Want to register something.new? You can, but there’s a catch.
An Austin company has launched something like an “alternative root” for domain names.
Authenticated Reality is launched “The New Internet“, a service that allows people to register any domain name they want on both the left and right side of the dot.
The catch is that these domain names will only work for people that use the company’s software when they browse the web.
Alternative domain name structures are not new. A well-known example is new.net, a company that offered alternative top level domain name endings and required users to use a browser plugin to access them.
The only way to make an alternative root work is to gets tens of millions (hundreds?) to use the software. Companies have previously tried to strike deals with ISPs to hijack the DNS in this way, but the reality is the domain name system as we know it works quite well.
Only once there’s critical mass does it make sense for site operators to register these domains. And then, the alternative root has to convince people to type these domain names into their browsers rather than just use search.
Authenticated Reality says that it will not censor domains, and suggests that ICANN has done so with Dotgay LLC’s application to run .gay. (In reality, ICANN has no issue with there being a .gay. It’s Dotgay LLC that has held up the extension from being offered by challenging the other applicants. Ironically, Dotgay LLC wants to censor what can be hosted on .gay.)
People can register a domain name in the system that match their existing domain.
They can also register existing domains owned by others that are parked. Chris Ciabarra, co-founder of Authenticated Reality, told Domain Name Wire that these domains can be activated on The New Internet and the buyers can resell them, splitting profits with Authenticated Reality.
Of course, having one domain name resolve to different sites depending on your browser will cause more confusion, whereas Authenticated Reality’s stated goal is to bring authentication to the internet.
The other big hook of The New Internet is that everyone will be authenticated. The company believes that a lack of authentication is a big issue with the internet today, pointing to fake news as an example.
People that use the company’s browsing software can comment on any website, and their identity will be fully public.
It’s a clever idea, but I question if people are willing to jump through the rather invasive steps to be authenticated. The company apparently has a slick, fast authentication scheme, but it requires scanning your driver’s license. If anything, it seems that internet users are asking for more privacy these days, not less. Hence the hoopla in the past couple days about Congress voting to roll back protections against ISPs selling your browsing data.
I think Authenticated Reality has some cool ideas, and its verification technology sounds neat. But its idea for alternative domain names is misguided.
Ian Ingram says
Sounds somewhat like .bit which is also decentralized & requires a browser plug in, a copy of the Namecoin blockchain, or a supporting public DNS server to run.
drew says
Definitely some interesting ideas there and it seems like they’re taking user’s privacy/security seriously (employees need some level of security clearance to work there). But, if they start to gain traction and grow, they’ll be a big target for bad actors who’d love to get a hold of driver’s licenses, etc. I’m sure they’re encrypting it tightly (they’d better be!), but if they’re storing it somewhere, it’ll be accessible.
With all the talk of nTLDs and whether they’re here to stay or not, people are missing out on the much larger (albeit longer term) change that could happen to our traditional understanding of the internet and domains, which is that the DNS (and ICANN governance) is not a guaranteed system that will continue in perpetuity. As we continue to see larger scale data breaches and moves by congress to give companies full access to our private digital lives, companies like this will turn up everywhere, offering users an alternative to getting online without leaving a trace. The Tor network and .onion TLD, and .bit mentioned above are other examples of a similar concept – let computers talk to each other but circumvent the need for public facing (and unique) domains
Andrew Allemann says
Drew,
But isn’t .onion the polar opposite? It is designed to create privacy, right?
drew says
Yeah, I didn’t make my point very clear. I see both .onion and companies like Augmented Reality as alternative ways to get online and utilize the benefits of networking without relying on some of the privacy and security vulnerabilities inherent in the way DNS is deployed and employed today. In other words, they are ways to use the internet without navigating to specific websites via a domain name.
Jothan Frakes says
I am sitting here with a mental image of Bullwinkle Moose attempting to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Those with some tenure in the DNS are mentally experiencing deja-vu in the role of Rocky the Flying Squirrel. “again… that trick never works”.
Similar attempts under different names pop up every 7 years or so, perhaps tied to some cycle of internet user amnesia of the news of horrible customer experiences subsiding into the lost institutional knowledge of time. Or clevver marketeers figure out new buzzwords to use for the same thing.
Not trying to poop in their cereal bowl but in my 20+ years at this, I have witnessed entrepreneurs touch this stove and burn their hand a lot of times and lose themselves and their customers a lot of money.
The closest thing I have seen to anything functional within a namespace alternative to the IANA root is user account names like twitter handles or facebook paths, where it is tied to value on the internet that everyone uses.
New.net got some traction back in the day because they cut a deal with Earthlink and Wannado which were large ISPs at the time, to where their customers default resolver DNS would work (because they could control it).
Getting people to install their ‘helper’ or tweak their DNS was simply well above the standard level of aptitude for the masses. Unless you could get a comcast, google or dyn or other large resolution provider to make the default DNS include these namespaces, it proved to be DOA.
Should this time Intergovernmental agencies, trademark protections, privacy advocates, security experts – commercial interests – all have very strong opinion on systems that have a first-come, first-served naming system in order to ensure their perceived entitlements are in place.
I reckon despite all this that I wish them luck – there is a very substantial uphill climb ahead – I appreciate where technologists attempt innovation.
I myself would find softer walls to beat my head against.
cambler says
I’ve had what I feel is a sure-fire way to crack this nut. I figured it out in 1998 when it became apparent ICANN wouldn’t finish any time soon.
It’ll likely take a $5-7MM budget and a few key agreements that likely could be made.
I’m a couple million short. Like five-to-seven or so 😉
Hint: a small part of my idea was in the .mail application in the early ’00s.
tomtomtee says
I may be able to help hit me up
Tom says
Jothan you are right there have been attempts done in the past but the user experience was tough to over come. I just tried this company out and it is simple. Plus no DNS settings needed to change and no confusion from a end user experience it is seamless. Just download their app and all the new domains just work. I went to news.gay like in their video here. https://vimeo.com/207035550 and it just worked. I also watched a video on how to buy a domain and have it show up in the browser and it was as easy as godaddy. Watch video here. https://vimeo.com/210674410. I just purchased a few domains and it was easy.
Andrew Allemann says
Ahem…we don’t smile upon astroturfing here 🙂
John Berryhill says
No, but we do laugh at it.
Patrick Finerty says
It is particularly galling to see astroturfing from the founder of a company that pretends that it’s primary goal is to “authenticate” users to prevent the very problem of astroturfing. But said founder has a history of doing this, so it isn’t terribly surprising.
John Berryhill says
…and to show you how easy it is to use, “Tom” here is going to use it to fix the bottom of a boat!
Do you honestly believe that you come across as sincere?
ANY company that needs to pull crap like this on blogs is automatically untrustworthy.
tomtomtee says
The system does not use any frustrating methods like changing DNS etc. Just download their browser to your phone or computer and you are done.
Andrew Allemann says
Chris, the browser is just part of the issue. New.net allowed you to download a simple plugin and it still struggled. In your case you are requiring people to also register, scan license etc. to use the browser. So it will be harder to get critical scale.
The DNS changes that new.net offered to ISPs and such as just a way to get great scale.
If your alternate navigation system does take off, you’re going to run into another problem that will reduce user trust: conflicting dmains.
Right now I can register something.gay on “The New Internet”. What happens when .gay becomes a “real” top level domain and people start registering domains on it? A user on your system might have a site on .gay they want to visit, but when they type it in on “The New Internet” it goes to a completely different site. That seems contrary to the idea of an “authenticated web”.
John Berryhill says
…or email, which remains the most-used application for domain names.
Mike says
I think if anything like this will ever gain traction, it will need to use the blockchain. Namecoin didn’t do it right, but there is a chance someone will figure out a way to make it work
John says
Anyone think this should be illegal?
tomtomtee says
YES how can we make this illegal! I have hundreds of domains and I don’t want the value of them to go down if this company can just create unlimited 1 and 2 letter extensions that will devalue the rest of us!