Have you been following the news about the RIAA recently?

Even if you think most file-swappers are a bunch of worthless punks, and even if you think file-sharing equates to theft and should not go unpunished, you should be aware of what the RIAA's doing to bypass the United States Constitution. If you're able to read this webpage, the RIAA's tactics will affect you.

Do you have a wireless router at home? Make sure you turn on WEP encryption - because if you don't, anyone with a Wi-Fi card can share files over your connection - and the catch is, you're legally liable for anything they upload or download from your connection. IP address. And it doesn't take all that much to crack 128-bit WEP. Better get rid of your wireless LAN altogether and stick with CAT-5.

The second golden age of wireless has finally come to an end.

There are a few people out there with ideas, though, and they're fighting back. Some of them even have websites.

You can't vote the RIAA out of office; they've bought their way in. The only thing you can do now is to vote with your pocketbook, and stop buying new CDs. For a week, for a month, for as long as you can stand it, don't buy another new CD. Check out your local music store - I'm sure they'd be happy to have your business. For a list of the RIAA members, go see: http://www.boycott-riaa.com/membership.php

Meanwhile, the war between private industry and public service wages on. Please practice safe fileswapping.

posted by Lorna Brown at 10:06 PM