Date: Wed, 19 Jul 95 15:13:14 EST
Errors-To: Comp-privacy Error Handler <owner-comp-privacy@uwm.edu>
From: Computer Privacy Digest Moderator <comp-privacy@uwm.edu>
To: Comp-privacy@uwm.edu
Subject: Computer Privacy Digest V7#005
Computer Privacy Digest Wed, 19 Jul 95 Volume 7 : Issue: 005
Today's Topics: Moderator: Leonard P. Levine
Common Carriers: Social Security Numbers
Question about 'fingering...'
Anonymous Reading of Public Timber-harvest Plans
Re: Social Security Number Abuse by Employer
Windows 95 Registration Wizard
Info on CPD [unchanged since 12/29/94]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Peter Marshall <rocque@eskimo.com>
Date: 17 Jul 1995 09:27:06 -0700
Subject: Common Carriers: Social Security Numbers
Organization: Eskimo North (206) For-Ever
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ken Meyering <immedia@netwest.com>
Date: 16 Jul 1995 14:56:14 -0700
To: com-priv@psi.com
Subject: COMMON CARRIERS: Social Security Numbers
I'm sure that eventually, ISPs will be afforded common carrier status.
Not only because its completely impractical to filter traffic, but also
because the real "common carriers", the phone companies, will be
providing Internet access.
Eventually, Internet access will simply be what we used to consider
"telephone service". Except, it will be "network access", and
interactive.
One thing that interests me about the phone companies is their
insistence on credit information before delivering service.
They request social security number, and do a credit check. I wouldn't
be surprised if this becomes a common practice before providing
internet access.
If this becomes the case, then ISPs will have an "identity database"
that identifies userid's by social security number (the same way phone
numbers do today).
In this case, prosecution of illegal activity will become a much
simpler matter.
Wouldn't it be horrible if you had to get a "license" to drive on the
information highway? I wouldn't put it past the authorities to try.
--
Ken Meyering
immedia@netwest.com
http://www.netwest.com/~immedia
------------------------------
From: grifter@dircon.co.uk (David Griffiths)
Date: 17 Jul 1995 18:26:23 GMT
Subject: Question about 'fingering...'
Organization: The Direct Connection (Call 0181 297 2200 for info)
Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but I have heard about a
system called 'fingering', which I understand is a way of snooping
across an individual's activities on the net. Can this be true? I would
be very unhappy to think that somebody could be monitoring my every
move. Thanks in advance.
--
Dave Griffiths.
(Grifter@dircon.co.uk)
------------------------------
From: jwarren@well.com (Jim Warren)
Date: 18 Jul 1995 12:54:11 -0700
Subject: Anonymous Reading of Public Timber-harvest Plans
This just in from a Sacramento hawkeye, re pending Californica <sic>
legislation:
Have you taken a look at SB 1283 (Lewis)? It requires the Dept of
Forestry to keep names and addresses of those people who ask for copies
of the timber harvest plans, which are public records.
The list of names is then a public record and the timber companies can
get the names of people who have accessed their THPs.
--
Jim Warren, GovAccess list-owner/editor (jwarren@well.com)
Advocate & columnist, MicroTimes, Government Technology, BoardWatch, etc.
345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/<# upon request>
[puffery: James Madison Freedom-of-Information Award, Soc. of Professional
Journalists - Nor.Calif.(1994); Hugh Hefner First-Amendment Award, Playboy
Foundation (1994); Pioneer Award, Electronic Frontier Foundation (its first
year, 1992); founded Computers, Freedom & Privacy confs, InfoWorld, etc.]
------------------------------
From: sarig@teleport.com (Scott Arighi)
Date: 19 Jul 1995 13:31:58 GMT
Subject: Re: Social Security Number Abuse by Employer
Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016
mccurley@cs.sandia.gov (Kevin S. McCurley) wrote: Can anyone supply
me with information about how major corporations treat the social
security number of their employees? My employer DOES NOT treat the
SSN as private information, and has adopted policies that require
me to divulge it to all sorts of people that are not contracturally
bound to protect it's privacy. I realize that there are many
avenues for people to get ahold of my number, but must I feel that
[....]
Although not a legal point, I found that my bank would allow *anyone*
with my checking account no. and my SS. no. to find out my bank
balance -- which I view as a rather private matter. Now use a
password on the account in addition to the numbers. In your case, it
sounds like any merchant (or friend or not so friend :-)) receiving a
check from you could call your employer, get your SS no. and find out
your bank balance.
--
Scott
------------------------------
From: cpsr-global@Sunnyside.COM
Date: 19 Jul 1995 01:17:47 -0700
Subject: Windows 95 Registration Wizard
Taken from CPSR-GLOBAL Digest 200
From: stseng@ccgate.hac.com
Note: Microsoft is coming under fire for releasing its new Windows
software that "reads" the hard drive of the computer it is installed
on. Windows '95 then sends the data from the PC back to the main
Microsoft office. Here is Microsoft's version of what it is doing
--Marsha
***********************************************************
1. Clarification: Microsoft Windows 95 On-line
Registration Feature Preserves User Privacy
REDMOND, Washington - May 30, 1995
Microsoft today responds to customer confusion with the on-line
registration option of Windows 95. Microsoft reassures customers the
on-line registration feature preserves user privacy. The confusion
began last week when an industry publication incorrectly reported that
the on-line registration option sent information on customers' computer
systems to Microsoft without consent. This article, and several
subsequent posts on the Internet, alleging the unauthorized query and
sending of customer information, are not accurate. In fact, the
on-line registration option is simply an electronic version of the
paper-based registration card that will ship in the Windows 95 product
box. Similar to many paper-based registration cards, on-line
registration is completely optional and allows customers to provide
their system information for product support and marketing purposes.
The on-line registration option in Windows 95 provides a more
convenient and accurate method for registering than the paper-based
card that comes in the product box. This is because the information is
gathered directly from the local computer rather than requiring the
user to guess their system information, and then type it and send via a
separate card.
The on-line registration process uses three steps to register
customers. Customers are asked to provide information such as Customer
Name, Company Name, Address and Phone Number. Customers are then
presented the option of providing information about their computer
system's configuration. A screen displays a list of the computer
system's configuration information - such as the processor type, amount
of RAM and hard disk space, and hardware peripherals such as network
card, CD-ROM drive, and sound card. This information is gathered by
the registration program which queries the system registry of the local
computer. Customers must review and explicitly choose to provide the
information or it is not sent. Customers are then presented with a
list of application programs that reside on the local computer and
asked if they would like to provide this information as well. The list
of products is gathered by the registration program which looks for a
list of programs on the local hard disk. The user must again
explicitly choose to provide this information as part of the
registration process or it is not sent.
Once the user chooses to send the information, the registration process
is completed by sending the registration information to Microsoft.
On-line registration uses the transport of the Microsoft Network to
send the information. The customer does not have to be a Microsoft
Network subscriber to register on-line, and once registered, the
customer is not a Microsoft Network subscriber. Registering Windows 95
is a separate process from signing up for the Microsoft Network.
Contrary to reports, the on-line registration feature does not query
serial numbers or product registration information designed to fight
software piracy. It also does not query computers on the local or
wide-area network. For a list of the exact information gathered by
on-line registration, the user can view the REGINFO.TXT file found in
the C:\WINDOWS directory of the local computer.
The on-line registration feature of Windows 95 is an option for
customers that makes registering Windows 95 more accurate and
convenient. Providing computer- specific configuration information is
strictly up to the customer. The registration information helps
Microsoft build better products, as well as offer customers better
information on their programs and better product support.
----- End Included Message -----
------------------------------
From: "Prof. L. P. Levine" <levine@blatz.cs.uwm.edu>
Date: 29 Dec 1994 10:50:22 -0600 (CST)
Subject: Info on CPD [unchanged since 12/29/94]
Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The Computer Privacy Digest is a forum for discussion on the effect of
technology on privacy or vice versa. The digest is moderated and
gatewayed into the USENET newsgroup comp.society.privacy (Moderated).
Submissions should be sent to comp-privacy@uwm.edu and administrative
requests to comp-privacy-request@uwm.edu.
This digest is a forum with information contributed via Internet
eMail. Those who understand the technology also understand the ease of
forgery in this very free medium. Statements, therefore, should be
taken with a grain of salt and it should be clear that the actual
contributor might not be the person whose email address is posted at
the top. Any user who openly wishes to post anonymously should inform
the moderator at the beginning of the posting. He will comply.
If you read this from the comp.society.privacy newsgroup and wish to
contribute a message, you should simply post your contribution. As a
moderated newsgroup, attempts to post to the group are normally turned
into eMail to the submission address below.
On the other hand, if you read the digest eMailed to you, you generally
need only use the Reply feature of your mailer to contribute. If you
do so, it is best to modify the "Subject:" line of your mailing.
Contributions to CPD should be submitted, with appropriate, substantive
SUBJECT: line, otherwise they may be ignored. They must be relevant,
sound, in good taste, objective, cogent, coherent, concise, and
nonrepetitious. Diversity is welcome, but not personal attacks. Do
not include entire previous messages in responses to them. Include
your name & legitimate Internet FROM: address, especially from
.UUCP and .BITNET folks. Anonymized mail is not accepted. All
contributions considered as personal comments; usual disclaimers
apply. All reuses of CPD material should respect stated copyright
notices, and should cite the sources explicitly; as a courtesy;
publications using CPD material should obtain permission from the
contributors.
Contributions generally are acknowledged within 24 hours of
submission. If selected, they are printed within two or three days.
The moderator reserves the right to delete extraneous quoted material.
He may change the SUBJECT: line of an article in order to make it
easier for the reader to follow a discussion. He will not, however,
alter or edit or append to the text except for purely technical
reasons.
A library of back issues is available on ftp.cs.uwm.edu [129.89.9.18].
Login as "ftp" with password identifying yourid@yoursite. The archives
are in the directory "pub/comp-privacy".
People with gopher capability can most easily access the library at
gopher.cs.uwm.edu.
Mosaic users will find it at gopher://gopher.cs.uwm.edu.
Older archives are also held at ftp.pica.army.mil [129.139.160.133].
---------------------------------+-----------------------------------------
Leonard P. Levine | Moderator of: Computer Privacy Digest
Professor of Computer Science | and comp.society.privacy
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Post: comp-privacy@uwm.edu
Box 784, Milwaukee WI 53201 | Information: comp-privacy-request@uwm.edu
| Gopher: gopher.cs.uwm.edu
levine@cs.uwm.edu | Mosaic: gopher://gopher.cs.uwm.edu
---------------------------------+-----------------------------------------
------------------------------
End of Computer Privacy Digest V7 #005
******************************
.