is it possible to restrict internet access on a large scale? http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230 WriterWithFire So here is my problem, in my story the infected areas are quarantined, and one of these quarantined areas is a large chunk of Southern California. The Government is trying to keep what is really happening under wraps by shutting down all communications with the quarantined area to avoid "spreading panic". I need this to extend to internet access, to the point where they can't get information from or to the outside world. No E-mail, not even updating their facebook, because one of the clues that my bad guy is actually a bad guy is that he has been communicating with the government through e-mail. My question is - Does our Government have the technology to restrict internet communication on that large of a scale? Not just removal SOPA style, but actually blocking it? Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:01:37 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1139475 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1139475 Dennis Dunjinman Try having them sabotage multiple Wi-fi towers and miles of underground cable. "Oops", they'd say. But no one would get good reception after that. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:05:11 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1142108 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1142108 jessica_marie I don't see why they couldn't. Businesses and corporations block websites from employee computers. Certainly the government is capable of doing the same thing. In these areas where the quarantine is in effect, perhaps the only internet is available at/through/in-range-of government quarantine facilities. Users would need a password to access the server and once inside that server, users would be completely at the mercy of their communication being blocked entirely/intercepted/censored. If that doesn't work with your story, don't fret. The internet is awesome, but we're completely at the mercy of technology here. You can use that. It's likely impossible for the government to employ enough people to comb through the sheer amount of digital communication, even in a small region, but it is WELL within their abilities to regionally block access to sites, without removing them from other areas in the country. They can ban a range of IP addresses in restricted areas, authorize certain IP addresses (your main baddie, perhaps? [or, maybe he was granted an internal government email. Those can be 'blocked' too. At the bank where I work, outbound emails --not to fellow employees-- are delayed and sent to the IT department to verify that customer information is not being inappropriately furnished to outside sources]. If the government has authorized certain IP addresses, they can even screenshare and watch as authorized personnel interacts with the unquarantined world. As far back as 1996, regionally blocking sites has been possible: The San Jose Mercury News of January 27th, 1996 reported that Deutsche Telekom, the national phone company in Germany, had blocked its customers' access to Web Communications of Santa Cruz, California. One of Webcom's customers, a Canadian citizen from Toronto named Ernst Zundel, had put up a web page on Webcom's server to speak for a controversial point of view called "Holocaust revisionism". [...] It was impossible for the Germans to censor only one page--blocking webcom.com meant stopping a range of IP addresses. Free-speech supporters figured that if Zundel's site was copied to the best sites on the Internet, the German government would be forced to cut Germany off from the Net completely, slice by slice. (http://www.gimonca.com/personal/archive/censor.html) Keep in mind though this was 16 years ago, back when the internet was a baby. Here is the wikipedia page (I know, I know! But it's a great jumping point for you) for how China implements their internet censorship through technology, self regulation, and appointed proxies. Also, it dives into the future of where the technology is headed, and what is currently under development. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China#Technical_implementation From the wikipedia page: "The system blocks content by preventing IP addresses from being routed through. It consists of standard firewalls and proxy servers at the Internet gateways. The system also selectively engages in DNS poisoning when particular sites are requested. The government does not appear to be systematically examining Internet content, as this appears to be technically impractical.[33]" "In the second half of 2009 the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter were blocked, presumably because of containing social or political commentary (similar to LiveJournal in the above list). An example is the commentary on the July 2009 Ürümqi riots.[66][67] Another reason suggested for the block is that activists can utilize them to organize themselves." "One part of the block is to filter the search results of certain terms on Chinese search engines. These Chinese search engines include both international ones (for example, yahoo.com.cn and Google China) as well as domestic ones (for example, Baidu). Attempting to search for censored keywords in these Chinese search engines will yield few or no results." Keep in mind that this is all unconstitutional in the United States, but honestly, that's part of why your idea is so frightening. I say you're swimming in legit waters. I think it might be a really eerie thing if you live in Pennsylvania and you're checking your sister's facebook page, and she hasn't updated. Then you click on her husband, and see he hasn't either. Or his mother. Or their school friends. Page after page, inactive statuses that ended around the same general timeframe. There isn't anything happening on the news to explain your icky paranoid feelings, but you can't shake that feeling. I think it would be really cool if facebook status updates/tweets/tumblogs come to a complete stop. I think this could easily be accomplished, especially with cooperation between local service providers and the government. But even without that cooperation, it's completely possible. Good luck! Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:53:09 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1143078 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1143078 WriterWithFire wow, that is awesome! Thank you so much, that helps a ton! Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:43:21 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1143240 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1143240 jessica_marie Glad to help! Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:57:38 -0600 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1143270 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/horror-supernatural/threads/50230?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1143270