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Where leaping to conclusions is my primary form of forward motion.
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Monday, April 4, 2005
The Spy That PDF'd Me
It was only a matter of time before all the structured, linked, DRM’d functions of the proprietary PDF format were tied back into a low-cost, low-burden, viral tracking mechanism. It seems likely PDFzone author is right to suggest this is just the beginning of a movement to make PDFs increasingly invasive. PDF is a great tool when used properly, but look for this to become a real issue and a battle cry for the anti-PDF crowd. Be interesting to see what, if anything, Adobe does with this.
Me? I dunno. I’m not sure I’d buy a PDF that required me to be connected to open it. Rather defeats the purpose, IMO. But it’s likely most sellers won’t disclose that little tidbit before the sale. Found via Privacy Digest. Read the whole thing at PDFzone.
PDF Tracking On the Way
PDF Tracking On the Way. (el)Capitan.Nick writes "PDFzone reports that the company Remote Approach has launched a service to track the movement of PDF documents with its tool Map-Bot. The purpose of this service is to allow PDF publishers the ability to measure their audience, as web publishers can already. Though personal information is not gathered from machines, IP addresses are. PDFs can require users to be connected to the Internet in order to read them, and every person you email the PDF to is subject to the service. As PDFzone's opinion article states, while 'the chances of running into a Remote Approach PDF right now -- and in the near future -- are pretty remote ... the potential for the technology to tarnish PDF's image [of security] is staggering.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]
Posted by: 
Terry Frazier at 2:30 PM
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Categories: Future of Print, Security, Technology
Terry Frazier at 2:30 PM
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Thursday, February 10, 2005
What's the Joke...
About a car that crashes as often as Windoze? We may be getting there, literally.
NEW STUDY WARNS OF CAR VIRUSES
A report by IBM Security Intelligence Services predicts that viruses spreading to mobile phones, PDAs and wireless networks could infect the embedded computers that increasingly are used to run basic automobile functions. The average new car runs 20 computer processors and about 60 megabytes of software code, raising more opportunities for malfunctions. In addition to the threat facing vehicles, the report noted the fastest growing threat last year was phishing -- a method of deceiving computer users into revealing personal information -- and predicted that activity would grow more serious in 2005. (Reuters/CNet.com 8 Feb 2005) [more...]
Posted by: Terry Frazier at 10:20 AM
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Categories: Security, Technology
Terry Frazier at 10:20 AM
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Tuesday, January 11, 2005
But I know this isn't it
I don't know the answer to the spam problem, but I know crippling e-mail for your customers doesn't qualify as a solution. For the past year or so Earthlink has been rolling out a "security upgrade" that will help them deal with the spam problem.Dear EarthLink Subscriber,The upgrade is an authenticated SMTP server. Spam is a problem, and I understand what they're trying to do. But the rankest neophyte can start to see the problems here. The login to the SMTP is my general earthlink admin login, so I'm certainly not going to give it to anyone to send e-mail. Further, for the past several years Earthlink has blocked access to port 25, 2525, and any other port that is frequently used for SMTP servers so I can't use my own or anyone else's SMTP server when on my earthlink-provided broadband connection.
We're writing to remind you that you must update your email settings in order to continue sending email on our network.
This change is the result of a security upgrade that will help keep spammers from using our network to send you junk email.
You need your EarthLink email address and password to update your settings. If you don't know your password, you can reset it anytime on your "My Account"Web page: http://myaccount.earthlink.net.
For all practical purposes, anyone visiting my home or office or using my broadband connection with permission, for legitimate purposes, is locked out of the e-mail system. This is earthlink's idea of progressive service -- stop the spam problem by preventing your customers from sending e-mail. Brilliant!
I know you can use web mail. They haven't, as yet, decided to block port 80 and web servers (though I'm not at all convinced the geniuses in the corporate office won't think of that next.) But web mail is completely useless for people who roam around taking care of business. Unless you do all your e-mail via the web (does anyone really do that?) you end up with real sync problems on your mail client. At the very least you end up losing track of messages that you send via the web. Not your Sarbanes-Oxley seal of approval.
More importantly, this upgrade has had zero impact on the amount of spam I get at my earthlink address. I no longer even use the address - haven't in years - for anything except getting my earthlink invoice and it gets filled with spam for sex, drugs, sex drugs, and offers to help poor Nigerians with their banking problems. And that's just the stuff that gets past the earthlink spaminator.
In short, this is a solution that penalizes customers while having zero impact on the real problem. Welcome to the RIAA/MPAA Cro Magnon mindset.
Sky Dayton and Charles Brewer were visionaries. The companies they built stood, for a while, for the very best in customer service and innovation. Today, joined under the earthlink banner, they stand as shining examples corporate torpor, institutional stupidity, and the constant, nagging, degradation that plagues everything run by committee. Time for a new ISP.
Posted by: Terry Frazier at 10:51 PM
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Categories: Privacy, Security, Technology
Terry Frazier at 10:51 PM
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This Page was last updated: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:06:57 GMT
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