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To: Phil Jacobson who wrote (26431)	4/2/1999 10:58:00 PM
From: Frederick Smart	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

It's A Lock....... We are ALL over Gate's barrell....... >>Smith fingered the authors using a unique identifier that Microsoft Word saves in documents, including the document used to launch Melissa. That identifier is based on a unique number that comes with a computer's network card, or that Word creates on its own if no network card is present. Privacy advocates have criticized the features, and Microsoft has posted software that let people turn off the feature or wipe those traces out of their Word files. When Smith found the number and asked for help, Frederik Bjorck of Sweden found virus files on some Web sites, including Source of Kaos, that matched the identifier.>> This is really quite scary. Once you take freedom away you have to fight like hell to get it back. Hilter walked into France and Poland - all quite easy, but look at that it took to reclaim this loss. This is an amazing time in world history. A monopoly - Microsoft - has the goods on every document ever released into the Internet. Now we have BIG BROTHER and BILL peeping behind our virtual shoulder. IMHO, this is grounds for ending all use of Microsoft products. Impossible?? Highly unlikely for there just a vast wasteland of sheep that really don't care, period. This word is NOT getting out. People don't have a clue what's going on. I do not want my government working lock-step with a monopoly to open up, track and follow all of our virtual comings and goings. How do you spell BLACKMAIL??? I've questioned the DOJ's case against Microsoft all along. I know this sounds crazy, but the potential for power and abuse is incredible here. This is the equivalent to the atom bomb on some of our most basic freedoms. And for government, the beauty is that few understand what's going on in the firstplace. Excuse me for getting so worked up, but this really brings home the dark side of the watermark story. Now that government found a reason to justify walking through Mr. Smith's front & back doors they've set a precedent for justifying doing the same for everyone else. I don't excuse Mr. Smith for anything he did, but I'm thinking he should make plans to go to Washington and perhaps Congress should convene hearings on virtual privacy. Haul Gates before Congress. I'd sure like to have more of an explanation for what they've been doing with all this stored data that could be used against us. Perhaps this is Gates' revenge.

To: Phil Jacobson who wrote (26431)	4/5/1999 10:44:00 AM
From: PJ Strifas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Somewhat OT..... Just to play devil's advocate here and not to sound contrary to popular opinion in matters of personal privacy but in this context, I'm somewhat glad to see that ANY agency was able to track down the virus "originator". Let's face it, a virus has no other use in life than to disrupt and destroy. When part of my job description entails securing the network, I'm all for this type of "tracking". In my estimation, I spent 4 hours of my time taking extra precautions (downloading anti-virus patches [twice], resetting workstation policies and file attributes in most cases, setting proxy filters and packet filtering on firewall etc). That's money out of my company's pocket for what? At best, a "friendly prank" someone dreamed up one night because he was bored with computer programming 101? And let's not even explore the fact that I'm a "lazy network admin" who doesn't have a clue about protecting an ant hill let alone a network. I take network security VERY seriously (that's why we have NDS and BorderManager just for starters). I have my own opinions about using common sense when deciding just what actions constitute "legal precedent" in areas of civil liberties but not to go too far off topic, I'll just stick with the essence of our personal privacy discussions. digitalme will allow me to have the control I need over my personal information but, and here's the kicker, IF I'm alleged to have broken the law, why can't an agency use this identity tool against me? Of course I demand that there be a check and balance in play (stricter search warrants or a hearing before a judge?). If people know that the information held within one's digital identity is "fair game" (with sufficient cause), it will deter some of the wildly inane things I see today on the internet. Let's face it, on the internet, you can be ANYTHING and ANYBODY without the immediate consequences of common sense (IE, SPAM! and network intrusions) or the laws of any country (or even civility!). Just ranting.... Peter Strifas