Posted on 11/02/2005 5:29:18 PM PST by nunya bidness
Newspaper Reveals Logging Into Internet User's Account
BALTIMORE -- The identity of an Internet user connected to the firing of a former gubernatorial aide remains a mystery. However, new disclosures from The Washington Post may shed light on how to solve the mystery.
The editor said that information came from someone associated with MD4Bush and that the reporter used it to log into MD4Bush's account several times before the story was published.
(Excerpt) Read more at thewbalchannel.com ...
You beat me by two minutes.
Bump. Very interesting.
Can I be added to your ping list?
Considering many of us weren't familiar with this story until today, and FR is getting major press, a WIKI would be useful.
I agree
The participation of the Washington Post makes this story exponentially more interesting than it would be otherwise. Their "journalistic ethics" (or more accurately the lack of them) are on display for all to see. With the problems the NYT has been having, the WaPo may be on the way to being the most influential paper in the country.
have you checked whether there's a rdoherty@meddems.org yet?
rdoherty@mddems.org has been wiped. It's still there if you use the Internet Wayback Machine.
The proper way to handle it is through the legal process.
Meanwhile, we can contemplate the prosecution of the Washington Post reporter for unauthorized use of a password and conspiracy charges.
The login aspect to it is only a compenent of the overall picture. I imagine FR management has little fondness for the Washington Post after their earlier stunt, and they could make news at any time by confirming the identity of MD4Bush, which they could. We all know, but they could put the nail in the coffin.
One wonders how long the guilty will be left to squirm.
Co-worker walks away from workstation with an internet connection, with the browser logged in?... Could this point to a possible poster?
Alternatively, did someone perhaps scam a password at a Georgetown wi-fi hotspot? It's easy to forget how simple some of that sort of thing could be. If DNC activists could actually arrange to tape a cell phone of a conference call with Newt Gingrich ("on their way to the grocery store, in their car") it shouldn't be to hard for a determined Dem hacker to find a Freeper in Starbucks, and pirate their password.
But the simplest explanation might be - someone didn't log out?
I remember in college the way people who forgot to log out for a momentary break - were mercilessly abused. Mostly quick posts to newsgroups looking for some sort of remarkable encounter of the amorous variety. :)
Could this have been a more subtle / sophisticated of the "I'm looking for a date with a single poodle this weekend" sort of shenanigans with a logged on account, so many will remember (hopefully just seeing, laughing at someone else's misfortune)?...
Just a thought.
Remember to logout. Use a wired connection. Encrypt if you don't.
I don't think we can prosecute the WP for using a password
they were given. The most we could do, (If Jim and his Lawyers think it is the thing to do), is to disclose what FR
has logged on the MD4Bush name.
Right, I remember that thread and it was weird. I think there were several other threads that MD4Bush posted these freepmails into as well.
Never gonna happen.
A word to the wise:
When someone you don't know well tries to engage you in the exchange of PM's or emails, watch out. This person may be trying to learn your identity for nefarious purposes.
I've had some trolls do this with me on FR, but I was ahead of their game.
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