Protecting Users from external threats to their PCs

Protecting User Autonomy

http://www.discourse.net/list.htm


    PROBLEMS

  1. Hardware

    1. trusted computing

    2. DRM

  1. Software

    1. DRM

    2. Software-created vulnerabilities

  1. Malign Behavior (of others)

    1. Viruses

    2. Spam

    3. Spyware, Trojans

    4. commercial profiling

    5. LEO attempts to capture net traffic for profiling/syping

  1. User Error

  1. Mis-Engineering the central part of the network

SOLUTIONS

  1. Reverse firewall (responds to spam, virus) ["internet condom"? "Intenet muffler"?] NOTE: solving high-profile issues technologically heads off 'governance'-based "solutions" that may be worse than the problem.\

  2. Better testing (software-created vulnerabilities)

  3. Support software product liability when it software defect causes harms to others on the network

  4. Improving & implementing RFC for trouble reporting (when machines are under attack), with some aspect of collaborative filtering/reporting.(responds to spam, virus) Note: cf. DoD intelligent network monitoring/incident response

  5. RFC for anonymous web browsing (responds to profiling)

  6. Deploy more freenets/onion routing

  7. User education (online? interactive? Scenario-based?)

  8. What's missing from the list above: solutions to DRM, trusted computing

  9. Advocacy solutions:

agitate against legal abuse of DMCA/Patriot