AMERICA ONLINE AnswerMan Conference, Sunday, July 21, 1996, 6pm ET Host: Kevin Savetz (Netanswers) Topic: Can you really say what you want on the Internet? _______________________________________________ CJ Ellen: Good afternoon and welcome to the AnswerMan event. Your host is Kevin Savetz (Netanswers) and today's topic is one which is being discussed in many places in the media. Kevin, over to you. :) Netanswers: Hi all, hi Ellen. Can you really say what you want on the Internet? That's the topic for today. The Internet is a truly amazing and open public forum, but it is being pulled in so many different directions by its users, the government, online services and other factions that you may be asking yourself that question. Can I really say what I want on the Internet? Netanswers: Some say that anyone who tries to control the Internet is playing a losing game because it's too big and so censorship is just a waste of time. The Net may be too big to censor on a large scale. Related to that, Internet users are very clever. They devise ways -- at least they have so far -- to work around censorship attempts. For instance, anonymous remailers can let you post material without any possibility of the world discovering who you are. Remailers are pretty easy to program... no matter what the law says. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we have our first comment from a humorist: Comment: Grin....we have no technical problems on AOL... grin. CJ Ellen: Perhaps you'd care to define the difference between AOL and the Internet particularly as it concerns behavior? Netanswers: Heh.... I think my computer may be revolting against me today, but I don't think AOL is censoring this :) Despite cries that I hear over and over, I can't find any evidence that AOL does in fact censor the Internet. First of all, it's very difficult to censor the Web. If you can't get to a Web page, it's because that page is unavailable, not because anyone has censored it in this end. Netanswers: Usenet newsgroups are a lot easier to censor, and I'm happy to say that I have seen no evidence of that. I've entered the names of some pretty weird and alternative newsgroups, and they all seem to be available. Now, they are not all an the LIST of newsgroups, which is an important caveat. For the newsgroups that skate the line of decency, you have to know their names to get to them with the Expert Add function, you (and your kids) cant find them by mistake in the newsgroup list. That seems fair to me... Though opinions differ. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we have a question from OwlPerson who wants to know: Question: Does AOL keep a roster of "interest", newsgroup participation, etc.? I mean is there a file on us somewhere? Netanswers: AOL does not, but other groups CAN and do. For instance, its possible to build a database ef Usenet posters, and get a list of where they post frequently. Try going to www.dejanews.com on the Web and searching for my e-mail address (savetz@northcoast.com is where I post from mostly). You can see exactly where I post, and make some inferences about what I am interested in. That's a little scary to me. CJ Ellen: Kevin, here's a comment from Smokeylady about de facto censorship. Comment: Seems as if you can say what you want in a newsgroup, but then you pay the price if they flame you. Netanswers: I don't think Internet self-censorship os the same as the gov't or online service censoring you. When you got flamed, you got to say what you thought, the message got out, and others vented their opinions, too. That's the polar opposite of censorship, isn't it? CJ Ellen: Flames do have an effect, though :) Netanswers: True... :) CJ Ellen: Ok, next question from Erin 33320: Question: Will the government come after you for sharing unpopular ideas or posting dirty pictures? Netanswers: I've not heard of anyone getting busted for sharing their unpopular ideas on the Internet. I think it's agreed that even though most may disagree with something, the 1st amendment holds true on the Net. Regarding posting pictures -- if you post obscene material, especially child porn, you bet the gov't can and will track you down. Now, there is a lot of dirty pix on the Net, but most is not clearly illegal --obscene-- so is safe (for now.) BTW posting can get you in trouble. There is no evidence that downloading that material is illegal. So far. (Also, many porn images posted to the Net are copyrighted, which is illegal for other reasons...) CJ Ellen: Kevin, OwlPerson has a follow-up: Comment: Scary to you? Me too. :-) But are all these bulk junk mailings we all get just shotgun postings or are they picking us up from some master list someplace? Netanswers: OwlPerson, there is no master list. Someone is trolling through Usenet and AOL message board posts for addresses to spam posters with junk e-mail. I can't stand that activity. It really, really irks me. But I guess its the price you pay for free speech. CJ Ellen: And A 60s Man has a question about AOL's policies: Question : AOL is known to have an unpublished list of restricted words, which will get a message board posting pulled, if not the whole board. In the past this list has included such innocuous words as "breast". How can this possibly be legal? Netanswers: The AOL Terms of Service agreement is a contract that users agree to when they log in. That contract can be, legally, more restrictive than the law allows. The "breast" fiasco was taking a policy too far, in my opinion, but in reality, AOL wrote the TOS and can make whatever onlive activities thay want to forbidden. AOL is supposed to be a family service, and while you can disagree with the fine points of "illegal" words, you have got to keep in mind that the managment just wants to, in general, keep it clean for the kiddies. Is there a way to keep children away from obscene materials all the time? Netanswers: First and foremost, the way to keep kids safe online is to work WITH them when they are online -- AOL or the Internet. Guide them, and keep them away from inappropriate material. On AOL, you can use Keyword: PARENTAL CONTROLS to keep certain screen names on your account from accessing newsgroups, chat, or the Web. This can be helpful, but that feels to me a bit like locking the library doors because there are some dirty books inside. There ARE some sickos on AOL and the Internet. You can use PARENTAL CONTROLS and software like SurfWatch to help. But you being there is the best solution, IMO. Netanswers: Why doesn't AOL and the Net make different spaces only for children and others for only adults and lock out the kids? A proposed standard is doing that. It is a rating system that rates Web pages based on their content: CompuServe is the first major online service to provide ratings on all its Internet content. Users with a Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) compatible Web browser will be able to tune out Web sites based on their violence, language, nudity, and sexual content. CompuServe is encouraging third-party content providers, including individuals with home pages on the service, to follow suit. Netanswers: Will the other online services follow this lead? I think so. I bet AOL will eventually use this or another system, as will Netscape. Netizens can spot the lesser of two evils -- 'tis better to censor yourself than be censored by yourself than someone else. The question for me is: who does the rating? The person who created the Web page (who could lie) or some group (like the movie ratings board)? BTW, if you haven't heard, the Communications Decency Act was overturned several weeks ago, based on that and other opinions... But that decision is being appealed by the U.S. government. CJ Ellen: Kevin, here's a comment about the proposed standard you mentioned, from Ivey: Comment: Kevin, that proposed standard doesn't really work, however. It's too easy to have an otherwise innocuous page blocked because it has the word "sex" in it. Netanswers: Perhaps-- I think its too early to tell, but you may be right. CJ Ellen: And here's a comment from Jonas Wf: Comment: But WHY would someone want to control what another human being looked upon or read? It's sick. Children don't need to be protected, they need to be taught the difference between right and wrong and left to make their own personal choices. Netanswers: A very interesting comment--and I'm sure that a whole lot of people agree with you--- and a lot more vehemently disagree. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we're just about out of time here. Netanswers : Already? Ah well... CJ Ellen: Yes. Time flies when you're having fun.:) Netanswers: Thank you all for coming, and for the great comments & questions... if you have any further questions about the Internet or Internet censorship, please take them to the message board in Keyword: ANSWERMAN. CJ Ellen: (For questions about AOL and AOL policies, check out the "Members" free area.) Goodnight everyone. See you next week.CJ Ellen: Good afternoon and welcome to the AnswerMan conference. Your host is "Savetz," Kevin Savetz, who is AOL's AnswerMan. Savetz: Hi Ellen! CJ Ellen: Today our topic is one of concern to everyone on any platform. Viruses. Kevin, it's all yours :) Savetz: Yes indeed. Viruses can be a problem for all computer users, and can be especially worrisome for Internet users. But it's easy to defend your computer against them if you are careful. All you have to do is, as I like to say, "practice safe hex!" A virus is a small computer program that "lives" within another program. Sort of like a flu virus can get inside of you, a computer virus can get in your computer. However, computer viruses are programmed. They don't erupt spontaneously, and they (luckily) won't infect you :) Savetz: What will a virus do to your computer? That depends on what it was programmed to do. Some viruses print weird messages on your computer screen, but nastier viruses may wipe out the files on your hard disk. Even "benign" viruses can have nasty side effects. It might erase files even though that wasn't the intention. Ewwww. How do you get a virus? Your computer can get a virus when you run a program that is infected with it. When you come in contact with someone with the flu, you can catch it too, right? Same with computer viruses. Savetz: When you download files from the Internet, you have no idea where they came from, who submitted them, or whether or not they have been virus-checked, so you need, need, need to virus-check software before you run it. When you run a program is when you can be infected. Reading a text file WON'T give you a virus, nor will looking at a GIF or other image that you downloaded. Only running a program can. Incidentally, files that you download from AOL's file areas usually HAVE been checked for viruses, but that doesn't give you an excuse to NOT check them yourself. Savetz: It's better to be safe than sorry. Also incidentally, as I said, you get a virus by running a program. There's a scary e-mail floating around AOL and the Internet about a virus that can be transmitted via e-mail. The message says that if you read an e-mail with the subject line of "GOOD TIMES", the virus will get your machine. It's not true; there is no such and reading e-mail can never hurt your computer. Its a big dumb joke. Any questions, Ellen? CJ Ellen: Yes, Kevin. We have a question from BR42153, who asks: Question : Can you prevent a virus? Savetz: What you need is a virus protection program, and you need to run it -- use it to check your new files before you run them for the first time. Some virus protection programs are free, others are commercial $oftware. Frankly, I use the free stuff, it seems to do a fine job. On the Mac, the program I use is called Disinfectant (you can find it in AOL's file archives). On PC's, the program I like is called SCANV by McAffe and Associates (again, in the file libraries.) After you download software from the Internet or AOL, but before you run it, you need to scan the software with the virus protection program. These programs can identify viruses and warn you BEFORE you run them and spread them to your computer. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we have a question from OWJO: Question: Do virues erupt and then just as spontaneously disappear? Savetz: Viruses don't spontaneously appear -- though they may seem to. Your computer gets one when you run an infected program. [Some] self-destruct after a while, so they CAN disappear on their own, but usually not until after they destroy some of your data. CJ Ellen: Cougar500 is concerned about e-mail and viruses: Question: I am vey new on the Net and I wnated to know what could happen if I got a virus through e-mail. What are the chances of that happening? Savetz: READING an e-mail can NOT get you a virus. As I said, there are untrue rumors that say you CAN get one by reading e-mail. But you CAN'T. Now, you CAN get a virus from a file that comes ATTACHED to your e-mail. That is, if someone sends you an e-mail with an attachment, and that attachment is an infected program, AND you download AND RUN that program, you can get a virus. If you don't run it though, you'll be safe. Again, virus check before you run any new program no matter the source. CJ Ellen: Tnmgr is concerned on how you catch viruses or is that virii? Question: What can we do to protect us against virsus? Does this only happen on the Web? if you are on AOL, can it happen? Can it happen when you download information and data to print? Savetz: Only when you RUN an infected program can you got a virus -- so, when you are browsing the Web, the only program you are using is the Web browser. All the graphics and text are not new programs, so you are safe. If you download a program from the browser, then run it, you might get a virus. Savetz : On the Web, there are some good virus sites: Anti-Virus Reference Center at http://www.symantec.com/virus/virus.html. This page is provided by the software company Symantec to aid in the fight against computer viruses. It includes copious information about computer viruses including "what's hot" (info on widespread viruses to be on the alert for), virus terminology & information, etc. Computer Viruses and Security at this huge URL: http://www.einet.net/galaxy/Engineering-and-Technology/Computer-Technology/Security/david-hull/galaxy.htm. The Computer Viruses and Security page (sub-titled "An Introduction to nasty things that go bump in the night") is a haven for knowledge about computer viruses, from the basics of what computer viruses are, a glossary of virus terms, information about who writes viruses and why, links to anti-virus software, and even some viral humor. CJ Ellen: Cthomp27 wants to know: Question: How do you know if a program is infected? Savetz: More often than not, the virus itself announces itself to you once you are infected. Believe it or not, the miscreants who create virusus are often doing it for a perverse glory, and they want to brag about it any way they can, like a message that says HA HA WE GOT YOU. Some virusus don't do that, so your only indication is a misbehaving computer or lost data. Again, the way to prevent that isn to check all new programs that you get for viruses before you run them for the first time. Go to keyword VIRUS for more information and some free downloadable virus protection programs. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we have a question from one of my favorite people, CJ Grizzly. He asks: Question: Out of curiosity, what is the more *potent* virus? Polymorphic, Memory resident, Trojan Horse, etc.? And are there any special precautions that should be taken upon finding one? Savetz: Hi Griz! I don't know if any one TYPE of virus is the most potent. A tiny little virus can wipe your hard disk as easily as a 2 meg Trojan horse. By the way, this is a good time to mention that Trojan horses are not technically viruses: Trojan horses are programs that pretend to do one thing, but actually do something else (compare to virusus, which are little programs that "attach themselves" to "real" programs. A Trojan horse might claim to be a fun game, but really (while you play) be trying to hack in to your corporate network. Some virus protection programs ALSO look for Trojan horses. You need to check the manual to find out. Savetz: Another question, Ellen? CJ Ellen: Kevin, A Cannatel has a question about an inexpensive program: Question: Question: What is the best virus protector that doesn't cost that much ? Savetz: I'm cheap, so I use the free stuff. DISINFECTANT for the Mac, or SCANV for DOS/Windows. You can get either at keyword VIRUS. I also like Microsoft Antivirus, which I believe is part of Win95? There are lots of fancy commercial virus programs which I am sure are great, but the free ones have never failed me, as long as you remember to keep it updated. A virus protection program that's a year old won't know how to identify this year's new viruses. CJ Ellen: Kevin, would you go over again which files to be wary of? Goodtime asks: Question: Does this include .jpg files? Savetz: Your computer can get a virus when you *run a program* that is infected with it. So viewing a JPEG CAN'T get you a virus, since a JPEG is NOT a program, it's data, like a word processor document. Now, running an infected word processor or JPEG viewing program WILL get your computer a virus. CJ Ellen: Kevin, we're about out of time here. Savetz: Already? CJ Ellen: Thanks for the great information and would you tell everyone one more time where they can find more information about viruses right here on AOL. Savetz: Sure -- go to Keyword: VIRUS for more information, AND to download free virus proctection software. Thank you all for coming & thanks for your help Ellen. CJ Ellen: Thanks for the great information, Kevin. I'll rest easy tonight :) Thanks to our audience, too for such good questions. Good night everyone :) Savetz : Good Bye all, see you next week.OnlineHost: Copyright 1996 America Online, Inc. CJ Lorri: Happy Fathers Day!!!! I am CJ Lorri your host today. Today we have a Guest Host in ANSWERMAN.....CJ Grizzly, a member of AOLs Internet Connection Team. In honor of Fathers Day he will show us Web Sites for Dads, Newsgroups to talk about Parenting Issues, sources for Fathers Rights Info, and more. CJ Lorri: Hiya Cj Grizzly :) CJ Grizzly: Hiya everyone! Happy Father's Day! :D Hiya Lorri! CJ Lorri: Sounds like a fun afternoon VBG CJ Grizzly: Today is a special day for all the fathers around the world and I'm about to show you all some great sites, both on the Web and AOL, dedicated to Dad! :D CJ Grizzly: There is a special guest among us (although you won't see him) and that is my father... who is sitting next to me...Happy Father's Day Dad! :D CJ Grizzly: Now to get on to the sites... CJ Grizzly: #1: Single Fathers on the Web: http://www.pitt.edu/%7Ejsums/singlefa.htm This is a great starting point for information for all of you single fathers out there :) CJ Lorri: HueyG has a Question..... Question: ARE YOU A FATHER YOURSELF CJ Grizzly: Huey, no I am sure not......although I do have a great little niece! :) CJ Grizzly: #2: New & Expectant Fathers - http://www.fathersforum.com/ If you are brand new to fatherhood, or soon to be, this is a place you definately want to stop by! :D CJ Grizzly: #3: The At-Home Dad: http://www.parentsplace.com/readroom/athomedad/index.html This is a quarterly newsletter devoted to fathers who choose to stay at home with the kids. CJ Lorri: Grizzly RMoitz has an interesting question...... Question: does it hurt our children, if we fathers are surfing to much? CJ Grizzly: In my opinion, if you include your children in your "surfing," there is no way it can hurt them...actually, it would help introduce them to this great technology and would be a great learning experience as well... CJ Lorri: I have a nice search engine to share with you child http://www.yaholligans.com CJ Grizzly: Lorri, that's a great place to check out! even if you are just a child at heart! :D CJ Lorri: VBG yes I like it!!!!! CJ Grizzly: #4: A Father's Journal: http://top.monad.net/~nsjfws/FJournal.html This is a site on "one man's attempt to ride the ship of fatherhood through the the turbulent sea of culture." CJ Grizzly: #5: Tim Allen's Signature Tools: http://www.primenet.com/rrr/timallen.htm You got it! The is a new line of cool tools from the #1 hardware man in the USA! :) CJ Grizzly: #6 Fifty Facts About Men: http://fiction.jsdn.uiuc.edu/tisbits/sex/womxn.html This page is absolutely hilarious......facts courtesy of comedian Rita Rudner :D This site is definately only for men that don't have a problem with laughing at themselves CJ Grizzly: #7: ESPN Sportzone: http://espnet.sportzone.com ESPN's Home on the Web. Full of great information on just about any sport you can think of! :D CJ Grizzly: Anything and everything that you see on ESPN 1, 2, or 3 you can find here! :) CJ Grizzly: #8: Father's Day Poetry: http://www.hom.net/~davidold/far_d_pm.htm Poems that say why dads are loved so much! :) CJ Grizzly #9: The Dads Den: http://megamach.portage.net/%7Erborelli/dads.html CJ Grizzly: Those are just a few of the Web sites available for fathers....if you are curious about some of the other sites available, try the following: CJ Grizzly: Here are some URLs to the most popular query engines on the WWW: Digital's search engine : http://altavista.digital.com Lycos : http://www.lycos.com Webcrawler : http://www.webcrawler.com Yahoo : http://www.yahoo.com EINet Galaxy : http://www.einet.net/galaxy.html Infoseek : http://www.infoseek.com CJ Grizzly: Now that I've *touched* on a few of the Web sites, I'd like to show you to some great areas right here on AOL! :D CJ Lorri: B314159 comments..... Comment: Maybe those of us who are not "fathers" can be children who introduce our fathers to this technology ? CJ Grizzly: B3, I would happen to agree with you completely.... As I'm sitting here with my father gazing over my shoulder, I think I've just got a new job as a tutor! :D CJ Lorri: LOL CJ Grizzly I have that job too, but it has to wait till I visit him in Florida CJ Lorri: PierceGA1 wants to help his Dad with sites he asks Question: what are some good star trek sites, for my dad? CJ Grizzly: My favorite Star Trek area is located right here on AOL. The Star Trek Club can be accessed by going to keyword STAR TREK It includes links to Star Trek affiliated sites, schedule information, a live chat room, message boards, record banks and a trivia center! :D CJ Grizzly: A few other areas that I'd like to point out are the following: CJ Grizzly: keyword SPORTS - for great information on Football, Hockey, Basketball, and just about anything else you can think of CJ Grizzly: keyword FATHERS - this takes you to the Families Forum that has information available such as Child Development, Adoption, Finances, Education, Health and more! CJ Grizzly: keyword COMPUDAD - The Father's Day in Computing area......great links to software, reference libraries, Web pages, contests, games and more :D CJ Grizzly: keyword PARENT SOUP - The Parent Soup forum...overall, this is a great area not only for fathers, but mothers as well! :D CJ Lorri: Thank You All for your wonderful questions and comments. A big round of Applause for our guest.....CJ Grizzly, thanks so much. If any of you have further questions check out Keyword ANSWERMAN. Good Bye and enjoy the rest of your Fathers Day!! :) CJ Lorri: Bye CJ Grizzly and Dad Grizzly VBG!!!!!! CJ Grizzly: Have a wonderful Father's Day everyone! :D OnlineHost: Copyright 1996 America Online, Inc.