Virgin Media Phorm Webwise Adverts [Updated: See Post No. 1, 77, 102 & 797]

[NTLVictim]

Originally Posted by BetBlowWhistler

Tempting though it is to agree with you, BT Retail has always been a bit of a law unto iteself regarding design. It's only been in the last year or so that the e2e design team have taken over from all other areas, but there are still little 'in-house' design teams dotted around (although there shouldn't be as this situation has proved).

The original design of the test *could* have pre-dated the carte-blanche approach to designs going through the e2e team. Mind you, if it had then the issues would have been raised in-house and no-one would have gone to the press with their 'fait-accompli'. They [BT Retail] get 10/10 for being underhanded imho.

No, my bigger concern was that the security community seemed a bit taken aback when the news first broke on the register, and a comment was made in The Reg's article about the reaction of the security team. There then immediately followed a posting on the BT Security mailing list about the comment and a very heavy sounding 'anyone found commenting on BT internal stuff will be investigated and stuffed' email.

Looks like they've got "guilty" written all over them..Have you reported them officially to the relevant authorities?

Or better still the newspapers?

[BetBlowWhistler]

Originally Posted by NTLVictim

Looks like they've got "guilty" written all over them..Have you reported them officially to the relevant authorities?

Or better still the newspapers?

And what exactly would I report? This is just my opinion remember and I don't think that's admissable in a court of law

Going to the press has already gotten me into bother (not so much the job but my health did suffer as a result) so I'm just another interested consumer now (although I do have my MAC code). I just happen to have a lot of anecdotal information relating to how BT works in practice.

[Chroma]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHanff

It is not that easy in this case. The Right to Privacy is an inalienable right afforded to us under multiple European laws/directives and conventions, most of which are currently ratified in the UK. To suddenly change British law in such a way would at least cause problems in official EU circles, or at least that is my belief.

Alexander Hanff

The same was also true a few years back about rights to protest, now if you enter London with the idea of a peacful demonstration you are required by law to gain a permit to do so.
Even beter yet you can get locked up under terrorist legislation and held (90days if Gordie Brown has his way) without trial.
Dont even get me started about freedom of speech.

Societies basic civil liberties have become so erroded since 911 that nothing a government body does any more surprises me.

I can see this government positively frothing at the mouth over the prospect of having yet another method of control over the populace, a quick edit to RIPA and a nice handshake with Phorm would allow the government to use the system to "profile terror suspects."

[Ratastic]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHanff

See my previous posts on complicity.

But I agree, it is unlikely that people will be made aware of "why" they have to give informed consent and the possible "consequences" of doing so. If they were then an Opt-In system would only attract a fraction of a percent of users and would die instantly as a product.

Alexander Hanff

---------- Post added at 14:07 ---------- Previous post was at 14:06 ----------



Hold off on the paper link for now, I finally got some urgent work out of the way today so I have a chance tonight to finish the paper and plan to do so.

The videos are on http://tobymeres.net/

Don't forget BBC "Click" Saturday and Sunday morning this weekend 11:30 on BBC News 24. (Should be available on iPlayer Friday night I believe)

Alexander Hanff

Alexander, the link to tobymeres.net is setting off a trojan alert on 'kaspersky internet security 7' , it seems quite convinced the link is trying to download a trojan, can anyone else who's clicked the link verify whether its just a false alarm or not ?...

[hOrZa]

Nod32 saying its clean

hth

[AlexanderHanff]

Originally Posted by Ratastic

Alexander, the link to tobymeres.net is setting off a trojan alert on 'kaspersky internet security 7' , it seems quite convinced the link is trying to download a trojan, can anyone else who's clicked the link verify whether its just a false alarm or not ?...

It doesn't fire off anything here but I am in Linux, have flash blocked and don't have problems which require anti-virus software. Maybe someone on Windows can confirm.

Alexander Hanff

[Rchivist]

Originally Posted by manxminx

BT Seeking to Drop Phorm Cookies



http://www.ispreview.co.uk/news/EkpAuVukuVwRJunjrr.html

See also: BT to Test Phorm, Search for Cookie Alternatives

Well! Wow! This will really shake things up. Another BIG nail in Phorms coffin me thinks.

Ali

Adam Liversage was the guy who was supposed to be answering questions over on BT beta forums, then both the relevant threads were locked, the answers stopped coming a few weeks ago, and we never heard from him again. Now he talks to the press as usual before informing customers. This is standard BT behaviour - anything major - its always a press release, and the customers always find out 3rd hand when someone spots the press release.

But it's good to see the inevitable beginning to happen. Great news.

[NTLVictim]

On a side note, us patent 20080010117 looks interesting..if kent and his kreatures grease this one through, we can point this other mob's lawyers at them and fight fire with fire, or in this case weasel with weasel!

[popper]

Originally Posted by Ratastic

Alexander, the link to tobymeres.net is setting off a trojan alert on 'kaspersky internet security 7' , it seems quite convinced the link is trying to download a trojan, can anyone else who's clicked the link verify whether its just a false alarm or not ?...

its fine, the video's were put there as it has far more bandwidth to cope with demand thats all, i dont know why you might be getting the false positive but thats what it is....

[Rchivist]

Originally Posted by BetBlowWhistler

Thankyou. I'm trying to keep a low profile these days as I've already lost one job, so everything I post from now on is purely my personal opinion. I doubt Ben is reading these forums, but I'm pretty sure I know a few fellows at BT who will be All that's gone by-the-by now anyway what with BT being found with their hand in over 30,000 cookie jars (sorry that was an awful pun )

And a big thank-you from me, as a BT customer who has spent years trying to get blood out of the BT management stone, and occasionally drawing the odd drop or two.

My best moment came a few years ago when someone in BT wrongly Cc'd an email to me which wasn't TO me but ABOUT me. Since that happened, I've always seemed to be able to get a response when I want one - although of course it hasn't in any way altered the fact that the responses are the usual marketspeak rubbish.

[Ratastic]

according to kaspersky its ... something called the agent.ij trojan

http://www.viruslist.com/en/search?V...ij&referer=kis

probably just a false alert, there are so many virus's and trojans about these days, it happens occasionally.

[CaptJamieHunter]

Originally Posted by Ratastic

Alexander, the link to tobymeres.net is setting off a trojan alert on 'kaspersky internet security 7' , it seems quite convinced the link is trying to download a trojan, can anyone else who's clicked the link verify whether its just a false alarm or not ?...

*chokes on his tea* It darn well shouldn't be doing anything like that - all that's supposed to be there is a webpage, a few graphics files and the flv video files!

I'm on Linux too and the page loads up just as it should.

Will get this checked out. Anyone else getting this false positive can you PM me with more info?

[Florence]

I again use Nod32 andf it is clean

[jelv]

I'm seeing the same kaspersky error.

[Ratastic]

I imagine it's just a false positive as some others have suggested, every virus checker suffers from it occasionally.

Its just that 'kaspersky' is a highly rated anti-virus program, and false positives are quite unusual on it, so i thought i would do the responsible thing and put out
a warning just in case.

at the end of the day, it it does (as expected) turn out to be a false alarm, atleast i know the program is working, i would rather have 100 false alarms than one trojan get through.