Bill Roberts Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 What if the entire internet went down. I am talking for weeks, months. First of all, my whole business would come to a screetching halt. The stock market would crash. the economic outlook would be bleak. I certainly hope that the entire web has so much redundency built into it that it would be virtually impossible for this to ever happen. Do you save web pages for offline useage? All these people we know...how would you contact them?? Who would be left behind in the dark? I have hundreds of contacts. Power stations. Without them, the web is toast Bill Roberts Precision Mastering -----------Since 1975----------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdlestat Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 I have cans and string, Bill-- cans and string. I'm fearless. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. --Aristotle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Our growing "dependency" a serious concern for many business people and government officials. But I suppose you could try and contact people the "old school" way - with a telephone. Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Knight Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 My employer uses a lot of web applications. What used to take place localy on a PC takes place out on the web. Yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roberts Posted May 20, 2005 Author Share Posted May 20, 2005 Hi Ken! Lets see, if I called directory assistance and asked for "Ken, Eleven shadows, La, Ca. and forgot bbrs (your studio name) do you really think I could reach you?? This is the dependency I am speaking of. The last 7 days, I have been changing computers and all my IM's are off line. I have people worried about me because I have not been there. Bill Roberts Precision Mastering -----------Since 1975----------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryst Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Where is the "internet" located? And if it did go down, who would fix it? Is there one superior server that is surrounded by an electric fence? If so, don't piss on the electric fence. www.myspace.com/apocrypha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roberts Posted May 20, 2005 Author Share Posted May 20, 2005 Hundreds of thousands of routers and a spiderweb of backbones. It really would not take much to knock it all out. Awareness...to make sure we don't have this problem nor cost us mulah in the process. Bill Roberts Precision Mastering -----------Since 1975----------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phait Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 It's ok though, I have a Mac! Oh, wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 All the Air Force's ordering, communication, training, forecasting, shipping, allocating, etc, is done over the 'net; if we lost it war would come to a screeching halt... Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 It wouldn't take much to knock out some of the existing Internet infrastructure in the short term. Long term, however, it's impossible to knock out "the entire Internet." The Internet isn't a centralized network. It was originally conceived in fact NOT to be centralized, so that for example if a country were attacked an enemy couldn't knock out their entire communications network - everything could simply be rerouted through different servers and be on its way. An individual would have to be somewhat Internet savvy (beyond the average user) to get a connection up and running again after a major outage, but it could be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Originally posted by Bill Roberts: What if the entire internet went down. Every man, woman and child would be unplugged, and the Matrix would die... http://www.traditioninaction.org/movies/movieimages/007_j_architect.jpg As would our only chance to see Persephone's boobs. http://home.comcast.net/~ivychat/monica-bellucci.jpg Some things are worth staying jacked in for... Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Lee is correct - it was designed so that you couldn't easily "take it out", and there are plenty of pathways between various points. However, there are ways to do some serious damage. We've seen examples of a few of these in the past - worms that slow the net to a crawl, targeted server attacks, etc. Data and commo security are not just concerns for future wars and terrorist attacks, they're concerns for today. Warfighting lesson #1,395: Gain knowledge of enemy objectives, assets and intentions, and deny them access - or give them misinformation about - your intentions, capabilities and objectives. Nothing has really changed much since the days of Sun Tsu as far as that goes - just the technology, and the reliance on it - which means that the Internet IS a potential target. Data and communications security is a BIG issue, and one that is taken very seriously by the people who have the duty of protecting it and safeguarding it. But it is a big task, and it is possible for someone to do a lot of damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeton Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 It'd take a worldwide power outage to kill the World Wide Web... However, the Internet would remain. All the important stuff is on battery backup and then backup generators. The level of redundancy is insane and a lot of the mentality in that regard hasn't changed since the Cold War. Huge electromagnetic storms (solar flares from space, etc) may interfere with data travelling through copper, but not fiber, and on top of that they would only affect one half of the planet at a time. In a way, i kinda wish the WWW and the Internet would all just quit for about a week. Poetic Justice for those that end their support calls by thanking me with: "Well, unlike you, i don't get to sit in front of a computer all day. I've got to go do some real work..." Oh, and btw.... y'all forget what life was like before the intarweb...c'mon now! Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Is there bass in the caR-R Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 I think the original intent of the Internet was to have a communications conduit in place in case every OTHER form of communication was taken out. With the way the billions of servers, PC's and hubs are interconnected, any area with power will have access to the Internet- In theory. Aside from a Global power outage, the only thing that could take out the entire Internet is a really good and pernicious virus or worm. I don't think this possibility was even conceived when the Internet was created, but it certainly seems like a case of "when, not if" at this point. Yes, there's bass in the caR-R-R-R-R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Gunn Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Originally posted by mdlestrat: I have cans and string, Bill-- cans and string. I'm fearless. http://www.akgusa.com/Images/k240monitor.jpg http://www.webstrings.com/images/blue-pink-light-tuning-smal.jpg KB Gunn website: www.visionoutreach.net ....government is a necessary evil, but it is dangerous nonetheless ... somewhat like a drug. Just as a drug that in the proper dosage can save your life, an overdose of government can be fatal. -Neal Boortz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 One of the biggest threats to the internet is spam - it is being quite effective in slowing down the email process, and it's getting worse. Unless something radical is done in that respect soon, things are going to become unworkable. The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Word. I HATE spam. Criminal penalties and fines for spamming are the solution IMO... along with the email equiv. of the national "do not call list". The problem is, the spammers will just move offshore to countries without those strict laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 One other downside to spam... due to the filters we're all running, emails that probably SHOULD get through are oftentimes routed to the "junk mail" folder by the anti-spam filters... which means, occasionally, something we DO want gets tossed out. Have I mentioned I HATE spam emails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Buckley Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 We survived without it, so I`m not concerned even though I would have to go through a mild case of withdrawal. The internet= the largest encyclopedia known to man and woman. www.ErnestBuckley.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrix Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I am more concerned about the increasingly centralized nature and of our food supply chain. High dependence on gasoline powered transport is just one of several aspects of this. This does not have anywhere near the inherent redundnacy that the net does. I find this very spooky. Check out some tunes here: http://www.garageband.com/artist/KenFava Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roberts Posted May 21, 2005 Author Share Posted May 21, 2005 Yes Kendrix, My local grocer says he is only 4 days away from being at zero inventory..should the flow of trucks come to a halt. I find it amazing that a grocery superstore turns the entire food inventory every 4 days. This was absolutly proven 2 days after the hurricane, when he opened with no power. The place was empty in hours..stripped bare of all food..even frozen. Spooky indeed. Bill Roberts Precision Mastering -----------Since 1975----------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe: One other downside to spam... due to the filters we're all running, emails that probably SHOULD get through are oftentimes routed to the "junk mail" folder by the anti-spam filters... which means, occasionally, something we DO want gets tossed out. Have I mentioned I HATE spam emails? Yep exactly my point. I end up having to trawl my junk email folder daily to make sure something meant for me hasn't been lost. On average I lose 2-3 emails a week this way. I get over 75 spams a day. Bastards. The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stranger Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Originally posted by Super 8: Originally posted by Bill Roberts: What if the entire internet went down. Every man, woman and child would be unplugged, and the Matrix would die... http://www.traditioninaction.org/movies/movieimages/007_j_architect.jpg As would our only chance to see Persephone's boobs. http://home.comcast.net/~ivychat/monica-bellucci.jpg Some things are worth staying jacked in for... Super, I love you, man. Nothing thrills me more than a Matrix reference...except for maybe a picture of her. She is as beautiful as it gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.WOW Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I get over 75 spams a day. Bastards. Stay of the porno sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anifa Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 I'd feel isolation from the rest of the world... it would be a sad day for all that utilize the web for communications in business or as a means of personal convenience. Let's hope that it never happens. Although, as Phil mentioned earlier; we have already witnessed a minor dose of what worms can do. Techno warfare is a serious threat to those that depend on the Internet for business. You can take the man away from his music, but you can't take the music out of the man. Books by Craig Anderton through Amazon Sweetwater: Bruce Swedien\'s "Make Mine Music" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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