From: Adam Back <aba@dcs.ex.ac.uk>
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 10:10:53 +0800
To: david@sternlight.com
Subject: Re: US versions of Netscape now available
In-Reply-To: <v03007600ae13ace3cf64@[192.187.162.15]>
Message-ID: <199607182111.WAA00315@server.test.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



David Sternlight <david@sternlight.com> writes:
> >> It doesn't "leak overseas" as if there were some regrettable lapse in the
> >> plumbing. Someone has to commit a felony violation of Federal law.
> >
> >     No they don't. If they are French, Russian, English, Greek, etc. They
> > _may_ be violating their countries laws, but they are not necessarily
> >violating ours.
> 
> That is only true if they find a way to crack Netscape's software
> distribution security from overseas, or somehow found a user machine with
> the software on it and cracked IT. IF the thing leaks it is much more
> likely because someone on our side of the border was complicit.

I'm not sure that is necesarily true.  The checks are normally very
flimsy, and near trivial for anyone to break.  I don't think anyone
knows _who_ exports new versions of PGP etc, so I'm not saying you're
wrong either, only saying: we have no way of knowing.

> Do I _think_ it will stay on this side of the border? Of course not. But
> any leaked copies will be illicit and won't be in the "mass" market of
> non-US Netscape versions. 

Well, I understand some of the previous (commercial) 128 bit versions
of Netscape leaked, and I presume they were not available from all the
usual ftp sites because they were commercial.

Presumably as this latest netscape beta is freely distributable, once
it's out it will be on ftp.unimi.dsi.it, ftp.ox.ac.uk, etc, etc.

(the US version of PGP is on various non-US ftp sites, I don't see any
reason why freely distributable netscape binaries should be
different).

Adam
--
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