is created.

To read more about pivotal moments in the lifespan of the Internet, check out the following infographic: