Netscape & Users Privacy

[STEVE HOOLEY]

        We've had a similar problem - one patron sent another harassing
email from a public terminal configured so that the harassee was apparently
getting mail from his own account. On one of the machines we found Netscape
saves all sent mail under c:\netscape\mail in a file called sent. We found a
test message to the creep own email acct, testing to see if it looked like
the other fellow's acct. This was enough for the cops, who severely
embarassed the harasser and made him stop. We solve the privacy/global thing
(without meaning to) by deleting our cache on startup ( echo y | del
c:\netscape\cache\*.*) and recopying the file NETSCAPE.INI from a read-only
copy, thus restoring the defaults under preference, applications, etc - it
also takes their names off the mailer so the next user doesn't email with
their name.
        Here's the privacy issue: when we were looking in
c:\netscape\mail\sent, we found some pretty hot stuff, with email addresses
and names and even physical addresses. Obviously students aren't aware that
they are copying this stuff to the drive. Anyone can read it using the
browser. Interesting lives some of these rascals lead, judging by their mail. 
        (sorry if this went out twice - I crashed as I was sending)
>Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 16:05:21 -0800
>Errors-To: listchek at library.berkeley.edu
>Reply-To: kathy at floyd.santarosa.edu
>Originator: web4lib at library.berkeley.edu
>Sender: web4lib at library.berkeley.edu
>From: Kathy Mcgreevy <kathy at floyd.santarosa.edu>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <web4lib at library.berkeley.edu>
>Subject: Re: Netscape & Users Privacy
>X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
>X-Comment: Web4Lib Information - http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/
>
>I wonder how divulging to authorities which websites a library user has
>visited (even if he/she later sent harrassing e-mail or threatened one of
>our campus computer systems) would be any different from divulging which
>books a borrower had checked out (even if he/she then made a home-made
>bomb and blew up a building.) If we've always said that borrower
>records are confidential, how come a list of viewed sites isn't? 
>
>Since I spend WAY too much time cleaning up after malicious
>mischief on our public computers, part of me *loves* that we are able to
>see where users have been when they cause problems; nonetheless, the idea
>of looking to see what somebody was reading makes me pretty uncomfortable.
>Where *do* we draw the line?
>
>.................................................................
>Kathy McGreevy                     kathy at floyd.santarosa.edu
>Ref. Librarian, Electronic         kathy at sonic.net
>  Network Services                 http://www.santarosa.edu/~kathy
>
>Santa Rosa Junior College          voice: 1-707-527-4547
>Santa Rosa, CA 95401               fax:   1-707-527-4545
>.................................................................
>
>On Wed, 12 Mar 1997, Pat Anderson wrote:
>
>> Anna Trupiano said:
>> >As to why Netscape does this?  Who knows???  As the sole user of
>> >my home computers, the information kept in these files could be
>> >handy.  As a parent, responsible for children, the information
>> >might explain an observed behavior change.
>> 
>> I hate to bring this up, but there are times as a system
>> administrator or lab administrator when the information
>> can really be handy. Recently we had a awkward situation
>> with a man who was looking at pornography on the web and
>> masturbating in front of female patrons. When working
>> with security to try to catch him, the police asked to
>> see what he had been looking at on the web in order to
>> help in developing a psych profile. So we did this, and
>> went back and looked for the specific times and machines
>> we knew he had used. I don't know how much help it was,
>> and we do NOT routinely spy on our patrons this way. In
>> this case I felt it was warranted. If you normally don't
>> use this, and 99% of the patrons don't know about it,
>> are you really putting their privacy at risk? We set
>> the link tracking to two days, and keep the cache small,
>> but patrons reset these and we don't worry about it.
>> Patrons who are concerned about their privacy tend to
>> empty the cache at the end of their session. Surely,
>> under normal circumstances, this is sufficient?
>> 
>> Pat Anderson
>> 
>> 
>>  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>> P. F. (Pat) Anderson               "Learning, study, reading,
>> Barnes Learning Resources Center    and the preservation of
>> Galter Library / Northwestern U.    books are all integral
>> 303 E. Chicago Ave.                 to spiritual practice.
>> Chicago IL 60611-3008               We get into trouble when
>> 312/503-8238, voice                 we give up any of these ..."
>> 312/503-8028, fax
>> Internet: pfa at nwu.edu               Thomas Moore, Meditations,
>> WWW: http://www.galter.nwu.edu/        pg. 29
>> WWW: http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~pfa/pfahome.html
>>  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>> 
>> 
>
>
>
*+============================*
|   Stephen S. Hooley         |
|  Romulan Tech Assistant     |
|    Henderson Library        |
|"It's Only a Job Description"|
| Georgia Southern University |
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