The Rogue DNS Phenomenon
Source: OS Opinion
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for allocating and managing IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and domain names, among other tasks, has not been winning many friends of late. Its recent decision to drop all elected seats on its board of directors was especially unpopular among Net users.
What most people do not know is that there are alternatives to ICANN.To access a Web site within a browser, you probably type something like "www.newsfactor.com" or "www.yahoo.com." You do not type a numerical IP (Internet Protocol) address, such as 64.58.79.230, because it would be too hard to remember a different IP address for every site you like to visit. Instead, the Web browser queries DNS (domain name service) servers and asks them to translate the domain name you typed to its corresponding IP address. The Web site with that IP address is located and then displayed in the browser window.
At the end of each domain name is a Top Level Domain (TLD). Right now, the most widely used system is controlled by ICANN and includes the TLDs with which most people are familiar, such as ".com," ".net" and ".org." However, many alternatives operate independently of ICANN.
