The Web, Media, and the Law

As now a pensioner (involuntarily unemployed!) I spend quite a lot of time
listening to the radio and reading news online.

Today Radio 4 had a "feature" about underage schoolchildren posting photos
of themselves on the web that are clearly illegal. I then started reading The
Times which featured details of a lengthy video, readily accessible AIUI of
somebody being murdered. A further programme is on R4 tonight.

I also understand that even more stringent laws are being applied to what is
illegal to store on one's computer in two weeks time.

I'm actually coming to the conclusion that the internet really has now got out of control
and the next stage really will be either censorship or some form of serious restriction on
upload/download sites and possible fullscale removal of sites from particular countries.

I put no blame on the ISPs in the UK but as PN customers are likely to be from the more rational sectors of society I though I might express my concerns here.

Maybe I really am getting old!

As someone in exactly the same position as you, Meldrew, (ie pensioner involuntarily unemployed!!!) I have to agree - recently had to sort out my daughter & b/f's computer AGAIN which was infested with Adware,trojans etc - some of the porn pop ups even made me blush and I lived thru the early 70s at University!!!

Cough! .

I wonder how it got there? (Apart from the absence of any effective anti-virus and firewall software).

Unfortunately he is an avid user of d/l sites eg BitTorrent - I keep updating their PC's AV & ANTI-ADWARE S/W but ........

In that case it either isn't working or isn't any good. Or even getting turned off because it possibly slows things down or blocks them.

You sure it's just torrents/downloads? (Not throwing stones, just a serious question as to how so much porn and so many trojans get in. Adware is probably just a setting needs altering - assuming the AV/FW in question has an adware blocker).

Edited by RobertoS (Thu 15-Jan-09 12:52:59)