Virgin Media Phorm Webwise Adverts [Updated: See Post No. 1, 77, 102 & 797]

[TehTech]

Originally Posted by OF1975

Just want to say thanks to CaptJamie for uploading the vids. I have watched them all but am still taking time to digest everything that I saw and heard. Anyone have any information on when the professionally filmed version will be posted?

I tried to watch them, but the first video, intro with Simon, the movie goes on for like 2 mins and then stops & goes back to the begining, what happened to the other 8 mins of the vid???

I REALLY, REALLY wanna watch all this!!

[CaptJamieHunter]

Good morning all.

Found a reply from the Earl Of Northesk in my mailbox this morning.

"Dear CaptHunter,

My thanks for the attached.

You are correct in your assessment that, as a regular reader of The Register, I am acutely aware of the issues surrounding Phorm and the use by BT and others of their 'Webwise' software product - and am as appalled as your good self as to the apparent breaches of the DPA and the RIPA that they imply. (I would add that it may also be that the software breaches the Computer Misuse Act.) I currently have a question for written answer on the matter awaiting a response from the Home Office. And, if I may say so, your e-mail provides me with fertile material to scrutinise the issue with even more depth and diligence, albeit that I am currently overseas and so a little constrained.

I am uncertain as to how much reassurance it may offer you but, as I have done for some ten years now, I intend to continue to prosecute the case for individual data security and privacy as strenuously as I can. As to the specifics of the Phorm case, it strikes me that the actions of BT (specifically the 'secret' profiling and interception of their customers' data) may well constitute a criminal offence (in respect of RIPA and CMA). To that extent it is conceivable that any aggrieved subscriber could refer the matter to the police for investigation - although, as you will be only too well aware, the police's resources in this area are abject.

Once again my thanks for taking the trouble to e-mail me and please do not hesitate to contact me again re your concerns and/or to alert me to any additional information.

Yours &c.,

Northesk"

[jelv]

A simple question from the perspective of someone who is not on one of the three ISPs, but who runs a website:

Will Phorm result in increased traffic on my website when visited by users from the three ISPs who are opted in to Phorm?

[CaptJamieHunter]

Originally Posted by TehTech

I tried to watch them, but the first video, intro with Simon, the movie goes on for like 2 mins and then stops & goes back to the begining, what happened to the other 8 mins of the vid???

I REALLY, REALLY wanna watch all this!!

Watching it again now and it seems to be ok. You can download the original (it's a WMV file) which has better picture quality than the FLV you get on the site.

[popper]

download it and/or run it through VLC or MPC it works fine even if it is Divx/Xvid, thanks BTW CJ, very useful to get the lazy news sites to see the other side what your original format BTW? puting it through a AVC encoder, VLC for simplicity,might produce a smaller file at the same bitrate.

with the right spin, and taking the usual "Click!" format and stance into consideration beforehand could produce some interesting mass uptake of the legal and moral invasion of privacy when Alexander takes to the studio.....i wonder if PhormUKPRteam have any tips for keep it punchy , morning BTW catching up on the chat i see.

[CaptJamieHunter]

Originally Posted by popper

download it and/or run it through VLC or MPC it works fine even if it is Divx/Xvid, thanks BTW CJ, very useful to get the lazy news sites to see the other side what your original format BTW? puting it through a AVC encoder, VLC for simplicity,might produce a smaller file at the same bitrate.

The camera's native format is MPEG - I tried converting to FLV but the file sizes were too large for the webspace I have so I converted to WMV (using WinFF) and found that DivShare was ok with that and converted it to FLV anyway. It's a bit quick and dirty but it works. There's a lot going on down here in the hangar so quick and dirty it will have to be for now.

It's a bit of an indictment on news sites (how come El Reg hasn't reported on this?) that my video seems to be the first put online?

[Bonglet]

Heres a quick tip for Phorm to remove all there opt in queries and legality about the whole thing - Put it on a freely distrubited media cd,dvd or even a old floppy get the isp's to distrubute it and the users installs it if they wish, end of story as the T&C's are written on the media or on the insert and remove the intercept point.

In no way should phorm ever as a company be allowed to control the way we view things and store our data as the first step onto the intenet. (i as a person denounce your whole buisness idea's and your philosophies).

[popper]

Originally Posted by CaptJamieHunter

Good morning all.

Found a reply from the Earl Of Northesk in my mailbox this morning.

"Dear CaptHunter,

My thanks for the attached.

You are correct in your assessment that, as a regular reader of The Register, I am acutely aware of the issues surrounding Phorm and the use by BT and others of their 'Webwise' software product - and am as appalled as your good self as to the apparent breaches of the DPA and the RIPA that they imply. (I would add that it may also be that the software breaches the Computer Misuse Act.) I currently have a question for written answer on the matter awaiting a response from the Home Office. And, if I may say so, your e-mail provides me with fertile material to scrutinise the issue with even more depth and diligence, albeit that I am currently overseas and so a little constrained.

I am uncertain as to how much reassurance it may offer you but, as I have done for some ten years now, I intend to continue to prosecute the case for individual data security and privacy as strenuously as I can. As to the specifics of the Phorm case, it strikes me that the actions of BT (specifically the 'secret' profiling and interception of their customers' data) may well constitute a criminal offence (in respect of RIPA and CMA). To that extent it is conceivable that any aggrieved subscriber could refer the matter to the police for investigation - although, as you will be only too well aware, the police's resources in this area are abject.

Once again my thanks for taking the trouble to e-mail me and please do not hesitate to contact me again re your concerns and/or to alert me to any additional information.

Yours &c.,

Northesk"

VERY NICE

given he makes the time to read ElReg it might be interesting to also give him the direct links for this CF thread and the recent HO emails from florence, and how it appears he's been duped and taken out of context purely for the profit of Kurts and the ISPs ventures in customers copyrighted datastream pimping.

i wouldnt hope that he might register here and directly contribute perhaps,but it does not harm to ask and invite him....just incase,some direct quotes cant be a bad thing for our side after all.

if he only has the time to browse the thread now and again, we can still keep him and others informed in an ongoing fashion..

BTW Mick,paul,rob etc is there an add-on this the board software so as to pull off CF links and store them with comments, a personal posts reference if you will ?

the reason is clear, in this thread alone there are masses of posts that hold real gems of information, but currently its really hard to keep track of them for later reference, just an idea anyway.....


BTW rob, you had another response from that http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2008/...comment-163549 thread....

[Ravenheart]

Originally Posted by CaptJamieHunter

Good morning all.

Found a reply from the Earl Of Northesk in my mailbox this morning.

<snip>

Northesk"

Thats a really positive reply for the Earl, he's obviously on the ball regarding the whole Phorm issue.

[CaptJamieHunter]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...horm_shambles/

"The government has refused to investigate BT's covert wiretapping of thousands of its customers in 2006 and 2007, despite its own expert's view that without consent Phorm's advertising targeting technology is a breach of criminal law.

Whitehall's willingness to turn a blind eye to the fact that tens of thousands of people were spied on by big business in order to serve up targeted marketing has angered web users. "I'm absolutely sickened and appalled," Pete John, who has tried to interest authorities, told The Register this week"

Nice timing for a reply back to Earl Northesk

[popper]

Originally Posted by CaptJamieHunter

The camera's native format is MPEG - I tried converting to FLV but the file sizes were too large for the webspace I have so I converted to WMV (using WinFF) and found that DivShare was ok with that and converted it to FLV anyway. It's a bit quick and dirty but it works. There's a lot going on down here in the hangar so quick and dirty it will have to be for now.

It's a bit of an indictment on news sites (how come El Reg hasn't reported on this?) that my video seems to be the first put online?

dont want to go OT but FLV,WMV etc are containers , what you need to do is learn about the codecs and then you put these AVC codec encoded video inside your favourite container, that can be FLV,WMV, MPeg or any other container....

as it happens iv talked about that container thing before here, CF being the helpful MB that it is so have a look at this search
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/se...archid=2246864

[OF1975]

Two great bits of news. The Earl Of Northesk response is reassuring and the new register article is fantastic too. Glad to see the Lib-Dem Don Foster is keeping the pressure up too.

[popper]

invite Don here too, cant have to many people reading the most informative thread on the net can we

---------- Post added at 11:21 ---------- Previous post was at 11:13 ----------

Originally Posted by jelv

A simple question from the perspective of someone who is not on one of the three ISPs, but who runs a website:

Will Phorm result in increased traffic on my website when visited by users from the three ISPs who are opted in to Phorm?

Jelv.

in what way do you mean more traffic, if you mean your server will get more get requests for a given users single browser get, than it appears not.

the bouncing around forging cookies, requests etc seems to be more from the end users end given the data we have so far, but ill leave a more indepth answer to the web servers experts here...

[OF1975]

Terra-phorming has been added to the urban dictionary site. Its now up.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...terra-phorming

[CaptJamieHunter]

Originally Posted by OF1975

Terra-phorming has been added to the urban dictionary site. Its now up.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...terra-phorming