Douglas Otis wrote:
Complacency permitting, and at times even promoting use of known defective products must end. The era of combining scripts and active code along with every piece of information conveyed must end. Unless the Internet industry responds effectively, legislators will likely to react in their own futile way.
According to a recent article on Wired: /* SNIP */ It would make it unlawful for anyone to: "...engage in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with specified conduct, including: (1) taking unsolicited control of the computer; (2) modifying computer settings; (3) collecting personally identifiable information [incl. using keystroke loggers]; (4) inducing the owner or authorized user to disclose personally identifiable information; (5) inducing the unsolicited installation of computer software; and (6) removing or disabling a security, anti-spyware, or anti-virus technology." http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/06/house_passes_an.html http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h964eh.txt.pdf /* END SNIP */ Which leaves me wondering... Sometimes in order for someone to actually install something helpful, one might at times have to disable certain programs then re-enable them. Looking at the broad term "modifying computer settings" and "disabling a security..." one has to wonder whether an overzealous office running politician would use such a broad law for political purposes. Politics aside, reality is reality. This law is beyond broad in fact taken at face value, any ISP seeking to mitigate a problem on their network may somewhere down the line break a law. How can one argue they never were "induced the authorized owner to disclose their information" to someone say mitigating security when that person threw them on a "cleanroom vlan". Trollishness aside, laws are almost always taken at face value black and white until someone falls victim to an insanely dumb law and fights back. I'd hate to be scapegoated as an individual and would hate to see the business I'm working for get a bad rap for some congressperson's lack of understanding and zeal to gain higher power. -- ==================================================== J. Oquendo http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x1383A743 echo infiltrated.net|sed 's/^/sil@/g' "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." -- Plato