>X-Sender: [email protected] (Unverified) >Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 21:41:04 -0700 >To: [email protected] >From: John Ehlers <[email protected]> >Subject: Member Input > >For MESA Users Group: > >We received this from a User's Group member. We pass it along without >comment and without verification of authenticity or accuracy. We do so on >the basis that the public has the right to be informed of possible problems >and has sufficient intelligence to investigate if they feel sufficiently >involved. >---------------------------------------------- > >>From a former AOL employee: > >I'll try and cut through the crap, and try to get to the point of this >letter. I used to work for America Online, and would like to remain >anonymous for that reason. I was laid off in early September, but I know >exactly why I was laid off, which I will now explain: > >Since last December, I had been one of the many people assigned to design > >AOL 4.0 for Windows (AOL 4.0 beta, codenamed Casablanca). In the >beginning, I was very proud of this task, until I found out the true cost >of it. Things were going fine until about mid-February, when me and 2 of >my colleagues started to suspect a problem, an unexplainable 'Privacy >Invasion', with the new version. One of them, who is a master programmer, > >copied the finished portion of the new version (Then 'Build >52'), and took it home, and we spent nearly 2 weeks of sleepless nights >examining and debugging the program, flipping it inside-out, and here is >what we found. > >Unlike all previous versions of America Online, version 4.0 puts >something >in your hard drive called a 'cookie'. (AOL members click <A >HREF="aol://4344:1047.g334.8411481.532897009">here</A> for a definition). >However, the cookie we found on Version 4.0 was far more treacherous than >the simple internet cookie. How would you like somebody looking at your >entire hard drive, snooping through any (yes, any) piece of information on > >your hard drive. It could also read your password and log in information >and store it deep in the program code. Well, all previous versions, >whether you like it or not, have done this to a certain extent, but only >with files you downloaded. As me and my colleagues discovered, with the >new version, anytime you are signed on to AOL, any top aol executive, any >aol worker, who has been sworn to secrecy regarding this feature, can go >into your hard drive and retrieve any piece of information that they so >desire. Billing, download records, e-mail, directories, personal >documents, programs, financial information, scanned images, etc ... Better > >start keeping all those pictures on a floppy disk! > >This is a totally disgusting violation of our rights, and your right to >know as well. Since this is undoubtably 'Top Secret' information that I >am >revealing, my life at AOL is pretty much over. After discovering this >information, we started to inform a few other workers at America Online, >so that we could get a large enough crew to stop this from happening to the >millions of unfortunate and unsuspecting America Online >members. This was in early August. One month later, all three of us >were unemployed. We got together, and figured there was something we had >to do >to let the public know. > >Unemployed, with one of us going through a divorce (me) and another who >is about to undergo treatment for Cancer, our combined financial situation is > >not currently enough to release any sort or article. We attepted to >create a web page on three different servers containing in-depth >information on >AOL 4.0, but all three were taken down within 2 days. We were running >very low on time (4.0 is released early this >winter), so we figured our last hope to reveal this madness before it >effects the people was starting something similar to a chain letter, this >letter you are reading. Please do the following, to help us expose AOL >for who they really are, and to help us and yourself recieve personal >gratification for taking a stand for our freedom: > >1. Forward this letter to as many people as you can (not just friends >and family, as many as you can!) > >2. Tell people who aren't on America Online in person, especially >important people (Private Investigators, Government workers, City Council) > > >3. If the information about the new version isn't exposed by the time >aol is released early this winter, for your own protection, DON'T DOWNLOAD AOL >4.0 UNDER ANY CONDITION !!! > >Thank you for reading and examining this information. Me and my >colleagues hope that you will help us do the right thing in this >situation. > Enjoy America Online (just kidding!). > >Regards, >A former AOL employee >
