Computer underground Digest Thu July 30, 1998 Volume 10 : Issue 43 ISSN 1004-042X Editor: Jim Thomas (cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu) News Editor: Gordon Meyer (gmeyer@sun.soci.niu.edu) Archivist: Brendan Kehoe Shadow Master: Stanton McCandlish Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala Ian Dickinson Field Agent Extraordinaire: David Smith Cu Digest Homepage: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest CONTENTS, #10.43 (Thu, July 30, 1998) File 1--One Planet, One Net: CPSR, October '98 File 2--Proposed Rules Issued for National Identity Card (Epic 510) File 3--Are We All Petty Bureaucrats? File 4--Senate Makes Stealth Assault on Internet Free Speech File 5--REVIEW: "Virtual Private Networks", C. Scott/P. Wolfe/Mik File 6--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 25 Apr, 1998) CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ApPEARS IN THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 21 Jul 1998 17:48:08 -0000 From: sevoy@quark.cpsr.org Subject: File 1--One Planet, One Net: CPSR, October '98 Please feel free to forward where appropriate, and excuse any mulitple postings. Please note the complimentary conference registration for representatives of the Press, and the opportunity to attend the Wiener Award Banquet at the Computer Museum without registering for the conference. COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ONE PLANET, ONE NET: THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN INTERNET GOVERNANCE AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OCTOBER 10-11, 1998 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MIT Building 6, Room 120 CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA Keynote: LAWRENCE LESSIG Professor, Harvard Law School Law of Cyberspace, Constitutional Law Saturday, October 10, 9:00am *** Norbert Wiener Award Banquet and Ceremony Saturday, October 10, 7:30-11:30pm The Computer Museum Boston, MA, USA Norbert Wiener Award: Presented to the INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE (IETF) for the exceptionally open and democratic process with which it has effected the evolution of the Internet. Norbert Wiener Award Keynote: EINAR STEFFERUD Internet pioneer; Founder, Network Management Associates & First Virtual "Internet Paradigms & Their Consequences for Society" *** The explosive growth of the Internet, combined with rapid globalization and the convergence of major telecommunications services, has strained current methods for administering the Net. New organizations are coalescing to take on the tasks of Internet governance, while traditional organizations try to redefine their relationship to emerging electronic networks. As this new system is shaped, the public risks losing to corporate and government dominance of the discussions. The debate concerning who administers the Internet and how that administration is achieved will have enormous social implications, affecting access to information, privacy rights, and freedom of speech for the population at large. CPSR's international symposium, "One Planet, One Net," will bring together concerned computer professionals, Internet experts, and corporate, nonprofit, academic and governmental leaders to define the public interest and set the stage for an advocacy coalition, to make sure the public voice is heard. Panels and Interactions Saturday, October 10, 9:00am-6:00pm Public Interest in the Age of the Behemoth The increasing dominance of large corporations over the infrastructure of the Internet raises serious questions about whether the broader public's interests will be met in this era of deregulation and globalism. While the Internet is praised as the place where the little voice can get a hearing, the Internet may well change under corporate pressure coming from many directions. Telephone companies and cable TV companies are starting to offer Internet service that small providers cannot match. Major content-providers are changing copyright law in ways that affect the Internet. Many new technologies are shaped by the advertising and commerce-oriented interests of corporate sites. Finally, commercial "portals" pose as value-free conveniences while actually selecting content. How do such trends affect the experience of the average Internet user?. Panic over Privacy: A Case Study in Regulation Everyone agrees that something has to be done to ensure the privacy of Internet users' personal data. What roles do market forces, laws and regulation, and advances in technology play in securing our privacy rights? Governments world-wide are struggling to find solutions that fit their needs. Privacy discussions in the United States range from free-market self-governance to the privacy advocates' demands for strong privacy legislation. Two weeks after this symposium, the European Union nations are required to have laws in place that prevent the transfer of data to countries without "adequate privacy protections." What progress is being made in resolving different views of privacy solutions? Universal Access: A Global Perspective The importance of the Internet for personal communication, information access, and commercial competitiveness means that those who are connected to the Net will encounter greater opportunity than the "have-nots." But different communities, some unable to provide even basic food, water, and health care, must be viewed differently when we try to meet their information needs. What services should be universal, and how might tools, technologies, and processes benefit nations in varying degrees of development? Convergence and the Internet's Future: Avoiding the Tragedy of the Commons What are the goals of a global information infrastructure? We will discuss some of the ways in which the Internet, telephony, television, and other media are converging, with a view toward understanding the impact of convergence on regulation, technological innovations, and user activity. Panelists will look at implications for grass-roots participation and democratic influences. How do we create channels for popular commercial fare and yet leave space for divergent voices? What scalability issues will arise as the Internet grows several orders of magnitude? Action and Coalition Sunday, October 11, 9:00am-12noon Our goal is to create a coalition of activists, community members, political leaders, educators, and socially responsible business leaders who will work together to draft an action plan representing the public interest in the development of a new order of Internet governance. Join us at MIT and help shape the future of the Internet. Banquet and Award Ceremony at the Computer Museum Saturday, October 10, 7:30-11:30pm CPSR's prestigious Norbert Wiener Award for Social Responsibility in Computing Technology will be presented to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). CPSR recognizes the IETF for the exceptionally open and democratic process with which it has effected the evolution of the Internet. Join with members of the Internet Society (ISOC), the IETF, and CPSR. The festivities include a keynote talk by the Internet pioneer Einar Stefferud. Boston's incredible Computer Museum is the venue for this magnificent evening. We will have exclusive use of the museum. Admission will include dinner, a private party at the Computer Museum, and an evening with many of the brightest stars in the world of technology. Tickets may be purchased without registering for the conference. CPSR joins with the Free Software Foundation as they present FSF's first annual Awards for the Advancement of Free Software Friday, October 9, 7:00 pm CPSR ANNUAL MEETING Sunday, October 11, 3-6:00 pm Free and open to everyone Travel and Hotels United Airlines is the official airline of the conference. For a discount rate, call 800-521-4041 and refer to meeting ID code 542ZC. (If you purchase your tickets at least 60 days in advance, there is an additional 5 percent discount.) CPSR has reserved a block of rooms at The Buckminster Hotel, 645 Beacon Street in downtown Boston,across the river, but about a 20-minute ride from the campus. It is near the Kenmore Square subway station. Rates are $109 queen. $119 king, and $129 for a suite, plus 12.5% tax. To reserve, call by September 8. Call 800-727-2825 or 617-236-7050, ask for Group Sales, and refer to the CPSR reservation number 17370. MIT visitor information http://web.mit.edu/visitor-info.html Conference committee Aki Namioka, Andy Oram, Coralee Whitcomb, Craig Johnson, Duff Axsom, Harry Hochheiser, Karen Coyle, Nathaniel Borenstein, Susan Evoy, Tom Thornton, Willie Schatz Sponsor MIT Communications Forum/Media in Transition Project Foundation Support This Symposium is sponsored in part by a grant from the Open Society Institute. Corporate Sponsors Internet Travel Network Interval Research Corporation Pacific Bell Cosponsors (list in progress) Adult Literacy Resource Institute American Computer Foundation Answer Channel Boston Neighborhood Networks Center for Civic Networking CIO Magazine CTCNet Corporation for Public Broadcasting/WGBH/ National Center for Accessible Media Data Security Systems Electronic Frontier Foundation--EFF Electronic Privacy Information Center--EPIC Free Software Foundation Innovation Network Internet Society--ISOC Mandela Learning Center Massachusetts Commission for the Blind MASSPIRG My Bookworm National Writers Union--UAW Local 1981 ReTech America Check in at http://www.cpsr.org/ for updates. ***************************************************************** Registration (Space is limited, so register early.) Name ____________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________ City______________________ State ____Country ______ Zip _______ Telephone ( )______________ Email _________________________ Company/School Name ______________________________________ Payment method: Check__ Visa __ MasterCard __ Card# ___________________________ Exp Date ______ Early (received by 9/26) Later or On-Site Member of CPSR or cosponsoring organization______________ $ 75 $ 90 Non-member $100 $115 New or Reactivating CPSR member and registration $110 ($10 more) $125 Low income participant or Student with ID $ 30 $ 35 Low income participant or Student member and reg $ 40 ($10 more) $ 45 Media Representative from _______________________ - - Wiener Award Gala with conference registration $ 40 $ 50 without conference registration $ 60 $ 80 Donation to further CPSR's work $____ TOTAL ENCLOSED $ ____ A limited number of scholarships are available. Contact CPSR for information. Send completed registration form with payment to: CPSR, PO Box 717, Palo Alto, CA 94302. Or register on the World-Wide Web at http://www.cpsr.org/ CHECK IN AT HTTP://WWW.CPSR.ORG/ FOR DETAILS AND UPDATES. > -- > Susan Evoy * Deputy Director > http://www.cpsr.org/home.html > Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility > P.O. Box 717 * Palo Alto * CA * 94302 > Phone: (650) 322-3778 * Fax: (650) 322-4748 * > Email: evoy@cpsr.org ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 18:18:18 -0400 From: EPIC-News List Subject: File 2--Proposed Rules Issued for National Identity Card (Epic 510) Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a notice on June 17 that would effectively turn state drivers' licenses into national identity cards. The proposed rule would require that all states modify their drivers' licenses to create a uniform national drivers' license. It would prohibit government agencies from accepting any identification besides the authorized identity card. The proposed rule would also encourage states to include the persons' Social Security Number either in written form on the face of the license or in electronic form of all drivers' licenses. If a state does not wish to include the SSN on the license, it must minimally require every license applicant to provide the number. State agencies would be required to send every such SSN to the Social Security Administration for review. The DOT is basing its rule on provisions in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Bob Barr (R-GA) have introduced H. R. 4217, the Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act of 1998, which would repeal the immigration act's provisions on identification. It would also prohibit federal agencies from "accept[ing] for any identification-related purpose an identification document, if any other Federal agency accepts such document for any such purpose." More information on the proposed rule is available at: http://www.epic.org/privacy/id-cards/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 13:51:17 -0400 From: Stephen Talbott Subject: File 3--Are We All Petty Bureaucrats? NETFUTURE Technology and Human Responsibility Issue #74 Copyright 1998 Bridge Communications July 9, 1998 Editor: Stephen L. Talbott (stevet@oreilly.com) On the Web: http://www.oreilly.com/~stevet/netfuture/ You may redistribute this newsletter for noncommercial purposes. Are We All Petty Bureaucrats? ----------------------------- I've been devoting much of my "spare time" during these past several weeks to bringing up Linux side by side with Windows 95 on my new PC. It's a struggle. Between the Linux installation itself (my first time), hardware incompatibilities, network configuration (TCP/IP, PPP, UUCP, dial-in, dial-out, kermit, and so on), X Window configuration (with an unfamiliar window manager), disk re-partitioning, and a seemingly endless queue of inter-linked challenges -- well, for someone who's managed cleanly to avoid PCs and Microsoft until now, and whose UNIX system administration skills are more rusty than they ought to be, it's been an unsettling time. My sleep has often been disturbed -- especially when I make the mistake of wrestling with a computer problem late into the evening. Of course, there are also great satisfactions when some of the pieces finally come together. It was at just such a moment that I got to thinking about what I was doing and how I was feeling. I realized that my struggles and victories are those of the stereotypical petty bureaucrat: I spend my days getting long rows of in-boxes properly hooked up to the corresponding out-boxes; making sure every action is part of a correct, overall procedure; defining, codifying, logging, and verifying; reducing everything to precise predictability; and then taking great pleasure when all the parts move, lockstep, exactly according to plan. I don't mean to denigrate this pleasure. It plays a legitimate part in the human psyche. We *need* a principle of order to be at work in all that we do. The problems arise only when that principle becomes one-sided, no longer balanced by imaginative freshness, inner flexibility, and a habit of revisioning our activities. The computer, whose own functioning must always be "strictly according to specifications", is, I would argue, a powerful influence toward imbalance. The rigidities we encounter globally -- for example, in the Year 2000 Problem -- are, in other forms, a dominant feature of our daily, bureaucratic interaction with our own computers. By now we routinely accept them. We build our relationships to the world upon these bureaucratically correct procedures, scarcely aware of the constraints. But the level of functioning described above is not the only one. Step down a level, for example, and you will find yourself laboring in an even more obviously mechanical fashion, keystroke by determinate keystroke, click by determinate click. It's a world of fixed mappings from action to result. Putting it in different words: the voice with which we speak the modern world into being is increasingly a synthesized voice. The immediate physical and gestural elements from which we construct our online selves are as resistant to the ancient qualitative and expressive power of the word as the bureaucrat's blank face. Does it make a difference that you and I must interact with each other by building upon a foundation of mechanical keystrokes and bureaucratic procedures? The easiest way to answer that is to imagine carrying on your relationship with your spouse or best friend exclusively by choreographing a set of fixed, predefined gestures. Yes, it can be done; in the choreographing, at least, there is a degree of freedom. But the more rigidly the materials with which we must work have been predefined, the more powerfully creative we must become in imposing our own meanings upon them. You may be thinking: "The typewriter, too, required us to communicate with mechanical keystrokes; did that warp our personalities?" The point is an important one, and you might have added mention of our communication through the printing press, and even the development of the alphabet and writing. Each of these involved a step in the mechanization of human expression and in the detachment of the word from the living, present speaker. One consequence of this was that the writer (and I suspect even more the typist) was freed to project various styles or personas of his own invention. Of course, one could also learn to do this in face-to-face presentation, but when we write there is less work in "putting on the act" -- we don't need to *live* the new style with quite the same intensity. Our entire physical organism does not become a vibrating, resonant instrument of our expression, as it does when we speak and gesture. It is notorious, of course, that the computer carries the opportunity for creation of artificial selves much further. And my point is not to decry this freedom but rather to point out that it must be *exercised*. The problem arises when, instead of grasping our freedom and becoming deeply, fully, with profound moral commitment, *who we are*, we allow the freedom to become mere arbitrariness and artificiality. Behind the various poses, there remains a blank. Then the machinery conducing to our freedom substitutes for our missing selves and enslaves us. What the bureaucrat too readily forgets -- that the regulations were made for man and not man for the regulations -- is even harder to keep in mind when the bureaucratic machine he oversees is a machine pure and simple. It's no accident of terminology that our computers execute "programs" compounded of correct "procedures" -- or that they are uncompromising in their rejection of syntax errors. They challenge us, in effect: either you embrace the yet untapped power in your selves to transcend our syntax, or else you will become a pawn of the syntax. Unfortunately, we already have a history of passive submission to the narcosis of television, and throughout our society we continue to honor and employ the black arts of unconscious manipulation, otherwise known as marketing. It is not clear where we will find the resources to assert ourselves against the forces from beneath that are training us to become bureaucrats and sleepwalkers. As for me, I stayed up late last night helping my wife figure out how to create a complex table in Microsoft Word, which I was using for the first time. Then, sleeping only fitfully, I dreamed of merging and splitting endless rows and columns without, however, getting any closer to my goal, which had somehow disappeared from sight. I hope these are not the dreams our future is made of. ========= NETFUTURE is a newsletter and forwarding service dealing with technology and human responsibility. It is hosted by the UDT Core Programme of the International Federation of Library Associations. Postings occur roughly once every week or two. The editor is Steve Talbott, author of "The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst". You may redistribute this newsletter for noncommercial purposes. You may also redistribute individual articles in their entirety, provided the NETFUTURE url and this paragraph are attached. Current and past issues of NETFUTURE are available on the Web: http://www.oreilly.com/~stevet/netfuture/ http://www.ifla.org/udt/netfuture/ (mirror site) http://ifla.inist.fr/VI/5/nf/ (mirror site) To subscribe to NETFUTURE, send an email message like this: To: listserv@infoserv.nlc-bnc.ca subscribe netfuture yourfirstname yourlastname ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 10:45:26 -0400 From: "EPIC-News List" Subject: File 4--Senate Makes Stealth Assault on Internet Free Speech Source = EPIC - Volume 5.11 July 29, 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------- Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org [1] Senate Makes Stealth Assault on Internet Free Speech Without advance notice or public discussion, the U.S. Senate last week approved three controversial measures that could adversely impact free expression on the Internet. By offering the provisions on the Senate floor as amendments to the $33 billion appropriations bill for the Commerce, State and Justice departments (S. 2260), the sponsors avoided debate and apparently reneged on an agreement to consider alternative approaches to the complex issue of children's access to "inappropriate" material. The Senate's stealth action involved the following measures: - The so-called "CDA 2" bill sponsored by Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN). The bill creates criminal penalties for anyone who "through the World Wide Web is engaged in the business of the commercial distribution of material that is harmful to minors" and fails to "restrict access to such material by persons under 17 years of age." Opponents of the bill contend that it, like the unconstitutional Communications Decency Act, would restrict the ability of adults to receive online information because speakers on the Internet are unable to determine the age of potential recipients. - The "Internet School Filtering Act" sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). The bill requires schools and libraries receiving federal Internet subsidies to install software "to filter or block matter deemed to be inappropriate for minors." Senate opponents of the filtering bill, led by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) had been assured that the Senate would consider an alternative measure requiring schools and libraries to adopt Internet "acceptable use policies." That agreement was not honored. - An amendment offered by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) requiring Internet access providers to, "at the time of entering into an agreement with a customer for the provision of Internet access services, offer such customer (either for a fee or at no charge) screening software that is designed to permit the customer to limit access to material on the Internet that is harmful to minors." The Internet provisions of the appropriations bill must now be considered by a House-Senate conference committee that will reconcile discrepancies between the two chambers' versions of the spending bill. The Coats and McCain provisions are likely to be challenged in court if they emerge from the conference committee and are signed into law. The text of the Internet-related amendments to S. 2260 (including a prohibition on Internet gambling) are available at: http://www.epic.org/free_speech/censorship/sen_amend_7_98.html ======================================================================= Subscription Information ==================================================== The EPIC Alert is a free biweekly publication of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send email to epic-news@epic.org with the subject: "subscribe" (no quotes) or "unsubscribe". A Web-based form is available at: http://www.epic.org/alert/subscribe.html Back issues are available at: http://www.epic.org/alert/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 10:41:22 -0800 From: Rob Slade Subject: File 5--REVIEW: "Virtual Private Networks", C. Scott/P. Wolfe/Mik BKVRPRNT.RVW 980524 "Virtual Private Networks", Charlie Scott/Paul Wolfe/Mike Erwin, 1998, 1-56592-319-7, U$29.95/C$42.95 %A Charlie Scott %A Paul Wolfe %A Mike Erwin %C 103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA 95472 %D 1998 %G 1-56592-319-7 %I O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. %O U$29.95/C$42.95 800-998-9938 fax: 707-829-0104 nuts@ora.com %P 200 p. %T "Virtual Private Networks" Large corporations can afford to set up high bandwidth communications links between local, national, and even international offices, as well as hiring the staff necessary to manage major networks. This keeps internal information (relatively) secure. Small to mid-sized companies can't afford this infrastructure, and so must use the links of the public networks, such as the Internet. However, there are ways of using public networks while still keeping communications private. Chapter one looks at the needs (both economic and security related) for a virtual private network (VPN), and the basic technologies used to provide for those needs. Some of these technologies are expanded upon in chapter two. The discussion of cryptography is fairly minimal (not really covering, for example, key management issues) but the descriptions of different types of firewalls is excellent. The VPN is compared against Wide Area Network (WAN) and remote access options for a variety of company sizes and scenarios in chapter three. Chapter four outlines a case study for a medium sized business designing a VPN. The specifics of VPN technologies start in chapter five with an examination of the Point to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP). Various details of PPTP are given, but the explanation of connections over the Internet are not well presented. Chapter six walks the reader through PPTP configuration for a Windows NT RAS server as well as NT and Windows 95 clients, and the Ascend MAX 4004 switch. The AltaVista Tunnel is described, with advantages, disadvantages, and an enormous variety of configuration options, in chapter seven. Actual configuration is covered in chapter eight, along with troubleshooting and management information. Conceptually the same, operation of the Cisco PIX Firewall is different because of its hardware basis, examined in chapter nine. The maintenance and management of a VPN can have the complexity and problems of remote access, a WAN, and an ISP (Internet Service Provider). Chapter ten is brief, but does point out a number of the more serious issues to consider. Appendix A looks at some emerging technologies that may bear on VPNs. While the material is not exhaustive, this book does provide a clear overview of the issues to be dealt with in setting up a virtual private network. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998 BKVRPRNT.RVW 980524 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1998 22:51:01 CST From: CuD Moderators Subject: File 6--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 25 Apr, 1998) Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are available at no cost electronically. CuD is available as a Usenet newsgroup: comp.society.cu-digest Or, to subscribe, send post with this in the "Subject:: line: SUBSCRIBE CU-DIGEST Send the message to: cu-digest-request@weber.ucsd.edu DO NOT SEND SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE MODERATORS. The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-6436), fax (815-753-6302) or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA. 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