Who are the Praetorians?

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Why: In The Net (1995), the rogue group of Cyberterrorists are called the Praetorians. At some point, Sandy is all, "Who is Praetorian?" That is an excellent question.

Answer: They were a pack of bodyguards in Ancient Rome! The Praetorian Guard was formed by the emperor Augustus to prevent assassins from reaching and murdering him. The name comes from the title praetor, a commander or general, and his tent, the praetorium. The praetor kept a private cohort of guards to protect him and his tent or house, and they were called the Praetoria Cohors, "select troop."

However! those rapscallion Romans were corrupt as f, so things didn't always work out so well:

• 41 BC - Caligula mocked the military and acted like such a lunatic that he was murdered by a faction of his very own guards!
  
• 23 BC - Tiberius gave a lot of power to his Praetorian commander Sejanus, who turned right around and used his position to murder his enemies. He even accused them of plotting to murder Tiberius!
• 10 BC - The Praetorians became the most powerful body in the state. Claudius had to purchase their submission with money, but they made sure he got the imperial appointment. There was nothing the Senate could do!
• 69 AD - In the Year of the Four Emperors, they murdered Galba and then got disbanded and reincarnated by Vitellius!
• 193 - They assassinated Pertinax and contributed to the dethroning / assassination of Didius Julianus, who had purchased the Empire from the Guards!
  

In 312, Constantine finally disbanded the Guard for good, deeming it more a dangerous nuisance than imperial protection. In its place, he instituted the Scholae Palatinae, "palace guard," which were organized differently and better regulated than the Praetorian Guard.

Source: GlobalSecurity.org, Wikipedia

The More You Know: According to one legend, members of the Praetorian Guard found Claudius hiding behind a curtain in the aftermath of the murder of Caligula, and they proclaimed him emperor.