Sunday, March 11, 2007

Don't Let OneCare Eat Your Email - AppScout Whenever a program gets wide distribution there are bound to be some users who, rightly or wrongly, feel it has caused them pain. Sometimes it's a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc (Latin for "the hog was here, so the hog did it"). Other times there really is a problem, perhaps due to an unusual configuration or a compatibility problem with some less-common applications. But it's rare that the problem is as serious and the response as limited as in this case. A reader brought to my attention a thread in Microsoft's discussion forums for Windows OneCare titled "Outlook and Outlook Express Mail Store Missing or Quarantined". The thread started with a message in January and it's still running today, with no clear resolution. In brief, if you get a virus in an email message received by Outlook, OneCare's next virus sweep may quarantine or delete your entire email store. If you receive a virus via Outlook Express OneCare may quarantine or delete the entire folder containing the virus. Really! As the thread goes on, more and more users weigh in reporting the problem. Moderators attempt soothing responses like "Obviously, the action by OneCare is undesirable. However, you can ... exclude the Outlook PST file" and "I know it won't make you feel any better, but you're all really helping to make OneCare a better program for everyone" and "You never want email scanned on the way in or out of the system as it causes more problems than it fixes." At one or two points the moderators announce a fix, but the problem reports keep coming in. One moderator mused that this had been a problem in the beta of OneCare 1.0, but he hadn't seen it since then. Another suggested that version 1.5 may have been coded from the wrong "code branch" of the base 1.0/1.1 version. Hmm.... 3:08:23 PM

Lawmakers: Additional pretexting legislation needed. Lawmakers: Additional pretexting legislation needed. Despite dismay from telecom firms and the Department of Justice, lawmakers on Capitol Hill appear ready to once again put their weight behind laws designed to crack down on pretexting. [Computerworld Privacy News] 1:33:48 PM

Don't like ID cards? Hand over your passport | the Daily Mail Anybody who objects to their personal details going on the new "Big Brother" ID cards database will be banned from having a passport. James Hall, the official in charge of the supposedly-voluntary scheme, said the Government would allow people to opt out - but in return they must "forgo the ability" to have a travel document. With one in every eight people saying they will refuse to sign-up, up to five million adults could effectively be refused permission to leave the country. Campaigners reacted to Mr Hall's remarks with fury, saying they were yet more evidence of the lurch towards "Big Brother" Britain. Phil Booth, of the NO2ID group, said: "The idea that ID cards scheme is voluntary, and people can opt-out, is a joke. "There are all sorts of reasons why people need to travel, not just for holidays. There is work, visiting relatives. "What are these people supposed to do? It stretches the definition of voluntary beyond breaking point. They will go to any length to get personal information for this huge database. Who knows what will happen to it then?" 12:56:16 PM

© Copyright 2007 Paul Hardwick. Last update: 3/18/07; 10:35:18 PM.