From: x <x@x.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 16:57:09 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Netscape inside scoop on "Smart Browsing"
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19981106004101.0071a044@shell15.ba.best.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Natrificial's "Brain" product did the same thing, silently, or at least via
a nonobvious option setting that was not explicitly documented.  The
transmittal of all your URL's to the mother ship was how they would inform
you that you were hitting a page specially enabled for their S/W.  Totally
unnecessary, as the page, if so enabled, would be perfectly capable of
notifying the browser with the addition of a trivial plugin, e.g. or other
thing.  I raised the issue of disclosing this kind of thing and got the
usual "we're technology users too and we'd NEVER do anything with that
information..." response, like it's no big deal.  I stopped using and
recommending the product, even though it looked like with the proper option
setting I would no longer be reporting my bizarre habits to Natrificial.

This shit's outta hand .....




>> * IS SMART BROWSING REALLY SO SMART?
>> (contributed by Mark Joseph Edwards, http://www.ntsecurity.net)
>> Many of you are aware of Netscape's new versions of its Navigator Web
>> browser. But do you also know that, starting with version 4.06, the
>> product's Smart Browsing feature can report to Netscape every Web page
>> you visit, including addresses to private sites on your internal
>> network? And are you aware that when you download a secure version of
>> Netscape's browser, the process places a cookie on your system that can
... etc ...
>>
>
>Rick Desautels
>Sr. Systems Engineer
>Rival Computer Solutions
>rivalcs@ma.ultranet.com
>
>
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>-----------------
>Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@philodox.com>
>Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/>
>44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
>"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
>[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
>experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
>
>
>