[Norman Richards wrote]
---- you wrote:
>
>
> > OK then, let's take it into the physical world. Should I be able to
> > test the doors of your house or car to see if your alarms are
> > working?
>
> If you had something at stake - sure. For example, if you left an
> object in my car then you certainly would be justified in doing so.
> Or, suppose I own a business which sells your merchandise. Would it
> be wrong for you to check on the door if you were walking by at night?
> Or even if you were considering doing business with me, it would seem
> appropriate to take a careful measure of my security methods.
>
> Let's bring this back online. Recently there was some talk about
> online banks on this list. Security is a big concern. Would I be
> wrong to probe their website a bit to see if I can find any holes in
> their system before I put money in?
>
> Obviously online banking is an entirely different thing than sending
> mail, but I don't see any fundamental problem with doing some probing
> of a remote host you will be contacting in the future - at least in
> the case that the probing is relevant to the the contact you will
> have.
>
>
Actually, I think my pointer to the Wired.com
story didn't make the list. On 28th Jan 2000
Wired.com had a story on the security failure of
X.com. I think this bounced to Norman Richards
only and didn't appear on the list.
The fact is, a gentleman can be trusted to test the
doorknob of your house to make sure it's locked, even
if the law says nay. A scoundrel must not be trusted,
even if the law says yea. The law is an ass, and
concepts of rights derived from legal ideas are
suspect. The good news is that humans really are
more cooperative than one might guess from their laws.
The laws often protect scoundrels like the current
American presidential administration and attack
pillars of the community like Phil Zimmerman. The fact
that the human species survives shows that common sense
still has the upper hand over law.
-----------------------------------------------------
Get free personalized email at http://email.lycos.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send administrative requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
