The Internet’s Golden Rule

camRemember when you could hide that naughty Polaroid of your hunny-bunny in the back of a closet with all the dirty notes and ball gags, and it would stay hidden until you deemed necessary? Me neither, because I'm not into ball gags (on Amazon.com, really?!), but the point is - in today's wired world, it's very hard to keep anything secret; usually, once you hit 'enter', it's out there for the world to see. I was reminded of this the other day when a normal and totally unscandalous tweet that I had sent via Twitter (see Greg To Twitter at right) ended up on one of my e-friend's web pages. It served to remind me of the golden rule of the internet: act as if everything you type, tweet or create will be seen by the one person you don't want to see it.

2016-11-17T15:48:48+00:00Technology|0 Comments

Thailand’s Computer Cops

 

Something strange has happened recently, and it's got to do with computers and the internet in Thailand.  Generally, the internet here is pretty open and free - if you're not into distributing or watching hardcore porn, selling illegal items or services or insulting the Monarchy, there's very little you can't do (most of the websites that are blocked are pornographic or political in nature - ironic considering the ubiquitous prostitution and political protests in Bangkok, but I digress).  However, things are starting to change.  It all kicked off in April 2007, when some twit uploaded a video to youtube that was offensive to the much-loved Thai King, which resulted in a blanket ban in Thailand for the site.  A few months later, a brand new cyber crime law was passed, which gave the authorities some pretty sweeping powers, allowing them to "control, obstruct and prevent information that might affect national security, including the banning of websites deemed as such."  Recently, a friend of mine who has some pretty serious IT credentials said that he's heard that the Thai government is installing some heavy-duting 'sniffing' machines to monitor what goes on online... it all sounds pretty Bush-ian to me.

2016-11-17T15:48:56+00:00Technology, Thailand|0 Comments
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