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Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 10th 09, 04:40 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Dudley Henriques[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,546
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

Assuming I'll be separating the troll answers to this post from the
useful information, I need an answer to a Usenet question if anyone
wants to take a moment to try and help with a bad situation. To the
regulars, bear with me on this as I need this answer to fit some
missing pieces together.

I am in the process of dealing with an unknown person or persons using
my name to post here on this forum. It's no big deal really as I'm
sure any of you who matter recognize the difference between my posts
and the forgeries.

Fortunately I have a few international contacts who are looking into
it overseas for me. But discovering the culprit isn't my aim here
although that might be forthcoming with a bit of luck.
What's concerning me isn't the copied and pasted in text that has been
appearing here over my name, as anyone can do that, but rather how
someone can access the data and path necessary to have a post appear
with my name appearing as the poster in the thread hierarchy to the
point where someone can actually see my name as the poster and click
on the profile link to see my regular profile. For all practical
purposes, this would appear to be a post from me personally and I need
to find out how this person is accomplishing this.

For you Usenet gurus out there who might want to try and help with
this; I use Google groups for Usenet posting since I don't post all
that much any longer.
An example of the type of post I'm referring to where my name has been
forged can be found in the thread called [Complaint sent to x-
privat.org]
Checking that thread you will find a post supposedly from me, bearing
my name as the poster under a post from one of the suspect posts
showing the name of Ron May. On my Google threads this post shows as
number 8.Assuming I have no idea how this post appeared and had
nothing to do with it's being posted, can someone explain exactly how
a person can access this forum having my name and profile appear as
though the post came from me?
I understand someone could open an account on one of the free servers
using my name and have taken the steps necessary along those lines,
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile.
Is there any way at all this can be stopped by notifying Google
Groups? Is this even a Google Groups problem?
Any and all input (expected trolls excepted of course :-) appreciated.
Thanks, an I'm very sorry for having to take up the band width to
address these issues.
Perhaps one of these days we can get back to talking flying again :-)
Dudley Henriques
  #2  
Old November 10th 09, 06:42 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Dudley Henriques[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,546
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

Dudley Henriques wrote:
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile.


Yeah, how can they. Baffling.
  #3  
Old November 10th 09, 06:49 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Martin X. Moleski, SJ
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 167
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

On Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:40:06 -0800 (PST), Dudley Henriques wrote in
:

What's concerning me is ... how
someone can access the data and path necessary to have a post appear
with my name appearing as the poster in the thread hierarchy to the
point where someone can actually see my name as the poster and click
on the profile link to see my regular profile. For all practical
purposes, this would appear to be a post from me personally and I need
to find out how this person is accomplishing this.


They just have to lie about who the post is "from."

The software protocol that runs Usenet (NNTP) does
not check the authenticity of the "from" field. Nor
does Google cross-check the authenticity of a post
that says it was "from" .

... can someone explain exactly how
a person can access this forum having my name and profile appear as
though the post came from me?


Once the post with the lying "from" field is injected into
any old server, Google archives it, finds your e-mail in the
from field, and sets it up so that the post is associated
with your profile.

I understand someone could open an account on one of the free servers
using my name and have taken the steps necessary along those lines,
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile?


Google doesn't check authenticity. It merely reports correlations.
It can't tell the difference between the real you and the counterfeit
you.

Is there any way at all this can be stopped by notifying Google
Groups?


You may ask Google to remove the counterfeit posts from their
archives. They say there is a removal tool available to you
if you are logged in to Google Groups:

http://groups.google.com/group/google-groups-guide/web/google-groups-faq

Is this even a Google Groups problem?


Not really. It is a huge loophole in NNTP and not one that
is liable to be closed any time soon (that I know of--I am
not involved in that part of the system).

Marty
--
Big-8 newsgroups: humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*
See http://www.big-8.org for info on how to add or remove newsgroups.
  #4  
Old November 10th 09, 06:52 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Dudley Henriques[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,546
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

On Nov 10, 12:42*pm, Dudley Henriques wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote:
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile.


Yeah, how can they. Baffling.


It's getting less baffling every time you post.
DH
  #5  
Old November 10th 09, 06:53 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Dudley Henriques[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,546
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

Dudley Henriques wrote:

I am in the process of dealing with an unknown person or persons using
my name to post here on this forum.


That *******! :-)

Fortunately I have a few international contacts who are looking into
it overseas for me.


What a lucky guy you are! :-)))

I understand someone could open an account on one of the free servers


No, obviously you don't understand anything about how usenet works. :-)))))
  #6  
Old November 10th 09, 06:58 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Brian Whatcott
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 915
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

Dudley Henriques wrote:
...
I am in the process of dealing with an unknown person or persons using
my name to post here on this forum. It's no big deal really as I'm
sure any of you who matter recognize the difference between my posts
and the forgeries....


Dudley Henriques


It might be useful to find out if the troll in question
is left or right-handed.

Brian W
  #7  
Old November 10th 09, 07:01 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Ken S. Tucker
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 442
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

On Nov 10, 9:42 am, Dudley Henriques wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote:
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile.


Yeah, how can they. Baffling.


Well internet *identity theft* is currently regarded as pranksterism,
however, that crime is becoming serious, to the extent an injunction
could be imposed on imposters, as it is a form of fraud.
This is very much like a person writing a novel using the name
'Steven King' to gain on an authors trade-mark name.
It can get serious, just as copyrighted songs did.
Ken
PS: If this post is boring then I wrote it, it's the real me.
  #8  
Old November 10th 09, 07:03 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Dudley Henriques[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,546
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

On Nov 10, 12:53*pm, Dudley Henriques wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote:
I am in the process of dealing with an unknown person or persons using
my name to post here on this forum.


That *******! :-)

Fortunately I have a few international contacts who are looking into
it overseas for me.


What a lucky guy you are! :-)))

I understand someone could open an account on one of the free servers


No, obviously you don't understand anything about how usenet works. :-)))))


Troll
  #9  
Old November 10th 09, 07:11 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Dudley Henriques[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,546
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

On Nov 10, 12:52*pm, Dudley Henriques wrote:
On Nov 10, 12:42*pm, Dudley Henriques wrote:

Dudley Henriques wrote:
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile.


Yeah, how can they. Baffling.


It's getting less baffling every time you post.
DH


217.162.205.36
  #10  
Old November 10th 09, 07:30 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Jim Logajan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,958
Default Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

Dudley Henriques wrote:
I understand someone could open an account on one of the free servers
using my name and have taken the steps necessary along those lines,
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile.


Here's what I believe is happening:

Google Groups uses only the content of the "From:" header to automatically
associate posts to user profiles. So when someone places your name and e-
mail address in the header of their posts, then no matter what Usenet
service provider they posted from (and irrespective of all the other post's
headers) the Google Groups software will associate that post with your
Google Groups account.

So the Google Groups web site software displays your user profile when
someone (like you or I) clicks on the "View profile" of the forged post.
Fortunately that does nothing to compromise your Google account.

Is there any way at all this can be stopped by notifying Google
Groups? Is this even a Google Groups problem?


It's a problem with the user interface design of Google Groups that isn't
likely to be fixed since they probably don't consider it broken. I suspect
they wrote their software the way they did so that even if a poster changes
Usenet service providers, then so long as that user continues to post under
the same name and/or e-mail address, then their archives will associate all
posts to the same user profile. Sometimes that reasonable, sometimes not
(as in forgeries.)

In one sense, the Google Groups programming assumption reinforces the case
that such forgeries have the potential to be libelous and if persistent and
serious enough, might rate legal pursuit. Depends on whether the perp makes
the cost/benefit ratio low enough to pursue for you or anyone else so
targeted.

I've seen enough of the mismanagement (or deliberately criminal
management?) of x-privat.org and the owner's slow and non-responses to
complaints (and failures to blacklist repeated perps and failure to put in
place better registration procedures) that I think it would be reasonable
to target that provider. I think that from a legal strategy point of view,
it might be worthwhile to consider pointing out to the owner of the x-
privat.org machines that such libelous posts are originating on _their_
machines and they are responsible for said libel until they can prove
otherwise. In other words, if they aren't keeping records of who is posting
through their machine they have to be considered the authors of those
posts.
 




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