phorm/webwise

Hanco

If anyone is waiting to see what happens with BT and their use of Phorm/Webwise before deciding if they should switch from BT for broadband, I called BT and requested a MAC code this week.

A pleasant BT lady said, "Why not wait until BT announce they are starting to use Webwise, then request a MAC code?"

Yeah, right! That might mean another month's revenue for my "spying ISP" and less opportunity for me to leave them quickly and get a good deal from another who does not use Phorm's system

NB: It was explained to me that they do not give MAC codes out over the phone now, only by email. I declined the email. It's their secret spying on thousands of customers that makes me uneasy about their service, so they can post me a hard copy.

BT said recently that the trial of Webwise would start "Soon". They've been saying "Soon" since March this year. And it is the third trial of intercepting inetrnet usage by BT (see secret trials of 2006 & 2007 on the interent)

Before anyone jumps up and down saying something like "You've nothing to worry about if you have nothing to hide": I agree with interception for anti-criminal activity. What I don't agree with is an individual, maybe looking up info about cancer on the internet, being profiled on their interests for the purposes of marketing material being targeted to them in the future (or worse, 'Intelligence' for insurance companies who then charge a higher premium to that person because of their interest which makes them more likely to be at risk of the 'big c')

The police are looking at what they can do about BT's activities in 2006 / 2007 (City Of London Police) because there are many who believe the decisions BT took and the actual activity of listening in on internet usage are criminal behaviours - this is all TBC.

Meanwhile, it's worth having a MAC code ready IMO, so you can vote with your feet as long as a) Your contract period is complete, or b) You feel strong enough and can afford to pay it off to make the point about it being wrong.

If you are a business with a web site, what does this mean to you as a money saver? Well, Phorm's system is about profiling user interests to target adverts for other related products. Do you want BT customers who visit your site to see adverts for your competitors who pay Phorm to target them? Not a level playing field at all is it? And are you happy with Phorm's system making a copy of your web page as it loads on BT's customer's PC? Making a copy so they can scan it (your copyrighted page) and make a derivitive work (database entries) based on your page content? Surely that's illegal too isn't it? Who knows... BT think it's legal and they did run two trials in 06 & 07 didn't they?

Petition still live on Downing Street Website: :T

Petition to Stop ISP's from breaching customers privacy via advertising technologies. Deadline to sign up by: 04 March 2009

Signatures to date: 17,568 http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ispphorm/

Want to know more? http://www.inphormationdesk.org/

To ensure we can continue to save money and have as free and open market as possible in our country, we need to support the retention of an internet which is free of this kind of system. This is the same as stopping spyware or adware running on our own PCs. It's known as "Deep Packet Inspection" and what this boils down to, is spyware or adware on our interent connection where we cannot remove it ourselves.

:mad:

They say "You can just opt out" but from what we know so far, this still means going through Phorm's system - and if you know anything about Phorm (the people in that company and what they used to do when they were called 121Media) then you probably don't want that to be the case.
:cool:

Even more info here: www.NoDPI.org

Hanco

HotchPotch_2

There is an item about Phorm on the BBC's website today http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7619297.stm

Samanthas_2

LardyCake wrote: »

I am surprised this thread has not proved more interest.

If I was a customer of one of the three ISPs doing this I would not be happy that all my web traffic was being intercepted and sent to a 3rd part company (Phorm) and stored on servers based in China. Phorm say they will discard numbers over three digits but you only have their word for that and no way of verifying what they are actually doing with your private data.

>>>>
Why do they choose China? lol
this is funny.

DatabaseError

Samanthas wrote: »

this is funny.

??????????

LardyCake

Samanthas wrote: »

>>>>
Why do they choose China? lol
this is funny.

I wrote the post you quote in March this year, since then more detail has emerged about phorm / BT Webwise and it appears, that although some of the domains owned by phorm were hosted in China, that phorm claim that they bought the domains and that they never owned them when they were hosted in China.

Here is a good place to find out more: http://www.inphormationdesk.org/

StevieJ

Phorm article for info.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=95115

DatabaseError

Might as well revive an old thread...

...with new stuff...

The Daily Mail has published an article on Phorm after todays meeting at the House of Lords.

Just a really quick and simple refresher for anyone who's forgotten, BT, Talktalk and Virgin Media intend to profit by selling their customers browsing data to a company well known for its spyware/malware roots.


edit - more at el reg

deklan99

Why bother?
Another simple refresher, they don't intend to sell any data to anybody no matter what the tinfoil hat brigade imagine.

DatabaseError

Declan, you're absolutely right, phorm don't currently intend to sell any data, they just want to use it to target advertising onto users.
The fear I have is that getting the equipment into the exchange is the big step, once it's there the commercially sensible move to selling the data is quite a small one, as it a call for, say, the music industry to ask for details if users searching for illegal downloads via their favourite tracker search, how could anyone say no to helping prevent piracy...or terrorism....by having keyword/site searches sent to gchq.
Of course this may never happen, but we live in interesting times, and I'd rather not open the door to the potential than sulk when it's too late.

I don't use one of the ISPs affected by this issue, but the whole affair reminds me (though not well enough to quote properly) or something I heard years ago from an Auschwitz survivor, though I'm sure he also quoted it
to paraphrase and reduce..

When they came for my neighbour I was silent
When they came for my friends, I was silent
Then they came for me, and there was no-one left to speak up for me.

nowtsquared

Update from the BBC that makes a good read !

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8021661.stm