* Posts by JD

4 publicly visible posts • joined 13 May 2009

Feds quiz former worker over Texas power plant hack

JD
Flame

I'm glad...

... that nuclear power plants are using reliable software like MS Excel.

That doesn't freak me out. At all.

Film industry turns up P2P heat on Carter

JD
Paris Hilton

Could that be...

... that they intend to capitalize on France's brand new law?

Paris, because even she would wait and see the mess that the French law will create (encrypted networks, innocents busted, government brought before the European Court, yadda yadda) before doing anything as dumb as passing such a law.

France says 'Oui!' to three strikes for music pirates

JD
Pirate

Obsolete and dangerous

There are way too many problems with this farce to list them all.

It will have absolutely no effect on piracy, since there are already solutions to get around the filtering (freenet / mute / ant / tor are the first that come to mind). As a result, when anonymous, encrypted networks will be the norm, how will they be tracking the real criminals? (it's fashionable these days to cite paedophiles as an example, but there are numerous other bad guys out there)

The only "proof" they need is someone from a Major giving them your IP plus timestamp. No trial, nothing. Presumption of innocence is no more, the "allegedly infringing" person (right, those are the words of the law itself, "allegedly") is in charge to prove that she didn't download anything illegal (inversion of proof), which goes against both the French constitution and the European laws.

Oh, and while we're at it, you still have to pay your Internet subscription while you're being denied access to it (double sentence, again against all existing laws).

With TPB threatening to inject spoofed IPs on their trackers, that means that the whole French population is at risk, whether they download illegally or not.

To be able to "prove" his innocence, one will have to install a (Windows-only) government-approved spyware that monitors who-knows-what. Right, Mac and Linux owners won't have any possibility to prove that they are not guilty.

Furthermore, the law doesn't target so called "peer to peer" networks, but any "electronic communication". Which can easily include eg. private e-mails.

A good example of such invasion of privacy is the Jerome Bourreau affair, who recently got fired from TV channel TF1 (the French equivalent of Fox) because he sent an email to his MP explaining he was dubious about that law (citing many of the arguments I wrote above). Somehow, that (private) email got (illegally) forwarded to the Ministry of Culture, and from there, to TF1 who ended up firing the guy on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. It is interesting to note that TF1 is owned by Martin Bouygues, a very close friend of the Sarkozy family.

I could go on for hours, but I guess I may as well just welcome France back to 1984.

The pirate flag is because for the French government all French netizens are now pirates, whether they like it or not.

(You prolly guessed it, I'm French, and quite mad about my country becoming a "little China")

JD
Pirate

@bertie bassett

1) Solved : this law practically kills OAPs, as noone will want to be responsible for others (see 3).

2) No idea, but I'd guess "see 3".

3) You are "responsible" of the use that anyone makes of your IP address. Not your Internet connection, mind you, but your actual IP address. Even if someone spoofs it on a tracker, according to the new French law it's because "you didn't secure your box" (sic), so you are guilty.

4) See 1.

> What will they actually block ?

They will block your current connection(s) and put you on a database which forbids you from getting a new connection during the duration of the sentence. Furthermore, while your connection is blocked, you will still have to pay for it (yeah, I know...).

Your spouse may indeed be able to get a new connection (but then you'll have to pay for two connections). You may (or may not) be able to get a 3G subscription (but again, you'll have to pay for both).

The best option would probably be wardriving / hacking into your neighbour's wifi. In fact, you may as well cancel your Internet connection right now, and start using your neighbour's. That will definitely be cheaper (and less of a risk) for you.