So we've had some hints about a potential blackout. With Q drops, the military reminding us to back up our data locally, to news sites copy-pasting the solar storm news. I just want to share a few thoughts on this as I graduated with a degree in network infrastructure and I've worked 5 years in IT (and had PC experience since I was 8).

1. We know this is going to be manufactured and we know this won't be an actual solar storm. But the best way to verify this if or when it does happen is to simply connect any of your decides locally. If you can connect 2 computers via WiFi or ethernet under a blackout, that would be absolutely 110% confirmation that there is no crippling solar storm.

2. There are a few ways the internet infrastructure can be put at a standstill. One way we can mitigate it is downloading a Hosts file. Hosts files map IP addresses to domain names. Doing this will help protect us if they try to shut down domain name servers. In this scenario, websites would still be online, however, you would require the IP address to navigate to them. You can also find alternative DNS services, and VPNs may have these services as well.

3. Another way it could shut down is if every monopolized ISP decides to shut down collectively. Unfortunately I don't have an answer to this, other than to have a backup, lesser known ISP provider, and possibly a VPN. Though, I would like to think white hats would be able to mitigate this potential threat.

4. Back up every important thing you have stored on the internet, including Q Drops, notable Tweets, etc. Also, download some movies or music to keep you entertained.

5. The internet won't likely be shut off for too long. A couple days at most. Use any downtime to work on yourself, your projects, and connect with your loved ones. You can do more with less distractions.

EDIT: For Windows 10, the hosts file is located at: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc You would need to open NotePad as administrator to edit the file. There are guides of this online. Also note, not all websites will be able to work with this method thanks to a technology called "Virtual Hosting." This allows a single IP address to share multiple domain names. You can't browse Twitter using it's IP address unfortunately, but it does work for Google:

[172.217.4.228 www.google.com]

Unfortunately IP address navigation also is blocked on GreatAwakening.Win thanks to Cloudflare.