1. The Domain Name System The Components, Functions, Legality and Issues of the Domain Name System

2. Introduction to DNS A world wide tool A simple explanation to what the domain name system is that it translates human readable names into code that can be read by a computer, every single device with the ability to connect to the internet will have an IP (personal internet protocol address) This IP address is used to communicate with other devices which opens up the ability for packets to be sent and received

3. Introduction to DNS (Beginlinux.com, Domain Name service) The domain name system function is a bit like a post office; first you arrive with your packet and place an address on the packet. The packet is then weighed and measured before being entered into the postage system. The packet is then sent to a post office near the location you want your package to reach. From there it is checked to ensure it’s arrived at the correct place then taken to the address. This is done through a network of connected devices, these devices are connected through nodes, nodes are the objects that connect two or more devices together.

4. The three components of the Domain Name System There are three main components to the domain name system; these are name space, name servers and resolver. I will start by talking about the name space component; the name space component does a couple of things. First it’s a type of hierarchy system There are three levels of domains: top-level, second-level and third level. I felt the best way to show this was in a diagram Secondly it’s a namespace system that helps standardise the system, for example a.gov address is used by a government only although standards have dropped in recent years meaning this is not always the case. Name Space

5. The three components of the Domain Name System Name servers are the details of the server that is related to a certain website, you will have two items. First your server hostname which will look something like DDS.severeg.com and then your server IP address for example 143.503.43.6. Every zone of a name server has a primary name server along with many secondary servers that hold copies of the primary servers data. This is helpful in reducing stress on the primary name server. Name severs are able to cache data which allows for faster loading of the same data in future Name Servers

6. The three components of the Domain Name System Resolver Finally, the resolver is gives the command of initiating and performing the queries that lead to the translation from a domain name into an IP address. A non-recursive query and a recursive query.

7. DNS and legalization in the UK There have been many legal issues around the domain name system one popular example was when a person used the domain name modernwarfare3.com was used to create an anti-Modern Warfare 3 website, initially the website just forwarded users to the videos games largest competitors website (http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield3), but once the website caught the attention of the media this changed to a whole website devoted to insulting the modern warfare brand. Activision (The publisher of modern warfare 3) took legal action against claiming the domain name was strongly linked to their brand, they won the court case and managed to take control of the domain

8. There are also issues around UK based names for example www.eg.co.uk as the system for insuring that a.uk domain is based in the UK is considered no longer trustworthy, an example of one of these issues is websites that make fake goods will use a uk domain name is order to trick customers. Nominet is a company thats helps police this problem "The operation, co-ordinated by the Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit, targeted websites selling counterfeit goods to unsuspecting consumers in the busy Christmas shopping period. Following notification from the Police, Nominet worked with the relevant.uk registrars to suspend.uk domain names that were in breach of our terms and conditions. Registrants for the domain names involved were notified in advance of the suspension. " (.uk domain names suspended to protect shoppers from online fraud, 2011) http://www.whois-uk.com, Nominet plans to release super-short domain names

9. Issues and limitation of the Domain Name System The domain name system is very vulnerable to hackers, there are a range of different types of attacks Cache poisoning attacks, Dos, amplification attacks and mitigations. These problems lower the quality and usefulness of the domain name system. A range of people are working to prevent these issues such as internet service providers, website owners and virus protection software companies, Its recommended that everyone has virus protection software on their computers to help prevent these problems.

10. Currently everyone uses a system called IPv4 which stands for Internet Protocol version 4, soon new devices will start using IPv6. The main literal reason from moving from IPv4 to IPv6 is because of running out of addresses, it is estimated that by the end of 2012 we will run out of IPv4 addresses. IPv4 supports 32bit addresses while the new IPv6 are 128bit, there are also lots of other new improvements such as improved map host names and support for 1280-byte packet size. During this move a lot of work will be done to ensure problems are kept to a minimum as IPv6 is not backwards compatible and security are of a high quality. The domain name system is an important part of the internet, one that needs more awareness, I hope this report helped give you a better understand of how it works and why more people should know about it. IPv4 vs IPv6

11. References in alphabetical order Beginlinux.com, (2011), Domain Name service (2011) [Image online]. Retrieved from http://beginlinux.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/dns2.gif Carolyn Duffy Marsan, Biggest mistake for IPv6: It's not backwards compatible, developers admit (2009) Retrieved from http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/032509-ipv6-mistake.html Differences IPv4 Vs IPv6. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.techsutram.com/2009/03/differences-ipv4-vs-ipv6.html. Domain Name System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011) Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System. Google IPv6 Conference 2008: IPv6 and the DNS (2008). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iIngiGqjrA. IPv4 Vs IPv6 Tutorial (2010) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GWpcm5Ko_I Owen Good, Activision Seizes "ModernWarfare3.com" from Battlefield 3 Fanboy (2011) Retrieved from http://kotaku.com/5838547/activision-seizes-modernwarfare3com-from-battlefield-3-fanboyhttp://beginlinux.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/dns2.gifIPv6 http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/032509-ipv6-mistake.htmlIPv4IPv6http://www.techsutram.com/2009/03/differences-ipv4-vs-ipv6.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_SystemIPv6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iIngiGqjrA IPv4IPv6http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GWpcm5Ko_IModernWarfare3 http://kotaku.com/5838547/activision-seizes-modernwarfare3com-from-battlefield-3-fanboy Nominet plans to release super-short domain names (2011) Retrieved from http://www.whois-uk.com/blog/nominet-plans-to- release-super-short-domain-names.php Server2k3, dns namespace? (2011) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFkIRZIYM-E...uk domain names suspended to protect shoppers from online fraud (2011) Retrieved from http://www.nic.uk/news/latest/?contentId=8870 What are the three components of DNS named. 2011. Retrieved from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_three_components_of_DNS_named. What Is a Domain Name Space? | Super Hosting Deals. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.superhostingdeals.com/what-is-a- domain-name-space-1393.html. What is the Domain Name System (DNS)?. (2011). Retrieved from http://whatismyipaddress.com/dns.http://www.whois-uk.com/blog/nominet-plans-to- release-super-short-domain-names.php Server2k3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFkIRZIYM-E http://www.nic.uk/news/latest/?contentId=8870 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_three_components_of_DNS_namedhttp://www.superhostingdeals.com/what-is-a- domain-name-space-1393.htmlhttp://whatismyipaddress.com/dns