What bought this on was someone put a link in the non av bargains basement and i thought wow. Free Anti virus from AOL so. Doing my good deed i sent that link to everyone in my address book. The abuse i got back. I cant stress enough everyone said in a nutshell there not going to use anything of AOL because its American government backed and they spy on you. Is this true i was going to ask your brain boxes out there. then i found this.

http://www.dannysdailys.com/tips/dan21.html

What do you think so far. any substance in this or is is a case of believe none you hear and question half you see.

Why was all my address book so unanimous about this.

Lis@~~

[Setenza]

Whether the software can or cannot "spy on you", I don't know.

The US authorities have recently leant on several ISP's and search engine providers, for details regarding what people are looking at etc whilst on the net. This of course is being done in the name of "security"

Google told the government to FO. They would not become political stooges providing data for the authorities. AOL may have been more co-operative.

I would never recommend AOL is any way. They provide a great deal of content and have been an propaganda tool for the Bush administration. Their software is also "buggy".

[Badger0-0]

I used to be a member of Compuserve (I always thought that was a fantastic name and should have been used in a spy film ) and then AOL took it over.
They made a right mess of it, as said, totally buggy software even then.

It wouldn't surprise me if they do spy on you to some extent, certainly in the same way the CIA spies on people all over the world via telephone calls. The computers automatically listen for the words "bomb" "Bin Laden" etc
And you wouldn't believe how many millions they can listen to at any one time.
Microsoft are believed to be highly involved in this sort of stuff, too.

But then, I'm a paranoid sort who happens to believe it goes on

In all fairness, though, I'd guess that article was written around 1996 or 7.

[sbowler]

A lot of PC software thats so called free to download for personal use, feeds information back to the company that has developed it. Most people dont read the incredibley long and detailed EULA. "End Users Liscense Agreement" in this it states that users history can be collected. You never get anything for nothing nowdays.

[WelshBluebird]

You don't have to use the AOL software anyway, so my advice is too uninstall it, and just use firefox or opera.

[mjn]

Here's a little test to try:

Send 2 e-mails to a web based e-mail address, one with the word "bomb" in the title, and the other without the word. Send the "bomb" e-mail first, then the other, and see which order they arrive in.

[hottstuff]

Lol.
Dont do the above Lisa , you could be interrogated by unknowns very soon.

Of course the web is monitored , be it a program , or a regulator.

Be carefull , they are always watching.

[Pat_C]

Well let's hope that sophisticated terrorist groups continue to refer to "bombs" and never develop secret code words

[krish]

isn't the AOL UK ISP a different company?
- part of Carphone Warehouse now if I'm not mistaken?

[Setenza]

Stop obscuring this debate with the use of facts

[hottstuff]

Originally Posted by Xusia Of Delos

Stop obscuring this debate with the use of facts

Spot on , as Stephen Colbert once said "The problem with evidence is that it doesn't always agree with your facts"
lol

[wormvortex]

I wouldn't ever use anything by AOL anyways the software isn't partially good at all and I don't really like funding American companies when I don't have 2

[Steven]

Originally Posted by WelshBluebird

You don't have to use the AOL software anyway, so my advice is too uninstall it, and just use firefox or opera.

Really?

No AOL at uni, but at home when we had a trial I thought it was necessary to start AOL?

[WelshBluebird]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

Really?

No AOL at uni, but at home when we had a trial I thought it was necessary to start AOL?

as long as you have ADSL, no AOL software is needed. I think you may need it when you first join (to accept T&C's) and the call centres will expect you to be using it if you phone them for help, but for normal browsing, you don't need it.

If your using the USB modem they supplied, then just follow this http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/DUN.htm

And if your using an ethernet ADSL modem or a router, then you don't have to do anything, just open the browser of your choice.

I'm not sure if your on AOL dial up though, I have a feeling you have to use their software for that.

Slightly related, if anyone is thinking of going with AOL now, be warned that their increasing their prices.
If you happen to live in an LLU'd area, then the prices will stay the same, but if you don't, then silver will go up to £25 (from £15) and platinum will go to £40 (from £30). The contract length will also increase from 12 months to 18 months.
Dunno if this applies just to new customers or to new existing customers though
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/