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`
` EVERYBODY'S INTERNET UPDATE
` ====================
` Number 9 - February, 1995
`------------------------------------------------------------------------------
` An online publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
` Edited by Adam Gaffin, adamg@world.std.com
`------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`
`This month:
`1. Shop 'Til You Drop
` 1.1 Open for Business
` 1.2 The Checks's in the (E-)mail
` 1.3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
` 1.4 FYI
`2. Public-Access Internet Sites
` 2.1 California
` 2.2 Newfoundland
` 2.3 Quebec
` 2.4 Texas
`3. Services of the Month
` 3.1 Censorship
` 3.2 Geology
` 3.3 Government
` 3.4 Jewish Life
` 3.5 Internet
` 3.6 Toll-free phone numbers
`4. Searching the Extended EFF Guide to the Internet
`5. Contact Info
`------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`1. SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP
`1.1 OPEN FOR BUSINESS
`
`Every day, it seems, you hear about yet another company or store going
`online to peddle its wares. In 1994, Home Shopping Network, better known
`for selling cubic zirconia on cable TV, bought the Internet Shopping
`Network, an online computer store. Its rival, QVC, also has plans for an
`Internet service. One would think the Internet is fast becoming
`an online bazaar, where you can pick up everything from mainframe
`computers to flowers, chocolate and lingerie (yes, Valentine's Day
`approaches). Much of this is being driven by the World-Wide Web, which
`makes possible such things as online catalogs (complete with photos) and
`order forms. To be sure, there were online stores before the Web took
`off, but the Web lets a company show off its wares, and logo, in an easy-
`on-the-eyes (and easy-to-use) format. And pre-Web efforts concentrated
`more on giving you limited access to an online catalog -- you still had
`to call a phone number somewhere to actually place an order.
`
`But are *you* going to buy something over the Internet? For all the hype
`over small florists getting international orders over the Internet, one
`has to wonder whether these storefronts will ultimately prove more
`successful than the ones that have long been present on commercial
`networks such as CompuServe and Prodigy. Are you going to entrust your
`credit-card number to the Internet, a network on which security concerns
`have made front-page news more than once?
`
`1.2 THE CHECK'S IN THE (E-)MAIL
`
`Some electronic merchants say that sending your credit-card number over
`the Internet is really no more risky than handing it over to a clerk in a
`department store. Their argument is base on security through obscurity --
`
`http://w2.eff.org/Net_culture/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates/netupdate.009
`
`PayPal Ex.1020, p.1
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`

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`Page 2 of 6
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`there are so many e-mail messages pouring through the Internet each day
`that it would be virtually impossible for a hacker to find the ones
`containing credit-card information.
`
`Others, however, are more wary -- as are their potential customers.
`Merchants also want some assurances that the person making an order
`really is who she says she is. Internet e-mail is simply ASCII text, and
`while the sheer volume of it these days would make it difficult to find
`specific messages, one should never underestimate the ability of a
`harcker with a computer to find a needle in a haystack (i.e., one credit
`card number out of thousands of messages).
`
`As you might expect, a number of companies are working on making the
`Internet safe for business. CommerceNet, a joint venture between the U.S.
`government and companies in California's Silicon Valley, has developed a
`system based on encryption. When you fill out an online order form, it
`is encoded in such a way that only the merchant you're sending it to can
`de-code it -- and inside will be your unique "digital signature," proving
`you are, in fact, you.
`
`But this approach relies on you having a special piece of software on
`your computer to encrypt the order form. Netscape's World-Wide Web
`browser is the first to incorporate this software (that's what the little
`broken key in the lower left hand corner is for), but other companies
`that sell Web browsers will be adding it over the next few months.
`
`The basic way it works relies on a technique known as public-key
`encryption. In this system, the merchant has a public key, or
`mathematical formula, that can be used to encrypt messages meant for him.
`Anybody can use this key, but only the merchant has the private key that
`can open up the message. Now you can fill out an online order form and
`include your credit-card number -- and be assured that nobody can
`
`But some argue this sort of technique would impede impulse purchase
`(surely a right enshrined in the U.S.
`Constitution), because you need the right software to handle the
`encryption on your computer.
`
`So other companies are working on the online equivalent of credit cards
`good at participating merchants. First, you apply for an account with
`one of these companies the old-fashioned way -- by telephone or postal
`mail.
`
`Then, when you connect to a participating merchant and submit an order,
`the merchant's computer sends a message to the "credit card" computer.
`That computer then sends a message to you, asking you to confirm the
`order. One company's computer will even ask you to answer a question
`only you could answer (such as your mother's maiden name or your dog's
`name). Assuming you answer affirmatively, the transaction is then
`completed.
`
`A third approach involves an attempt to create an electronic equivalent
`of cold, hard cash. Proponents say one of the problems with the first
`two approaches is that somebody, somewhere, is keeping track of who you
`are and what you buy. Instead, in an approach developed by a Dutch
`company called DigiCash, your bank essentially lets you withdraw funds
`into a digital account that sits on your personal computer. Then when
`you enter an online store that accepts this digital money, you can pay
`them with these funds.
`
`http://w2.eff.org/Net_culture/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates/netupdate.009
`
`PayPal Ex.1020, p.2
`
`

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`Page 3 of 6
`
`This approach, like the cryptography one, requires special software
`(which creates your "digital signature"), as well as an account with a
`participating bank
`
`Now proponents of the last two methods argue that, ultimately, the bulk
`of Internet business will center not on big-ticket items such as
`computers or cars, but on information. Right now, information for sale
`tends to be very expensive and sold on the basis of high hourly rates.
`With the potential mass market represented by the Internet, though,
`people with information to sell might find it more lucrative to lower
`their rates and go for volume. With an all electronic system, it might
`become possible, say, to sell information for a small per-article or per-
`search charge.
`
`Over the next few months, you'll see all three types of systems become
`more common in online stores. Expect some confusion as merchants and
`users try to figure out which system to use.
`
`1.3 THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
`
`1994 represented something of a watershed for the Internet -- it was the
`year the people who normally advertise in the back of the National
`Enquirer and Cosmopolitan discovered the Net.
`
`Usenet participants found their favorite conferences filled with ads for
`everything from thigh-reducing cream to pornography. Canter and Siegel,
`a pair of lawyers in Phoenix, Ariz., gained national media attention when
`they flooded some 6,000 separate Usenet newsgroups with ads for a $99
`immigration service.
`
`Now, the reason they gained such notice was not because they had done
`something unique (in January, 1994, a system administrator at a small
`college in Pennsylvania did much the same thing with postings about how
`the Los Angeles earthquake proved the Second Coming was imminent), but
`because of the reaction of Internet users. Simply, many users were
`outraged that no matter what newsgroup they went into, whether it was to
`discuss Unix programming or planning a wedding, they found the same darn
`ad, over and over and over. Rather than using cross-posting -- in which
`a person reads the message once and then has it blanked out from
`remaining newsgroups by his software -- they posted each message
`individually (well, with the help of some software) -- meaning you
`couldn't get away from it.
`
`Suddenly, the once obscure Usenet phrase "to spam" (from the Monty Python
`skit about the restaurant that only serves the stuff) was making the
`pages of the New York Times. Some Usenet particpants responded by
`posting messages on how to get the same services offered by the lawyers
`for free. More deluged the lawyers -- and the administrators at the
`system they used -- with protest messages, some 200 megabytes worth in
`just two days.
`
`But what the lawyers pulled may be the last time anybody gets away with
`something like that. Today, numerous Usenet users stay on the alert for
`spamming. Using a technique known as "cancelling," they are able to wipe
`out such messages almost as soon as they pop up (which raises some
`interesting and troubling questions about the ease with which somebody
`else's messages can be deleted worldwide).
`
`The moral of the story is that Internet users do not object to
`advertising in general, but that many feel it has a proper place -- in
`
`http://w2.eff.org/Net_culture/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates/netupdate.009
`
`PayPal Ex.1020, p.3
`
`

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`Page 4 of 6
`
`online catalogs that users have to make a point of going to, not shoved
`down people's throats in discussion areas.
`
`1.4 FYI
`
`Commerce Net maintains a Web site at http://www.commerce.net.
`
`You can read about Digicash's e-cash proposal at its Web site:
`http://www.digicash.com.
`
`Open Marketplace, Inc., is developing a credit-card type of approach
`to commerce. You can get a look on the Web at
`http://www.openmarket.com/omp.html.
`
`Dave Taylor's "Internet Shopping Mall" is a comprehensive listing of
`online stores. You can get it via anonymous FTP at ftp.netcom.com.
`Look in the /pub/Gu/Guides directory. It's also available via Gopher
`at peg.cwis.uci.edu. From the main menu, select Accessing the
`Internet, PEG, Internet Assistance and then Internet Shopping Mall
`(you may have to go down a couple of pages to get there).
`
`If you want to discuss the online shopping experience, the imall-chat
`mailing list is for you. To subscribe, write to listserv@netcom.com.
`Leave your subject line blank, and as your message, write: subscribe
`imall-chat.
`
`Bob O'Keefe at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute maintains an extensive
`listing of businesses on the Net. It's available via the Web at
`http://www.rpi.edu/okeefe/businss.html.
`
`You'll find another extensive listing at Stanford University's Yahoo
`site on the Web: http://akebono.stanford.edu/yahoo/Business/Corporations
`
`Kent State University in Ohio maintains a repository of "Business Sources
`on the Net." Use gopher to connect to refmac.kent.edu.
`
`Two books to take a look at are Jill Ellsworth's "The Internet
`Business Book" (John Wiley and Sons) and Mary Cronin's "Doing Business
`on the Internet" (1994, Van Nostrand Reinhold).
`
`The alt.current-events.net-abuse Usenet newsgroup is the place to discuss
`spamming and other obnoxious advertising.
`
`2 PUBLIC-ACCESS SITES
`
`The following are new or updated listings for sites that provide Internet
`access.
`
`2.1 CALIFORNIA
`
`Cupertino. Aimnet. (408) 366-9000 (Cupertino); (415) 610-8625
`(Belmont); (510) 227-8730 (Pleasanton); (415) 288-9720 (San Francisco).
`$20 set-up and $20 a month; $25 set-up and $20 a month for SLIP/PPP.
`Voice: (408) 257-0900.
`
`2.2 NEWFOUNDLAND
`
`St.John's. Compusult Limited. Call voice number for modem number.
`$24.95 a month for 25 hours access; $3 an hour for each additional hour.
`SLIP/PPP access: $50 set-up fee; $24.95 a month. Voice (709) 745-
`
`http://w2.eff.org/Net_culture/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates/netupdate.009
`
`PayPal Ex.1020, p.4
`
`

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`Page 5 of 6
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`7914; Fax: (709) 745-7927.
`
`2.3 QUEBEC
`
`Montreal. Communications Accessibles Montreal. To start account,
`call voice number. $25 month plus tax for 10 hours a week. Voice:
`(514) 288-2581.
`
`2.4 TEXAS
`
`Austin. RealTime Communications, (512) 459-4391. Log on as: new. $80 for
`six months; includes SLIP access. Voice: (512) 206-3800.
`
`3 SERVICES OF THE MONTH
`
`3.1 CENSORSHIP
`
`John Ockerbloom has created an online listing of books banned in the
`U.S. (as well as text from the books themselves) at
`http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/Web/People/spok/banned-books.html
`
`3.2 GEOLOGY
`
`VolcanoWorld is all about things that erupt in the night, and is
`available on the Web at http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/
`
`3.3 GOVERNMENT
`
`The U.S. Department of the Treasury, which oversees everything from
`printing money to going after moonshiners, has a Web server at
`http://www.ustreas.gov. One Treasury bureau is the Internal Revenue
`Service, which is making tax forms available online, at
`http://www.ustreas.gov/treasury/bureaus/irs/irs.html. You'll need
`Adobe's Acrobat form viewer, which you can get for free on this site
`for Windows, Macintosh and Sun Unix machines.
`
`Not to be outdone, Her Majesty's Treasury in the U.K. is also online,
`with a Web and an anonymous FTP server that includes economic and
`treasury reports. The Web URL is http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk and
`includes a link to other government agencies; the FTP address is
`ftp.hm-treasury.gov.uk.
`
`3.4 JEWISH LIFE
`
`Jews-News is an electronic newsletter devoted to Jewish and Israeli news,
`with issues coming out two to three times a week. To subscribe, write to
`listserv@jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il. Leave the subject line blank, and as
`the message, write:
`
` subscribe jews-news Your Name
`
`3.5 INTERNET
`
`If you want to see how non-computer trade journals (from travel to
`restaurant publications) are covering the Internet, check out
`Tradewinds, a monthly review of these articles written by Kenneth
`Liss, a librarian at the Boston Public Library's Kirstein Business
`Branch. It's available via anonymous ftp at ftp.std.com in the
`/periodicals/TRADEWINDS directory, and by gopher at gopher.std.com
`(from the main menu, select Periodicals and then TRADEWINDS).
`
`http://w2.eff.org/Net_culture/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates/netupdate.009
`
`PayPal Ex.1020, p.5
`
`

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`Page 6 of 6
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`3.6 TOLL-FREE PHONE NUMBERS
`
`You can look up companies in AT&T's directory of toll-free business
`listings on the Web at http://att.net/dir800.
`
`4. SEARCHING THE EXTENDED EFF GUIDE TO THE INTERNET
`
`Joerg Heitkoetter, who has done some amazing things with the guide (such
`as adding numerous chapters), recently set up a system by which you can
`search the guide by keyword. To try it, point your Web browser at
`http://www.germany.eu.net/cgi-bin/eegfind.pl
`
`5. CONTACT INTO
`
`Everybody's Internet Update is published monthly by the Electronic
`Frontier Foundation. Current and back copies are available by anonymous
`FTP or ncFTP at ftp.eff.org in the pub/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates
`directory; by gopher at gopher.eff.org (select Net Info, then EFF Net
`Guide, then Updates); and by WWW at
`http://www.eff.org/pub/Net_i
`nfo/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates/
`
`To receive the updates via e-mail, write to listserv@eff.org. Leave
`the subject line blank, and as your message, write:
`
` add net-guide-update
`
`To obtain a copy of the entire EFF Guide to the Internet, use anonymous
`FTP or ncFTP to connect to ftp.eff.org and look in the
`/pub/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide directory, or use gopher to connect to
`gopher.eff.org and then select Net Info and then EFF Net Guide. You'll
`find several versions for different types of computers. The file
`netguide.eff is the generic ASCII version.
`
`To reach Update Editor Adam Gaffin, write adamg@world.std.com.
`
`For general information on the Electronic Frontier Foundation, send an e-
`mail message to info@eff.org. To ask a specific question, write
`ask@eff.org.
`
`Everybody's Internet Update is copyright 1995 by the Electronic Frontier
`Foundation, Washington, D.C.
`
`http://w2.eff.org/Net_culture/Net_info/EFF_Net_Guide/Updates/netupdate.009
`
`PayPal Ex.1020, p.6