Leo’s Answers #271 – February 22, 2011

If I cancel my internet service completely, does my IP address then become null and void? And will the websites and search providers that I've visited and used still keep record of my visits?

I have cookies on my computer from websites that no one in my household said they had visited. Is this possible? Is there a way to tell if a cookie was an actual site visited or a third-party cookie?

My question is perhaps more of an industry one than a personal computing question. Because malware, viruses, spam and the similar user-beware problems affect just about everyone who uses the'net for their daily informational needs, why hasn't the technology industry tackled these issues head on? These are the problems that ultimately affect the non-computer savvy general user the most devastatingly.

Perhaps the question can be simplified: On the foreseeable horizon, will there be a time when users will not have to worry about viruses and malware? And why can't computer developers simply make one that is virus-free now?

Are there existing machines, platforms, etc, which can affordably take the risk out of using the internet? It just seems that no matter how careful one is or what virus software they use, the "bug" eventually gets them and huge problems ensue. You would think that the profit potential would be so significant that the developers out there would be jumping all over this opportunity - the bug-free system.

It's nearly new computer time at the old bunkhouse. What to do? What to do? Laptop? Desktop? Mac? PC? Dell? HP? How many gigabytes? CD? DVD? It's been eight years for me.

Dennis writes:

I've been in printing for nearly fifty years and copyrights have always been a source of confusion to many. As the printer, we can be sued right along with the author when copyrights are infringed. Thus we take extra measures to inform our customers of the issues involved and if we have any doubt at all about the status of material we are being asked to produce, we respectfully decline to print the job.

As far as what is found on the internet, it must be assumed that ALL content is covered by copyright unless there is a specific attached notice that the material has been placed in the public domain or may be reproduced under specific conditions. Any work that is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" on or after January 1, 1978 is covered for the life of the author + 70 years -- you are not going to outlive it! Technically, that even makes forwarding an email from you mother on to your siblings illegal unless you have her written permission to do so!

Anything published before 1923 is in the public domain. Between then and 1978 it can be a nightmare figuring out if a work was originally copyrighted and by whom, and if so was it renewed. Then the next obstacle is trying to find and contact the copyright holder. In many cases, due to lack of factual information, it is best to just assume that it was copyrighted and the copyrights were renewed.

Privately, as a researcher and author I have been dismayed when my material and photos are copied and redistributed without my permission. Never mind that every printed copy has a notice and every web page has a copyright notice at both the top and bottom and most pictures also carry my individual copyright notice or a notice of my permission to publish the pictures provided by others. In most cases, if I am not selling the information in book or CD form, I am happy to give permission to use my information if credit is given to the source and the use is not for profit.

PChem writes:

I would consider using a steganography tool to embed a personal watermark, perhaps even an encrypted one, into the image itself. Image degradation should be minimal, and if you found a suspect copy, extracting the hidden data and decrypting it should provide the "trail of breadcrumbs" needed for further action on your part to pursue the perpetrator. It would remove their "plausible deniability" argument. Good Luck.

Bob writes:

A step towards a 'malware-free' environment would be if manufacturers made computer products that were so limited in their scope, that taking over the device was simply not worth it - or in the best cases, not even possible. You could have a 'FacePad', that only wirelessly connected to the Facebook servers. Similar idea - the BankPad, issued from your own bank. If everything important was hard-wired and solid state, it would focus the criminals away from the general internet and make surfing safer.

Is there a way to bypass keyloggers? Suppose you go offline (file, work offline) to type in the password and go back online to submit the web page? Or suppose you use the on screen keyboard to enter the password or copy and paste the password?

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