I got my MAC, now to switch to a new ISP, an ISP that respects users' privacy, and which won't deal with Phorm.
I also finally got a response to my email requesting my web pages not be scanned by Phorm, a request that was NOT sent to an obviously Phome address, but which was read by at least 12 Phorm employees.
Wikipedia has a pretty good synopsis of Phorm, its history and its system. (This is the page that Phorm itself tried to edit to paint them in a better light).
The BT support forum has a thread for BT/Webwise questions. There are never any answers, but it's worth looking at.
4 good reasons not to take part in the BT Webwise Trial An excellent summary from the Open Rights Group explaining many of the issues at stake. Includes many useful links.
The Times online reports that UK Government ministers have agreed in principle to spend £12 billion to enable GCHQ to monitor every phone call , every email and all our browsing habits.
If true, this must be unprecedented in peace-time, and exceeds even the East German Stasi in its level of monitoring the population. It's an extremely worrying development, particularly given the draconian powers HMG have pushed through in recent years. We are presently living in a State where merely reading material deemed inappropriate can result in prosecution.
The big day dawned for my change from BT to my new ISP, Zen Internet. A bit like a small child on Christmas morning, I dashed downstairs as soon as I woke up, and changed the router settings. Lo and behold, there, I was on the internet via Zen!
I did a quick speed test of the connection via speedtest.net, just to see what I was getting. I've never seen any download speeds in excess of 2Mbps with BT, usually it was in the 1.7-1.9 range, yesterday it was a measly 700kbps or so. Here I am with a considerable speed improvement, which exceeds the expected 5.5Mbps.
El Reg has a report that EU commissioners believe that HMG's response to their request for information as to why no action was taken over BT's covert spying on customers' web browisng was inadquate and want a better one. The original response was not only inadequate, but submitted late.
Martin Selmayr, spokesman for commissioner Viviane Reding's Information Society and Media directorate-general told The Register the UK had more questions to answer. "We wrote to them again on the 6th [of October]", he said. "For us the matter is not finished. Quite the contrary." quoted from the Register
The Open Rights Group have compiled a collection of CCTV surveillance cameras and assembled a huge mosaic in a protest held yesterday (11th October) in Parliament Square. The collection of images can be found here.
I just read on The Register that British Telecom will begin their third trial of the despicable Phorm data pimping service. For reasons why this is so appalling, visit the nodpi and badphorm websites.
Alex Hanff over at nodpi reckons that the opt in/out system it seems that the BT data pimps will use still falls foul of legal requirements. For my part, I believe that the whole system is vile, immoral and underhand. There are a variety of aspects to the antics that the BT Data Pimps have conducted over the last few year that leave a particularly sour taste.
The information at the BT Webwise page seems to me to avoid discussing BT's real motives in proposing to employ this system. The quoted blocks below come from BT's Webwise page.
BT Webwise increases your protection against online fraud and makes ads that appear on participating websites more relevant to your interests. It's completely free for BT Total Broadband customers and you don't have to download or install any software for it to work.
This is rather disingenuous. Most modern browsers offer protection against phishing sites. I strongly suspect that most broadband users would prefer to minimise all advertising: certainly this is one reason I use Firefox with its adblock add-on. Of course it's free, BT will be selling our browsing history
It's been some time since I commented on the dreadful Phorm system of deep packet inspection, and BT's intention to use the Phorm system to snoop on your browsing habits and supply targeted advertising. (Recall that Phorm are a known spyware maker - in their previous incarnation of 121Media).
Alexander Hanff, who has made a series of appearances on the media to make robust criticisms of the system has posted a detailed description here. The day that BT implement this, I will leave them for another (Phorm-free) ISP.
BT Retail, who manage the ISP business have behaved quite appallingly over the matter, ignoring (and even trying so suppress) discussion on their forums - all the signs are that they are holding fire until the furore dies down. We should all try to ensure that this doesn't die down. Visit BadPhorm for more information.
A report on El Reg about MI5 reportedly wanting access to travel records associated with Oyster cards (report originally in The Observer 16/3/07) raises considerable issues regarding electronic data and privacy.
This makes me wonder what MI5 might want, once the Phorm system is installed in the ISPs representing the great majority of broadband users.
The BBC news website reports that Sir Tim Berners-Lee has serious objections to ISPs tracking users' web browsing habits - as proposed by Phorm (and to be introduced by BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk - probably to be followed by the other big players).
[This item has been updated several times on 17/3/08 and 18/3/08]
The New York Times has another article about Phorm. It quotes a Phorm employee, Virasb Vahidi:
“As you browse, we’re able to categorize all of your Internet actions,” said Virasb Vahidi, the chief operating officer of Phorm. “We actually can see the entire Internet.”
Not only did BT trial the offensive Phorm system last year (despite denying it at the time and subsequently), but it transpires that BT ran tests on 18,000 customers back in 2006, again without seeking permission. (Register article, BBC News article)
In essence, the story is as follows:
1. The pilot ran from 23/9/06 to 6/10/06
2. All 18,000 customers were opted-in with no attempt to seek consent
3. BT still plan to change their terms and conditions (which they presumably violated in the 2006 and 2007 tests) before any further implementation.
4. BT refuse to say where these 18,000 customers were.
5. In 2006, the system was called "PageSense".
6. The BT tech guy at the time was Stratis Scleparis, now he's with Phorm.
The BBC report quotes a FIPR spokesman as saying that the tests were "an illegal intercept of users' data".
I came across this website (http://www.inphormationdesk.org), while cruising around the badphorm.co.uk forums. It gives a very clear outline of the Phorm system, and why many of us object to it.
The Register reports that the Information Commissioner has reported that the Phorm system must be opt-in to comply with the law. Interesting, especially since BT therefore engaged in (presumably) illegal activities during their 2006 and 2007 trials of webwise (which, don't forget, they strenuously denied at first). There's also a story at the BBC.
Oh, and the Phorm share price continues its slump (at least on 9/4/08).
BT have hit the news bigtime recently over their shady deals with Phorm, a company which appears to have a shady past that many allege involves spyware. There's a good overview on The Register. Essentially what seems to be proposed is that BT Broadband subscribers internet browsing habits will be forwarded to Phorm, who run an advert server called OIX. Web pages which use OIX to serve up adverts will then aim adverts at you based on this information. Sounds creepy? Well it is.There are several issues here:
1. BT trialled this last summer, an act they are loath to admit to.
British Telecom have a Privacy Policy. I reached this page from the BT Webwise page, so presumably it applies to their proposed arrangement with Phorm.
We may share your personal information with other companies so that they can contact you with details of other products or services you may be interested in. We will only do this if you have agreed to this and where the companies agree to use your personal information for that purpose only. If you have agreed to receive information about products and services from another company and later decide not to you will need to contact that company yourself to let them know. You can of course ask us not to continue to provide your personal information to any more companies in future.
For background to this article, see the related story about BT's relationship with the targeted advertising company Phorm. Note in relation to the patent application that Phorm (under a different company name had form as a spyware distributor) . For more information check out the links in that story.
Thanks to a commenter at an El Reg article, the following snippets from the Phorm patent (which you can read at the Political Penguin blog) should be noted: