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Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers
app103:
You do know there are alternative DNS roots...not just the 13 you guys have been talking about.
* OpenNIC
* Public-Root
* Unifiedroot
* Namespace
They are not all under US control. (Unifiedroot is Dutch)
If you think it's possible that the US government would shut down the ICANN/IANA roots, it might be smart to get the info you need to make a quick switch to one of the ones on this list and keep it in a safe place.
Renegade:
You do know there are alternative DNS roots...not just the 13 you guys have been talking about.
* OpenNIC
* Public-Root
* Unifiedroot
* Namespace
They are not all under US control. (Unifiedroot is Dutch)
If you think it's possible that the US government would shut down the ICANN/IANA roots, it might be smart to get the info you need to make a quick switch to one of the ones on this list and keep it in a safe place.
-app103 (July 04, 2010, 03:59 PM)
--- End quote ---
Well... Yes and no...
While you might be able to actually connect to http://reg.for.free/ (click to find out), can anyone else? Does anyone here own a ".geek" or a ".free" domain? *Would* you ever use one? (That's actually a different question, but it illustrates how much alternate DNS roots are trusted. See here for a good FAQ on OpenNIC and .com, etc.) You don't see .geek or .anarchy or other TLDs like those in use.
Basically, alternate DNS systems need to have ubiquitous usage in the same way that Microsoft Office documents are ubiquitous. i.e. If everyone else is using X, then you need to as well, and no matter if something else is better, if nobody can access it, then it's useless.
How many people can actually set which DNS servers they connect to? That's 99.999% done by people's ISPs, who all in most likelihood use the 13 root servers.
So while a few people that use alternate DNS networks may be able to connect, the rest of the world would effectively go dark.
The other thing is that with all TLDs being administered as they are, alternate DNS services rely on the 13 root servers to get their DNS records anyways. So any future DNS is hosed, and any DNS changes are hosed. DNS records that did not change would still continue to work. If anything shut down the 13 roots, then these services would pretty much become drown in traffic overnight as word spread and people switched over to use them. That might actually be a good thing!
It would be nice if things were different, but I just don't see the powers that be wanting to relinquish control. (Does anyone have any info there? A number of years ago this was a hot issue. I do not know if there were any changes made.)
app103:
wait, wait, wait...
Nobody said to register a quirky domain name with them. (that would be really stupid)
I was suggesting in case of the kind of temporary emergency that is being suggested in this thread, if the standard 13 root servers were shut down, use the alternative ones to CONNECT. They have a copy of every record the standard ones have and they will help you reach all the .com, .net, .org, .edu, etc. until the standard root servers come back online. (ok, it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing at all, don't you think?)
And it doesn't cost you anything to use them this way. They are free to the public.
How many people can actually set which DNS servers they connect to? That's 99.999% done by people's ISPs, who all in most likelihood use the 13 root servers.
-Renegade (July 04, 2010, 04:33 PM)
--- End quote ---
I can. I changed it in my router about 2 years ago when I got sick of being redirected to my ISP's crappy search page. Instead of changing every pc in the house, changing it in the router took care of it all in one shot.
Some of the alternative root sites have software to help the windows users do it. Download, click, and you are done. I am sure Linux users can figure out how to do it manually, and Mac users that can't figure it out... well they can just live without the internet for awhile or go buy a Windows box. :P
40hz:
^ Its not so much a case of 'the powers' being reluctant to relinquish control of the root DNS servers as it is simply easier and more cost effective for everybody else to continue using them. And the reason they do is because, up until now, there hasn't really been much reason not to.
This is potentially bad in that the US controls them and can shut them down.
But it's also good because it provides practical limitations on what the US can do with them. Alternatives don't exist because there hasn't been any critical need to build them. But let the US start arbitrarily throwing its weight around and you can be sure that the EU (and everybody else) will soon develop alternatives. The technology is relatively simple - so all that would really be needed is the money and political will to build it.
And once alternative networks do get built, the US will no longer have the de facto control it now has - so I doubt the US government will ever be anxious to push the issue - or hit the switch.
In a way, this legislation was a dumb political move. The president would never have trouble hitting the killswitch if there were a genuine need. The telcos and ISPs have always been cooperative during real national emergencies.
But one thing this legislation could do is provide Europe and elsewhere with an incentive to start putting contingency plans and systems into place.
Nobody likes to have a sword hanging over their heads. Maybe by granting the president this 'new' power, the US will force the rest of the world to start taking their first steps towards a new Internet. One where the US no longer has the power and influence that it currently holds.
Renegade:
wait, wait, wait...
Nobody said to register a quirky domain name with them. (that would be really stupid)
I was suggesting in case of the kind of temporary emergency that is being suggested in this thread, if the standard 13 root servers were shut down, use the alternative ones to CONNECT. They have a copy of every record the standard ones have and they will help you reach all the .com, .net, .org, .edu, etc. until the standard root servers come back online. (ok, it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing at all, don't you think?)
-app103 (July 04, 2010, 06:26 PM)
--- End quote ---
Agreed 100%. :) I actually wish that they were more into the mainstream. The funky domains were to point out that they are not quite at the front line yet -- in the case of a crisis, they will be though.
How many people can actually set which DNS servers they connect to? That's 99.999% done by people's ISPs, who all in most likelihood use the 13 root servers.
-Renegade (July 04, 2010, 04:33 PM)
--- End quote ---
I can. I changed it in my router about 2 years ago when I got sick of being redirected to my ISP's crappy search page. Instead of changing every pc in the house, changing it in the router took care of it all in one shot.
Some of the alternative root sites have software to help the windows users do it. Download, click, and you are done. I am sure Linux users can figure out how to do it manually, and Mac users that can't figure it out... well they can just live without the internet for awhile or go buy a Windows box. :P
-app103 (July 04, 2010, 06:26 PM)
--- End quote ---
Hahhahaha~!
Well, we all know that if it does go down, it must be Windows fault and that the Macs are down is just the infinite wisdom of Steve telling people to go out and enjoy the sunshine. :P :)
But that is a neat trick -- doing it at the router level. (I HATE ISP search pages... If I put in a bad domain, I likely want it that way and am not interested in their take on the subject. :P )
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