How Do Computers Know What Time It Is?

Computers use a special kind of message to know what time it is. It's like asking your friend for the current time so you can keep track of when things happen. The computer connects to a big clock on the internet, and that clock tells the computer what time it should show.

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Examples

Your computer checks a big clock on the internet like your phone does with apps.
It asks the online clock for the current time so it knows when to update the display.
This is why you always see the right time even if your computer was off all night.

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Categories: Technology · time· computers· clocks· networking· synchronization