Hab.la

you may notice a widget floating near the bottom of your window... Facebook users will recognize the resemblance... I am trying out this feature as opposde to the cbox alternative as I can easier access IM clients than be on the website... feel free to participate

ban-d-wagonist

How safe is IM?

I came across an interesting read for you webfolk... I have always maintained that the web has no privacy whatever... someone can find out what you do here...

Facebook Chat is the least secure and privacy-protective of the lot. As far as we can determine, it fails to use encryption to protect logging in (thus passwords can be gleaned) and fails to secure the conversations, too. We'd like to tell you more about Facebook Chat, but the company sent us a one-line e-mail message saying it was refusing to answer the same questions that its competitors did with little fuss.

	Secure logging-in	Secure convos	Logs of user logins	Logs of msg content	how long	Govt wiretapping
AOL AIM	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Won't say	Won't say
AOL ICQ	Yes	No	Yes	No	Won't say	Won't say
Facebook Chat[1]	No	No	Refused to answer	Refused to answer[2]	Refused to answer	Refused to answer
Google Talk	Yes	Yes[3]	Yes	No[4]	Four weeks	Won't say
IBM Lotus Sametime	Yes	Yes	Yes	Configurable	Configurable	N/A
Windows Live Msgr	Yes	No[5]	No	No	N/A	Won't say
Skype	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	"A short time"	Cannot comply with wiretaps[6]
Yahoo Msgr	Yes	No	Yes	No	As long as "necessary"	Won't say

[1] Over the course of a week, Facebook refused to reply to questions.

[2] Facebook has said both that chat history "is not logged permanently" and that it is archived for 90 days.

[3] Encryption is on by default for the downloadable client, off by default for the Web, and not supported with the Google Talk Gadget.

[4] Configurable: users can choose to log conversations in their Gmail chat archives if they wish.

[5] Conversations are unencrypted, but files exchanged via Windows Live Messenger are encrypted.

[6] Skype was the only IM company that said it could not perform a live interception if presented with a wiretap request: "Because of Skype's peer-to-peer architecture and encryption techniques, Skype would not be able to comply with such a request."

Don't BLINK!... as yet

TSTT has been advertising for the past couple of weeks. This is their answer to FLOW's Click service. Its called Blink Broadband. Right now the coverage area isn't that large but promises to grow as the months go on. Both TSTT and FLOW aren't really winning any points with limited availability of their services. FLOW hasn't fully upgraded all to Digital but already looking to have a fee increase. While TSTT fighting a cellular WAR with Digicel and rolling out the new Broadband to 3 communities. BANANA REPUBLIC (without agriculture)!

TSTT sends me an email about being a valued customer... this is after I wrote to say disconnect me.

Dear Valued Customer,

As a valued customer of TSTT, allow me to take this opportunity to personally thank you for your business to date.

You may already be aware that TSTT has been a proud investor in the nations Internet infrastructure over the years. We have been working assiduously over the last year to achieve a dramatic modernization of our network which now allows us to
efficiently deliver broadband services to world class standards.

We are pleased and excited to introduce you to blinkbroadband and to inform that you have been specially selected to experience the ultimate in broadband service.

This service is soon to be deployed throughout Trinidad & Tobago, beginning this month with customers served by the West, Diego Martin, and San Juan exchange areas included in the first phase. The second phase, inclusive of four additional exchanges, is due to begin by mid November. Look out for updates announcing the arrival of Blink Broadband to your area.

Blink Broadband simply put; is broadband redefined, brought to you over one of the most sophisticated networks operational in the world.

So confident are we in this new service that we are certain that you will visit our website at www.blinkbroadband.tt or call one of our customer service representatives at 62-BLINK to review our new array of packages. We look forward to being of
continued service to you and to your feedback on our new service offering.

Yours sincerely
Trevor Deane
Executive Vice President Broadband
TSTT

Trevor, I can see an exchange from my bedroom window and I not in the initial rollout! I guess I am not as valued as I thought and will stay without the service. TSTT's pricing is comparative to FLOW's and they Install for FREE along with a FREE Modem? All of that FREENESS and I still want a Smart Choice Discount.

RIAA... Shut Down The Internet!

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Wednesday, November 29, 2006

A landmark legal case on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America and other global trade organizations seeks to criminalize all Internet file sharing of any kind as copyright infringement, effectively shutting down the world wide web - and their argument is supported by the U.S. government.

Read more...