Cisco Update

Thu Jul 5 19:49:01 UTC 2012

Looks like they've modified their privacy policy in the last few days,
but from what I understand it was originally pretty bad, including the
collecting users' history and:

[...] right to shut down the users' account if it finds that they have
used the service for “obscene, pornographic, or offensive purposes, to
infringe another’s rights, including but not limited to any
intellectual property rights, or… to violate, or encourage any conduct
that would violate any applicable law or regulation or give rise to
civil or criminal liability," as well as comply with the orders it
receives by "a third party or court of competent jurisdiction" if the
user has been found violating those terms. [...]

I haven't really kept up on consumer-grade networking; who out there
presents a reasonable challenge to Cisco these days?

On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 3:24 PM, Jeff Johnstone <jj at diamondtech.ca> wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Joe Greco <jgreco at ns.sol.net> wrote:
>
>> > Technical users could always just flash DD-WRT onto the device and =
>> > replace the Linksys/Cisco firmware; then you have a much more robust =
>> > system without any big brother stuff.
>>
>> Or Cisco could just omit the big brother stuff.
>>
>> This is not a technological failure.  In fact, automatic updates of
>> router firmware are overdue.  Good job on that front.
>>
>> It is the implications of your router dictating to you what sort of
>> uses might be acceptable and what is not that's troubling, and that
>> seems to have happened on several levels in this product.
>>
>> ... JG
>>
>
> This is what has me thinking about shorting Cisco stock. When the legal
> implications of this hit the FCC <http://www.fcc.gov/>,
> EFF<http://www.eff.org>,
> or here in Canada the  CRTC <http://www.crtc.gc.ca>, the shouts will begin.
> This breaks all sorts of regulations about privacy and I'm sure a few other
> product sales laws in the different countries where the products are sold.
> Interesting times we live in....
>
> cheers
> Jeff

-- 
Ray Soucy

Epic Communications Specialist

Phone: +1 (207) 561-3526

Networkmaine, a Unit of the University of Maine System
http://www.networkmaine.net/