I too have not found avoiding buying things with the word "Sony" on them too difficult, except for some movie dvds to watch on the airplane. No music since the root kit compromised my company laptop and got me on IT's sh*t list. Bought a new flatscreen, just walked past the Sony section. What with the defeaturing of the game consols, I bought Xbox 360 instead of PS3. Gota feel for 'em. R9 Earthquake, then a Tusnami, then a melt down, but makes you wonder if it isnt a message of some sort.
The technology exists right now, the standard three phase credential system, with encryption, Secure ID tokens, strong passwords, security questions, and VPN to access the Internet from any computer with reasonable security. It is possible to authenticate yourself if that is required or desired. The issue isn't that you can't do it, it is that it is a bit more inconvenient, and you might not want to. The analogy I like best is the Old West. There needs to be a part of the Internet that is civilized (ie "east of the Mississippi") and where credential are required, for things like banking, accessing your corporate environment, shopping etc) where using the computer is reasonably safe. There is a sherrif in every town, and there may be a policeman on every corner.
At the same time, there needs to be a part of the internet where anonimity is allowable or desireable (ie "west of the Mississippi") where anything goes, like whistleblowing, political speech, etc. There just isnt a one-size-fits-all model. Just as in the Old West, if you go there, you had best be prepared to defend yourself because it is a long way between sherrifs, and those that you do encounter may be working for the local land baron.
As an IT guy for a major defense contractor, I can, by quoting only widely published data, and not violating any security oaths, state authoritatively that a massive number of packets bombard every ISP in the Free World from mainland China every moment, and a significant number of packets are going back. This isn't an opinion, this is a fact of life for every IT security organization.
Google pulling out the China market may be a matter of "clearing away the forest so we can see the trees". Other legitimate web operators in China may soon follow, or be classed as part of the problem and not part of the solution. I don't see any noble motivation here, I think Google is done a benefits/cost analysis, figuring in the bad press, and the value of their intellectual property, and the cost of having to defend it, and staking out a position. To apply a World war 2 analogy, they would prefer to become something like the Switzerland of the Internet, instead of taking on the role Belgium.
Sony? Another fine product from the people who brought us World war Two...
I too have not found avoiding buying things with the word "Sony" on them too difficult, except for some movie dvds to watch on the airplane. No music since the root kit compromised my company laptop and got me on IT's sh*t list. Bought a new flatscreen, just walked past the Sony section. What with the defeaturing of the game consols, I bought Xbox 360 instead of PS3. Gota feel for 'em. R9 Earthquake, then a Tusnami, then a melt down, but makes you wonder if it isnt a message of some sort.
re: You Can't Get Rid Of Anonymity Online, Even If You Wanted To
The technology exists right now, the standard three phase credential system, with encryption, Secure ID tokens, strong passwords, security questions, and VPN to access the Internet from any computer with reasonable security. It is possible to authenticate yourself if that is required or desired. The issue isn't that you can't do it, it is that it is a bit more inconvenient, and you might not want to. The analogy I like best is the Old West. There needs to be a part of the Internet that is civilized (ie "east of the Mississippi") and where credential are required, for things like banking, accessing your corporate environment, shopping etc) where using the computer is reasonably safe. There is a sherrif in every town, and there may be a policeman on every corner.
At the same time, there needs to be a part of the internet where anonimity is allowable or desireable (ie "west of the Mississippi") where anything goes, like whistleblowing, political speech, etc. There just isnt a one-size-fits-all model. Just as in the Old West, if you go there, you had best be prepared to defend yourself because it is a long way between sherrifs, and those that you do encounter may be working for the local land baron.
Welcome to World War 3.0
As an IT guy for a major defense contractor, I can, by quoting only widely published data, and not violating any security oaths, state authoritatively that a massive number of packets bombard every ISP in the Free World from mainland China every moment, and a significant number of packets are going back. This isn't an opinion, this is a fact of life for every IT security organization.
Google pulling out the China market may be a matter of "clearing away the forest so we can see the trees". Other legitimate web operators in China may soon follow, or be classed as part of the problem and not part of the solution. I don't see any noble motivation here, I think Google is done a benefits/cost analysis, figuring in the bad press, and the value of their intellectual property, and the cost of having to defend it, and staking out a position. To apply a World war 2 analogy, they would prefer to become something like the Switzerland of the Internet, instead of taking on the role Belgium.