Pissed of with internet,Google, Microsoft, Paypal and the rest of it........

Keyzer

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise...

b.harte

prinz wrote: »

Now you are freaking him out that someone is remotely accessing his webcam :pac:

A guy I work with has a piece of duct tape over his laptop web-cam.

We told him at lunch one day that when he is on some tube sites people can watch him, that's why those sites are free.

The look of shame / guilt / fear on his face was priceless.

mongdesade

Hushmail, the only way to go

Setun

b.harte wrote: »

A guy I work with has a piece of duct tape over his laptop web-cam.

We told him at lunch one day that when he is on some tube sites people can watch him, that's why those sites are free.

The look of shame / guilt / fear on his face was priceless.

You say that, but it's not like it hasn't happened before! One particularly freaky example of this was when a US high school provided its students with macbooks a few years ago:

According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District (PA) et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools' administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families. The issue came to light when the Robbins's child was disciplined for "improper behavior in his home" and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence.
source: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/17/school-used-student.html

Granted, these laptops were provided by the school which made their specific technical setup very simple, but it's actually not that difficult to covertly install a piece of software that uploads webcam images to a remote server. You could hide it inside anything really (even inside those emoticon packs all the kids are downloading off facebook etc these days! :cool: :eek:)

preddy

Go APPLE - it just works.

p.s I hate Gmail.

Casillas

Regulation of the internet is becoming a serious topic for governmental discussion these days. Portrayed as an attempt to address privacy issues for users, it seems more a tug-of-war with the larger internet corporations over who gains most access to personal information.

Here's an example of this;

The Obama administration said today that it's moving ahead with a plan for broad adoption of Internet IDs despite concerns about identity centralization, and hopes to fund pilot projects next year.
At an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., administration officials downplayed privacy and civil liberties concerns about their proposal, which they said would be led by the private sector and not be required for Americans who use the Internet.

There's "no reliable way to verify identity online" at the moment, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said, citing the rising tide of security threats including malware and identity theft that have grown increasingly prevalent over the last few years. "Passwords just won't cut it here."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20054342-281.html

rugrats

the watchman wrote: »

I'm bloody fed up with the way the www and the companies which seem to control it are now are behaving.

About 13 years ago I marvelled at this new internet thing and the freedoms and possibilities it might bring. I even created my Hotmail account at the time even though I didn't have a computer.

About 7 years ago I got my first computer and ISP. I remember my first on-line transaction, my car licence. Using my Lazer to pay and the Tax Disc arriving on my hall floor a couple of days later. I was smitten. I then put what seemed like my whole life on line. I loved the anonymity and the ease of use with the basic security measures the companies used. I shouted from the rooftops that everyone should get on-line and transform their lives, but now here I am at this hour typing this s-h-i-t which is keeping me awake.............

It seems everything has now got so bloody over complicated. The on-line industry keeps spouting rubbish on so called 'privacy' issues- they don't bloody know what the meaning of the word is anymore.

That Hotmail account I mentioned earier. Microsoft are asking me all sorts of extra 'personal info' and unless I give it are trying to keep me from my emails ( i found away to dance around it and get in...for now). Did you know that to create a new Hotmail account they want your private home address..what in Gods name is that all about. Theres absolutely no bloody need for it.... I just de- registered all my ebilling for my utillities in case I do get locked out. I'm going back to paper!

Paypal won't let me top up my account now without me having to link my private bank account to my paypal account...again theres no bloody need to (go read some of the horror stories with those that have). why don't they make it optional, options are nice and friendly. I will not do it. It's been working very well for 4 years without that. So now no ebay for me and many other sites I used to purchase from. Their power is awsome.

It seems to me that the internet has now matured with 3/4 major players Microsoft, Google and the like. And that they seem to have carved up the market place for themselves. Now that they've got us they are 'locking us down and in' so to speak, insisting on and gathering more and more irrelevant personal information on us. And there seems no effective regulation watching them, Monopolies seem to be able to now thrive on the internet with no monitering or laws to protect us the customers. Its their way or no way now...not the freedom of 'your way' which the internet was once about!.

And the phenomenal rate of change with site layouts and usage etc is doing our heads in. What these 20-45 year old whiz kids running these companies are foregtting is that their customers are getting older and older and we oldies simply cannot keep up (we spend more time trying to understand changes on sites that we use regularly than doing what we want to do on them lol) and the greedy uncaring Global companies might one day get bitten when the oldies or others that have just had enough stop using the them.

The internet companies seem to be giving us more headaches and problems than the malicious hackers and spammers ever did.

Its got to the stage where I feel sick coming to my computer to do stuff now where it was once an absolute joy.

My windows XP computer is coming to the end of its life span...you know what I might just dump it and not get a new one.
I am so pissed off with it all.........feck em.:mad:

It shows you don't know what you're talking about when you use on-line instead of online.

Don't go spouting rubbish about hotmail demanding your address. They don't ask for your address when you register, unless you count your country as your whole address. I checked.

I have a paypal account. You don't need to link your bank a/c to your paypal account, not unless you want to transfer funds from your paypal account to your bank account. You can use paypal with just your credit card. I do. AFAIK, ebay owns paypal, so I think it's understandable that they want you to buy using paypal. It is genuinely safer anyway. The web is not a monopoly by any means.

Our Data protection act means that internet companies, or ANY company for that matter, cannot demand information from you that is irrelevant. When they ask you, they have a justifiable reason, and if they don't, you can speak to the Data Protection Commissioner about it.

OP, I think you're just old.

In all honesty, to insinuate that the internet was a better and safer place 7 years ago is a crock of shít.


I bet you still use IE6.

lifelongnoob

rugrats wrote: »

In all honesty, to insinuate that the internet was a better and safer place 7 years ago is a crock of shít.


I bet you still use IE6.

it probably WAS safer until the Prince of Nigeria got dial-up 7 years ago :P

the watchman

rugrats wrote: »

"Don't go spouting rubbish about hotmail demanding your address. They don't ask for your address when you register, unless you count your country as your whole address. I checked"....

I checked again too''''
details from Hotmail sign up page:
Enter your account information
First name:
last name:
Gender
DOB
Country
POst Code.....
any correct country, name and post code given within the EU will identify the persons address. Just put the name and post code of someone you know in the Uk on an envelope and mail it and see if it gets there. It will.

"I have a paypal account. You don't need to link your bank a/c to your paypal account, not unless you want to transfer funds from your paypal account to your bank account. You can use paypal with just your credit card. I do. AFAIK, ebay owns paypal, so I think it's understandable that they want you to buy using paypal......"

I don't want and never have wanted to transfer funds from my Paypal acct to my private bank account. If i did I wouldn't be complaining.
...first email in a long series of communications from PP:

21st March 2012
Regarding Your Missing Top Up Funds

(KMM51218474V54424 etc.‏

1st email

Dear ***** ******

We have received the top up funds you are inquiring about. However,
in order to post these funds to your PayPal account, you will need to add the bank account ending in 3026 to your PayPal account. If the bank is not added within 10 days of the funds arriving at PayPal, the funds will be returned to your bank.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
PayPal, an eBay Company


BTW in case you querie it, the funds were never missing and never reported missing.

28064212

the watchman wrote: »

any correct country, name and post code given within the EU will identify the persons address. Just put the name and post code of someone you know in the Uk on an envelope and mail it and see if it gets there. It will.

Yeah, Hotmail really have my postcode. It's SW1A 1AA. Go ahead, look me up

rugrats

ehem, you're not even able to quote properly on boards

EdanHewittt

Cracks me up every-time when people say:

"They're looking for all this information off me. It's scary how much personal info they want me to give", but fill out everything as accurately as possible anyway

Just because there's a huge form on some signup form, don't mean you have to fill out everything. More fodder for BigBro who knows more about you, than even your closest family members.

See Facebook.com

All that info is out onto the market to the highest bidder.

You are not the customer, you are the product

Degringola

28064212 wrote: »

Yeah, Hotmail really have my postcode. It's SW1A 1AA. Go ahead, look me up

But that's not the point really. They shouldn't be asking it in the first place.

It started off I think with the date of birth, as an identifier, now they're looking for phone numbers, again with a plausible reason, now it's post codes, what's next? The colour of your knickers? Gradualism, it creeps up on you!

28064212

Degringola wrote: »

But that's not the point really. They shouldn't be asking it in the first place.

It started off I think with the date of birth, as an identifier, now they're looking for phone numbers, again with a plausible reason, now it's post codes, what's next? The colour of your knickers? Gradualism, it creeps up on you!

I was born on 1/1/1900 and my phone number is 0861111111.

They're requesting it, because they can provide a better service with it. I can get my password sent to my phone if I forget it, or need to lock the account. If that's never going to happen, I don't need to worry about providing false information.

Of course, the same people complaining about it are the same people who will bitch and moan when they forget their password and can't access the service anymore

Degringola

I always put in false information myself, but it can be harder to remember than a password! but I see where you're coming from with the phone number. But why postcodes, and what will be next?

And date of birth? And gender? A question like what's your dog's name or where were you born can do just as well as identifiers without being too intrusive.

ScumLord

the watchman wrote: »

Paypal won't let me top up my account now without me having to link my private bank account to my paypal account...again theres no bloody need to (go read some of the horror stories with those that have). why don't they make it optional, options are nice and friendly. I will not do it. It's been working very well for 4 years without that. So now no ebay for me and many other sites I used to purchase from. Their power is awsome.

I had to give paypal more details recently but it was because of an EU anti fraud directive that these changes had to be made so paypal would have had no choice in the matter. I don't really have a problem with it but adding the details was a pain in the hole and they didn't make it clear or easy to find out what details they actually wanted.

I use google a lot, I think their services are excellent and I don't mind giving extra details to enforce the link between my google account and my real life because I'd be screwed if I ever lost access to my account.

The internet is becoming a more important part of every ones lives and the changes reflect that, you have to remember the internet is always under development it will never stop and it should never stop because the internet is one of the most important changes in human history. It hasn't even begun to reach it's full potential yet.

the watchman

Scumlord, great comments. I suppose thats part of the problem. Your absolutely right about the developement but its the fast rate and direction of the 'developement' of the net thats the probelm for some of us. . It doesn't feel like the free and easy and promising place many of us thought it would be. As another poster here said we're the product and not the customer. And because as you say 'its such a big part of our lives' we can't really leave but instead have to do it all "their way" and not our way...prisoners is what were becoming....bit like that Hotel, what was it called, oh yea, California! :cool:

PS and we're being electronically waterboarded for information to boot lol:D

Phoenix Park

saiint wrote: »

ironic that your fed up with the internet, and posting about it on an "internet" forum ha

he, well spotted indeed..... :pac:

batistuta9

b.harte wrote: »

A guy I work with has a piece of duct tape over his laptop web-cam.

We told him at lunch one day that when he is on some tube sites people can watch him, that's why those sites are free.

The look of shame / guilt / fear on his face was priceless.

Daddio wrote: »

You say that, but it's not like it hasn't happened before! One particularly freaky example of this was when a US high school provided its students with macbooks a few years ago:

Granted, these laptops were provided by the school which made their specific technical setup very simple, but it's actually not that difficult to covertly install a piece of software that uploads webcam images to a remote server. You could hide it inside anything really (even inside those emoticon packs all the kids are downloading off facebook etc these days! :cool: :eek:)

youtube did it