Juno And Privacy

Karl Weiss writes: "Section 2.5 of the Juno Privacy Policy has some very interesting statements in it - you authorize them to download an app to track your usage and you can't do anything about it, you are to keep your computer on 24/7, or give them the right to make your computer call out at their desire, and they can install a screen saver on your computer with ads, and you can't get rid of it. Obviously this bothers me, but the real kicker as far as I'm concerned is that they will allow third parties to use the downloaded software. Does M$ looking for pirated software sound like a player? Or what happens if someone cracks the software? Does that open your hard drive data to anyone? As the senior network instructor at a large private computer school, I have advised faculity and staff to not use Juno due to these requirments." It looks like the few remaining free ISPs are searching for ways to make up advertising income during the dot-com meltdown, and the "solution" they've come up with is to make use of their users' computers to do distributed processing. Will Juno users realize what they are agreeing to?

Comments

Prior art!?

[rnturn]

``Or get that bobbing head bird to hit the keyboard like Homer Simpson did.''

I actually proposed something like that in a department meeting held on April 1 back in 1980 (maybe 1981) so those who were running long simulations wouldn't get disconnected by the silly IBM terminal controller from the campus VM/CMS system. No keyboard activity for fifteen minutes and you got clobbered. (Tentative funding for the project was approved until initial project team discussions revealed that the only place where anyone could remember seeing one of the birds was at a Stuckey's on the Ohio turnpike and enthusiasm for the project waned quickly.)

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The Plain Englidh Version

[Dracophile]

You agree to the following:

1. Service
1.1. This contract is binding.
1.2. But not on us.

2. Your Obligations
2.1. You give us the right to know anything about you that takes our fancy.
2.2. Or about anyone else, for that matter.
2.3. You cough up any connection charges. Notice how we keep this separate from paragraph 2.5.
2.4. You agree to eat spam.
2.5. pH33r u5! w3 @re 1337 h4x0r5. We will make your PC dial our POPs. They might even be local calls. W3 0wn j00r 5cr33n 54v3r. We want your pr0n. We wish to use your computer in a distributed processing scheme for our company's purposes.
2.6. You acknowledge that the Service is provided only for personal use by you and members of your household, and not for corporate or excessive commercial use or for use by organizations or other groups of users. Unless they're us.
2.7. You may or not get your email, our distributed processing requirements notwithstanding. We cannot plan or manage our servers, so there's no telling how long your mail's going to sit on our server.

3. Content
3.1. We can't possibly take any responsibility for or action over norty stuff floating about on the net. Unless you put it there. Or tried to.
3.2. If you're stealing stuff, we don't even want to know about it.
3.3. Oh, and we own your IP, too.

4. Software License
4.1. We'll even let you use the software by which we own you.
4.2. Hell, we'll even let you inf^Hstall it on other peoples' PCs!
4.3. Until you try to exercise your fair use rights.
4.4. Or even export it.
4.5. Or work for the guv'mint.
4.6. We really do own you.

5. Fees
5.1. You even enjoy the privilege of paying for all of this.
5.2. And there's just so many fun ways to do it!
5.3. And for us to collect it.
5.4. And, what's more, we'll just do it for you!
5.5. But you still get to pay for non-free (beer) stuff.

6. No Warranties
6.1. No kidding.
6.2. No, really!
6.3. No warranties here.
6.4. None here, either, no siree!

7. Indemnification
Nor responsibility, either.

8. Termination
8.1. We can cut you off at any time we like. Anything you put on our servers can no longer be accessed by you. Not that you ever owned it, anyway.
8.2. If you don't like it, you can always leave. After you pay us.

9. Miscellaneous
9.1. Don't even think of trying to slime out of this contract.
9.2. Put your lawyers away. If any part of this agreement is held to be unenforceable, we're going to enforce it anyway. We have more money than you.
9.3. And bought the laws to protect us.

10. For Quebec Residents Only
Our legal staff can't speak French.


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No

[Sheeple Police]

Will Juno users realize what they are agreeing to?

My experience with Juno users is that they have been of two types. The first type is people who were dislocated from their previous ISP, typically AOL or Compuserve by their parents, and installed Juno to be able to get back online without their parents knowledge. The second type is of people who have no clue what this "Internet" thing is they keep hearing about, and they sure as gosh darn heck don't wanna have to pay, so they use a free server, and really don't even use it.

Of course, I'm omitting the third type, which are skr1pt k1dd13s who want to think they are secure from tracking by using these free servers, but I don't really count them as people, but more as illiterate brutes ;-)

In the first case, the kids don't care how they get online as long as they can get back to their chat/message boards/surfing/porn, and in the second case, they are too baffled by legalese to ever realize whats going on. As for the skr1pt k1dd13s, heck, let Microsoft get them for hacking their servers and stealing their source code, its no skin off my back to see those brats busted.

I think the bigger question instead of "Do Juno users realize what they are agreeing to" is "Is this ethical? And more importantly, is this right?"