Xref: utzoo comp.org.eff.talk:2436 alt.privacy:674 alt.censorship:2385 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!crdgw1!uunet!olivea!isc-br!tau-ceti!dogear!kharma!dave From: dave@kharma Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk,alt.privacy,alt.censorship Subject: Re: Prodigy charged with invading users' privacy Message-ID: Date: 22 May 91 22:34:34 GMT References: <1991May22.154239.3777@craycos.com> Organization: Computer Concern of Springdale, WA 1-800-768-7109 Lines: 46 jrbd@craycos.com (James Davies) writes: > In article <7msB32w164w@kharma.UUCP> dave@kharma writes: > > {installing Prodigy on a bulk-erased disk left parts of a spreadsheet > in STAGE.DAT, therefore Prodigy is snarfing personal information} > > Sigh. This rumor apparently isn't going to go away, is it? Not until my clients stop asking embarassing questions, no. After all, I was the person who recommended Prodigy so highly. > > Did you clear the memory of your machine first (by doing a power-off > reboot)? > You bet. I even waited a good five minutes, not being altogether too certain how long transient voltage would remain active in the computer after power-down took place. > Why would anyone want part of a spreadsheet, anyway? Why wasn't the whole > thing there? I haven't the foggiest idea. I'm not even certain why so little valid information could be of use. But it *is* in there, including the graphic driver (95% intact) for the client's HP Paint Jet printer. > > I'll repeat a point I made a few weeks ago: Prodigy could transfer your > stuff directly from the original file. Why would they bother to put it in > STAGE.DAT first? Damned good question. I feel, like you, that much of this affair is overblown beyond true proportions. There are some credibility problems, though, that refuse to go away. People who complain are summarily cut off from the service, at least those who are strident. And the response from Prodigy? A lackluster affair if I ever saw one. I cannot state for a fact that Prodigy is stealing client information, but I cannot safely recommend that anyone use it, either. It is either a very slick method of marketing, including the use of STAGE.DAT to gather information about the user's system, or it could be ??????? There are still a lot of questions, and Prodigy is very close-lipped about the whole mess. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - isc-br!tau-ceti!dogear!kharma!dave [dave@kharma] Dave Laird, SysOp: kharma The Computer Concern, Springdale, WA 258-7109 or 1-800-786-7109 kharma: 509-233-8474 (Local from Spokane Area) 24hrs 1200-14400 (HST)