pixelslave
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Joined: 8/19/2006
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ORIGINAL: MstrssPassion
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ORIGINAL: Misstoyou
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ORIGINAL: pixelslave
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ORIGINAL: MstrssPassion
I'm not sure if this is an event that was only possible in the early days of the net but I know that there use to be capture programs that were able to pick out photo files even when they were sent through email or person to person file sharing.
Even photos on web sites which presumably can't be saved to your computer are easily saved by anyone with knowledge of how computers, web sites and digital files work. There also used to be a number of screen capture programs that essentially automated the same type of thing by working around various security security measures that existed at the time (none are still all that secure). I've personally not kept up on the latter as I have no need of such utilities. As digital artist myself, I strongly believe in respecting the copyrights of others. 
I am neither a digital artist nor a computer expert, but I can tell you that with a Mac, you only have to drag and drop to collect pictures from websites, including CM profiles and mail attachments.
I'm not talking about grabbing public photos... those are easy to grab even with right click disabled.
I'm talking about Jane emailing the pic or doing a file transfer with John & not ever posting a pic... & just by this direct transfer/email their picture is picked up by someone else... it is my understanding that there are programs that can "sniff out" so to speak, these files & capture them. (?) I have no way to verify the existence of such a program, just know that this scenario has happened)
That's correct MstrssPassion, those are called "packet sniffers". It takes some savvy to even have access to those transmissions these days, but I'm confident it's probably the equivalent of "Hacker 101" course knowledge these days. I regularly receive Security newsletters & bulletins for IT people and used to write technical articles on Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 issues, the basis or core of Window XP & Vista, only with a new name & face put on it. So I am very familiar with much of what this is based on, but haven't kept myself totally current except for my own needs. I'm also not anything more than an "ex-spurt" with some general knowledge about them when it comes to these kinds of detailed security issues. However, I do have friends & associates that I rely upon who are genuine experts in the area. 
Accessing the contents of a packet and making sense of them once they've been "grabbed" is the next part. With encrypted transmissions, it takes lots of computing power and many, many hours of computer time to try and decode the encryption of any transmissions within them without the password. That's assuming a "strong password" has been used; one which uses a combination of lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers & symbols (somthing to remember when creating passwords for computers, software programs & web sites). The longer the combination of them in the password, the better & more "secure" they are. The kind of encryption readily available today, wasn't available at all to the general public when your friend's photo was stolen in the transmission packet during early days of the net (and still isn't exportable to most countries outside the US).
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Because of this, I can see why a person who doesn't wish to have their image snagged or picked up by unwanted sources are completely within the right to refuse to send one. This doesn't send out red flags to me... the most valid red flags would be easily found out within the conversation.
Keep in mind, pictures can easily be faked simply because they are so easy to come by online.
I don't disagree with what you've said, but one can also be killed just by taking a shower and falling in the tub or by crossing an apparently empty street and getting run over by a truck. There are risks in everything we do in life. Let's not forget the increasing prevalence of identity theft and the myriad of problems that can be caused in one's life that are associated with that too! If one is that concerned about their identity being revealed and connected with this lifestyle , I can only imagine the kind of stress (paranoia perhaps?) they must live with daily in their life. 
Personally, I would not want to live with that kind of need to hide who I am from the rest of the world. 
- pixel
Collared to Majik
< Message edited by pixelslave -- 7/13/2007 10:31:30 AM >
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Chivalry isn't dead! It's for those who have it in their hearts & are willing to be taught. It's a way of life, a code of honor; this one's armor still needs some polishing!
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