[AusNOG] Telstra manipulating DNS to block botnets

[Mark Delany]

On 15Jun12, Rod Veith allegedly wrote:
> I don't like the idea of protecting customers from themselves. We are not a
> nanny state and I don't want to live in one. People have to learn to take

I'm not so sure it's nannying; more that consumers have an expectation
that when they get a PC and an Internet connection they should "just
work".

Just as people don't check the oil in their cars (heck, some cars
don't even come with a dip-stick anymore), nor do they care to meddle
under the hood of their PC/tablet/Internet connection.

And frankly, in 2012, that's not an unreasonable expectation.

If anything the OS vendors should be held to account for selling
products that are so vulnerable that they need constant maintenance
and the purchase of expensive adds-ons to keep them working
properly. Something they don't mention in their ads or fine-print.

Just because OS Vendors have thus far managed to externalize the cost
of their product faults doesn't mean that the burden should fall on
consumers to pick up these costs. Nor should it fall on ISPs of
course...


Mark.