snooping

Open-source freedom lost on Chinese government

News hit Slashdot on Wednesday that China is forcing its Internet cafes to use licensed copies of Red Flag Linux, and allegedly not because it wants to encourage software freedom, as Radio Free Asia suggests.

Indeed, Radio Free Asia notes that while the policy ostensibly is aimed at removing pirated versions of Red Flag Linux or Microsoft Windows, Internet cafes are reporting that they are being forced to move to Red Flag Linux even if they already are using licensed versions of Windows.

Why? The Guardian speculates that this may be the Chinese government trying to force a decent return … Read more

Is technology making it harder to be unfaithful?

Some commentators are getting their knickers in a twist because they feel they are now unable to twist their lover's knickers around their fingers.

The world is, apparently, experiencing major changes in extramarital sexual behavior. And the reason for these changes is the development of superior technological gadgetry over the last few years.

According to Nick Harding of London's Independent newspaper, the United Kingdom's divorce rate is going down, and one of the reasons, he posits, is that it is far too easy for your spouse to catch you cheating, if not in flagrante delicto, then certainly … Read more

Researchers could face legal risks for network snooping

A group of researchers from the University of Colorado and University of Washington could face both civil and criminal penalties for a research project in which they snooped on users of the Tor anonymous proxy network. Should federal prosecutors take interest in the project, the researchers could also face up to 5 years in jail for violating the Wiretap Act.

The team of two graduate students and three professors neither sought legal review of the project, nor ran it past the Human Subjects Committee at their university, putting them in a particularly dangerous position.

The academic paper, "Shining Light in Dark Places: Understanding the Tor Network&… Read more

A brief guide to getting the goods on cheating spouses

High-tech can protect soldiers in the field, but it hasn't been much use against that age-old threat on the home front; and that's Jody, the 4-F opportunist of yore, who's busy bird-doggin' Snuffy's wife while he's 7000 miles away dodging RPGs.

Time was, the cuckold only began to suspect something amiss when he arrived home to find an off brand butt in the car ashtray or a different flavor of beer in the fridge. No more. Here are a few suggestions on how to keep an eye on things while the cat's away.

The … Read more