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You can also use a temporary credit card if you're really paranoid. These function as debit cards so you only risk the amount of money you put it. This might be useful if you're ultra paranoid and like to limit the number of people you give your credit card to. You still need a real credit card for WebCertificate but it is an extra layer of protection.

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Wired article as proof

This is what services like Webcertificate were made for. It creates a stored value MasterCard which you could use to limit your exposure when using something like this. As an added bonus, last time I experimented, there's no verification of the recipient's name, providing a layer of obfuscation (not anonymity, since I'm sure Webcertificate would give you up in a heartbeat if anyone with a badge asked).

iTunes Music Store does not "check" to see where you are via IP address, or any other network method.

Music you own is never "deleted".

The only reason this user encountered the issue is because he had to reinstall his entire OS, and reauthorize the computer with a credit card whose billing address had since been changed to a non-US address - this didn't specifically disallow him from playing his purchased music; rather, it didn't allow him to REauthorize the computer in order to play the purchased music. As others have said, this seems to be more of a unique situation/accident than intentional on Apple's part (notwithstanding the valid legal considerations Apple has).

Music you burn to CD from iTunes Music Store is yours to keep - FOREVER. No matter where you move. You DO own the music you buy from iTunes Music Store. (Unlike other sites).

As soon as international licensing arrangements are worked out, more and more countries will have iTunes Music Store available.

Apple did much better than anyone else with keeping broad rights with the user/customer, where they belong.

And, finally, a letter from the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA:

The reason why the Apple iTunes Music Store isn't yet available outside the US is because Apple hasn't made arrangements to obtain the rights outside of that country (this is called "clearing the rights" in the music business).

I run the largest music licensing agency in Canada, CMRRA. On behalf of our clients from around the world, we represent the owners of the vast majority of songs used in Canada.

Yesterday afternoon I placed a call to Apple Canada to open a discussion on the licensing of Apple's online music store in Canada. Apple's Canadian office is basically a sales operation; no products are designed or produced by Apple in Canada, to the best of my knowledge.

I'm hoping to set up a meeting with Apple, probably in Cupertino, in the next two weeks. We're looking forward to doing business with Apple - among other things, our clients don't make any money saying, "no". Until we've cut a deal with Apple, it won't be possible for them to do business in Canada - that's why I'd like to negotiate that deal and have it set up as soon as possible.

We love Mac and iTunes, too! We're sure that a substantial number of Canadians are going to want to do business with Apple, and we look forward to our discussions with them.

All Apple has to do is call me back to set up the meeting.

David A. Basskin
President
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd.
Toronto, Canada

iTunes Music Store does not "check" to see where you are via IP address, or any other network method.

Music you own is never "deleted".

The only reason this user encountered the issue is because he had to reinstall his entire OS, and reauthorize the computer with a credit card whose billing address had since been changed to a non-US address - this didn't specifically disallow him from playing his purchased music; rather, it didn't allow him to REauthorize the computer in order to play the purchased music. As others have said, this seems to be more of a unique situation/accident than intentional on Apple's part (notwithstanding the valid legal considerations Apple has).

Music you burn to CD from iTunes Music Store is yours to keep - FOREVER. No matter where you move. You DO own the music you buy from iTunes Music Store. (Unlike other sites).

As soon as international licensing arrangements are worked out, more and more countries will have iTunes Music Store available.

Apple did much better than anyone else with keeping broad rights with the user/customer, where they belong.

And, finally, a letter from the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA:

The reason why the Apple iTunes Music Store isn't yet available outside the US is because Apple hasn't made arrangements to obtain the rights outside of that country (this is called "clearing the rights" in the music business).

I run the largest music licensing agency in Canada, CMRRA. On behalf of our clients from around the world, we represent the owners of the vast majority of songs used in Canada.

Yesterday afternoon I placed a call to Apple Canada to open a discussion on the licensing of Apple's online music store in Canada. Apple's Canadian office is basically a sales operation; no products are designed or produced by Apple in Canada, to the best of my knowledge.

I'm hoping to set up a meeting with Apple, probably in Cupertino, in the next two weeks. We're looking forward to doing business with Apple - among other things, our clients don't make any money saying, "no". Until we've cut a deal with Apple, it won't be possible for them to do business in Canada - that's why I'd like to negotiate that deal and have it set up as soon as possible.

We love Mac and iTunes, too! We're sure that a substantial number of Canadians are going to want to do business with Apple, and we look forward to our discussions with them.

All Apple has to do is call me back to set up the meeting.

David A. Basskin
President
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd.
Toronto, Canada

American Express offeres one-use card numbers through its Private Payments program, also (no direct link, sorry).

First, there is no justice. You should have been modded up (+1, Funny).

The thing is, if Amex uses the same "bank number" (first four digits) as for their other cards, there won't be an easy way to filter these, like there is with WebCertificate that always uses the same bank number. (BTW, I've never run across or heard of a site filtering based on bank number--I would be interested in knowing of any.)

If more companies get in on the act, they aren't going to be able to tell if the card is good for recurrent billing unless that's made part of the authorization scheme. And other companies are getting in on it. I received an ad from AAA of all places offering "stored value" (a.k.a. disposable) Visa cards.

And if someone must buy wanking material because the stuff available free on Usenet just isn't hard core enough, he (or she) should consider buying a Webcertificate. It's a MasterCard number based gift certificate, that also would work nicely as a throwaway credit card number. For $10 (plus a $2.95 service fee), someone could sign up with 10 "Adult Verification Services" in one day, the Webcertificate would be out of money, and no further charges could be made to it. Send the Webcertificate to a throwaway email address for a small degree of anonymity (certainly better than using one's own card). Time to see more? Just get a new Webcertificate. No troubles, except for possibly going blind or insane.

Does anybody know how the services from www.webcertificate.com work? They seem to be somehow hooked up with MasterCard.

The reason I ask: Recently a customer of a B2C site I help run, used their webcertificate.com account to pay for merchandise. The transaction was supposed to look like a regular MasterCard (or so I understand) to our shopping cart, but it reported errors. However, our payment processor (Verisign Payment Services) received and authorized the transaction.

Any idea what might've caused the errors? We use Shopsite Manager SC from OpenMarket. We contacted the customer and "did the right thing", but I'm curious about services like webcertificate.com. Thanks for any clues!

I suspect that the credit card number requirements are only ostensibly for age verification. More likely, their "sophisticated demographic databases" and "marketing target profiles" are filled with just so much crap. (e.g. "Uber Hachor; 1313 Calamity Lane; Versailles, FL; 31337" or some such, made only plausible enough to pass any data edits the site does).

Being able to tie users to a valid credit card number (even without a charge) would give more credibility in selling ads, in the same way that paid circulation of a newspaper is worth more to advertisers than a jillion free copies. And it's all for the good of the children!

In any case, I have no problem with letting the next generation know that it's not only their right, but their duty to not comply with these demands. When presented with a diktat (e.g., no services without the information, or you must be 13), then contaminate the databases and let the marketeers be damned.

BTW, check out Webcertificate (no financial interest here) for a legal way to get a throwaway credit card number. (It's a MasterCard number that works like a gift certificate. Since the sites aren't charging it, one $5 "card" should work forever. I haven't heard of any specific sites filtering WebCertificate's bank number--yet.)

I just visited webcertificate.com and got my free webcertificate which comes already charged with a free $5 worth of credit. If ThinkGeek could set up a SKU, I'd be glad to donate the $5 to the cute little guys.

As mentioned in another post, this would be great way for anyone who is now filthy rich due to the Linux related stock craze to ease their open source conscience.

(By the way, is conscience the opposite of science?)

Use a webcertificate. www.webcertificate.com

It's essentially a Mastercard number, with a limit set at the actual amount you have in the certificate.

Example: I deposit $100 into a webcertifcate. Now I can use that number online (or somewhere where I just need to write a number down) for up to $100 worth of charges. If someone queries on it, anything less than $100 will be okay (until that amount goes down by actually being charged).

They come in very handy for paying something online where you don't want to be ripped off. Deposit a given amount that will cover what you wish to buy. They CAN'T charge you any more than that.. Pretty nifty.

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