Time: Tue Oct 07 18:52:42 1997
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Date: Tue, 07 Oct 1997 18:32:58 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: AOL *way* outta control (fwd)
<snip>
>
>>
>>(Note from an AOL member: I don't think that this could wait....If this is
>true....They have went way out of bounds. Patti)
>>
>>
>>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
>
<snip>
===========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell, Sui Juris : Counselor at Law, federal witness 01
B.A.: Political Science, UCLA; M.S.: Public Administration, U.C.Irvine 02
tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night 03
email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU 04
website: http://supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now 05
ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best 06
Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone 07
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_____________________________________: Law is authority in written words 09
As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall 10
not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. 11
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