November 2007 - Opinion Poll

[Sykora]

ID authentication is reasonable, but it would be good if they can implement a net-ID type thing, where you log on with a username/password (maybe a government operated service), and your photo, and such immediately pops up. It may help with people who are using the facility in an emergency. I don't know about cameras, I'd really prefer not to have them, but I can live with them. I certainly don't want Keyloggers. Even if I am using a public service, I still have the right to privacy over my own data that I use, and the right to remove all traces of my presence from that system when I leave.

 

[Gigacore]

MY VOTE

B. ID cards provides a vital information about the member and cameras are good source of surveilence. Key loggers is not a good idea.

 

[anand1]

Yes ID check and Cameras are good but Keyloggers cannot be thaught as well. Because the log of a Keylogger is definately going to be missused how much measure the government is going to take the missuse will not stop. But also we must appreciate for the government that they have at least thaought for a short of Security kind of thing in the Cybercafes , these are good signs of the future and definately something short of this will be implemented in near future.

 

[narangz]

After reading my first post, how can you still say these measures wont help track down the criminal?

Do you think your views will change my views? These are my views. And you are not the only one to have all the security knowledge. I shall never go to a cafe if these are implemented where I live. There is something called privacy & i do not allow anyone to intrude into my privacy.

 

[alsiladka]

Do you think your views will change my views? These are my views. And you are not the only one to have all the security knowledge. I shall never go to a cafe if these are implemented where I live. There is something called privacy & i do not allow anyone to intrude into my privacy.

How is letting people know you used a computer at a particular time invasion into your privacy?
All BSNL, hathway connections are port bound. Hathway gives an individual static IP. The IP can be easily tracked down to you.

Your home computers are trackable, but the cafe's are sort of anonymous.

And i am not here to force my views on you, i had given a reasoning. If you still stand on your views, then give a reasoning for it, prove that my reasoning wont work!

 

[max_demon]

i voted for c)They intrude on our privacy because they can really see that i am hacking their sites and he he , porn also

 

[azzu]

i voted for C
MAx tooo bad

 

[Sourabh]

How is letting people know you used a computer at a particular time invasion into your privacy?

All BSNL, hathway connections are port bound. Hathway gives an individual static IP. The IP can be easily tracked down to you.

Your home computers are trackable, but the cafe's are sort of anonymous.

And i am not here to force my views on you, i had given a reasoning. If you still stand on your views, then give a reasoning for it, prove that my reasoning wont work!

Before someone else votes, here's a something on how cyber cafes in Mumbai operate:

If you want to surf internet in a public cyber cafe, the dude asks you for an ID Card. If you are a student or look like one, they will insist on a college ID card complete with address and phone nos. Rules are rules, Sir.

He will manually collect all my personal details comprising of Name, Address, Telephone No., College Name & Roll No., Nature of Visit and Websites visited. Normal right? All this information is handwritten into a register (notebook). After you leave the cafe, how can you be sure that those details won't be misused? (by the cyber cafe guy himself).

If you be a cyber cafe owner for 2 mins and consider this. You have a record who sits on which system at what time. You also have key loggers installed on the PC. You can very well figure out who does what on the internet by just a glance. A decent section of the cyber cafe visitors, use it for online stock trading/bank transactions and stuff. Every cyber cafe staff will have access to all your passwords. Everything gets so convenient. And legal too.

You are helping everyone on your way (in more ways than one) to a safe city/state/country. What's the interesting part? those who make these rules think it will actually help and there is no other way to trick them. All cyber crimes can now be tracked. Well, atleast the script kiddies one would. But hey, that's fine coz they have caught a few guys doing this and they will continue to do their best.

 

[PikachuTrAiNeR]

I'm all in for 'c'.

The "Google knows everything I'm doing" concept comes to mind. Just imagine this... "all that I do is now on something way less secure than Google's servers". It's sure to get your heart racing in no time, and will inevitably be accessible by others (excluding the government) in time to come. (Read: Insecurely-stored logs)

 

[narangz]

How is letting people know you used a computer at a particular time invasion into your privacy?
All BSNL, hathway connections are port bound. Hathway gives an individual static IP. The IP can be easily tracked down to you.

Your home computers are trackable, but the cafe's are sort of anonymous.

And i am not here to force my views on you, i had given a reasoning. If you still stand on your views, then give a reasoning for it, prove that my reasoning wont work!

1. If I give my ID details, then how can I be sure that they are not going to be mis-used? Employees(at various levels) of say telephone companies leak out your personal information like name, address, phone number etc to marketing guys to make quick money. Then how in the hell can I trust a cafe owner/employees? I do NOT want to receive spam emails, mails, phone calls, sms. I know now National Do Not Call Registry has been started by Govt. It is a good initiative but we haven't seen how successful it'll be. But hell even if i do not receive any spam/marketing calls etc even then my personal information can be mis-used!

2. Okay i am not talking about keyloggers here. But hey those cameras can be used to steal my information from screen itself(go ahead and call me a security paranoid). What if I have some confidential info on the screen? For eg- A company's new invention? Boom!!! There goes the confidential material. This is just an example.

3. I know there should be some methods to check crime. But you cannot harrass genuine persons! Take an example- Do you think a hacker will only hack a website in a cafe? Hey there are many methods out there where a person can do that while sitting in home. What about a hacker using your Wi-Fi connection to hack something? Now will those cameras, ID checking at cafes help? Is our police equipped with cyber crime knowledge? No they are not in most parts of the country. All they know is make a scapegoat and get a promotion or applauds from seniors for finding out the 'criminal'

I shall never login to my accounts in a cafe, but hey then why in the hell I need to go to a cafe? For printouts? Maybe.

 

[casanova]

I voted for C.

Because technology is never wrong. It is people who misuse it. For the people who misuse technology, ethical users privacy cannot be staked.

 

[narangz]

ID authentication is reasonable, but it would be good if they can implement a net-ID type thing, where you log on with a username/password (maybe a government operated service), and your photo, and such immediately pops up. It may help with people who are using the facility in an emergency. I don't know about cameras, I'd really prefer not to have them, but I can live with them. I certainly don't want Keyloggers. Even if I am using a public service, I still have the right to privacy over my own data that I use, and the right to remove all traces of my presence from that system when I leave.

Okay. If govt. wants to check IDs here's a suggestion. Issue a smart ID card(yeah with that magnetic strip like Credit Cards, similar to used in companies to gain entry) to citizens of India. To gain entry into a cafe/any other place which requires identification a person must use his/her card in the electronic machine. Now there's no need for manual checking by cafe wallahs. All the information directly goes to Govt. servers. No other persons invloved at all. It might sound too technologically advaced to some. Also that smart card can be use for identification at other places instead of Voter ID cards etc. Now this is a suggestion with all the scope for improvements. But I do not expect govt. to implement this as a security measure. Atleast not in coming 5-10 years.

 

[casanova]

^^
Companies have employees in thousands. Indian population is in billions. Lets say if the charge for issuing a new smartcard is 300 rupees and someone pays 5k to a cyber-idiot for his/her smartcard, they are surely gonna trade it. (Future - I don't think it will happen anythime, hehe)

Further, everyone knows how easy it is to get a fake sim, unethical users can use fake sims with gprs for their activities. So if security measures are stringent they would opt out of using cyber cafes. Good thing. But it's not that they won't do it. Again majority of normal users will have issues in accessing internet

 

[Quiz_Master]

I vote for (.B.).

Security camera and ID check is good. But Keyloggers are not...
Surely I don't want anyone to read my passwords and things I talk with my friends. (That includes sensitive topics like how stupid is our minister )

Now keyloggers...what then..they will watch us even when we pee...
Leave us alone and do something which works towards catching those cyber criminals.

(Just seen Aaj Tak minutes ago...a young man discovered how to send fake SMSs by using a softie GSM Active.geez...)

 

[clmlbx]

It's B

For Security Id's And Cams Are Good But Not Keylogger .
There Will Be No Privacy . It Can Be Misused By Officials .

 

[narangz]

^^
Companies have employees in thousands. Indian population is in billions. Lets say if the charge for issuing a new smartcard is 300 rupees and someone pays 5k to a cyber-idiot for his/her smartcard, they are surely gonna trade it. (Future - I don't think it will happen anythime, hehe)

i meant govt issues a smart card for a nominal fee(if not free). no cafe owners involved in issuing it. say we get it the way we get affidavits from magistrate. or it can be any new or separte govt department. i know i dont see it happening in india.

Further, everyone knows how easy it is to get a fake sim, unethical users can use fake sims with gprs for their activities. So if security measures are stringent they would opt out of using cyber cafes. Good thing. But it's not that they won't do it. Again majority of normal users will have issues in accessing internet

that's what i mean. criminals will use other methods for committing a crime and geniune users will be harrased at cafes.

 

[pritish_kul2]

B for me keyloggers records every keystroke and which also record our trade account pw...etc. which can lad to transaction of monw#eey

 

[niku_19jan]

yup security cameras r good but not keyloggers...as they can access nybody email & other accs.

 

[g_goyal2000]

I vote b), because it's OK to ensure that nothing shady happens in cybercafes, but keyloggers will give people access to my e-mail, bank account details and other such private data.

Well, I don't go to cyber cafes as I have net at home. But sometimes, I have to use cyber cafes, and that too rarely, in case of emergencies only.
But my answer is (b).

 

[casanova]

@narangz
I dint say to give it away free, even if they charge something, cyber idiots might just pass to anyone if given a nice excuse by friends or a hefty sum by strangers. In either case this idiot will be held.