This information is also logged in Norway, and is supposed to be used for "accounting purposes" but may be used by the police in certain situations; the police have to get a court order in order to get the information in the logs. Logs are kept for either 3 months or 5 months, depending on the subscriber's billing setup.
Since you can read Scandinavian, this may be of interest to you. A lot of discussion on what to do with these logs...
We've already had similar debates about GPS-tracking via cellphone in Norway, and Finland, Japan, and other countries have had the same. I even included some stuff about it in a hearing presentation on ICT and Privacy I gave a few weeks ago; it's in Norwegian but if people are interested in reading it, beg me via my journal or something.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. While the original "Find Friend" type services are generally harmless as long as the involved parties consent, and while similar use for real safety issues (i.e. firefighters on duty) is also generally harmless, further use of these services for other purposes than finding your mates in a discoteque queue or finding firefighters is obviously disturbing from a privacy standpoint.
It's unfortunate to see that these cellphones make parents think that they will make their kids tell the truth, etc. At the same time, it's unfortunate that the presumption of trust and goodwill is taken away from these children; children learn that they can't be trusted before they may or may not have done anything.
It's also unfortunate that parents are led to believe that if they think their kid is in danger, all they have to do is push a button and see where the kid is positioned and voila! Kid is found. It's not that simple. This quote was disturbing: Jason Pratt said there were advantages to being watched. He no longer has to call his mother to let her know where he is. Instead, she can press a "locate" button on her phone and see for herself. Not only do these devices break down communication between parents and children, communication which is necessary to provide good, trusting relationships, it gives a false sense of security. Jason could be mugged, his phone taken away from him. If he had told mommy where he was and where he was going, it would be easier to find Jason than chasing the cellphone which the mugger probably tossed into a trash bin some random location.
More than ever, technological devices are replacing good old fashioned parenting. OK, I don't have brats myself, but I used to be one. I was taught good common sense things like don't talk to strangers, call if we're going to be late home (and don't be afraid to call collect), stick to known streets and paths, be aware of your surroundings, etc. I never thought it was so diffucult to stick to. I did OK and so have a lot of other children from "my generation" (no, I'm not that old). Has society become so much worse today that kids have to be put under surveillance? Why don't good old fashioned rules work anymore?
If you have a kid that wanders away from "approved" areas or lies about which train she may have taken, then you have a problem that goes beyond what surveillance devices can solve. Somewhere, you f-ed up as a parent.
Another issue is the fantasy that these devices could be used to find kidnapped/missing kids. Problem #1 - most kidnappings are done by family members, not strangers. Technology may find the kid, but it doesn't resolve the real issue. Problem #2 - even if the kidnapping was at the hands of a stranger, the stranger (and even the family member) could throw away or destroy the GPS device.
Another thing is that children may be present in the "safety zone" or whatever you want to call it; parents check up on their kids and since they're in an area that is "OK" they let it be. Well, a kid may be in the "safety zone" but locked up in the pedophile neighbor's garage. So much good the cellphone has done!
Yet another issue is that this teaches children to accept surveillance, whether willingly or unwillingly. To go even further, "good kids think that surveillance is good." "If you don't accept us watching over you, then you're a criminal with something to hide." Again, this takes away the presumption of innocence, and children learn that their parents don't trust them from day one. What kind of society becomes created when nobody trusts the other?
It is - in a "messy" format though (i.e. poorly edited and without a bunch of the attachments). It will be fixed eventually, but not before next year. At least it's in pdf. Is your contact information on overclockedcafe.com ?
All I got was a 404 when I tried to find the Crowds homepage (AT&T research labs), but it was one of the privacy-enhancing technologies I looked at while doing my thesis. It's a similar concept with connecting to many different nodes than directly with who you want to communicate with, download files from, etc.
I was once told that regional coding also helps enforce countries' laws concerning what can be shown on film, etc. For example, censoring naked boobs or blood and guts violence. Not sure how true this is though.
You really don't get it. Freedom may be a relative thing, but if it's something that is important , it's not something to be given up. Ever. Not in the name of "security," not in the name of "fight against terrorism," not for anything. You don't give up freedom to get freedom. It just does not work that way.
Americans willingly gave up lots of freedoms by letting Homeland Security and Patriot come into existence. Yes, all these freedoms Americans just love to brag about having. Apparently freedom is not that important to the American people, if they're OK with all the new limitations. So please stop bragging about all the freedoms you don't have.
And what have you people really gotten in return for giving up your freedoms anyways?
Most (I remember reading 90% somewhere, but don't quote me on that) children that are kidnapped, are kidnapped by a parent or relative. All the best surveillance technology in the world does not solve this problem.
Kidnappings by strangers is so infrequent that it does not justify the widespread use of surveillance devices. What ever happened to common sense? What ever happened to "don't talk to strangers?" Worked for me and many others.
While paper trails are nice and all, I find it appalling that the public is not allowed access to the source code to the software that runs these e-voting devices. If it's truly an election by the people for the people, then I don't see why this should be such a problem. Voters have the right to make sure their elections are carried out correctly and lawfully. And if this means checking software code to make sure everything is the way it should be, so be it. Elections are far too serious a matter to be allowed to whine "trade secrets." (Maybe the trade secret is setting things up in favor of one candidate or another? Hmm?)
Not to shamelessly promote EFF or anything, but they have some really good information on e-voting on their website. Here's a pre-made letter to your senator (for those living in the US) asking him/her for support in the fight for secure elections.
Not quite sure what you're getting at here. Opt out is not legal, at least not in Norway. Consent to receive e-mail must be freely given, informed, and EXPLICIT. Consent can also be retracted. I believe it is also the same for the whole of the EU; at least that is how consent according to the EU Data Directive is defined. I don't know how each and every country that is a party to the Directive interprets "consent."
Since I have worked directly with this, interpretation of Norwegian law says that wording like "check here if you DON'T want offers" is not allowed in the first place. Part of the reason for this is that the recipient of the e-mail may not have bothered to read it, and according to the definition of consent, silence/non-response does not equal consent. I've never encountered any situations where the person clicked on the "wrong" link.
Re:No such thing as a Linux beginner?
on
Linux Power Tools
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· Score: 2, Interesting
So I'm not sure there's such a thing as a "Linux Beginner"
Here where I live, there's a "Linux in the schools" program going on. So yes, there is such a thing as a "Linux Beginner." Little schoolkids can hardly be called experts on other OS's;-)
Here's a link to the project with a brief explanation in English: http://www.skolelinux.no/index.php.en
They also have this program in other countries, but I don't have a list of where at the moment. If you read Scandinavian, you'll probably find them in "links" in the above-mentioned URL.
The newest department in the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security, got off to a bad start with an overall "F" for its computer security, despite the fact that securing the nation's network is part of its mission.
I gladly await their lame excuses. Otherwise, reading this sends a chill up my spine.
"Rebuh Otrebla" sounds like some East African princess.
I really wonder how they generate the names attached to these spams. I mean, I know that they steal real people's addresses and all, but I've never seen so many warped fusion names in my life. Alberto Huber. Blaine Takei. Lars Sanchez. Colleen Stephanopolous.
I don't think so. But as I said before, I have used that address to mess around with Nigerians and the such, so maybe they sold that address on. Who knows?
Well, we could both take those breast enlargement pills they're pushing and become the most popular girls on/.
But all silliness aside. As much as I would enjoy to see the criminalization of the purchase of goods from spam, I'm not sure how effective it would be. It's illegal to buy illicit drugs but people still do it. And a lot of the dealers are quite well off and would like to keep it that way.
Other trends started this year and expected to increase in 2004 include the use of e-mail to trick people into going to what they think is a legitimate vendor's web site and provide confidential information, such as social security or credit card numbers, MessageLabs said.
Although I haven't experienced spam that goes so far, I have received (in my special spam account for playing with Nigerians and lottery managers) quite a few mails with requests to confirm my e-mail address. It works like this - you get a mail saying something a la: "I am controlling the e-mail sent to my inbox for the following address: sucker@born.every.minute.com. By asking for you to confirm that you really sent email to me I can ensure that I receive no spam and that your email address really exists. This is a one time confirmation, please click the link below and your email will be delivered straight away, now and in the future. Regards, Alberto Huber"
The funny thing about it was that the "I" in question was neither someone I sent mail to nor someone I know at all.
Now if they think I'm going to go click the link to confirm that my e-mail address exists, then they would surely be willing to buy some property on Mars I have for sale. Radiation-free. Really.
Quite frankly, I don't care how long it took for Gnome or KDE to be developed, as long as I can choose either Gnome or KDE, rather than have only one option.
Slashdot Mirror
Since you can read Scandinavian, this may be of interest to you. A lot of discussion on what to do with these logs...
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. While the original "Find Friend" type services are generally harmless as long as the involved parties consent, and while similar use for real safety issues (i.e. firefighters on duty) is also generally harmless, further use of these services for other purposes than finding your mates in a discoteque queue or finding firefighters is obviously disturbing from a privacy standpoint.
It's unfortunate to see that these cellphones make parents think that they will make their kids tell the truth, etc. At the same time, it's unfortunate that the presumption of trust and goodwill is taken away from these children; children learn that they can't be trusted before they may or may not have done anything.
It's also unfortunate that parents are led to believe that if they think their kid is in danger, all they have to do is push a button and see where the kid is positioned and voila! Kid is found. It's not that simple. This quote was disturbing: Jason Pratt said there were advantages to being watched. He no longer has to call his mother to let her know where he is. Instead, she can press a "locate" button on her phone and see for herself. Not only do these devices break down communication between parents and children, communication which is necessary to provide good, trusting relationships, it gives a false sense of security. Jason could be mugged, his phone taken away from him. If he had told mommy where he was and where he was going, it would be easier to find Jason than chasing the cellphone which the mugger probably tossed into a trash bin some random location.
More than ever, technological devices are replacing good old fashioned parenting. OK, I don't have brats myself, but I used to be one. I was taught good common sense things like don't talk to strangers, call if we're going to be late home (and don't be afraid to call collect), stick to known streets and paths, be aware of your surroundings, etc. I never thought it was so diffucult to stick to. I did OK and so have a lot of other children from "my generation" (no, I'm not that old). Has society become so much worse today that kids have to be put under surveillance? Why don't good old fashioned rules work anymore?
If you have a kid that wanders away from "approved" areas or lies about which train she may have taken, then you have a problem that goes beyond what surveillance devices can solve. Somewhere, you f-ed up as a parent.
Another issue is the fantasy that these devices could be used to find kidnapped/missing kids. Problem #1 - most kidnappings are done by family members, not strangers. Technology may find the kid, but it doesn't resolve the real issue. Problem #2 - even if the kidnapping was at the hands of a stranger, the stranger (and even the family member) could throw away or destroy the GPS device.
Another thing is that children may be present in the "safety zone" or whatever you want to call it; parents check up on their kids and since they're in an area that is "OK" they let it be. Well, a kid may be in the "safety zone" but locked up in the pedophile neighbor's garage. So much good the cellphone has done!
Yet another issue is that this teaches children to accept surveillance, whether willingly or unwillingly. To go even further, "good kids think that surveillance is good." "If you don't accept us watching over you, then you're a criminal with something to hide." Again, this takes away the presumption of innocence, and children learn that their parents don't trust them from day one. What kind of society becomes created when nobody trusts the other?
It is - in a "messy" format though (i.e. poorly edited and without a bunch of the attachments). It will be fixed eventually, but not before next year. At least it's in pdf. Is your contact information on overclockedcafe.com ?
All I got was a 404 when I tried to find the Crowds homepage (AT&T research labs), but it was one of the privacy-enhancing technologies I looked at while doing my thesis. It's a similar concept with connecting to many different nodes than directly with who you want to communicate with, download files from, etc.
I was once told that regional coding also helps enforce countries' laws concerning what can be shown on film, etc. For example, censoring naked boobs or blood and guts violence. Not sure how true this is though.
For example, the swinging Tux pendant is simply adorable! She'll love you forever for it!
Americans willingly gave up lots of freedoms by letting Homeland Security and Patriot come into existence. Yes, all these freedoms Americans just love to brag about having. Apparently freedom is not that important to the American people, if they're OK with all the new limitations. So please stop bragging about all the freedoms you don't have.
And what have you people really gotten in return for giving up your freedoms anyways?
Benefits and freedoms? Like what? Homeland Security? The Patriot Act? What benefits and freedoms exactly?
Kidnappings by strangers is so infrequent that it does not justify the widespread use of surveillance devices. What ever happened to common sense? What ever happened to "don't talk to strangers?" Worked for me and many others.
Can I get some cheese with that whine?
Not to shamelessly promote EFF or anything, but they have some really good information on e-voting on their website. Here's a pre-made letter to your senator (for those living in the US) asking him/her for support in the fight for secure elections.
Since I have worked directly with this, interpretation of Norwegian law says that wording like "check here if you DON'T want offers" is not allowed in the first place. Part of the reason for this is that the recipient of the e-mail may not have bothered to read it, and according to the definition of consent, silence/non-response does not equal consent. I've never encountered any situations where the person clicked on the "wrong" link.
Here where I live, there's a "Linux in the schools" program going on. So yes, there is such a thing as a "Linux Beginner." Little schoolkids can hardly be called experts on other OS's ;-)
Here's a link to the project with a brief explanation in English: http://www.skolelinux.no/index.php.en
They also have this program in other countries, but I don't have a list of where at the moment. If you read Scandinavian, you'll probably find them in "links" in the above-mentioned URL.
I gladly await their lame excuses. Otherwise, reading this sends a chill up my spine.
I really wonder how they generate the names attached to these spams. I mean, I know that they steal real people's addresses and all, but I've never seen so many warped fusion names in my life. Alberto Huber. Blaine Takei. Lars Sanchez. Colleen Stephanopolous.
I don't think so. But as I said before, I have used that address to mess around with Nigerians and the such, so maybe they sold that address on. Who knows?
But all silliness aside. As much as I would enjoy to see the criminalization of the purchase of goods from spam, I'm not sure how effective it would be. It's illegal to buy illicit drugs but people still do it. And a lot of the dealers are quite well off and would like to keep it that way.
Although I haven't experienced spam that goes so far, I have received (in my special spam account for playing with Nigerians and lottery managers) quite a few mails with requests to confirm my e-mail address. It works like this - you get a mail saying something a la: "I am controlling the e-mail sent to my inbox for the following address: sucker@born.every.minute.com. By asking for you to confirm that you really sent email to me I can ensure that I receive no spam and that your email address really exists. This is a one time confirmation, please click the link below and your email will be delivered straight away, now and in the future. Regards, Alberto Huber"
The funny thing about it was that the "I" in question was neither someone I sent mail to nor someone I know at all.
Now if they think I'm going to go click the link to confirm that my e-mail address exists, then they would surely be willing to buy some property on Mars I have for sale. Radiation-free. Really.
Any hot geek guys out there who want gifts from a "secret admirer?" I'm feeling...um...generous (MOWAHAHA)
Quite frankly, I don't care how long it took for Gnome or KDE to be developed, as long as I can choose either Gnome or KDE, rather than have only one option.