Post by Admin on Dec 10, 2014 2:38:40 GMT
How does the internet work? A very basic rundown
Every computer is assigned a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address that consists of 4 numbers between 0-255 separated by a period when connected to the internet. This number is used to interact with other computers over the internet.
The internet is made up of several large networks (NSPs) that interact with one another through the use of Network Access Points (NAPs) and Metropolitan Area Exchanges (MAEs, which are privately owned). Both of these are referred to as Internet Exchange Points (IX). IXs are also sometimes referred to as International Gateways, which countries have in place at top level NAPs to control internet traffic in and out of their country. NSPs sell bandwith (space in their network) to smaller Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which can get hierarchical. NSPs and subsequent ISPs contain table lookups of IP addresses and will send your query to the appropriate IP if it knows it. If a table doesn't contain the IP you are looking for, the query is sent up the chain until you reach the NSP backbones, which have the largest routing tables.
If you don't know the IP you are looking for (and most people don't), then chances are you type in a web adress into the address bar. (ex: http://www.google.com). This is where a Domain Name Server comes in. DNS is a database that keeps track of computer names / web addresses AND the corresponding IPs. Similar to NSPs and ISPs, any one DNS does not contain every possible domain-address on the internet. However, if it can't find it, it'll pass the query along to one of the other DNS servers on the web.
According to a Standford lecture by Rus Shuler on how the internet works (which is a little technical but I recommend checking out if you're interested in a more in depth explanation), when you type in a URL for a website the following happens
If the URL is a domain name, the browser connects to a DNS server and gets the IP
The browser connects to the server via an HTTP request (http as in the thing that precedes most URLs, it's just a name for how the broswer and server talk to one another)
The server checks for the page and returns it, if not found it returns a 'Page Not Found' message
The connection closes
The broswer checks for the other elements the pages needs (pictures, applets, etc), makes additional connections, until everything is retrieved
The browser is displayed on your computer!
So that's the basics! Of course, the internet is more complicated than that, and there's a lot of stuff that might change very soon (we might run out of IPs!) but this is essentially what you need to understand to see how people / governments / interest groups might attempt to control internet traffic!
What is Net Neutrality?
The beauty of the internet is it enables anyone to be a creator of content. Literally anyone. There are so many tools out there to help you publish in any format you would like, and it's giving easy access to voices that otherwise might never be heard. The audience of the internet is larger than ever before, and information can be exchanged almost instantaneously. It enables people to explore their identity in new ways, form connections with people around the world, and learn more about any topic their heart desires.
This means of cultural exchange makes some people nervous. Some argue that it's diluting culture, some worry that their citizens are going to get strange ideas, while others embrace the ability to learn and interact with people from all over. And people use the internet in different ways. Fraud and illegal purchases, trading and money-making, or watching cat videos, all of this can happen on the same medium. This versatility makes people both nervous and excited. When people are nervous, they like to try and control what is making them feel that way. It is exciting because it means that profit can be found in a lot of different areas. And the key to profit is also controlling the market.
There has been a lot of talk recently about Net Neutrality, what it is, and what it means, especially in the United States. The Oatmeal did a really good, really easy to understand rundown on the basics of what net neutrality is. If you are interested in further reading, there are no shortages of articles and websites pertaining to this topic.
Even internet behemoths such as Google and Netflix are calling for the net to remain neutral, while companies like Verizon and Comcast want monopolies on cable and internet traffic. But what internet neutrality really boils down to, what it means is this: All information on the internet, no matter it's source, should be treated equally. No prioritiation based on payment, no access denied because of political or religious or social reasons, no inspection of browsing history, just free open access to any and all sites, and the same access speeds across the web.
Why is this important? What would be the consequences?
If the net wasn't neutral, this freedom would be forfeited. Big companies could afford to pay ISPs like Comcast or Verizon extra money to allow unfettered access to their sites while everyone else could be forced to sit through ads, slower connection speeds, or even find themselves with blocked access to certain sites completely. If you think that sounds unrealistic, it has already happened, several times, and is continuing to happen.
It's not just big companies, either. Organizations that don't want you to see "subversive" information can pay (or order) ISPs to block access to certain sites or information, and if they're clever, they can do it without users even realising that it's happening. It can dangerous by being used to brainwash an entire population through limiting their access to outside information, or it can be beneficial, by blocking access to child pornography, suicide pamphlets, and weapon making instructions. The question then is, is limiting access to the internet okay?
What are the consequences of this? And isn't it already happening? We'll get to the first question in a second, but essentially yes, the internet is already sort of undergoing a process to become something that has been coined the Splinternet. Spinternet (also known as cyberbalkanization) was first used in 2001 by Clyde Wayne Crews to describe "parallel internets" that would be "distinct, private, and autonomous universes." While this was said during the rush to build a separate internet for children which has clearly been unsuccessful, the beginnings of these distinct universes might be visible today.
Some of it has to do with new technology. While there was never one set of specs for any machine or broswer, there has been a set of standards that have governed the web for the last few years. With new systems like the iphone or the ipad or android devices however, access to the internet is controlled by platform vendors (apple, Facebook, etc) and presented in new ways. Apps, which can be unique to their platforms, can limit access to users of those certain devices (ie. an app out for the iphone but not for android only allows iphone users to communicate through it, excluding android users). Additionally, websites have ways of seeing whether you are accessing their site through a PC or a mobile device, and can display different information and web pages accordingly.
Splinternets can form in the more "traditional" (and by that I mean censoring and blocking until you're at the point of North Korea's intranet) ways if people aren't vigilant. Organizations can do this using a combination of methods explained in later pages of this site.
This brings us back to the first question -- what are the consequences of this? In the extreme, a world of state or capitalist control where communication between countries is completely cut off. However, I don't feel this is very likely, especially because of the trade that this would interrupt. Rather, I think it could lead to widespread ignorance of current events / other cultures / lack of access to dangerous and "dangerous" materials. I also think that if ISPs charged premium rates, then economic gaps could turn into educational gaps, as people with access to internet have the potentional to use it as an educational / economic tool much more readily than those who don't. The impact beyond that, can only be guessed at, but type in 'net neutrality' or 'censorship' into a search engine (or many search engines) of your choice and see what people are saying. They're worried.
Well that's cool I guess, but how is the net a frontier?
This project aims to ease some of those worries by teaching you about common censorship techniques employed and how to get around them. It is by no means comprehensive, and won't really cover how to deal with ISPs beyond my advice to get a new ISP if yours is throttling your bandwith. Everything on the resources page, while I think is all fine, is still all use at your own risk because I haven't tested all of it.
This project was originally undertaken for my ANTH 406 class, the anthropology of creativity and innovation, with the specified aims of exploring the relationship between power and creativity in a frontier. Over the course of the semester, we explored what a frontier was, and tried to define it. The more we talked about it, the more I (with my CS background) came to the conclusion that the internet is a frontier. It's a place of conflict, still unknown, and constantly expanding. It exists in new (to us) space, and it's causing change. It's also huge. Deciding which aspect of conflict to focus on, and trying to narrow down the internet was not an easy task. That's why I'm warning you that while this site is a part of the internet telling you about the internet, it's not always impartial and it's not even close to the whole story. It is strongly biased to events in the United States, and all information has been obtained from websites written in English. Still though, iust by existing, this website has become a part of the conflict, and it's a mini-frontier of it's own in that it only came into existence in the last month, and it's my first real foray into building a website.
The decision to explore the conflict between censors and circumvention came out of my investment in the matter. I don't believe that access to most things should be limited by anyone, and I certainly don't think ISPs should be able to restrict access to some groups but not others on the basis of tiered-payments. As I've used the internet over the years, I've been struck by the creativity and lengths that people would go through to get around filtering and laws to continue on with their business despite efforts to stop them. As each side comes up with new innovations and new tools, the other is forced to creatively come up with solutions. I think that's especially visible on the Internet, and with the growth of technology, we can see how the frontier, how the internet changes over time in direct response to people and their ideas and problem solving capabilities. What might take years to be seen in the real world can emerge over the course of a matter of months online. This website is only a snapshot of the back and forth of users and organizations, and the beauty of it is that it'll be obsolete soon, as new technologies are invented, and as the internet moves on to be in a new shape. But until that happens, I hope this project helps you in some way and puts some of the power back in your hands, teaches you something, or even just gives you a new way to get a hold of your favourite song.
Every computer is assigned a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address that consists of 4 numbers between 0-255 separated by a period when connected to the internet. This number is used to interact with other computers over the internet.
The internet is made up of several large networks (NSPs) that interact with one another through the use of Network Access Points (NAPs) and Metropolitan Area Exchanges (MAEs, which are privately owned). Both of these are referred to as Internet Exchange Points (IX). IXs are also sometimes referred to as International Gateways, which countries have in place at top level NAPs to control internet traffic in and out of their country. NSPs sell bandwith (space in their network) to smaller Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which can get hierarchical. NSPs and subsequent ISPs contain table lookups of IP addresses and will send your query to the appropriate IP if it knows it. If a table doesn't contain the IP you are looking for, the query is sent up the chain until you reach the NSP backbones, which have the largest routing tables.
If you don't know the IP you are looking for (and most people don't), then chances are you type in a web adress into the address bar. (ex: http://www.google.com). This is where a Domain Name Server comes in. DNS is a database that keeps track of computer names / web addresses AND the corresponding IPs. Similar to NSPs and ISPs, any one DNS does not contain every possible domain-address on the internet. However, if it can't find it, it'll pass the query along to one of the other DNS servers on the web.
According to a Standford lecture by Rus Shuler on how the internet works (which is a little technical but I recommend checking out if you're interested in a more in depth explanation), when you type in a URL for a website the following happens
If the URL is a domain name, the browser connects to a DNS server and gets the IP
The browser connects to the server via an HTTP request (http as in the thing that precedes most URLs, it's just a name for how the broswer and server talk to one another)
The server checks for the page and returns it, if not found it returns a 'Page Not Found' message
The connection closes
The broswer checks for the other elements the pages needs (pictures, applets, etc), makes additional connections, until everything is retrieved
The browser is displayed on your computer!
So that's the basics! Of course, the internet is more complicated than that, and there's a lot of stuff that might change very soon (we might run out of IPs!) but this is essentially what you need to understand to see how people / governments / interest groups might attempt to control internet traffic!
What is Net Neutrality?
The beauty of the internet is it enables anyone to be a creator of content. Literally anyone. There are so many tools out there to help you publish in any format you would like, and it's giving easy access to voices that otherwise might never be heard. The audience of the internet is larger than ever before, and information can be exchanged almost instantaneously. It enables people to explore their identity in new ways, form connections with people around the world, and learn more about any topic their heart desires.
This means of cultural exchange makes some people nervous. Some argue that it's diluting culture, some worry that their citizens are going to get strange ideas, while others embrace the ability to learn and interact with people from all over. And people use the internet in different ways. Fraud and illegal purchases, trading and money-making, or watching cat videos, all of this can happen on the same medium. This versatility makes people both nervous and excited. When people are nervous, they like to try and control what is making them feel that way. It is exciting because it means that profit can be found in a lot of different areas. And the key to profit is also controlling the market.
There has been a lot of talk recently about Net Neutrality, what it is, and what it means, especially in the United States. The Oatmeal did a really good, really easy to understand rundown on the basics of what net neutrality is. If you are interested in further reading, there are no shortages of articles and websites pertaining to this topic.
Even internet behemoths such as Google and Netflix are calling for the net to remain neutral, while companies like Verizon and Comcast want monopolies on cable and internet traffic. But what internet neutrality really boils down to, what it means is this: All information on the internet, no matter it's source, should be treated equally. No prioritiation based on payment, no access denied because of political or religious or social reasons, no inspection of browsing history, just free open access to any and all sites, and the same access speeds across the web.
Why is this important? What would be the consequences?
If the net wasn't neutral, this freedom would be forfeited. Big companies could afford to pay ISPs like Comcast or Verizon extra money to allow unfettered access to their sites while everyone else could be forced to sit through ads, slower connection speeds, or even find themselves with blocked access to certain sites completely. If you think that sounds unrealistic, it has already happened, several times, and is continuing to happen.
It's not just big companies, either. Organizations that don't want you to see "subversive" information can pay (or order) ISPs to block access to certain sites or information, and if they're clever, they can do it without users even realising that it's happening. It can dangerous by being used to brainwash an entire population through limiting their access to outside information, or it can be beneficial, by blocking access to child pornography, suicide pamphlets, and weapon making instructions. The question then is, is limiting access to the internet okay?
What are the consequences of this? And isn't it already happening? We'll get to the first question in a second, but essentially yes, the internet is already sort of undergoing a process to become something that has been coined the Splinternet. Spinternet (also known as cyberbalkanization) was first used in 2001 by Clyde Wayne Crews to describe "parallel internets" that would be "distinct, private, and autonomous universes." While this was said during the rush to build a separate internet for children which has clearly been unsuccessful, the beginnings of these distinct universes might be visible today.
Some of it has to do with new technology. While there was never one set of specs for any machine or broswer, there has been a set of standards that have governed the web for the last few years. With new systems like the iphone or the ipad or android devices however, access to the internet is controlled by platform vendors (apple, Facebook, etc) and presented in new ways. Apps, which can be unique to their platforms, can limit access to users of those certain devices (ie. an app out for the iphone but not for android only allows iphone users to communicate through it, excluding android users). Additionally, websites have ways of seeing whether you are accessing their site through a PC or a mobile device, and can display different information and web pages accordingly.
Splinternets can form in the more "traditional" (and by that I mean censoring and blocking until you're at the point of North Korea's intranet) ways if people aren't vigilant. Organizations can do this using a combination of methods explained in later pages of this site.
This brings us back to the first question -- what are the consequences of this? In the extreme, a world of state or capitalist control where communication between countries is completely cut off. However, I don't feel this is very likely, especially because of the trade that this would interrupt. Rather, I think it could lead to widespread ignorance of current events / other cultures / lack of access to dangerous and "dangerous" materials. I also think that if ISPs charged premium rates, then economic gaps could turn into educational gaps, as people with access to internet have the potentional to use it as an educational / economic tool much more readily than those who don't. The impact beyond that, can only be guessed at, but type in 'net neutrality' or 'censorship' into a search engine (or many search engines) of your choice and see what people are saying. They're worried.
Well that's cool I guess, but how is the net a frontier?
This project aims to ease some of those worries by teaching you about common censorship techniques employed and how to get around them. It is by no means comprehensive, and won't really cover how to deal with ISPs beyond my advice to get a new ISP if yours is throttling your bandwith. Everything on the resources page, while I think is all fine, is still all use at your own risk because I haven't tested all of it.
This project was originally undertaken for my ANTH 406 class, the anthropology of creativity and innovation, with the specified aims of exploring the relationship between power and creativity in a frontier. Over the course of the semester, we explored what a frontier was, and tried to define it. The more we talked about it, the more I (with my CS background) came to the conclusion that the internet is a frontier. It's a place of conflict, still unknown, and constantly expanding. It exists in new (to us) space, and it's causing change. It's also huge. Deciding which aspect of conflict to focus on, and trying to narrow down the internet was not an easy task. That's why I'm warning you that while this site is a part of the internet telling you about the internet, it's not always impartial and it's not even close to the whole story. It is strongly biased to events in the United States, and all information has been obtained from websites written in English. Still though, iust by existing, this website has become a part of the conflict, and it's a mini-frontier of it's own in that it only came into existence in the last month, and it's my first real foray into building a website.
The decision to explore the conflict between censors and circumvention came out of my investment in the matter. I don't believe that access to most things should be limited by anyone, and I certainly don't think ISPs should be able to restrict access to some groups but not others on the basis of tiered-payments. As I've used the internet over the years, I've been struck by the creativity and lengths that people would go through to get around filtering and laws to continue on with their business despite efforts to stop them. As each side comes up with new innovations and new tools, the other is forced to creatively come up with solutions. I think that's especially visible on the Internet, and with the growth of technology, we can see how the frontier, how the internet changes over time in direct response to people and their ideas and problem solving capabilities. What might take years to be seen in the real world can emerge over the course of a matter of months online. This website is only a snapshot of the back and forth of users and organizations, and the beauty of it is that it'll be obsolete soon, as new technologies are invented, and as the internet moves on to be in a new shape. But until that happens, I hope this project helps you in some way and puts some of the power back in your hands, teaches you something, or even just gives you a new way to get a hold of your favourite song.