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greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

I want to start by saying this is definitely not a troll and you should read and consider very carefully what I am writing. I am posting, not of my true identity because I do not want any attention drawn to my real identity.

It should also be noted that in NO WAY is this insinuating any action of the sysops or the site author/authority. Please, bear with me and I hope this thread is not deleted as I am very concerned about my experiences. Enough intro.

I have been a visitor here for about 6 weeks now and find this site VERY informative and helpful. Shortly after my initial visits, I began experiencing "quirks", if you will with my e-mail. Certain mails to individuals are being "selectively delayed" for up to 21 hours at a time before reaching the recipient.

I have debated long about posting this because I tried to tell myself that it is nothing; the net is busy, da-de-da-da. I just can't believe this because I am schooled in computers and the internet and I understand how this system operates. If mail is undeliverable, usually after several hours, the "bot" pings you back with such news recommending you try again later.

Anyway, what has this got to do with this site or Y2K ? Read on. I suspect, and please note that I say "suspect", that my mail is being intercepted for whatever reason now. I am not 110% schooled on the internet and unfortunately Al Gore beat me to it's inception but I am definitely well seasoned and educated on how things operate in this environment. Mail just simply NOT behave in this manner without question.

Yes, I have done the call to my ISP and have been assurred that this should not be happening. There is no issue that they can pinpoint that would attribute to this. It simply is a malfunction of my system. I say "hogwash".

I would like to know if anyone that views this post has had similar incident of late posted mails. I would also like to caution all that whatever you type and post to this site CAN be attributed back to you without any problem. Not by the layperson mind you, but by technology most of us cannot afford. Make sure that if you don't want your statements "bouncing" on you, it would be wise to not make them.

I have not posted anything of that nature that would flag a "lurker" and draw attention. Neither have I trafficed mail of any questionable content. But it concerns me that there was no issue until I began visiting Y2K bulletin sites.

Be cautious on your net travels my friends. I feel confident that "YOU ARE NOT ALONE".

-- anyonesguess (incognito@nd.layinglow), December 11, 1999

Answers

anyonesguess,

I have not heard about any situation like yours -- but if it was happening to me, I would try to figure out what the pattern is. If the delays are associated with ALL messages sent to a particular individual, then it's quite possible that that individual's email service has been having problems.

It's also possible that your own ISP is denying the existence of their own problems -- e.g., the "hub" that they operate in your own town may have been having intermittent problems.

Sporadic delays DO occur on the Internet; not often, and usually not more than an hour or two ...

If you're convinced that the delays are associated with ALL messages having something to do with Y2K, or messages containing certain inflammatory words or phrases ... well, that would be more troubling. But it seems to me that if your messages were being monitored by, say, the National Security Agency, they would simply "eavesdrop" and/or make a copy of your messages for subsequent analysis, while allowing your message to pass on through. After all, why would they want to call attention to what they were doing?

I do agree that there are times when all of us wonder just how much eavesdropping and monitoring is going on. There was a story, a year or two ago, about a student at Stanford who emailed a friend a rather unflattering message about Chelsea Clinton; allegedly, the Secret Service knocked on his dormitory-room door a day or two later, and had a little chat with him. If that story is true (and I have no way of knowing whether it was or not), it would be very sobering indeed...

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), December 11, 1999.


Um...can summarize this please?

-- Psychotic (y2k@doom&gloom.com), December 11, 1999.

No such experience in the many months I've been on here and posting. Now way.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), December 11, 1999.

YEah, I tossed a party invite to my wife's work addy and it took 24 hours to get there. Course "Y2K Plans" was the subject and I DO have fairly high profile........

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 11, 1999.


"Fear not little children for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give unto you the Kingdom."

And we will be free!

If anyone is to fear it is the ruthless.

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), December 11, 1999.



Indeed, it does seem strange, hate the thought that SOMEONE would be investigating the people that post here, after all, I've posted here. I sure would hope there would be numerous other duties to keep them busy besides lurking and following up on people who post here. Wouldn't be hard at all to follow the "links" backwards in cyberspace to find any of us, just don't see the point unless we were advocating openly some type af malicious action toward someone or something?? Hope it is just "one of those things" in your case. Later....Michael

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 11, 1999.

The whole thought of what Ed said is "sobering" indeed.

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 11, 1999.

If a federal agent knocks on your door it
is imperative that you know your rights.
Do not lie. Do not talk.

If an Agent Knocks

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), December 11, 1999.


> If mail is undeliverable, usually after several hours, > the "bot" pings you back with such news recommending > you try again later.

This time is configured at each SMTP server. The little one I run attempts delivery every 60 Min for 24 hours before returing it to the sender. It is not uncommon to have mail delayed due to busy or down servers at the other end or network problems. If somone was going to read your mail there is no need to delay it.

Remember - Email over the Internet is not encrypted unless you do so. It is sent plain text from server to server.

-- Jim (jimed@iglobal.net), December 11, 1999.


The only encryption that doesn't have
back doors is PGP.

Download from MIT

MIT distribution site for PGP

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), December 11, 1999.



spyder, I believe the only versions of PGP that are truly tight are the earliest versions up to and including version 2.3a, but none since 2.3a.

(Ver 2.3c may also be tight, but not sure of that)

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), December 11, 1999.


I used to e-mail correspond with a Professor in South Carolina a few years back. It took ages for mail to get to him from here. He had a major ISP (it was either AT&T or compuserve.) We discovered that the mail was "batched" by that ISP with other mail and cumulated before it was sent on. This may be what is happening.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), December 11, 1999.

I read an article within the last week that a company which supplies e-mail services to a number of large ISP's had problems recently. Most of the really big ISP's were included in the e-mail delays. I can't find the article now, sorry.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), December 11, 1999.

Lots of times when I punch up my current mail, I have mail there from a week ago that I read a week ago. Lots of funny things going on with my mail....EVER SINCE I LOADED AOL 5.0 INTO THE 'PUTER.

TAZ

-- Taz (Tassi123@aol.com), December 11, 1999.


snooze button,

What have you heard about later versions of PGP?

Does 6.02 have a trapdoor?? Has Zimmermann sold out?? Is there a problem with the algorithm??

Thanks in advance for any info...I take privacy seriously! (paranoid as H*ll!!)



-- K. Stevens (kstevens@ It's ALL going away in January.com), December 11, 1999.



Live as if Big Sister is looking over your shoulder....sorry folks; if, as a recent book indicated, the Navy could send submarines to find and intercept Soviet cables under the ocean, the NSA can (and does) very easily) intercept/analyze/relate-and-cross-reference any message sent in plain text over a computerized network set up by the government over government/commercial wires to other computers.

The only things needed are time (they have all the time needed), money (yes), access (yes), decrytion (simple - if they can read Soviet and foreign military messages since the thirties - they can decrypt US internet mail, and most of that is sent in the clear as text!), and speedy processors (again: readly available, the NSA commissioned the fast computer designs, and has more Cray's (etc.) than anybody else in the world.)

Don't consider anything private. In fact, if you are really concerned - consider that your only "protection" may be publicity. Become too well known to be silenced. Of course, that only worked for Walesca against the relatively benign Polish dictatorship....8<)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), December 12, 1999.


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