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Overview

 The task for this assignment is to research an issue related to computer networks and write a report. Some suggested topics are provided below.

Topic List

1. Internet censorship has been a hot topic in Australia at various times, with strong opinions on both sides of the debate. Identify the objectives of internet filtering usually cited by its proponents. Briefly outline the arguments for and against mandatory internet filtering at a national level. Discuss the technical aspects of what can and cannot be achieved. Briefly summarise your own opinion - what do you think is the best approach for Australia?

2. Neither of the traditional routing strategies (distance-vector and link-state) is completely ideal in a Mobile Ad-hoc NETwork (MANET). Briefly outline the limitations of each. Give an overview of some of the alternatives that have been proposed, and choose one or two to evaluate in detail. Identify one or more specific issues where further research could be useful.

3. DNS is a critical internet service, providing mapping of domain names to IP addresses. Explain, with examples, some of the security issues that can be exploited via inadequately protected DNS infrastructure, and what countermeasures can be employed by network administrators. Include a discussion of DNS tunelling.

4. Spam is an ever-growing problem, with some network administrators reporting that 90% or more of the email delivered to their mail servers is spam. Identify and briefly evaluate several approaches to combating spam that are in common use at present. What ideas are emerging from current research, and which of these do you think have a reasonable chance of success? If you would like to investigate a different networks-related topic, please discuss your idea with the lecturer ASAP. Proposals that involve doing a programming project to examine some issue and writing up the results in a report will be considered.