Networks, IP, DNS

source

We've learned a bit (pun) about 1s & 0s, and the physicality of the internet (moving packets of information via electricity, light, and waves). Now, we'll listen to Microsoft Engineer Paola Mejia and early Internet developer Vint Cerf describe how the internet works as a design philosophy so that it is adaptable to new technologies for communicating. 

Key concepts include:

• IP. Internet Protocol (an address, a kind of "location" in this interconnected web). It's a "bunch of numbers" that identifies where information is sent.
• DNS. Domain Name System. Generally referred to as the "phone book of the internet." It links names to IP addresses. 
• Your computer uses IPs and DNS to connect appropriately to the Internet. DNS servers are distributed into zones, such as .org, .com, .net, etc. Originally designed as an open protocol for governmental and educational institutions. Being open, it's vulnerable to hacking. Hackers can actually hack in and change an IP address, rerouting information to imposter websites. 

What are some of the conceptual concerns this information invokes for us? I recall being an early internet user and knowing of its original government design, thinking, "THE GOVERNMENT CAN WATCH ME?!" I quickly decided to just use the internet wisely and avoid detection (haHA!). No, I wasn't doing anything nefarious, and it's more true to say that I realized how big the internet was and didn't think anyone would really want to follow me. Later, I tried to learn how to use rhetorically strategic network-oriented thinking to become part of various existing networks that aligned with my interests, very much like we do IRL. 

One reason to understand how fundamental IP addresses are to the strategic flow of information on the Internet is that it sensitizes us to the importance of naming protocols, how we refer to and call up the information we use routinely. Do you have a routine protocol for naming the files you use most frequently in your daily life? Why? Why not?