No mile-high pr0n for Delta passengers

The skies are looking bleaker for those who like to enliven dull plane trips with a bit of internet porn - Delta Airlines has announced it intends to filter "inappropriate" websites on its planned airborne Wi-Fi service. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Delta had said it "planned to rely on flight attendants to …

[Steve]

Impossible...

... to stop anyone who decides to RDP or VPN (SSL/PPTP/IPSec) into their system of choice and then browse away. The fact that people can already download content first then play them offline hasn't caused issues before so why should accessing it live be any different?

Not the mention the fact that Club World offers "privacy" screens where you and your partner essentially has a private booth where people can see what you do.

The biggest problem won't be porn - it'll be the fact that it's impossible for anyone in cattle class to use it due to the stupid way the seats are crammed in (anyone over 5ft 5" can vouch for that) and the noise issues from the midgets that can squeeze a laptop onto their lap.

[Anonymous Coward]

(untitled)

This interferes with my right to toss off at 5280 feet !!! Isn't there a free speech (or free view) law being broken somewhere here ? Anything ? Anyone ? Oh come on, someone !

[Charles]

How will they block encrypted channels?

And since encrypted traffic has legitimate uses, they can't block all encrypted traffic outright, so tunneling encryption remains an option. As for peeking, there's always privacy filters that narrow the viewable angle.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh great.

No only do we have to cope with internationally transmitted clouds of viruses and bacteria from snot nosed kids on aeroplanes, now we have to deal with the possibility of male ejaculate being flung around the cabin landing in your eyeball.

"Stewardess . . . this man is pointing his wang my direction, make him stop tossing off."

.

...A much more justified use of the term "I'll get me coat" methinks! Going anonymous.

[Iain]

Oh no

I might actually have had to survive without the internet (let alone a wafty crank) for 5 hours? Lord have mercy on my soul

[Richard]

Inappropriates

If the cabin staff on Delta are anything like the ones on BA, I don't want them handling my inappropriate situations.

[Simon Painter]

@VPN/RDP

Quantas are offering cached content only so will no doubt just direct you to a proxy which has been loaded up with the days news and suchlike. Latency on live network use will be horrible due to the fact that this stuff is going to be going via a satellite and so RDP will be horrible (if allowed) and VPN will no doubt be restricted to those in business class who pay the premium while the scum in the back just get slow proxied shite web access.

[Turgut Kalfaoglu]

Holier than thou

I love this holier than thou attitude. Who are they do decide what's fit for me?

And why did Lufthansa ever stop their onboard-internet service, anyway?

[Wize]

Whats the point

Access to Cashed internet content? So, not the real net then. Can't access emails or anything. Might as well just download anything you want to see before you fly and read when flying.

Same goes for the pron. Can't download it during the flight, but what's to stop me bringing my stash?

[Anonymous Coward]

Are we really that shallow?

Has society really become that shallow? The minute a tech advance emerges, pr0n is at the forefront of our minds. Yes I know that's what kickstarted the home-cam and VHS revolutions back in the 70's, but come on!

[Chris Miller]

Not impossible

It's actually quite easy to block ALL encrypted traffic, it's just a question of how much this may reduce your revenue (I'm assuming this is a chargeable service, except maybe in premium class seats). Put simply, it's their network, so their rules apply. If you don't like the rules, go fly with someone else!

Porn sites are frequently contaminated with malware - the thought of some bad stuff getting loose on an airliner is rather worrying. I hope that there's a big fat air gap between the IFE and flight control systems, but my experience doesn't fill me with confidence.

[Alicia]

At least

they listened to the members of staff who weren't particularly enthusiastic about going round their workplace, looking over clients' shoulders and risking a confrontation by asking them to stop their entertainment.

Just because you can think of ways around their block doesn't mean staff should be put through that kind of embarrassment.

[Chris Richards]

@AC

If you're at 5280ft you shouldn't have your laptop on anyway as you've either just taken off or are coming in to land. So it's definitely not the filtered internet that's stopping you from tossing off. The passengers next to might have something to say though.

[Chris Bradshaw]

Is it just me,

or did the 'earlier example' airline change mid-story from American to Qantas? Cutting and pasting a little too fast again, are we?

And I'm not sure that pr0n is the only filter needed here - At a minimum hijack how-to, pro-terrorist and 9/11 plane crash sites ought to be filtered too. But then again loud music, Sadville, stupid YouTube videos, and many other sites could be disturbing too...

Perhaps a better solution to site content filtering would be content-based seating. The pr0n section could be in the back, with a loud music section separating them from the rest of the plane. Then the stupid videos section, the Sadville section, and of course the el Reg section up front in Business class :-)

I think we all know which section Paris would be put in...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wrong! How to avoid Chapter 11

Delta should offer a basic fare sans smut, but heavily promote an upgrade package for filth a la carte at 40,000 ft. If just half a cabin opt to pay a little more for stratospheric spanking on the back of the seat in front of them, Delta could remain profitable even if oil prices were to rise again.

[Chris]

@Simon Painter

OpenVPN can use any port so don't see how they are going to stop VPN for anybody (80 or 443 are not going to be stopped are they)

[Anonymous Coward]

About all the uproar...

Lufthansa stopped its service because Boeing, the equipment supplier, stopped supporting the service. Essentially, they didn't have a choice but to stop it.

I don't mind porn sites being stopped on a plane... there's only so much bandwidth per plane, so it'd be unfair on other pax using it to abuse the connection for your carnal pleasure. If you really want to get jiggy, go to the loo with your laptop and look really stupid.

[Jan]

filtering vs. control

I don't like the direction our society is taking/has taken. The first answer to any indecency these days seems to be: lets make it impossible.

Individual responsibility? Individual restraint? Where did that go? Surely it must be clear to most folks that porn is not something to be watched in public, not because it's legal/illegal, but because it's, well, not something the majority of us want to see in public spaces.

Cinemas are not burdened with mobile phones continously ringing anymore? And that without doing GSM blocking fields. "This is a non-smoking flight and please refrain from accessing inappropriate content during this flight" Must be good ways to impose an interesting fine given existing laws on inappropriate behaviour in public.

Lets say I am just amazed by the total lack of awareness some people have of their surroundings. Luckily I'd know how to take care of jackasses.

Mine's the one with the hammer inside.

[David Hayes]

I'm surprised this MiHi WiFi has become news again

I used the Boeing Connect service back in 2006 before it was abandoned. I found it to be slow, but useful in that I could MSN chat to my wife whilst flying over the Atlantic. I tried an MSN VoIP call, but this was broken and unreadable (not enough bandwidth), and there was a noticeable 1000-3000ms packet delay on my pings.

I never did try smut though...

[Jodo Kast]

Not going to pay for that...

Try again.

[Michael]

What's to stop you...

...Just having porn on your hard drive anyway? Having access to the net would be cool and all, but i think most people would be happy just to have a powerpoint to plug their lappys into so they could watch their own dvds, listen to their own music, etc. Are you going to get told off for playing Manhunt 2 on your laptop? Just because you filter the net access doesn't suddenly make make everyone on the plane with a laptop "safe".

Also surley there would be written T&C for net access anyway. you pay your money and agree not to view certain material online. If found in breach they would be within their rights to revoke your access.

I also find it worring that it seem the defacto that as soon as you give rights to someone the obvious assumption is they will abuse it. 99% of people know that watching hardcore porn on the plane is unceptable behaviour because wouldn't do it in a coffee shop with free wi-fi either. It's just common sense. there will always be "those people", but I don't see how that minority seems to be used as the benchmark for everyone else.

[TJ]

@Chris Miller

My friend is an IFE Engineer @ Boeing, and rightfully so, you should be aware, the IFE and Flight systems are two completely, and never connected networks. Albeit he couldn't be specific, but the networks are both housed is different shielded portions of the plane. Not even a management wire connects the two.

As for Airbus, I have no idea chaps.

[Anonymous Coward]

Paris

'Cos i'm thinking mile-high club and forget the pr0n.

[Niall]

Speaking of airlines

anyone seen the Playmobil ad for Channel 4s Dispatches? Blatant rip-off El Reg should sue!

[Anonymous Coward]

Awwwwwwww!!

i was soooo looking forward to suggesting to the attractive young lady sat next to me that we could try some of that if she was bored mid flight!

oh well.

at least there will be no random splatter complaints i guess

[Anonymous Coward]

rely on flight attendants to handle inappropriate situations

"Delta had said it "planned to rely on flight attendants to handle inappropriate situations". "

I would have loved to see this anytime !

cute female attendant: "Excuse me, Sir, but this video doesn't comply with our policy, so, I will have to ask you to stop it"

Bloke: What the problem with it ?

attendant: Errr, ... well, it's showing ....

LOL

[Law]

easy solution

washable compulsory chastity belts - The Love Guru style.

That way, you just listen out for the "dong" and terminate their connection.

I'm actually all for controlling porn on flights, not because I hate it, but because you can't stop others from seeing your screen, these can be kids, religious freaks, or just prudes - and then we have a mid-flight rumble on our hands when opinions on appropriate material start flying around the cabin.

Instead, just ban porn - say if they are caught browsing inappropriate material either online or in any way (magazines anybody?) they are banned for the rest of the flight and/or future flights... and be done... no filtering needed.

I guess my main question is why the hell would you want to browse porn midflight anyway?! I've done a fair bit of browsing in my time, but at no point on a flight, in a library, in a lesson, or at work, did I consider just putting my feet up for half an hour to have a good old flick through a porn mag with people around me... I read it for the stories you know! ;)

[Pyros]

Even worse

No mile-high WoW raids within The Nexus on your flying mount!

I've always wanted to be the first on my server to mile-high raid.