809 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
809 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
Computer underground Digest Thu May 19, 1994 Volume 6 : Issue 43
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ISSN 1004-042X
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Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
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Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
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Retiring Shadow Archivist: Stanton McCandlish
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Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
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Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
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Ian Dickinson
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Covey Editors: D. Bannaducci & S. Jones
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CONTENTS, #6.43 (May 19, 1994)
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File 1--Details on Brock Meeks Case (fwd)
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File 2--Re: CuD 6.42 (Response to Review of Anti-Virus Book)
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File 3--CPSR Response to FCC CNID (fwd)
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File 4--PGP 2.6 Arriving Soon
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File 5--Mitch Kapor's TV Show (fwd from Mitch Kapor)
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File 6--Possible "Court Fraud" twist in Amateur Action BBS Case?
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File 7--DIAC Video Available
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Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
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available at no cost electronically.
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CuD is available as a Usenet newsgroup: comp.society.cu-digest
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Or, to subscribe, send a one-line message: SUB CUDIGEST your name
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Send it to LISTSERV@UIUCVMD.BITNET or LISTSERV@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU
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The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-0303), fax (815-753-6302)
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or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL
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60115, USA.
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Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest
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news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of
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LAWSIG, and DL1 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT
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libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in
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the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;"
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On Delphi in the General Discussion database of the Internet SIG;
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on RIPCO BBS (312) 528-5020 (and via Ripco on internet);
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and on Rune Stone BBS (IIRGWHQ) (203) 832-8441.
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CuD is also available via Fidonet File Request from
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1:11/70; unlisted nodes and points welcome.
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UNITED STATES: etext.archive.umich.edu (141.211.164.18) in /pub/CuD/
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ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) in /pub/Publications/CuD
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aql.gatech.edu (128.61.10.53) in /pub/eff/cud/
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world.std.com in /src/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
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uceng.uc.edu in /pub/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
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wuarchive.wustl.edu in /doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
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EUROPE: nic.funet.fi in pub/doc/cud/ (Finland)
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ftp.warwick.ac.uk in pub/cud/ (United Kingdom)
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JAPAN: ftp.glocom.ac.jp /mirror/ftp.eff.org/
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COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing
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information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of
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diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long
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as the source is cited. Authors hold a presumptive copyright, and
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they should be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that
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non-personal mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise
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specified. Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles
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relating to computer culture and communication. Articles are
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preferred to short responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts
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unless absolutely necessary.
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DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent
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the views of the moderators. Digest contributors assume all
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responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not
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violate copyright protections.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 09:37:38 -0400 (EDT)
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From: Meeks Defense Fund <fund@idi.net>
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Subject: File 1--Details on Brock Meeks Case (fwd)
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((MODERATORS' NOTE: Brock Meeks is a respected journalist specializing
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in cyber-issues. He was the first to break the story of law
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enforcement spying on a 2600 meeting in Washington, D.C. in '92, and
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he has been an invaluable source of information and commentary. Those
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who know him or have read his material respect his integrity and
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competence. It was with shock that we read about the defamation suit
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against him by Suarez. We have read the article that Benjamin Suarez
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finds objectionable, and Brock's facts would appear to be a matter of
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public record.
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The following summary explains the case and the issues. We urge
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readers to contribute just a dollar or two each to Brock's defense
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fund)).
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Dear Net Citizen:
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The recent Internet posting launching a fund raising drive in
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order to help Brock Meeks defray the legal expenses of a lawsuit
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brought against his news wire, CyberWire Dispatch, has drawn
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several inquiries for a summary of the issues involved in this
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case. In response, we have put together the following summary.
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(Please note, too, that the case was featured in the April 22
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(Fri.) issue of the Wall St. Journal (page B1))
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Sometime during February of this year, an electronic solicitation
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began appearing on the Internet from a company identified only as
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the "Electronic Postal Service" (EPS).
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The solicitation from EPS said the service, "will pay you money
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to receive commercial e-mail. EPS estimates you will be paid an
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average of 6.5 cents per commercial e-mail message. It is
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estimated that the average commercial e-mail receiver can make
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$200.00 to $500.00 a year and likely more. There is absolutely
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no charge, periodic charge, hourly charge or phone charge to
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receive or review EPS commercial e-mail. The sender bears all of
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the cost.
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You are provided with a free EPS mailbox and you may access this
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EPS mailbox through a toll free phone number so there are no
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phone line charges... In addition... EPS offers you... full
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Internet access including network Internet e-mail remote log-in,
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file transfer capability and much more."
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To sign up you were required to call an 800 number or send for
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information to the EPS Internet account (eps@world.std.com). You
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had to include your name and address.
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Brock called and asked for the EPS information. It never came.
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Instead, he received an unwanted and unsolicited direct mailing
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from a company called Suarez Corporation Industries (SCI). The
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mailing came in the form of a 6 page letter signed by Benjamin
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Suarez. That mailing claimed that for a price of $159, Suarez
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would send you a book and software that could help you create a
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"net profit generation system" capable of earning anywhere from
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$30,000 to $1 million per year.
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Brock began investigating why he received the SCI mailing and
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soon found out that Suarez had obtained his name from the request
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for EPS information. More investigation found that the EPS
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account was registered to Suarez Corporation Industries. Brock
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then looked into the background of this company.
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During his investigation into SCI, Brock discovered that state
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and federal enforcement agencies had brought actions against SCI
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result of their direct mailing practices.
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In his article, Brock expressed his personal disapproval of the
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SCI business activities. SCI objected to the article and has
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filed a defamation lawsuit claiming Brock made defamatory remarks
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and sought to disparage his products "and otherwise tortiously
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(sic) interfere with the plaintiff's ability to develop" EPS.
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Suarez claims the Dispatch article lost him business and he is
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seeking compensatory and punitive damages and demanding an
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injunction to block Brock from writing further about SCI or its
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founder, Benjamin Suarez.
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The April 22 (page B1) issue of the Wall St. Journal says lawsuit
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"is one of the first U.S. libel cases to arise out of the
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free-for-all on the Internet... If it succeeds, some legal
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experts say it could spawn other complaints."
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For those who don't know Brock, he has a long history as a
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journalist writing in the on-line field, having written for Byte,
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Wired and other journals over the years. He lives and works
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today in the Washington, D.C. area writing during the day for a
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communications trade journal. Cyberwire Dispatch is his own
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creation. The suit against him was filed in Ohio. Without
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the generous offer of legal support from his current lawyers, who
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have offices in Ohio, Brock's situation would be even more dire.
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The Meeks case raises legal issues that may have far-reaching
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implications for freedom of speech and free expression on the
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internet. If journalists are unable to pursue important
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investigative issues without fear of reprisal, then
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all of us will suffer. This is exactly the type of chilling
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effect hat the First Amendment was intended to avoid and the
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reason we need your support.
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Of course defamation laws are to be applied to the Net, but how
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they are applied -- and this case will be an important first step
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in that process -- could determine just how open and free people
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will feel to speak their minds.
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This is NOT a case in which a writer on the Internet has, in
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fact, libeled someone else. Brock absolutely denies the charges
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against him. And every lawyer that Brock has consulted and
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looked at the text Brock wrote, and the charges against him,
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believe that he ha not written anything that can fairly be
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characterized as libelous.
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The Legal Defense Fund is formed to assure that Brock is well
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defended.
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As a reminder, contributions can be made in two ways, either
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tax-deductible or non-deductible.
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A special thanks goes to the Point Foundation for agreeing early
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on in the process to assist in organizing and serving as a
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collection agent for the Fund.
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If you have any questions, you can contact the Fund at
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Fund@idi.net.
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For tax-deductible contributions send those checks to:
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Meeks Defense Fund
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c/o Point Foundation
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27 Gate Five Road
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Sausalito, CA 94965
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For those who don't care about the tax deductible status, send
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contributions to:
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Meeks Defense Fund
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c/o IDI
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901 15th St. NW
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Suite 230
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Washington, DC 20005
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THE BROCK MEEKS DEFENSE FUND COMMITTEE
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Samuel A. Simon
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President, Issue Dynamics, Inc.*
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ssimon@idi.net
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John Sumser
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Editor/Executive Director
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Whole Earth Review/ Point Foundation
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jrsumser@well.sf.ca.us
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Mitch Kapor
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Chair, Electronic Frontier Foundation*
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mkapor@eff.org
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David Farber
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The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications Systems
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University of Pennsylvania*
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farber@central.cis.upenn.edu
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Philip Elmer-DeWitt
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Senior Writer
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TIME Magazine*
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ped@panix.com
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Marc Rotenberg
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Electronic Privacy Information Center*
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Rotenberg@epic.org
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Nicholas Johnson
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Former FCC Commissioner*
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1035393@mcimail.com
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Jerry Berman
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Electronic Frontier Foundation*
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jberman@eff.org
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Mike Godwin
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Electronic Frontier Foundation*
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####################################################################
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# Meeks Defense Fund | Internet: fund@idi.net #
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# ---------------------------------------------------------------- #
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# c/o IDI c/o Point Foundation #
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# 901 15th St. NW 27 Gate Five Road #
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# Suite 230 Sausalito, CA 9465 #
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# Washington, DC 20005 #
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####################################################################
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------------------------------
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Date: 19 May 94 10:03:20 GMT
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From: frisk@COMPLEX.IS(Fridrik Skulason)
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Subject: File 2--Re: CuD 6.42 (Response to Review of Anti-Virus Book)
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In CuD 6.42, Urnst Couch writes:
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>International, Solomon interviewing himself and bursts of writing
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>which make absolutely zero sense.
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>For example:
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>"It would be difficult to create more [virus] experts, because the
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>learning curve is very shallow. The first time you disassemble
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>something like Jerusalem virus, it takes a week. After you've done a
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>few hundred viruses, you could whip through something as simple as
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>Jerusalem in 15 minutes."
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Well, this may not make sense to you, but nevertheless it is pretty
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accurate. The first virus I analysed (which, by the way was a Cascade
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variant) did take me a week or so....today I can easily go through
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dozens of viruses of similar complexity in a single day. The problem
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is that becoming a virus "expert" five years ago was much, much,
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easier than becoming one today...simply because the number of viruses
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is so much greater, and because of the "advances" in virus development
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during the past few years.
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>S&S International and was nominated for membership in the
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>pan-professional Computer Anti-Virus Research Organization by Solomon,
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>one of its charter members.
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This is an outright lie. John Buchanan has never (and would never
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have been) considered for CARO membership. There are several people
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that have been proposed, voted on and failed the vote....he is not one
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of them. I know, I am one of the founding members of CARO too.
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>What a lot of people don't know is that other public systems have been
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>a target of the same people.
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And what is wrong with that ? Public systems that distribute viruses
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any way or other are IMHO a part of the virus problem....they are not
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serving any useful purpose, and I will not oppose any attempts by
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anyone to shut them down. (I will not actively attempt to shut them
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down myself, though...I have more important things to do).
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>"The anti-virus software industry is going through a shake-out; not
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>everyone is successful anymore," said Braun.
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This is true. Just look at all the anti-virus products that have been
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withdrawn from the market, discontinued or just falled hopelessly far
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behind. On the other hand, there is not a single good new anti-virus
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product (written from scratch, that is) that I am aware of, which has
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appeared in the last two years.
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>"It's my opinion, most
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>of these kinds of things are really attempts to keep access to
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>information from competitors."
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Simple nonsense. In fact, there is a high degree of co-operation among
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most of the companies in the anti-virus industry. One of the main
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functions of CARO is to share information - in particular virus
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samples, but also useful technical information. For example, earlier
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this month there was considerable discussion on the detection of the
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two SMEG viruses that have just been reported in the UK.
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-frisk
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------------------------------
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Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 14:22:35 -0400 (EDT)
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From: Stanton McCandlish <mech@EFF.ORG>
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Subject: File 3--CPSR Response to FCC CNID (fwd)
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From--jjohnson@FirstPerson.COM (Jeff Johnson)
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Date--18 May 1994 17:28:55 GMT
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CPSR has responded to the FCC's recent ruling on Calling Number
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Identification (CNID). Our response took two forms:
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1. Carl Page of CPSR/Oregon, who was (with Erik Nilsson) an active
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participant in the Oregon state hearings two years ago that led to
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an Oregon decision that followed many of CPSR's recommendations,
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wrote a "Petition for Reconsideration" of the FCC's ruling, and is
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submitting it today to the FCC. I provided advice and editorial
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feedback on the petition. The main points of CPSR's petition are:
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1) Phone companies argue that line blocking undermines the value of
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CNID, but in fact the evidence suggests that this is false, 2) CNID
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with no line-blocking undermines the value of the "unlisted number"
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service, which has a higher market penetration rate than is projected
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for CNID, 3) per-call blocking is unreliable as a way to preserve
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privacy, especially in the age of direct marketing, "data harvesters,"
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and the information superhighway, 4) Call Trace could be more useful
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to residential phone customers than CNID if it were inexpensive and
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universally available, yet the FCC's ruling ignores it entirely, and
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5) the distinction between CNID, which can be blocked, and Automatic
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Number Generation (ANI), which provides calling numbers to 800 and
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900-service providers and which cannot be blocked, should eventually
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be eliminated, such that blocking is available for all calls.
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2. I provided advice to the National Association of State Consumer
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Advocates (NASUCA), which is submitting its own "Petition for
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Reconsideration" with the FCC. NASUCA consists of the majority of
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state Consumer Advocates, who work for their respective state Public
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Utilities Commissions. NASUCA's main arguments are: 1) the ~40 states
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that have considered CNID did so in a very open and democratic manner
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(e.g., held public participation hearings and evidentiary hearings,
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solicited and received numerous letters and written arguments, etc.),
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and most (36) of those states have decided that per-line blocking is
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necessary to provide a fair balance between the privacy of callers
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and callees, 2) the FCC's ruling, which was not based on such a
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democratic process, may well pre-empt those of the states, so the FCC
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should reconsider its ruling and allow CNID blocking, however generated
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(i.e., per-line or per-call), to work for interstate calls. In other
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words, calls for which the caller has blocked number disclosure should
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simply be marked as blocked, regardless of whether the blocking was
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initiated on a per-call or per-line basis. This would actually be
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simpler than requiring callers (and the network) to treat interstate
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calls differently from local calls.
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Hopefully, the FCC will reconsider.
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------------------------------
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Date: Wed, 18 May 1994 11:58:50 -0700
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From: Tommy the Tourist <nobody@SODA.BERKELEY.EDU>
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Subject: File 4--PGP 2.6 Arriving Soon
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Date--Mon, 16 May 94 11:38:50 PDT
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From--Michael Ghens <mghens@rain.org>
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_MIT PGP Release_
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PGP 2.5 BETA RELEASE OVER, PGP 2.6 TO BE RELEASE NEXT WEEK
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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The beta version of PGP 2.5 is now being removed from MIT file
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servers.
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In about a week, MIT will begin distribution of a new release
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numbered PGP 2.6. PGP 2.6 will incorporate a new version of RSAREF,
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scheduled for release by RSA Data Security next week, and will also
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correct bugs that were reported in PGP 2.5.
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In order to fully protect RSADSI's intellectual property rights
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in public-key technology, PGP 2.6 will be designed so that the
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messages it creates after September 1, 1994 will be unreadable by
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earlier versions of PGP that infringe patents licensed exclusively to
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Public Key Partners by MIT and Stanford University. PGP 2.6 will
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continue to be able to read messages generated by those earlier
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versions.
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MIT's intent is to discourage continued use of the earlier
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infringing software, and to give people adequate time to upgrade.
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As part of the release process, MIT has commissioned an independent
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legal review of the intellectual property issues surrounding earlier
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releases of PGP and PGP keyservers. This review determined that PGP
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2.3 infringes a patent licensed by MIT to RSADSI, and that
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keyservers that primarily accept 2.3 keys are mostly likely
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contributing to this infringement. For that reason, MIT encourages
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all non-commercial users in the U.S. to upgrade to PGP 2.6, and all
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keyserver operators to no longer accept keys that are identified as
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being produced by PGP 2.3.
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
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<deleted by eds for parsimony>
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------------------------------
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Date: Tue, 17 May 94 19:19 CDT
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From: P30TMR1@NIU.BITNET
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Subject: File 5--Mitch Kapor's TV Show (fwd from Mitch Kapor)
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Date--Tue, 10 May 1994 09:13:23 -0400
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From--mkapor@kei.com (Mitchell Kapor)
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New Cyberspace TV Program
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I am developing a new program on cyberspace in conjunction with
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WGBH-TV, PBS' Boston affiliate. The show is intended to be a window
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onto the world of computer networks for the television viewer, whose
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point of view is that the world of on-line communications is
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interesting because of what people do there, not because of the
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digital plumbing which enables it. We will be focusing on the human
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aspects of networking and the individual and social aspects of being
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on-line. Cyberspace will be portrayed as a not-so-really strange
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territory after all, where all of us will increasingly come to live
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and work. My role is to guide people through this new territory,
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introducing the audience to its native culture, its scenic
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attraction, and its sights and sounds.
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We assume our audience is motivated by curiosity to learn more about
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what goes on in cyberspace, but we do not assume they are
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knowledgeable or, in general experienced with it. On the other hand,
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we will not trivialize the subject matter by reducing it to a least
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common denominator.
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We will give the show a look and feel which is approachable and
|
|
down-to-earth. Interview guests and roundtable participants will be
|
|
drawn from the net community itself. There will be plenty of demos
|
|
of cool net stuff from Mosaic, CU See Me, and other cutting-edge
|
|
applications and services.
|
|
|
|
We are taping two test shows in mid-June which will be shown in
|
|
Boston and other cities and hope to have some sort of national
|
|
distribution (to be determined) in the fall for a regularly scheduled
|
|
program. We are also going to create a WWW server for the show, the
|
|
segments of which will be downloadable. The server will be have on
|
|
it additional material which won't fit into the show format.
|
|
|
|
|
|
An Invitation:
|
|
|
|
We would like to include some video clips of net citizens expressing
|
|
their greatest hope and worst fear about the future of the net which
|
|
we will edit into an on-air piece for our regular feedback session.
|
|
|
|
It's important to me to have the voices heard (and faces seen) of
|
|
people already on the net. This is an opportunity for those of us
|
|
who enjoy appreciate the decentralized and democratic character to
|
|
express that sentiment to a mass audience. I hope you'll take
|
|
advantage of the opportunity.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Guidelines:
|
|
|
|
Since an individual on-air clip will run at most 20-30 seconds,
|
|
please keep your statement succinct.
|
|
|
|
In shooting the clip, please feel free to pick a location which says
|
|
something about yourself, whether it's your computer, your pet, or
|
|
the great outdoors.
|
|
|
|
We can accept Quicktime movies, VHS cassettes, or 8mm tapes. If you
|
|
enclose a mailer, we will return your tape. We can also pick up
|
|
digital submissions from any FTP site, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Information:
|
|
|
|
email: cybertv@kei.com
|
|
|
|
Postal:
|
|
|
|
Cybertv
|
|
c/o Kapor Enterprises, Inc.
|
|
238 Main St., Suite 400
|
|
Cambridge MA 02142
|
|
|
|
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Date: Sun, 15 May 94 12:52:35 PDT
|
|
From: hkhenson@CUP.PORTAL.COM
|
|
Subject: File 6--Possible "Court Fraud" twist in Amateur Action BBS Case?
|
|
|
|
Wrote this a few weeks ago. Got so busy I never posted it. Keith
|
|
-----
|
|
Monday I had an interesting conversation with an FBI agent. (Who will
|
|
remain nameless here, since I may want to be able to talk to him
|
|
again.)
|
|
|
|
To bring you up to date, I uncovered evidence of outright fraud on the
|
|
court system, and brought it to the attention of the FBI two weeks
|
|
ago. It involved the San Francisco US Attorney who unilatterally took
|
|
a motion off a judge's calendar after it had been placed there by a
|
|
court clerk.
|
|
|
|
(For those of you who do not understand how serious this is, imagine
|
|
yourself showing up at a suit you had filed and discovering the
|
|
oposing side had it removed from the calendar of the court and you had
|
|
no way to get a hearing before a judge.)
|
|
|
|
I presented court records to the FBI agent which clearly showed the
|
|
problem. The agent claimed to be absolutely baffled. He admitted
|
|
that I had shown clear evidence of serious problems which he said he
|
|
had discussed over the last two weeks with his superiours. He
|
|
admitted that I had every right to be concerned, but was certain that the
|
|
FBI would be unable to do anything at all --since they had to ask the
|
|
very person responsible for the fraud for permission to investigate!
|
|
|
|
Neither he nor his bosses were so naive as to believe this request
|
|
would be permitted. Please note: there are agents of the government
|
|
who can committ serious crimes--in this case sedition, i.e.,
|
|
undermining the constitutional provisions for separation of
|
|
powers--and get clean away with it.
|
|
|
|
We concluded the conversation on the note of understanding how the FBI
|
|
agents must have felt during the Hoover years when Hoover kept them from
|
|
going after the Mafia. For those not up on the history involved, the
|
|
Mafia had photographic evidence that Hoover was gay (at a time when
|
|
being gay would get you kicked out of any government position) and
|
|
deeply into gambling. They used this evidence to blackmail Hoover for
|
|
decades--much as Hoover compiled lists of sins and blackmailed every
|
|
politician of the times.
|
|
|
|
And these people want us to *trust* them?
|
|
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Date: Tue, 10 May 1994 11:56:44 -0700
|
|
From: email list server <listserv@SNYSIDE.SUNNYSIDE.COM>
|
|
Subject: File 7--DIAC Video Available
|
|
|
|
CONFERENCE VIDEOS AVAILABLE
|
|
============================
|
|
|
|
DEVELOPING AN EQUITABLE AND OPEN INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
|
|
(DIAC-94)
|
|
|
|
Sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
|
|
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
|
|
April 23 - 24, 1994
|
|
|
|
|
|
CPSR's Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing biannual
|
|
conferences (DIAC) are explorations of the promises and threats
|
|
stemming from computer technology. DIAC-94 was a two-day
|
|
symposium dedicated to public interest issues related to the
|
|
National Information Infrastructure (NII), the proposed
|
|
next-generation "Information Superhighway." Academia, libraries,
|
|
government agencies, media, and telecommunications companies, as
|
|
well as public interest groups and the general public, all have a
|
|
stake in the current development. Videotapes of this conference
|
|
are now available.
|
|
|
|
Videos are available for $20 per tape ordered (the cost of
|
|
reproduction and distribution). All tapes are on standard home
|
|
VHS format. To order, send a check made out to "CPSR/Boston" and
|
|
the names of the videos you want to:
|
|
CPSR/Boston
|
|
PO Box 962
|
|
Cambridge, MA 02142-0008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Videos:
|
|
|
|
|
|
A0: "WHO WILL BE HEARD? ACESS TO THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY"
|
|
Patrice McDermott, OMB Watch
|
|
Herbert Schiller, University of California at San Diego
|
|
Benjamin Barber, Rutgers University
|
|
Jeffrey Chester, Center for Media Education
|
|
Lauren-Glenn Davitian, Alliance for Community Media
|
|
Tom Grundner, National Public Telecomputing Network
|
|
This video is a 2-hour edited summary of the invited speakers
|
|
from the first day of the conference. For viewers interested in
|
|
an overview of the conference, this tape is recommended.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A1: CONSTITUENCY PLENARY
|
|
Bill Johnson, Massachusetts Corporation for Educational
|
|
Telecommunications (MCET)
|
|
Elaine Bernard, Harvard Trade Union Program
|
|
Earl Hancock, MassCUE
|
|
Joseph Lazzaro, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind
|
|
Michael Roberts, Freedom House
|
|
A cross-section of successes and disappointments experienced by
|
|
K-12 educators, labor, disabled, and community organizations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A2: PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION / MEDIA ARTS CENTERS: MODELS
|
|
FOR COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
|
|
- Rika Welsh, Susie Walsh, Abigail Norman,
|
|
Susan Fleischmann, Cambridge Community Television
|
|
Public access television began 20 years ago, the result of hard
|
|
work of activists concerned with some of the same issues being
|
|
addressed at this conference: With the advent of emerging
|
|
technologies, how do we ensure that those who do not have access
|
|
to traditional, mainstream media and technologies are provided a
|
|
forum to express themselves, their cultures, political and social
|
|
beliefs, and to communicate and interact with others? We will
|
|
seek to learn from participants how access television might work
|
|
with computer professionals to ensure that the communities that
|
|
we now serve will have comparable access to the emerging
|
|
communications technologies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
H2. PC's EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
|
|
- Joseph J. Lazzaro, Massachusetts Commission For The Blind
|
|
For persons with disabilities, the online community represents an
|
|
electronic bill of rights and a new found freedom. The workshop
|
|
will focus on how to adapt personal computers for individuals
|
|
with vision, hearing, and motor disabilities. Basic concepts of
|
|
computer modifications that are common across hardware platforms
|
|
will be highlighted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
B3: INFORMED PARTICIPATION AND THE NATIONAL INFORMATION
|
|
INFRASTRUCTURE
|
|
- Thomas A. Kalil, The White House, John Mallery, Joshua
|
|
Cohen, MIT
|
|
How can digital computer networks could be used to improve the
|
|
policy-making process in government? Thomas Kalil will review
|
|
opportunities for public input into decisional processes. Then,
|
|
John Mallery will discuss several technologies that might be
|
|
applied to public access. Finally, Joshua Cohen will comment and
|
|
guide the discussion, focusing on the need to ensure fair access
|
|
to public discussion and to avoid the imposition of new barriers
|
|
to entry.
|
|
|
|
|
|
B4. PLAYING TO WIN AND THE COMMUNITY COMPUTING CENTER
|
|
MOVEMENT
|
|
- Antonia Stone and Peter Miller
|
|
The growth of the community computing center movement--low-income
|
|
neighborhood centers which provide computer training, access and
|
|
integration into community programs--is one response to the
|
|
presuppositions of taking a democratic NII seriously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
B5. THE GREATER BOSTON COMMUNITY-WIDE EDUCATION AND
|
|
INFORMATION SERVICES ORGANIZING PROJECT (CWEIS)
|
|
- Marlene Archer, The Boston Computer Society
|
|
This workshop is an excellent opportunity for the CWEIS
|
|
Organizing Committee to help define the Boston community on-line
|
|
service, gain suggestive feedback and insights, and make useful
|
|
in-person contacts and connections.
|
|
|
|
|
|
C2. MEASURING THE NII
|
|
- Richard Civille, Ann Bishop
|
|
This workshop will introduce participants to issues and
|
|
techniques related to collecting data on NII use and impacts.
|
|
Participants will also contribute to the development of
|
|
appropriate measures and methods for assessing the effectiveness
|
|
and equitability of NII implementation and outcomes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
C3. POLICY FOR THE GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE (I)
|
|
- William Drake with Herbert Schiller, UCSD
|
|
The first workshop session will analyze global and national
|
|
policy challenges to equitable information infrastructure
|
|
development. The role of international institutions;
|
|
intellectual property in a globally networked environment; the
|
|
role of community networks, and National Information
|
|
Infrastructure (NII) technology policies will be emphasized.
|
|
|
|
|
|
C4. PUBLIC SERVICES FOR THE GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
|
|
(II)
|
|
- Lee McKnight, MIT
|
|
The second workshop session will present concrete examples of
|
|
prototypical NII services along with future application areas.
|
|
Through dialog and interaction with workshop participants, it is
|
|
hoped that critical variables for NII public policies can be
|
|
identified in their global context.
|
|
|
|
|
|
C5: NII: PUBLIC OR PRIVATE? DEFINING RESEARCH PARAMETERS
|
|
Sherwood A. Dowling
|
|
The immediate purpose of the workshop is to introduce
|
|
participants to the economic concepts of public goods,
|
|
privatization and externalities in the context of government
|
|
information. The ultimate purpose of the workshop will be the
|
|
definition of one or more testable hypothesis, recognition of
|
|
policy option points, determination of potential policy impacts,
|
|
identification of prospective survey participants or other data
|
|
sources, and enumeration of possible evaluation criteria.
|
|
|
|
|
|
D4. DEMOCRACY IN CYBERSPACE
|
|
- Amy Bruckman, MIT Media Lab
|
|
How is cyberspace to be governed? Commercial service providers
|
|
require new members to agree to a set of "terms of service" which
|
|
establishes standards for appropriate conduct. More democratic
|
|
methods of governance are possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
E1: A POSTMODERN VIEW OF NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
|
|
- Dr. Bob Barbour, The University of Waikato, New Zealand
|
|
The purpose of the workshop will be to identify the possible
|
|
future consequences of applying a postmodernist view to
|
|
Information Technology practice as it relates to NII. The central
|
|
focus of the workshop will be to consider how NII can contribute
|
|
to or inhibit discourse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
E4. THE POLITICAL RHETORIC OF NII
|
|
- Steve Fuller, University of Pittsburgh
|
|
We will consider the rhetoric used to knit together various
|
|
constituencies that are needed to get behind the development of
|
|
NII -- and then examine the extent to which these constituencies
|
|
(which include the President, Congress, the military, big
|
|
business, universities, and "ordinary folks") are likely to
|
|
benefit from it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
G1: INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM: PARKS, STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND
|
|
...CYBERSPACE? FREE SPEECH IN THE NEW PUBLIC SQUARE
|
|
- Anne Levinson Penway, ALA, Paul Vermouth, MIT
|
|
Librarians have long supported the principles of intellectual
|
|
freedom in defending library users' rights to have access to
|
|
ideas and information from all points of view without
|
|
restriction, including restrictions based upon the age of the
|
|
library user. How should these principles guide the development
|
|
of the national information infrastructure?
|
|
|
|
|
|
G3: SECURING THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE: NEW CRIMES,
|
|
CRIMINALS, LOSSES, AND LIABILITIES IN THE POST-HACKER ERA
|
|
- Sanford Sherizen, Data Security Systems, Inc.
|
|
Less attention seems to have been raised about how to protect
|
|
information from a growing populations of "new" computer
|
|
criminals. In the Post-Hacker Era, they include competitors,
|
|
inside traders, governments, journalists, and "crackers." While
|
|
the Clipper controversy continues, this is only one of a number
|
|
of information security policy issues that will arise and need
|
|
informed resolution.
|
|
|
|
|
|
H5. ETHICS, EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT ON THE NII:
|
|
WHAT SHOULD RESEARCH PRIORITIES BE?
|
|
- Rachelle D. Hollander, National Science Foundation
|
|
The focus of this workshop is on developing research proposals to
|
|
the Ethics and Values Studies Program, National Science
|
|
Foundation. EVS is interested in supporting research on ethical
|
|
and value issues associated with high performance computing and
|
|
the national information infrastructure. But what topics should
|
|
have priority? And how should the research be done?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Proceedings book from DIAC-94 can be ordered from CPSR's
|
|
national headquarters: CPSR, PO Box 171, Palo Alto, CA 94301.
|
|
For more info, contact: CPSR at (415) 322-3778 or cpsr@cpsr.org
|
|
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
|
|
End of Computer Underground Digest #6.43
|
|
************************************
|
|
|