Abstract: In this dissertation, I will describe my contributions towards understanding network interference, including Internet censorship as well as throttling of specific network applications (traffic differentiation). I develop a network measurement platform that enables monitoring of network interference globally on an ongoing basis. I then focus on understanding the DNS censorship behavior of the Great Firewall of China (GFW) by leveraging remote network measurement techniques.
Additionally, I investigate the prevalence of traffic differentiationpractices and how they impact popular video streaming applications. I demonstrate that network interference is prevalent even with encryption enabled. This has led to the development of DNS and TLS improvements that aim to enhance user privacy and security. I review two recent
proposals, namely DNS over HTTPS/TLS (DoH/DoT) and Encrypted Server Name Indication (ESNI), and investigate their potential to mitigate network interference and improve user privacy.
Advisor: Phillipa Gill