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Where we come from*****************************
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I would imagine that most people that have spent enough time around the Internet understand that one of the downsides involved is that there are some dangers.
While most of the dangers are monetary... Bank accounts, Identity theft, Credit card charges,
dangerous links that can cost you a trip to a computer repair specialist ( or a "factory restore") w/the loss of data), there are instances of actual physical harm coming from the rare occasion of a nut job coming to your door.
Long before I ever had a PC I knew that rule about we have a choice about what information we put on the Internet...but once that information is out, it's there... permanently.
Now I would imagine that most everyone understands that every website we visit "sees" our IP address... that's how the website "knows" where to return the data we've requested.
Likely all bloggers use a program that tells us a lot about our visitors... We use that information to keep track of how many visitors we have as well as a few other things, such as how you found us, where you went after you looked at our blogs, where you come from in the world, the time of day, your service provider...... and yes, your IP address.
Now please keep in mind that your IP address does not exactly locate you, mine shows me as Santee California, that's 51 kms away.
Your service provider of course does know your location exactly, but that information requires a court order to access. Having said all of that, I still respect all IP addresses as personal and wouldn't post those just because that information is no ones business and I understand that
there are people that just don't want that info released no matter how innocuous it may be.
Here's where I'm heading with all this. For well over a year or so I have been aware of a system that detected copybot viewers.
Some months ago another item went for sale here in Secondlife called RedZone.
Redzone is advertised as a way to detect both copybot viewers and............any alts that someone may have. There are a couple of problems... first, RedZone just matches IP addresses.
Go to your local Starbucks free WiFI and log in... everyone that logs in there is your "alt" (same IP).
Second, there are those that are using RedZone to effectively "out" alts as well as collecting information on what places you visit in Secondlife.
All that is bad enough but.... Redzone is keeping a database of all this information and sharing it.
The RedZone program exploits your choice to enable streaming media... it's not your choice to provide your IP address, RedZone takes that info.
I realize that many of you may not take the time to read JIRAs... the Secondlife bug trackers, but I encourage all of you to educate yourself about this.
So far The Benevolent Monarchy has done virtualy nothing to put a stop to this.
As you will see in the links below this can and will have far reaching consequences for our world. Send Linden Lab a letter, Linden Lab, 945 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111 Ask them to put a stop to RedZone and programs like it.
Here's a link to the JIRA its self. https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-24746
And Ann Otoole has a very good post on this subject here.
Her post will also give you a link to the Alphaville Herald.
And so it goes
My love to you all, brinda
Namaste
नमस्ते
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I would imagine that most people that have spent enough time around the Internet understand that one of the downsides involved is that there are some dangers.
While most of the dangers are monetary... Bank accounts, Identity theft, Credit card charges,
dangerous links that can cost you a trip to a computer repair specialist ( or a "factory restore") w/the loss of data), there are instances of actual physical harm coming from the rare occasion of a nut job coming to your door.
Long before I ever had a PC I knew that rule about we have a choice about what information we put on the Internet...but once that information is out, it's there... permanently.
Now I would imagine that most everyone understands that every website we visit "sees" our IP address... that's how the website "knows" where to return the data we've requested.
Likely all bloggers use a program that tells us a lot about our visitors... We use that information to keep track of how many visitors we have as well as a few other things, such as how you found us, where you went after you looked at our blogs, where you come from in the world, the time of day, your service provider...... and yes, your IP address.
Now please keep in mind that your IP address does not exactly locate you, mine shows me as Santee California, that's 51 kms away.
Your service provider of course does know your location exactly, but that information requires a court order to access. Having said all of that, I still respect all IP addresses as personal and wouldn't post those just because that information is no ones business and I understand that
there are people that just don't want that info released no matter how innocuous it may be.
Here's where I'm heading with all this. For well over a year or so I have been aware of a system that detected copybot viewers.
Some months ago another item went for sale here in Secondlife called RedZone.
Redzone is advertised as a way to detect both copybot viewers and............any alts that someone may have. There are a couple of problems... first, RedZone just matches IP addresses.
Go to your local Starbucks free WiFI and log in... everyone that logs in there is your "alt" (same IP).
Second, there are those that are using RedZone to effectively "out" alts as well as collecting information on what places you visit in Secondlife.
All that is bad enough but.... Redzone is keeping a database of all this information and sharing it.
The RedZone program exploits your choice to enable streaming media... it's not your choice to provide your IP address, RedZone takes that info.
I realize that many of you may not take the time to read JIRAs... the Secondlife bug trackers, but I encourage all of you to educate yourself about this.
So far The Benevolent Monarchy has done virtualy nothing to put a stop to this.
As you will see in the links below this can and will have far reaching consequences for our world. Send Linden Lab a letter, Linden Lab, 945 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111 Ask them to put a stop to RedZone and programs like it.
Here's a link to the JIRA its self. https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-24746
And Ann Otoole has a very good post on this subject here.
Her post will also give you a link to the Alphaville Herald.
And so it goes
My love to you all, brinda
Namaste
नमस्ते
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