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The second update of 4/15, corrected an inaccuracy in update #1 and related two bizarre incidents that a happened to me. One transpired during the investigation and one just after the first update. Let me start by thanking everyone for their support and for overlooking my typos. If it weren't for the messages of support, I would think the lack of corrections was due to the fact that my messages were putting people to sleep by the second paragraph. Please be forgiving of future typos, because time is at such a premium, I try to run a spell check, but often can't proof read before I hit the send button. The next item on the agenda is to correct a mistake in my last update. I credited Bennett Haselton of Peacefire for bringing the blocking of Babelfish to light. In fact, it was reported earlier by Seth Finkelstein in a report SmartFilter's Greatest Evils (censorware vs. privacy and anonymity) http//sethf.com/anticensorware/smartfilter/greatestevils.php So, after living up to my sig line, I move on to the stories of the day. In my last update I said it might be a good idea for me to write a situation comedy called Filtering Follies and base it on events that actually happened to me, but it would never sell. Producers would take one look at the script and dismiss it as too bizarre and unbelievable. Things like that just couldn't happen and certainly not to one person. Well, here are two events, both of which are easily verified and have already been verified by more than a few people. On 4/11/01 I was writing to someone about an incident that took place two summers ago when I did a workshop in a district that was just getting up and running with computers. The conversation got around to filtering and I asked if they had filtering in place in the district. They said yes. So I told them I would show them how the filter reacted to an inappropriate site. I then asked to an inappropriate search term. I don't remember what was said. For the sake of this example we will say that they said "boobs". I didn't do a search. I just went to the browser and typed in http//www.boobs.com and hit enter. To my surprise, it was not blocked and I had hit a site that takes control of the browser. Every time I closed a window, another opened up. After about a minute of this, half of the teachers were in shock and the other half were laughing and half wondering whether it was a set up. Just about this time the principal, superintendent, and technology coordinator came in the room. Fortunately, I knew them and explained I was showing the teachers how well the district filter worked. At that point, the tech coordinator informed me that it was summer, there were no student in the building, they worked on the firewall the day before and the filter was not turned on. To everyone's relief, that seemed to explain the situation, but needless to say, the discussion went on for a while and the teachers realized the role they had to play in working with kids to teach them how to handle a variety of situations. But that's not the strange part. Here's the part I couldn't have scripted. For some unknown reason, before sending off the message on 4/11/01, I went to my FILTERED station and typed in http//www.boobs.com and guess what? That's right. IT WASN'T BLOCKED. That was using CyberPatrol's OEM software licensed by Raptor. I then went home and tried the same site with CyberPatrol's 5.0 version and found that it was blocked there. <The sound you hear is me scratching my head.> OK, that was item number one. Number two won't take long and some of you may have already heard it. During my investigation I was talking on the phone with a high tech law firm who was working with me on the possibility of pursuing a class action law suit. At the end of the conversation they asked me to critique their newly designed web site at http//www.archerlaw.com and guess what? Boy you are good two in a row! That's right. IT WAS BLOCKED. But unlike boobs.com that was corrected in version 5.0 of CyberPatrol, Archerlaw.com is STILL BLOCKED. HERE A LITTLE EXPERIMENT Point your browser to http//www.archerlaw.com and if you are blocked, PLEASE go to http//oii.org/html/overblocking.html and report it. This might give us a small sampling of the filters that are using flawed blocking lists and/or techniques. Yes, I realize that many of you are on Easter break, but I don't want information to pile up. The next update is already sitting in the wings. ;-> Take care, [ Previous ] [ Filtering Home ] [ Next ] |
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