relying to much on the internet

Post Reply New Topic

do you think the world's actually in a vulnerable situation being that we are relying to much on the internet? i.e. business, banking, ect. i think as long as the world and market depends souly on the internet we are vulnerable because what happens if the entire internet goes down? it can happen.

No, it can't.

the day hollywood depictions become an argument in and of itself we are already doomed.

even a solar storm wouldnt be able to permanently disrupt any and all electricity.

That would be real sad, since people run on electricity.

I'm sure if all electronics ceased to function tomorrow, people would work it out.

The only scenarios that I can come up with that involve Internet access being completely disabled globally cause so much damage to humanity on a global scale that the Internet being out is seriously the least of our problems.

Even to somewhat cripple (albeit not completely disable) Internet access to a country like the US for more than a day would require a very significant act of god that would essentially wipe several key cities off the map. You'd have to take out NYC, DC and LA/SF in such a way that they're not coming back any time soon.

Temporarily disrupting general Internet access is relatively trivial to do, you could take out 2 specific buildings and cause a pretty big headache for ISPs in the US/CA - but it wouldn't take more than a 24 hours to fix - and banking, defense, and other critical networks likely wouldn't be affected - just the public-facing Internet at large.

Yes, I think we're too dependent on it.

For banking and commerce? What would you suggest we switch to?

If you have two working computers and a way to connect them, you can use TCP/IP and make your own little "internet." The only major infrastructure that could be damaged would be the Domain Name system, and honestly, we'd get over it (an IP address can be written on a scrap of paper if need be). As long as there are computers, the internet will be with us.

I still prefer paper statements from my bank, just as I still prefer paper ballots when I vote. There are some things that I like having a hard record of that no one can go back and change. Mind you, I love the internet, and use it all the time. I just worry that we're too dependent.

I experienced a rather long power outage months ago, and I thought about all the stories about end of oil, infrastructure breakdowns, etc. IF for whatever reason the power was out for a long time - and it has been for people after disasters - then we'd have to rely on information we can get from paper books, libraries. There are public libraries all over the US that have closed down due to the recession and broke local governments, and that worries me. I can, if the internet is available, get the best information from the internet. But if all hell breaks loose and we don't have the internet for, say, months or years, we'll depend on books for things like learning how to make our own shoes, clothes, bread, etc. Even for some basic technology. So I do think we can be too dependent.

Not that I expect doom any minute. But it's best to be prepared, and as every computer user knows it's best to have a backup system.

I've had far more problems with losing paper records than losing electronic ones. I back up hard copies of legal documents electronically, and sometimes throw away the originals if the electronic ones will suffice.

We are in no danger of seeing the end of electricity generation.