Computing Reviews
Today's Issue Hot Topics Search Browse Recommended My Account Log In
Review Help
Search
How the Internet really works: an illustrated guide to protocols, privacy, censorship, and governance
ARTICLE 19 ., No Starch Press, San Francisco, CA, 2021. 120 pp. Type: Book (978-1-718500-29-7)
Date Reviewed: Mar 4 2021

The authors have backgrounds in privacy, online anonymity, Internet freedom, human rights, and Internet governance, and this book is intended as “supplementary to a practice, such as in a workshop or a course, or for Internet policy practitioners whose work can be strengthened with technical backing, for just two examples.” The subtitle highlights “an illustrated guide”; most of the many illustrations are successful, though some are a bit vague and need further captioning. The 12 chapters progress from how the Internet works to how civil society can engage in Internet governance.

The content is presented in overview form, mentioning protocols, Internet protocol (IP) addresses, routing, security, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and much more, but without much insight into the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The section on security mentions IP spoofing and names Internet protocol security (IPSec) as a solution; however, it ends by saying that, because of its complexity, it is not widely used, leaving the reader to wonder what, then, is used. When introducing transport protocols, the authors explain how QUIC improves the transmission control protocol (TCP) and the user datagram protocol (UDP), but do not mention how often it is used in practice. Chapter 5 presents the domain name system (DNS) security extensions, nicely followed by DNS over HTTPS (DOH), which they say addresses the privacy of a DNS request without mentioning the drawbacks of DOH. The section on transport layer security (TLS) concludes that the TLS mechanism is weak, failing to mention the SSLClient test site where users can test the security capabilities of their browsers.

In the last chapter, on how civil society can engage in Internet governance, the authors briefly describe some organizations, giving a website for each for readers to proceed further. The first group mentioned is the IETF (only the index shows that this is the Internet Engineering Task Force). They suggest joining a research group as an individual participant without mentioning the required background that would likely exclude most readers. The next group, IEEE, which the index identifies as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, also expects specialized background. The Internet Governance Forum might actually be an accessible organization, but again it is treated only briefly without more useful details.

This book gives an illustrated overview of how the Internet really works, but could have been much more useful by addressing more specifically the needs of its intended readers.

More reviews about this item: Amazon

Reviewer:  Arthur Gittleman Review #: CR147205 (2107-0177)
Bookmark and Share
  Reviewer Selected
Featured Reviewer
 
 
Privacy (K.4.1 ... )
 
 
Internet (C.2.1 ... )
 
Would you recommend this review?
yes
no
Other reviews under "Privacy": Date
Handbook of personal data protection
Madsen W., Stockton Press, New York, NY, 1992. Type: Book (9780333569207)
Nov 1 1993
Privacy and security issues in information systems
Turn R., Ware W., Wadsworth Publ. Co., Belmont, CA, 1985. Type: Book (9780534042578)
Nov 1 1985
Data bases
Burnham D., Wadsworth Publ. Co., Belmont, CA, 1985. Type: Book (9780534042578)
Nov 1 1985
more...

E-Mail This Printer-Friendly
Send Your Comments
Contact Us
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.   Copyright 1999-2024 ThinkLoud®
Terms of Use
| Privacy Policy