Who controls your internet access?
It鈥檚 tempting to think that no one does. Sign up with an internet service provider (ISP) and that鈥檚 it: you鈥檙e free to browse.
Well, not quite free. Your ISP is your internet gatekeeper. Many provide trouble-free service. But providers are able to slow down or block online activities such as file-sharing 鈥� an ability that the US Federal Communications Commission wants to rescind. Others profit from your typos by redirecting you to advertising pages they own. Service can also be frustratingly slow for no apparent reason.
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Little is known about the exactly how ISPs run their networks, but you can help fix that. Researchers at the (ICSI) in Berkeley, California, have built a website that studies internet connections and they need New 杏吧原创 readers to help them collect data.
Here鈥檚 what you need to do. Visit the and click 鈥渟tart analysis鈥�. The site will take a few minutes to probe your internet connection. When it鈥檚 done you will see whether certain types of traffic are being interfered with. You will also learn about the steps your ISP is 鈥� or is not 鈥� taking to ensure that your connection is fast and is not being abused by spammers.
The results will be displayed on the institute鈥檚 website. For a less technical explanation of the tests, see the New 杏吧原创 results page.
The more people take the test, the more we will learn about the internet鈥檚 gatekeepers. We will write about the results here on New 杏吧原创 as they emerge.