Watch the Olympics with a browser

If you are finding TV coverage of the Olympics a bit limited and because you live abroad you can't access anything worth watching on the BBC website then here is a solution.

Take a look at the European Broadcasting Union website (EuroVision Sports) that has full coverage of the Olympics with no restrictions. Contains live broadcasts as well recorded events, interviews and backgrounds.

Only wish I had found the site much earlier.

21 February 2010 | Internet | Comments 0

Windows updates, choose your browser and BSOD problems

There has been a batch of news stories in the last few days about Windows operating system. The first is an important one for anyone who has been suffering from the 'blue screen of death'.

A recently released patch seemed to be causing major problems with fingers pointing at Microsoft for the error. But deep investigation revealed that a 'rootkit' was the cause. A rootkit is similar to a virus but installs itself deep inside the operating system, right in to the very depths of the code itself. More on this via Wikipedia.

So far no real solutions have been offered but from what I have read so far, a reinstall seems to be the only way to get rid of it.

The other piece of news is that Windows 7 will have a 'ballot' screen so you can choose which default browser you want. This is the result of the battle Microsoft had with the EU over it's domination of Internet Explorer. I am sure most will select Internet Explorer because that is what they are use to. It will be interesting to see statistics on what is actually selected. This should come in to effect from the 1^st March.

19 February 2010 | Windows | Comments 0

Loppsi is coming, your Internet freedom is going...

It seems likely that the French Government will pass the next law to protect us from bad content on the Internet. The new law, 'Bill on direction and planning for the performance of domestic security', known as Loppsi II in French, will be used to try and clamp down on child pornographers. That is the publicly made intent by the Government. Trouble is the approach is wrong and there is a hidden agenda.

The system they plan to use inspects each piece of data that travels through the Internet in France. Technically it's named as 'deep packet inspection'. It determines the possible content, where it came from and where it is going to. However, for distribution of porn or any other content that needs to be kept private, it can stay private.

Data such as pictures, videos or documents etc, can be encrypted so that no one can know what is in each small packet of information. Even if all the packets were assembled to recreate the whole as it was originally, you still won't know what's in it. And to add to the difficulty, it can be transmitted across the Internet using protected Peer to Peer networks that also use encryption.

Germany have taken action but they have taken a different approach, hitting it at the source. From the La Quadrature website (French Parliament approves Net censorship)...

As the recent move of the German government shows, only measures tackling the problem at its roots (by deleting the incriminated content from the servers; by attacking financial flows) and the reinforcement of the means of police investigators can combat child pornography.

If you doubt the French Governments intentions then also consider that the new law will be passed with certain measures dropped.

The refusal to enact Net filtering as an experimental measure is a proof of the ill-intended objective of the government. Making Net filtering a temporary measure would have shown that it is uneffective to fight child pornography.

So what is the real intent? From past experience with Hadoppi, it seems the new measures are the result of a panic response due to the realisation that the French Government has little control over the Internet and feels that it needs to monitor it's citizens. From French lawmakers to vote on net filtering next Tuesday...

The bill, though, is not so much a single direction, as more a patchwork of unrelated measures. It aims to increase the amount the police spend on "security," multiply penalties for counterfeiting checks or credit cards, increase use of CCTV cameras, extend access to the police national DNA database, and authorize the seizure of vehicles driven without a license.
The bill also seeks to modernize the law to encompass the Internet, criminalizing online identity theft, allowing police to tap Internet connections as well as phone lines during investigations and targeting child pornography by ordering ISPs to filter Internet connections.
The bill requires ISPs to block access to any Internet address if authorities consider that this is required to prevent distribution of pornographic images of minors.

There are a few measures that attempt to blur the picture but if you leave them behind you get left with...

Increase in CCTV monitoring
Extended access for police to the National DNA database
Increased inspection of vehicles documentation
Allowing the Police to incept and monitor Internet connections and phone lines
Ordering ISP's to filter Internet connections

We know that the French Government has consulted China on how they deal with their citizens so these measures may come as no surprise.

So what happens when we start to join the dots?

Our Internet usage can be monitored, will we know about it if it happens? The sites we visit, the blogs that we read and our own contributions can be recorded. They can create a digital imprint to go with our DNA profile and figure prints. They will know about our movements and keep a close eye with CCTV. This remember, is for our own 'protection'.

It seems the tools for control and enforcement are now being made available and there does not seem much that can be done to stop it.

12 February 2010 | Internet | Comments 0

Watch out for scam emails not really from HSBC

Seems the spammers have not given up on me yet. The latest attempt is trying to persuade me to update my HSBC bank account via the link given in the email. I have quiet a few of these and I am sure many of you have as well. In case you have not seen it yet, the text is...

It has come to our attention that your HSBC account information needs to be updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account. If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into any future problems with the online service.

However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension. Please update your records on or before February 15, 2010.

Once you have updated your account records, your HSBC session will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.

The link given starts with...

https://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/HSBCINTEGRATION/CAM10

However my email program reveals that is goes no where near HSBC.

http://amtex.com.pl/hsbc/1/index.php

There is also one minor details they have overlooked, I am not a HSBC customer...

11 February 2010 | Email | Comments 0

UK Government says Internet Explorer 6 is safe enough

The French and German Governments have warned users away from Internet Explorer 6 due to security concerns. They feel that version is just not safe enough, as do Google with YouTube and Google Docs.

However, the UK Government does not feel the same and plans to continue with IE6. A fully patched and updated version of that browser is equal to other modern browsers of a more recent revision.

Just wondering if they are still using Windows 3.11...

Asked by Lord Avebury
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the governments of France and Germany about security risks of using Internet Explorer; and whether they will encourage public sector users to use another web browser. [HL1420]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): UK government officials and subject matter experts are in regular contact with their counterparts in France, Germany and other countries on both a bilateral and multilateral basis to exchange technical information and opinions on many aspects of cyber security, including software vulnerabilities. For example, the UK’s Government Computer Emergency Response Team (GovCertUK) and Combined Security Incident Response Team (CSIRTUK) are members of the group of European Government CERTS (EGG), as are their French and German equivalents.
Complex software will always have vulnerabilities and motivated adversaries will always work to discover and take advantage of them. We take internet security very seriously and we have worked with Microsoft and other suppliers over many years to understand the security of the products used by HMG, including Internet Explorer. There is no evidence that moving from the latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure. Regular software patching and updating will help defend against the latest threats.
Microsoft issued a patch to fix the recent Internet Explorer vulnerability on 21 January. Prior to this, government departments had been issued with a GovCertUK alert on how to deal with this particular incident and to mitigate vulnerabilities in relation to particular versions of IE.
A government user, operating on government systems, such as the Government Secure Intranet (GSi), will benefit from additional security measures, unlikely to be available to the average home computer user. These include tools which actively monitor for evidence of any malicious attacks.

02 February 2010 | Browsers | Comments 0

Google leaves Internet Explorer 6 behind

I reported last year that YouTube was ending support for Internet Explorer 6. Google, who owns YouTube, has now announced that it is ending support for IE6 on two applications that are part of Google Docs. It is starting with 'Docs' and 'Sites' and the rest are to follow later (such as Calendar and Gmail).

There are many flaws in Internet Explorer 6, some of which led to the attacks on Google's search engine in China. They are recommending users to use...

Internet Explorer 7 +
Mozilla FireFox 3.0 +
Google Chrome 3.0 +
Safari 3.0 +

Now that Google has decided to stop supporting IE 6, I am sure many more websites will do the same. Even Governments has announced warnings about it.

More information from

TechCrunch, Google Twists Knife In IE6, Pulls Support From Docs And Sites
The BBC, Google phases out support for IE6
Official Google Enterprise Blog, Modern browsers for modern applications

30 January 2010 | Browsers | Comments 0

Internet Explorer update due soon

After all the fuss about Google and Internet explorer, it seems Microsoft will be offering a patch for their browser very soon. I have read that the fix will be coming this weekend, so please make sure that when prompted that you allow the update to proceed. Until then, use another browser!

More information from ZDNet, Microsoft readies emergency IE patch to counter public exploits

22 January 2010 | Browsers | Comments 3

Advice from Europe - Just say no to Internet Explorer

It seems major European Governments do not believe Microsoft when they say Internet Explorer is the safest browser around. Both the French and German's are telling their folk to stay away from Internet explorer.

This was triggered by the recent 'cyber' attack on Google's sites in China.

The French...

France has echoed calls by the German government for web users to find an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) to protect security.

Certa, a government agency that oversees cyber threats, warned against using all versions of the web browser.

The Germans...

The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security.
The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google's systems.

18 January 2010 | Internet | Comments 0

France will lead piracy fight at a cost to your Internet freedom

Various sources over the last few days have been reporting on the French Governments latest tactic to battle the pirates, Internet ones that is. They plan to tax online advertising, this is why it has been called the 'Google tax'. The money collected will go towards dealing with pirated copyrighted material like music.

One such method is to offer young people money for buying music, a 'carte musique'. This is to persuade them to download tracks legally. This article on LePoint.fr, Sarkozy propose une "carte musique" jeune contre le piratage has some details but it still seems a little sketchy. After all the 'carte' will have to be accepted by websites who offer downloads. Will they all want to take part, freely?

But this is a small step towards the French Government taking control of what you do on the Internet.

I know this sounds like a big sweeping statement but you need to see this in a global context, it's not just Sarkozy getting in to huff about things, Government's around the world are all looking in to piracy and many taking the wrong paths to tackle it. Most of them are taking action because of the film and music industry putting on pressure. Those who use the Internet are not being consulted and corporations are now having more influence than ever.

Australia is looking to block sites that their Government deems unsuitable for there population. The list of sites is secret and Internet Service Providers will be required to filter access according to the list. Cost to be born by the ISP.

New Zealand will be introducing it's own version of the 'three strikes law'. Heavy fines and having your access removed for around 6 months are the penalties if you are found to be downloading copyrighted material. Like the French version (Hadopi), there is little recourse for those who are found guilty.

The UK will be introducing a bill, spearheaded by Peter Mandelson, to control Internet users freedom. The 'Digital Economy Bill' will force ISP's to police their customers, this will cost the ISP's around £500 million to implement. I believe the bill has been watered down a bit recently but in essence, the British Government doesn't trust you to behave yourself when downloading. In fact little proof will be required to have you in front of a judge (if it goes that far, but you still may be penalised).

If this does not worry you then it should. China has been filtering the Internet for years, controlling the flow of information to the population. This article on ReadWriteWeb by Fabrice Epelboin shows what is actually behind the Google Tax and where things may be heading.

Contacts have been established between the French UMP party and the Chinese Communist Party to talk about "Democracy and Internet access"

The article also discusses DPI, that is deep packet inspection. Information flows around the Internet in packets, think of it as envelopes containing small amounts of data from something larger like an email message or a web page. Once all the packets arrive safely at their destination, they can be arranged to create the web page or message. DPI allows for each envelope to be opened, examined and to determine what the data is part of, where it came from and where it is going. This happens with out your knowledge, you will have no choice.

The French Government has said it won't use it but many like China do. With DPI, you privacy is eroded and your online freedoms become less.

The next year or so will be very important for Internet freedom. Many countries are watching the French Government to see how they deal with piracy and I guess what they can get away with. Remember that Hadopi was voted on three times (and lost), had public opinion against and an EU court ruling but it still came in to force in January this year.

I choose to live in France and abide by it's laws, does this mean I have to accept the loss of my freedom of speech on the Internet?

15 January 2010 | Internet | Comments 2

French anti piracy agency commits an act of piracy

In the continuing saga of the French Internet Law (Hadopi), it seems the agency can't get it's own house in order. The font used in their own logo was created for France Telecom back in 2000 by an employee, designer Jean-François Porchez. It was to be used only inside France Telecom. The creator is threatening law suits because the font was used without permission, was it an illegal download?

From BoingBoing posting, France's anti-piracy goon squad pirates the font in its logo

Writer Julien L from French news site Numerama told TorrentFreak that the problem goes even deeper.
"The problem is, this font was an 'exclusive corporate typeface'. It couldn't be used for other purposes than France Telecom/Orange products," he told us...
Yesterday there was panic, as Hadopi tried to repair the damage by sourcing new matching fonts they could license legally.
Hadopi has issued an apology through gritted teeth, but while France Telecom-Orange has confirmed it won't be taking legal action over the infringement of its rights, the same cannot yet be said of Jean-François Porchez. He has contacted his lawyer to see what can be done.

So will the anti-piracy enforcement agency be tried for an act of piracy? That will be interesting...

The best bit from the BoingBoing post is this...

...If an organization charged with policing copyright with absolute, unaccountable power can't stop its employees from committing unwitting acts of infringement, how can a mere family ensure that no act of infringement takes place over its network connection?
In the meantime, I'm sure that if Hadopi commits two more acts of infringement, it will order its own offices taken offline for a period of a year.

14 January 2010 | Internet | Comments 0

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My name is Bob Toovey, a UK expat living in south west France. I have worked in IT for over 20 years. I hope to give you helpful advice about using your computer and more whether you run a business or just enjoying expat life.