[TheForge] off-topic: lie posted to al.crafts.blacksmith

[theforge@mailman.qth.net]

hello;

i have received numerous copies of the below crap.
i figure i would respond here and list members can
forward it on or not.

there are no 'black boxes'. anyone with a computer
running nearly any microsoft windows operating system,
linux, *bsd, or macos-x is able to 'sniff' their local
network. most isps monitor/sniff/filter/etc their networks
in efforts to keep the barbarians out of their networks.

if the government did want to do this they would not have
to be at every isp they would just need to be at the major
'core routing locations'. chicago, los angles, new york,
etc. to monitor the sheer volume of network packets
would require computing capabilities and facilities that
do not exist. this type of monitoring would not happen in
'real-time' therefore they would have to store off the
network packets to some sort of storage device. that storage
device would have to be able to 'stream' data in 'real-time'.
there are a few robot tape archival systems that might be
able to do the job, but i really doubt it.

just stop and think about how the internet and e-mail works.
many isps use dhcp. that means that ip addresses are shared
between several users. the best analogy is the old telephone
party lines. then there are the isps who are using network
address translation ( nat ). 

no one is able to recover 'every single picture or item'
off a hard disk drive. any hard drive has finite storage
space. that finite storage space is recycled over and over
again. there is no way to recover what was one a hard drive
even a month ago if the computer see normal use.

the below is out-right disinformation. at best it is sheer
nonsense. at worst it is deliberate spreading of fear, uncertainty,
and doubt ( fud ) and distrust. no just distrust for the government
but for one another. the people 'selling' such products are
con-artists, snake-oil salemans, etc.

lie>
lie> ARE YOU PROTECTED
lie> The government has installed BLACK BOXES into ISPs to watch your
lie> Internet surfing.
lie> When you are targeted, the first you will know is the KNOCK AT YOUR
lie> DOOR and the JAIL SENTENCE.
lie> If you think you have cleaned your computer - you are WRONG.
lie> They can recover from your PC every single picture or item you have
lie> ever watched on the Internet.
lie> You need protection. You need an Evidence Eliminator.
lie> Click Here.
lie> deleted url
lie>

-- 
Terry L. Ridder ><>