Loss of Privacy

I know. There are a lot of Windows fanboys out there. There are also a lot of Linux, BSD, and Apple fanboys. I don’t really care. This isn’t about them.  It’s about me and the many problems that I’ve seen from Windows Vista and it hasn’t even been released yet. I have no need for Vista now, and probably never will.

Initially, third party vendors will not have access to the Vista kernal or the core code. They will supposedly get access when the first service pack arrives, though no one knows when that will happen. Vista is touting itself as being very big on security but hackers will crack its defenses. By forcing the end user to rely solely on Microsoft for its security, Vista appears to be less secure than what is available now. No access means that third party vendors cannot do their jobs properly. So, you have to use Microsoft’s antivirus and firewall. Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost won’t work. You can’t use DRDOS or Caldera DOS anymore.

Microsoft does, however, allow ten changes to your configuration. Now, while this is a little bit more flexible than Windows XP, it’s still not good enough. Microsoft’s licensing department has said that activation will be required again when a user upgrades their hard drive and one other component. So, you can swap at will, but you can only have your copy of Vista on one computer at a time.

Now, while this policy is tolerable for most users, the enthusiasts have a major problem with it. Why force activation at all? Why make a user jump through hoops to prove they own what they bought just because they like to tinker? Most people I know reformat every few months. Therefore, in a couple of years, without any hardware upgrades, their copy of Vista won’t work anymore. But, enthusiasts change their hardware so often that it is quite feasible to have your copy of Vista not work after a year of use. Vista is supposed to be the next-gen for cutting edge and games yet, the very people Vista is targeted at are the ones that will be most affected by this new policy.

What happens when Vista decides you changed too often but you really didn’t? It’s happened before and it will happen again. Think of the rootkits, virii, etc., that common users get, which will change their configuration and force you to use one of your ten changes. You’ll spend hours on the phone with Microsoft convincing them you’re not a pirate. Microsoft’s WGA is faulty and they don’t seem to care to fix it, forcing many people who legally purchased their copy of Windows XP to get a pirated version so they don’t have to go through the hassle of dealing with their computers not working every few months.

The Home version of Vista is nearly unusable. People will be forced to upgrade, again, because the Home version does not allow virtualization, nor does it allow you to make ISO images. This appears that Microsoft is trying to keep people from circumventing their DRM. This will probably affect Mac users more than anyone else but, by restricting its uses and releasing so many versions of Vista, Microsoft has created a nice cash cow for itself while ignore its customers. Many users will buy a version, find it can’t do what they want, then will be forced to buy an upgrade. Remember, once you open that box you can’t take it back.

While it may seem like Microsoft is pushing people to Linux, I think more people will simply find pirated versions than spend time switching. The average user isn’t going to read the EULA and isn’t going to want to learn Linux and take responsibility for what they do with a computer. They just want their “stuff” to work out of the box. They take the easiest route to that end, which is pirating Windows. The reality is that there are so many protections and restrictions in Vista (at least 31) that it’s actually easier to just move to another OS, such as Linux, or not upgrade, than deal with the numerous headaches that Vista will cause. I don’t like pirating my OS, mainly because I feel that I shouldn’t have to rely on hackers and crackers to do my job for me. My OS should just work. If it doesn’t, I should be able to fix it myself or get something else that does.

Vista also has Trusted Computing built in. Vista is also revising it’s networking stack. That means, when you use P2P programs, your IP address is visible because Vista will bypass NAT. Unsigned drivers also won’t work on 64bit versions of Vista so vendors have to keep paying yearly fees for their products to work. User Account Control (UAC) is stupid. It’s pops up far too often even under admin accounts.  All it does is annoy users, who will simply turn it off, defeating the purpose of what it’s there for to begin with. Vista phones home constantly with detailed accounts of your computer and checks it against its whitelist and blacklist of software. Microsoft will decide if you can run your software and it doesn’t inform you that it’s doing this.

Microsoft reminds me a lot of Metallica. Encourage people to pirate and bootleg and get them hooked. Then, turn around on those same people and sue them. I used to listen to a lot of Metallica. Not anymore. I did go download all their albums on mp3 though, on principle.

Will Vista be successful. You bet it will. The average user doesn’t care about any of this. And they won’t until their computers are completely controlled by Microsoft or some other entity. But this article is about me. I won’t be buying it. I don’t want to jump through hoops anymore. I don’t want to beg and plead to get my information back due to a malfunction that isn’t my fault. I don’t want restrictions on items I own or have created. Many will say that Microsoft won’t hurt their userbase like this but then why build in all these restrictions if they’re not intending on using them? I suspect Vista’s SP2 or SP3 will activate these.

I’m sticking with Windows 2000 SP4. It does what I want. I don’t have windows anything on my computer other than 2K. I use Open Office, Bsplayer, Winamp 2.95, Thunderbird, and Firefox for my major applications. I’m not upgrading further with Microsoft. When it becomes necessary to upgrade again, if I can’t reinstall Windows 2000, I’ll switch to Linux. Learning something new doesn’t scare me and if it means that I can do what I want, I’ll be there in a heartbeat. Windows users can keep their activations, WGA, TCPA, broadcast flags and DRM that is now legal due to the DMCA. I prefer to keep control of my own stuff and will continue to do so.

Pumpkins, taken by mr_o on flickr.

America’s public schools are again attempting to indoctrinate young children into believing that technology, such as biometrics, are a the answer to their security needs. Elementary schools are now in the picture because biometric technology has advanced enough that the scanners read a fingerprint as small as that of a four year old.

In Rome, Georgia, the West End Elementary School is using fingerprint readers in the cafeteria. Children line up, grab their food and pay with their index fingers. There are school districts across the country that also use biometrics for purposes other than paying for lunch. School nurses use it for dispensing medication. It’s also used for attendance, library privileges, and at school bus stops.

Administrators informed parents that the prints are not stored by the system or accessible to the Internet. If they are not stored by the system, then how do they identify that little Johnny’s index finger is really his? Surely, there is some storage to match the prints to. How else are they charging the students for their meals? That’s right, they are recording unique points of a person’s fingerprint instead of the whole print, which means that your identifying marks are being stored.

The school is bragging that the lunch lines have been cut in half. What they aren’t telling you is that your child’s fingerprint must be stored somewhere to be identified. Nor are they telling you how easy it is to fake a print or what happens when the database is stolen.

In New Egypt, New Jersey, three Plumsted Township schools have adopted the using of iris scanning cameras to check and see if anyone not pre-authorized to enter the school is on the premises. New Egypt, however, only has 1,700 in its entire school district. That’s smaller than most high schools in America. They wanted a better security system than the swipe cards they were using and chose iris scanning. However, with 1,700 children, spread across three schools, iris scanning isn’t the best solution. If the school monitors, teachers, teacher’s aides, counselors, and principals are doing their jobs, it’s easy to identify who isn’t supposed to be there. This school district is relying on technology they don’t need to solve a problem they don’t have.

However, school officials believe that they are allaying concerns of safety and security at their schools with this system. After scanning staff, students, and parents, they still only had a 78% accuracy rate. Outdoor lighting, cameras freezing up or misidentifying people, and people not lining up properly were the most common problems to failure of the system. If the technology cannot be properly used, then it becomes a liability to the safety you are supposedly creating and you still need an actual person to identify the person attempting to enter the building. What was the biggest problem to all this new technology for the school? Once someone had scanned their iris, they held the door open for other people.

Biometrics give parents a feeling of safety and security but it’s not guaranteed. School districts who so readily accept biometrics without proper education are leading children to believe that these systems are infallible. It still does not address the fact that the most prevelant crimes in schools are petty crimes committed by the very people that are supposed to be there.

Most parents who have objected to the implementation in Rome’s schools complain about the lack of communication and transparency given to them. One particular parent complained that he was never informed before his daughter’s print was scanned. His major concern is identity theft and that his daughter had to rely on assurances that the system would never be used for evil purposes.

In Penn Cambria schools in Pennsylvania, school officials assure that the prints are stored as a mathematical formula and can never be turned back into a print. They also claim that the database can never be read by law enforcement for identity purposes. This is, quite frankly, lying to the people. If there is a court order, they will be turning over their database.

Officials also said it was great for parents who couldn’t keep track of prepaid meal tickets who couldn’t do simple math to remember when the tickets were used and had to be loaded with money again. Uh, just how is a fingerprint scanner going to change that? Or are lunches now magically free because you gave up your print?

Biometrics themselves are not evil. They are a great way to perform many tasks faster and more efficiently. Cash and cards can be stolen. You always have your eyes or fingerprints with you. However, the technology is not perfect and doesn’t work 100% of the time. Problems also arise when people are not fully informed on the systems in use, lied to, do not know how to use the systems, don’t understand the system, and circumvent the system (such as holding the door open).

A google search will turn up many results to ponder on the usefulness of biometrics in schools. Right now, biometrics simply are not mature enough to be in such widespread use in the public school system. They don’t work, schools are no place to be setting up shop as faux police checkpoints, and the loss of privacy has not been properly debated. What happens when someone hacks the system and steals this data? Some schools require teachers to have their home address and social security numbers tagged into this information. School officials are not experts in the field and cannot be expected to understand everything about it.

We must question why the mere thought of RFID sends shivers up people’s spines, yet biometrics gets a pass, as if it’s a proven technology that works every time. Right now, these systems are just high-tech spying programs that do not really protect the people it claims to be serving. Biometrics can be useful but low-level security areas, such as elementary schools, are not the place to test them. It creates a false sense of security and teaches children that technology is the be all to end all solution to keeping them safe.

Armed robbers in Atlanta, Georgia held up a sex shop and used the store’s kinky, fur handcuffs and leg irons to restrain the store’s employees. While the incident was captured on video, the masked men have gotten away with about $234 in cash.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, another idiot has done his family proud. He was upset that he couldn’t get his Burger King food his way. Staff at the Burger King informed him that, as a pedestrian, he couldn’t walk up to the drive thru and order food. He pounded on the glass and then went to a nearby payphone to call the police with a bomb threat at the Burger King. Unfortunately for him, the payphone was in sight of the Burger King employees. He was arrested a few minutes later.

In Dutch news, Annemarie Jorristma, a dutch MP, went on national TV and has demanded Dutch prostitutes for the troops so that they can relax. The idea is backed by the Dutch sex workers union. Ms. Jorristma worries that there aren’t enough ways for the troops to let off a little steam. There are only 2,000 Dutch soldiers stationed in Iraq but, apparently, most are pretty lonely and in need of some company.

Lastly, a Chinese university professor is being criticized for his naked lecture. His point was to challenge current taboos. The professor first had four models strip while he lectured. Then he invited his students to strip. And, not to be left out, the professor stripped off his pants as well. Okay, this is more funny to me than anything else but many of the students were uncomfortable and probably wasn’t a good idea for this professor to do.

This is pure rant. I’m pissed. When I leave for work in the morning, it’s still slightly dark outside. About three miles down the road, it’s light enough that you don’t need your headlights on. Still, the idiots out on the road think you do and most of them have their high beams on.

I come across these “special” drivers every time I drive in the dark. It’s especially nasty when you are coming around a blind curve and high beams blind you, making it near impossible to see anything on the road for a few moments. It’s just great that I can’t see the numerous deer and turkeys that love to run across the roads, yet alone any other car coming towards me.

And don’t tell me not to drive that way. There are only two roads I can take. Both have blind curves. I take the one with less blind curves but there is no other way for me to go.

I also despise the idiots who think it’s necessary to drive with their high beams on WHILE THEY ARE BEHIND ME! I mean, WTF? Is it now some sort of law that you need to blind the person in front of you? Did you never learn the proper way to drive?

What’s worse is the people coming towards me that have their high beams on and flash their lights at me because I don’t even have my lights on. Why you ask? Well, maybe it’s because it’s three o’clock in the fucking afternoon and it’s bright and sunny out. The sky even looks like the sky in the opening of the Simpsons. Seriously, why the hell would I have my lights on then, yet alone my high beams?

Did the human race somehow de-evolve in the last twenty years? Has our eyesight become that bad that we now need lights on during the daytime? Has the sun dimmed that much that we need additional daylight see the road?

This doesn’t seem to be a phenomenon that’s exclusive to just my part of New York. Friends and family members in other parts of the state complain about the same thing. I have friends in Nebraska, Washington, Nevada, and North Carolina that say it’s true there too. Maybe we’re all a bunch of whiners. I’d rather look upon it as being superior to most other drivers. We at least have better eysight than these “special” people.

Really, I’ve used my high beams about ten times in the 21 years I’ve been driving. Maybe I missed some new regulation the last time I renewed my license, but I don’t recall headlights 24/7 and high beams 99% of the time being the norm. I think these people are just idiots.