A Brief History of the Domain Name by Mashable

At the end of 1985, there were a whopping total of six domain names registered in the world. That number has expanded to 265 million names registered globally, according to Verisign’s Q3 industry brief. As the world celebrates the web’s 25th anniversary, it seems fitting to acknowledge the network addresses that help us navigate through …

The Obama Administration Must Act Fast to Prevent the Internet’s Fragmentation

Here in Sydney, Australia, where I’m attending a conference of CFR’s Council of Councils—a global network of prominent think tanks—a dialogue about the future of Internet governance has highlighted brewing controversy about the management of cyberspace. The conversation has convinced me that the Obama administration has a closing window of opportunity to safeguard international support …

Plan to End US Control of ICANN Submitted to Brazil Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance

Researchers at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University have released an innovative proposal to resolve the 15-year controversy over the United States government’s special relationship to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Researchers at the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at Syracuse University have released an innovative proposal to resolve …

Judge rules cybersquatter owes Trump $32G over domain names

Criticizing The Donald can cost you. A Canarsie cybersquatter who registered domain names related to Donald Trump and used them to skewer the real estate magnate must pay him $32,000 in damages, a Brooklyn judge ruled. J. Taikwok Yung first drew Trump’s rage in 2007 when he registered four websites — trumpindia.com, trumpbeijing.com, trumpabudhabi.com and trumpmumbai.com …

The Internet of Things Is Wildly Insecure — And Often Unpatchable

We’re at a crisis point now with regard to the security of embedded systems, where computing is embedded into the hardware itself — as with the Internet of Things. These embedded computers are riddled with vulnerabilities, and there’s no good way to patch them. It’s not unlike what happened in the mid-1990s, when the insecurity …

Netflix speeds lag for Verizon users amid dispute

Netflix’s internet provider claims Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner are causing streaming bottlenecks (update). Having trouble streaming “House of Cards?” A stand-off involving Verizon and Netflix may be to blame. Streaming speeds for Verizon FiOS customers dropped by 14% between December and January, according to Netflix. Meanwhile, Netflix speeds on most other Internet service providers …

Comcast’s deal with Netflix makes network neutrality obsolete

For the past two decades, the Internet has operated as an unregulated, competitive free market. Given the tendency of networked industries to lapse into monopoly—think of AT&T’s 70-year hold over telephone service, for example—that’s a minor miracle. But recent developments are putting the Internet’s decentralized architecture in danger. In recent months, the nation’s largest residential …