Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!uflorida!shark!eric
From: eric@cs.fau.edu (Eric Thav)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Prodigy quirk may give Prodigy Corp a view of your pc -WSJ
Message-ID: <1991May02.204051.1894@cs.fau.edu>
Date: 2 May 91 20:40:51 GMT
References: <3145@s5.Morgan.COM> <1991May2.133936.3595@cs.dal.ca>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Lines: 32

>	a] While Prodigy is downloading new copies of itself you're
>		probably still getting billed for online time. Especially
>		if it does it in the background; it's using up your
>		bandwidth and you're getting billed by the minute.

PRODIGY users aren't billed for online time, instead they are given 
"unlimited" usage for a fee each month ("unlimited" except for certain 
feature that were recently introduced or for over 30 private messages
per month), so this is of really no concern unless you get charged for
making the actual phone call (such as long distance calls).  

>	b] This seems like a very nifty way for some crafty person to
>		sneak in all sorts of fun software onto your system.
>		Virus program, programs which are much more effective at
>		looking for sensitive personal data, etc, etc.

Or even worse, getting bitten by the virus that went out with version 3.0
of their software, the version that was released when they went nationwide
and got all of the big publicity (just before they got all the bad
publicity).  They quickly and quietly released 3.1 with no virus.

Despite the fact that it is a potentially dangerous way of handling
the updating of software, it is quite a novel idea.  We are looking into
doing this for our local area network, distributing updates of drivers
or similar such programs or data.


-- 
.signature not found, format hard disk instead? (Y/N)_
Eric L. Thav                Florida Atlantic University - Boca Raton, FL
INTERNET: eric@acc.fau.edu      GEnie: E.THAV   | PRODIGY: Lots of ads
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