Domain chains fall away

[IPB Corporation]

By Martin J Young

HUA HIN - Internet governance could be in for a shake-up after the US-
based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this
week lost its grip on the World Wide Web. The non-profit organization
allotted by the US government to oversee Internet addresses opened up
to a global audience as the agreement between it and the US Department
of Commerce expired.

A new agreement allowing for greater global participation in the
assignment of Internet addresses was signed. Companies and
international officials seeking greater independence from US control
praised the move; the Internet after all is now a global public
resource. ICANN will no longer be subject to US reviews alone and can
now be reviewed by a broader based group of stakeholders from around
the world.

The fear is that the organization will open up the domain name doors
to include any variation of top level domains, which are traditionally
dot com, net and org (see Domain doors open to dot chaos, Asia Times
Online, June 28, 2009). New names such as ".golf" or ".sports" could
flood the Internet and companies may need to rebrand themselves at
great expense by registering the likes of ".intel" or ".apple".

There is also the notion that non-Latin names will be made available
so we could start seeing domains in Chinese or Arabic. Both of these
will cause problems to legitimate websites and companies as a domain-
buying rush by cyber squatters and deceitful domain registrars would
be inevitable. Cyber squatters, along with spammers, have become the
scourge of the Internet. Their operation method is to buy and sit on
domain names often associated with legitimate businesses, and they
often set up deceptive websites using those domain names.

Freedom from US control over the Internet is a good thing but the dot
chaos that could follow in its wake may not be so welcome.

Security
Microsoft has entered the foray of computer security with the official
launch this week of its Security Essentials (MSE) anti-virus and
malware software suite. The package for Windows XP, Vista and 7, which
can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials,
will compete with the likes of AVG and Avast, which have been offering
free virus protection for years. It also takes aim at Symantec,
Kaspersky and McAfee, which provide total Internet security solutions,
Microsoft claims that MSE uses less memory and disk space than these
often bloated machine-hogging products.

The system comes armed with a dynamic signature service, which checks
programs against an up to date database of virus definitions, it has a
small memory foot print and runs unobtrusively in the background
offering just the essentials as its name suggests. Upon installation
it requires a Genuine Windows Validation check, which not only
punishes the pirates but leaves thousands of unlicensed Windows
computers with no protection. Understandably Microsoft does not want
to support illegitimate copies of its operating system but it kind of
misses the point by leaving them all open to attack, which in turn
threatens everyone else.

Telecoms
A Chinese company is touting the world's first mobile phone to run a
full version of Windows XP. The xpPhone, made by In Technology Group,
includes a 4.8 inch LCD touch screen, AMD processor, up to a gigabyte
of memory, USB and VGA ports, GPS, and full qwerty keyboard. The
company claims that you can install any software that would run on a
normal XP laptop as the phone is fully compatible with all Windows
standards. It has seven hours battery life - poor for a phone but far
better than most laptops. No prices were quoted on the company website
but it does offer a form to pre-order your xpPhone.

Science
Scientists at the United States National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) have released findings this week that indicate
cosmic rays are at their highest levels for 50 years. Galactic cosmic
rays are sub-atomic particles, primarily protons, which are
accelerated to near light speed by distant supernova explosions. They
cause "air showers" of secondary particles when they hit the Earth's
atmosphere and can pose a threat to astronauts and orbiting satellites
but not to people at ground level.
The cause of the cosmic spike is the current solar minimum, a decrease
in solar activity which began in 2007 and continues today. Under
normal conditions the sun's magnetic field, or helosphere, and its
solar wind protects the Earth by deflecting or scattering cosmic rays.
During deep lulls in solar activity, there is less wind and the
protective bubble is flattened, allowing more cosmic rays through.

There is no need to panic and dig a big hole to hide in yet as the
Earth’s natural atmosphere provides a strong enough shield to protect
life on the surface ... for the time being.

Martin J Young is an Asia Times Online correspondent based in
Thailand.