A question for the people who are skilled with the computer

[MayorQuimby]

I have read that the CIA is working on erasing the old internet, and then creating a new kind of internet. You know, to control the flow of information. Apparently the old internet is causing them trouble. Can't have the proles freely share information, you know.

I know nothing about computers so I don't know if this can be done or not. Anyway, I hope that those of you who have computer skills can tell me if this is just paranoia or is it a real possibility.

Thank you.

 

[ChemEngineer]

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that the whole world isn't against you, Quimby. What if the CIA also gets rid of pencils, pens and paper! Oh my. The Fear.

 

[BasicHumanUnit]

The US government built a 1 million sq ft data center in Utah some time ago. While it's touted as providing safety and security for Americans, it is also know for acquiring a massive collection of data on every American citizen.

To answer your question: Yes.
While the Internet consists of millions of "nodes", there are central hubs which relay every piece of data that flows across the internet. You can have a "Private Network, which only connects local computers using your own local routers, switches and hubs and as long as it's not connected to the WWW (World Wide Web), your data and privacy "should" be safe.

Keep in mind that your OS, if Microsoft, was designed to collect data on you and transmit it back to supposedly Microsoft. But if anyone believes the government publicly discloses everything it does I have a bridge for sale on Mars.

Back to the Internet, most people use corporate servers for their internet providers. Such as AT&T and Comcast to name a few. Amazon also controls a vast amount of data centers. Those corporation likely enable government access to the data streams.
The massive data center in Utah probably gets a majority of those streams passed through their servers.

We know that the CCP and Russia routinely access and hack into our networks. One positive benefit to redesigning the Internet would be to limit that access. Unfortunately, there are those who so heavily rely on government handouts that they will defend any action government takes, even to their own demise.

Is it paranoia? Not really. I would call it healthy curiosity. "Trust....but verify"

PS...It's actually to your benefit if some put you on ignore. That way you don't have to deal with their constant irrational annoyances

 

[MayorQuimby]

The US government built a 1 million sq ft data center in Utah some time ago. While it's touted as providing safety and security for Americans, it is also know for acquiring a massive collection of data on every American citizen.

To answer your question: Yes.
While the Internet consists of millions of "nodes", there are central hubs which relay every piece of data that flows across the internet. You can have a "Private Network, which only connects local computers using your own local routers, switches and hubs and as long as it's not connected to the WWW (World Wide Web), your data and privacy "should" be safe.

Keep in mind that your OS, if Microsoft, was designed to collect data on you and transmit it back to supposedly Microsoft. But if anyone believes the government publicly discloses everything it does I have a bridge for sale on Mars.

Back to the Internet, most people use corporate servers for their internet providers. Such as AT&T and Comcast to name a few. Amazon also controls a vast amount of data centers. Those corporation likely enable government access to the data streams.

We know that the CCP and Russia routinely access and hack into our networks. One positive benefit to redesigning the Internet would be to limit that access.

Is it paranoia? Not really. I would call it healthy curiosity. "Trust....but verify"

Thank you sir for the info.

 

[MayorQuimby]

I just want to clarify though: I know that the government, along with various corporations, collect data on people. But what I am asking is that, is there any way that the CIA can interfere with the internet in such a way that will stop people from being able to share information among themselves?

Personally, I don't think having one's personal data harvested is that big of a deal, I mean it's wrong and shouldn't happen, but we all know the government has no moral integrity, so it has stopped bothering me a long time ago. I think that most people don't really fear this either, they don't really have any dirt that would put themselves in any real pickle. However, what I am really worried about is the CIA trying to stop the masses from being able to communicate with one another. As you probably know, the internet has really empowered regular people, and has enabled them to talk freely among themselves, which really is a good thing, but is an unbearable thing to the CIA, which really says a lot about them.

Anyway, once again thank you for the post. Please feel very free to hang out in my thread some more, sir.

 

[ChemEngineer]

PS...It's actually to your benefit (Quimby) if some put you on ignore. That way you don't have to deal with their constant irrational annoyances

You got it backwards. The Ignore function helps me avoid their annoyances.
It's not that hard.

 

[Invisibleflash]

I have read that the CIA is working on erasing the old internet, and then creating a new kind of internet. You know, to control the flow of information. Apparently the old internet is causing them trouble. Can't have the proles freely share information, you know.

I know nothing about computers so I don't know if this can be done or not. Anyway, I hope that those of you who have computer skills can tell me if this is just paranoia or is it a real possibility.

Thank you.

Ask the Data Hoarders on Reddit. They would know. I'm no computer expert, but it does not sound right to me. If worried, ask the Hoarders how to back up the Wikipedia. People can do it.

 

[Invisibleflash]

I just want to clarify though: I know that the government, along with various corporations, collect data on people. But what I am asking is that, is there any way that the CIA can interfere with the internet in such a way that will stop people from being able to share information among themselves?

Personally, I don't think having one's personal data harvested is that big of a deal, I mean it's wrong and shouldn't happen, but we all know the government has no moral integrity, so it has stopped bothering me a long time ago. I think that most people don't really fear this either, they don't really have any dirt that would put themselves in any real pickle. However, what I am really worried about is the CIA trying to stop the masses from being able to communicate with one another. As you probably know, the internet has really empowered regular people, and has enabled them to talk freely among themselves, which really is a good thing, but is an unbearable thing to the CIA, which really says a lot about them.

Anyway, once again thank you for the post. Please feel very free to hang out in my thread some more, sir.

Bub, CIA does whatever they like.

United States involvement in regime change - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Muhammed]

I have read that the CIA is working on erasing the old internet, and then creating a new kind of internet. You know, to control the flow of information. Apparently the old internet is causing them trouble. Can't have the proles freely share information, you know.

I know nothing about computers so I don't know if this can be done or not. Anyway, I hope that those of you who have computer skills can tell me if this is just paranoia or is it a real possibility.

Thank you.

Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was cyberattacked by a hacker back in October.

It that what you are talking about?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

You have WAY more to worry about being spied on by Microsoft/Apple/Google/Amazon/Facebook and other Social Media - than the Government.
All of these work together to endlessly gather every single thing you do on the internet. Virtually nothing you do is not tracked/stored/shared and sold to anyone who wants it and is willing to pay.
A lot of that data is de-personalized and aggregated to produce accurate trends for marketing firms and product designers. The problem is the personalized data they have on you. And they have a LOT.

 

[hondo 50]

could be

 

[Seth]

I have read that the CIA is working on erasing the old internet, and then creating a new kind of internet. You know, to control the flow of information. Apparently the old internet is causing them trouble. Can't have the proles freely share information, you know.

I know nothing about computers so I don't know if this can be done or not. Anyway, I hope that those of you who have computer skills can tell me if this is just paranoia or is it a real possibility.

Thank you.

There’s no evidence that the CIA is “erasing the old internet” or building a new one to replace it. The internet is a decentralized global system—no single agency, including the CIA, has the power to erase or rebuild it from scratch.

That said, there are ongoing debates about content moderation, surveillance, and new technologies (like internet censorship in China or tightly regulated platforms like Threads). But that’s not the same as scrapping the internet itself. Always worth questioning power—but also worth checking sources carefully.

 

[Captain Caveman]

You have WAY more to worry about being spied on by Microsoft/Apple/Google/Amazon/Facebook and other Social Media - than the Government.
All of these work together to endlessly gather every single thing you do on the internet. Virtually nothing you do is not tracked/stored/shared and sold to anyone who wants it and is willing to pay.
A lot of that data is de-personalized and aggregated to produce accurate trends for marketing firms and product designers. The problem is the personalized data they have on you. And they have a LOT.

Google pay Apple nearly $20 billion per year to remain the default search engine on iPhones. Everyone's data is big money.

 

[Flopper]

I have read that the CIA is working on erasing the old internet, and then creating a new kind of internet. You know, to control the flow of information. Apparently the old internet is causing them trouble. Can't have the proles freely share information, you know.

I know nothing about computers so I don't know if this can be done or not. Anyway, I hope that those of you who have computer skills can tell me if this is just paranoia or is it a real possibility.

Thank you.

While it would be extremely difficult for any country to completely "abolish" the internet due to its global nature, several nations—most notably China, North Korea, and Iran—have implemented significant measures to control, restrict, or even temporarily shut down internet access for their citizens. However, individuals with some technical knowledge and access to tools like VPNs can often bypass government restrictions to some extent. I recall a few years ago when China banned a movie and blocked DVD sales, yet many people were still able to stream it by using VPNs to mask their IP addresses.

North Korea has likely been the most effective at blocking access to the global internet. In contrast, I seriously doubt Russia would be able to implement a similar level of control. Too many people in positions of power and influence rely on internet access and are unlikely to give it up. Furthermore, a significant portion of Russia's commerce depends on the internet, making a total shutdown impractical.

 

[Flopper]

There’s no evidence that the CIA is “erasing the old internet” or building a new one to replace it. The internet is a decentralized global system—no single agency, including the CIA, has the power to erase or rebuild it from scratch.

That said, there are ongoing debates about content moderation, surveillance, and new technologies (like internet censorship in China or tightly regulated platforms like Threads). But that’s not the same as scrapping the internet itself. Always worth questioning power—but also worth checking sources carefully.

The internet is a highly decentralized network, which makes it inherently difficult for any single entity to control it, whether it be a government, corporation, or individual, to exert complete control. There is no centralized admiration. Sealing off a nation such as the US might technically be possible but the cost in doing so and lost commerce would be huge.

 

[Flopper]

I have read that the CIA is working on erasing the old internet, and then creating a new kind of internet. You know, to control the flow of information. Apparently the old internet is causing them trouble. Can't have the proles freely share information, you know.

I know nothing about computers so I don't know if this can be done or not. Anyway, I hope that those of you who have computer skills can tell me if this is just paranoia or is it a real possibility.

Thank you.

If you are asking can the US goverment shutdown the Internet in the US and replace it with a more secure goverment controlled network. The answer is yes. However, keep in mind that the strength of the Internet lies in the fact that there is no central control. This is why ecommerce has grown from less than a million dollars to nearly 2 trillion dollars in 25 year.

Put the goverment in control and E-commerce would disappear as would most of the US economy.

 

[The Duke]

Ask the Data Hoarders on Reddit. They would know. I'm no computer expert, but it does not sound right to me. If worried, ask the Hoarders how to back up the Wikipedia. People can do it.


View attachment 1111634

Pfft. Those are the lightweights. 4Chan Neckbeards own the internet.

 

[MayorQuimby]

If you are asking can the US goverment shutdown the Internet in the US and replace it with a more secure goverment controlled network. The answer is yes. However, keep in mind that the strength of the Internet lies in the fact that there is no central control. This is why ecommerce has grown from less than a million dollars to nearly 2 trillion dollars in 25 year.

Put the goverment in control and E-commerce would disappear as would most of the US economy.

Dear sir,

Thanks for your input.

Have you come across this story: Snowden: NSA accidentally caused Syria's internet blackout in 2012


So, basically, Snowden was saying that NSA accidentally shut down Syria's internet as they tried to hack it. Personally, I think there is more to it. I think that the shutdown was deliberate. I believe that the NSA was probably asked by the CIA to shut down Syria's internet, just to observe how things would unfold. They wanted to see what the people would do, to get around the broken internet, and how they would communicate with one another despite the broken internet. I believe that the CIA was trying to learn something from it. They wanted to know that if they shut down parts of the internet here, what kind of responses they would get, and how they could counter them.

What do you think of my theory, sir?

 

[JGalt]

I have read that the CIA is working on erasing the old internet, and then creating a new kind of internet. You know, to control the flow of information. Apparently the old internet is causing them trouble. Can't have the proles freely share information, you know.

I know nothing about computers so I don't know if this can be done or not. Anyway, I hope that those of you who have computer skills can tell me if this is just paranoia or is it a real possibility.

Thank you.

 

[Flopper]

Dear sir,

Thanks for your input.

Have you come across this story: Snowden: NSA accidentally caused Syria's internet blackout in 2012


So, basically, Snowden was saying that NSA accidentally shut down Syria's internet as they tried to hack it. Personally, I think there is more to it. I think that the shutdown was deliberate. I believe that the NSA was probably asked by the CIA to shut down Syria's internet, just to observe how things would unfold. They wanted to see what the people would do, to get around the broken internet, and how they would communicate with one another despite the broken internet. I believe that the CIA was trying to learn something from it. They wanted to know that if they shut down parts of the internet here, what kind of responses they would get, and how they could counter them.

What do you think of my theory, sir?

That's interesting and I think it's very plausible. Unfortunately, the government will remain silent.