TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Who Really Controls Internet?

Re: Who Really Controls Internet?

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
15 Jul 2005 11:45:15 -0700

Andrew Kantor wrote:

> You may have heard that no one controls the Internet. That's sort of
> true for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, the Internet is a
> "network of networks," meaning that although it has its own backbone
> and connections, it also comprises lots of other networks --
> educational, corporate, government, and so on.

According to writer Dave Barry, the Internet is actually run by a 13
year old named Jason. Barry also notes that online services are so
anxious to sign you up they'll sneak into your house and do it while
you're asleep.

Seriously, one forgotten factor in "control" is the way people
_access_ the Internet. That is, who gets to set the standards for how
browsers will work. There must be shared standards so our PCs can
access web pages and the web designers know what stuff they can put
out.

What troubles me is that web designers allow a lot of sneaky stuff
that the average user doesn't know about. One of course is "cookies".
I tried disabling cookies and virtually no site will work at that
point without a lot of irritation.

Going deeper there are dangerous things like spyware and other
functions that allow a website to take control of your computer in bad
ways.

Why is there a provision for "pop-up" ads at all?

The real question is why do browser developers allow these things to
work in the first place? Accessing a web site should be strictly
"READ ONLY", with no executable commands that could access disk files
or memory on the user's home machine. In other words, a browser
should be able to read only the distant site only and not send
anything back to it.

If it is really necessary for browers to have high horsepower, they
should default to protective settings, and require a user to manually
override them to run certain applications. Only those specific
applications (such a company's in-house system) would have more power
or machine authority.

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