Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!maverick.ksu.ksu.edu!unmvax!uokmax!d.cs.okstate.edu!ong
From: ong@d.cs.okstate.edu (ONG ENG TENG)
Subject: Re: Prodigy Rip-Off?!?
Message-ID: <1991May2.181827.9230@d.cs.okstate.edu>
Organization: Oklahoma State University
References: <41918@cup.portal.com>
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 18:18:27 GMT

From article <41918@cup.portal.com>, by CTuna@cup.portal.com (Don S Gladden):
> Interested readers should follow the discussion in comp.risks. *
>  *
> One theory is that the information enters the Prodigy files purely *
> by accident when the Prodigy software requests disk buffers from DOS *
> and doesn't bother to zero them out.  So whatever leftover junk was *
> in the disk buffer makes its way into your Prodigy file. *
>  *
> `Don't attribute to maliciousness what can easily be explained by stupidity.' 

Hey people, look what some one else post in misc.consumers:

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Subject: Beware, Prodigy users

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that Prodigy has the ability to peek 
into usr's private files on PCs. Prodigy's service access software
copies random
pieces of disk files into special files which can be accessed by Pordigy's 
central computers. 

Prodigy acknowledges the situation but insists that it has never looked at the
files and has no intention of doing so. No explanation was given on why the 
the software was programmed to do that.
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