[dns-operations] After Google Mail, Google Docs, Google Wave... Google DNS

[Joe Greco]

> > From: Joe Greco <jgreco at ns.sol.net>
> > Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 14:24:23 -0600 (CST)
> > 
> > However, that's just the cynical me.  I have to say, Google's in a great
> > position to Do The Right Thing with this.  It could be a real winner for
> > people who need an alternative to their poisoned-kool-aid ISP resolvers.
> 
> seems to me that isp's will just policy-route this address to their own
> servers, and then let other udp/53 through.  they want eyeballs, they don't
> need to irritate the small number of people who want to run their own
> recursives.  by making a single big dns resolver that everybody will want
> to use, google will make it easier for isp's to only pirate the traffic
> they actually want to pirate.

Paul,

I want to see that happen.  Because unlike most other alternative DNS
services, Google can strike back, and strike back hard.

OpenDNS would have fairly limited recourse should an ISP decide to do
something like what you suggest to them.  Maybe negative publicity,
maybe lawsuits, etc., but quite frankly if a service provider were to
putz with OpenDNS-bound traffic, they'll get away with it - at least
for a while.

Google?  Can you imagine, just the negative publicity from them merely
putting a conditional warning up on their homepage, if you come from
$BADISP, where it tells you that your ISP is interfering with your 
freedom to choose, and that you should call and complain?

And that's a frickin' love tap compared to what Google *could* do.

Given that the ISP is already messing with Google's traffic, what if
Google were to silently start messing with return traffic to $BADISP?
What if it were made to look like it was the ISP that was actually doing
it?  It could get really devious, really quickly...

The Internet is _so_ dependent on some basic level of cooperation and
trust.  We sometimes forget that this implies that you can really throw
a wrench in the works pretty easily.

So, it'd be a stupid move to mess with Google DNS.  If and when it
happens, it will most definitely be a "popcorn event."  I enjoy a
good show, and a good bowl of popcorn, so yes, I want to see that
happen.  Anyone want to place bets on who'll win?  I'll put money
on Google...

... JG
-- 
Joe Greco - sol.net Network Services - Milwaukee, WI - http://www.sol.net
"We call it the 'one bite at the apple' rule. Give me one chance [and] then I
won't contact you again." - Direct Marketing Ass'n position on e-mail spam(CNN)
With 24 million small businesses in the US alone, that's way too many apples.