[185833] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: DNSSEC and ISPs faking DNS responses
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Owen DeLong)
Sat Nov 14 04:06:31 2015
X-Original-To: nanog@nanog.org
From: Owen DeLong <owen@delong.com>
In-Reply-To: <5507E655-B415-483B-AAAE-C14648E4C387@arbor.net>
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2015 01:05:23 -0800
To: Roland Dobbins <rdobbins@arbor.net>
Cc: nanog@nanog.org
Errors-To: nanog-bounces@nanog.org
> On Nov 13, 2015, at 21:28 , Roland Dobbins <rdobbins@arbor.net> wrote:
>=20
> On 14 Nov 2015, at 11:32, Owen DeLong wrote:
>=20
>> Go out onto the street and ask a random number of people over 30 if =
they know what a URL is and how to enter one into a browser.
>=20
> They don't know what URIs are, nor do they enter them into browsers. =
They type words into a search engine and then click on the resulting =
links.
If that were true, billboards wouldn=E2=80=99t look like this:
=
http://worthwhileadvertising.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Sandstone-bill=
board.jpg =
<http://worthwhileadvertising.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Sandstone-bil=
lboard.jpg>
(Note randomly chosen billboard image from google image search, not at =
all tech related and not in silicon valley.)
>=20
> [I was shocked when I realized this is how non-specialists access Web =
sites, about 15 years or so ago.]
I=E2=80=99m not surprised=E2=80=A6 It=E2=80=99s how I access about 30% =
of the websites I visit. Another 50% or so come from bookmarks/browser =
history completion.
The remaining 20% are URLs I type.
>=20
>> Today, the average 6 year old can operate a DirectTV satellite system =
with a relatively high degree of facility.
>=20
> And has no idea how it actually works, and can't do anything with it =
beyond the obvious.
Sure, but that=E2=80=99s also true of lots of VPNs that people use every =
day too.
The marketing people at Akamai use VPNs routinely. IT has it boiled down =
to Clicking an ICON in the menu bar and selecting =E2=80=9CAkamai->Connect=
=E2=80=9D.
Lots of VPN services out there like the ones mentioned earlier in the =
thread have made it nearly as simple to install and operate a VPN.
>=20
>> What the average person knows changes over time.
>=20
> Yes, but not in the way you're thinking. If anything, specialized =
technical knowledge tends to decrease over time, as technology goes from =
being used by a relatively few self-selected enthusiasts to becoming =
more mainstream and accessible to the masses.
>=20
> Auto mechanics is one example from the physical world. Cooking is =
another. Handwriting is yet another.
Sure, but it used to be that setting up an internet connection on the =
average computer was a complex technical process that only a few could =
handle.
Today, we take having an internet connection on a system for granted.
Why couldn=E2=80=99t things get to a point where we take using VPNs for =
granted? It=E2=80=99s just a combination of software development and =
user acceptance.
I=E2=80=99m not saying everyone is going to learn how to configure an =
IPSEC SA set with tunnels on a Juniper. I=E2=80=99m saying that people =
will learn to use point-click-VPN software which already exists for the =
most part.
>=20
>> Assuming that it does not strikes me as either (1) ignoring history
>=20
> See above.
Most people know how to operate a microwave while few are gourmet chefs.=20=
I would argue that VPN technology is evolving (has evolved) to a point =
where it can be more like a microwave.
>=20
>> or (2) underestimating the general public even more than I do, which =
is saying something.
>=20
> Among the population of Internet users, the knowledge of how the =
Internet actually works has decreased tremendously in the last 20 years, =
as that population has expanded to include non-specialists - e.g., the =
majority.
Sure=E2=80=A6 Not particularly relevant to the discussion at hand, =
however.
> Most computer users have no idea how computers actually work. They =
certainly don't know what a VPN is, or how (or why) to set one up. This =
state of affairs will continue until VPN technology becomes subsumed =
into applications and is enabled as a default, if it ever does.
Or until users discover that they can achieve something they want by =
installing a VPN application and using that, such as happened in New =
Zealand.
Will the understand how said VPN application works or why it makes what =
they want possible? No. Nor will they care. But they will care that it =
solves the problem of reaching their gambling sites despite the =
government interference or that they can use it to get to the Netflix =
version they want rather than no service in their locality or=E2=80=A6
Many ways to skin a cat.
Owen
