NationStates Jolt Archive

Clicky (http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070106/NEWS01/701060312/1002/NEWS17)

So 40 years in prison for some porn-ups? If I were her I'd sue the school for nonfunctioning software.:D

She shouldn't get any time in prison for that.

Maybe a fine. Nothing more.

wow. did i read that correct? 40 years for showing some porn? wtf. even if she clicked on them or did it on purpose that would be way to much. maybe a fine or something but 40 years? murderers get less jailtime.

murderers get less jailtime.True, so it's better to kill people then it is to watch porn.:eek:

She FACE 40 years in prison. If she gets ANY jail time, let alone 40, I'll be surprised.

True, so it's better to kill people then it is to watch porn.:eek:

that seems to be the message they are sending. although i think it is less fun :p

wow. did i read that correct? 40 years for showing some porn? wtf. even if she clicked on them or did it on purpose that would be way to much. maybe a fine or something but 40 years? murderers get less jailtime.

I was intrigued by this:

"You have to physically click on it to get to those sites," Smith said. "I think the evidence is overwhelming that she did intend to access those Web sites."

Now, I don't know about you, but if pop-ups are coming nonstop, especially porn ones, and I'm in a classroom, my first reaction would be to close the popups as fast as possible. Which means I'm rushing to the "X" box, and if you aren't careful, accidentally clicking them(Especially if flooded with many, many pop-ups), is not that far-fetched.

I was intrigued by this:

"You have to physically click on it to get to those sites," Smith said. "I think the evidence is overwhelming that she did intend to access those Web sites."

Now, I don't know about you, but if pop-ups are coming nonstop, especially porn ones, and I'm in a classroom, my first reaction would be to close the popups as fast as possible. Which means I'm rushing to the "X" box, and if you aren't careful, accidentally clicking them(Especially if flooded with many, many pop-ups), is not that far-fetched.

i was thinking the same actually, but its hard to prove i guess. and even if she was clicking them for what bizare reason, i don't even think she deserves jail. it would be somewhat sick, but prisson?

Wow!!!

I wonder where the prosecution found their 'expert' coz its obvious the guy does not have a fucking clue.

40 years...(even if its just facing 40 years) is a ridiculous length of time.

America - Land of the Free? More like Land of the Imprisoned.

i was thinking the same actually, but its hard to prove i guess. and even if she was clicking them for what bizare reason, i don't even think she deserves jail. it would be somewhat sick, but prisson?

I can see something like a few months or so, suspension of teaching license, etc. But 40 fucking years? Seventh graders have seen PLENTY of porn, more than likely, and wouldn't be shocked at all(Being as how some of the notes that one of my teachers found and shared with us in her senior class shocked us all as to how graphic they were-bloody hell what is wrong with youth today?), a 40 year sentence is amazingly long for such an idiotic thing.

Seriously, I could put a reasonable doubt case up in no time flat... makes me think that the jury wasn't exactly impartial.

I dunno, from personal experience, I know I would have jabbed the reset button on the computer pretty quickly. Similar thing happened to me in school when I was student. I sure as hell didn't want the teacher to think I was accessing the site. I tried closing them for a couple of seconds, gave up, turned the monitor off, then hit the reset button after a few more seconds, and then waited until I heard the bios beep before turning the monitor back on. Thus I was saved from detention that day.

Anyway, the worst thing that should happen to her in this case is that she gets fired from her agency. The best being that she gets disciplined for accessing the hairstyle website when she should have been working with the kids or nothing at all besides verbal warning.

Anyway, the teacher was very dumb. She could´ve close the pop ups, disconect the monitor or even shut down the monitor and the computer.

Anyway, the teacher was very dumb. She could´ve close the pop ups, disconect the monitor or even shut down the monitor and the computer.

Well, Closing the pop-ups she tried, but she was flooded with them.

Disconnecting/shutting down the computer would be common sense, however when you are not prepared, and there are students around, you may panic a bit and not be thinking sensibly.

Sorry but rebooting the machine would not have saved her from prosecution. The idiot of an expert on the prosecution side was using the browser history as the basis of the prosecution.

Ah, that wacky USA.

How the fuck is "impairing the morals of a child" a crime, much less a felony. And have any of those fuckwads ever been to a school? The school "computer experts" never clean out the computers of spyware or viruses and the students go wherever they want when they are on them. But most schools have (really shitty) site blocking filters. I vote she file something against the school for not having such filters.

The risk of 40 years in prison is a small price to pay to amuse us, isn''t it? ;) :p

Seriously though - she'd better only get a fine at most. Maybe 10$ should be enough...

I think it's the "showing porn to a kid" that is getting the ridiculous jailtime here.

And yeah, pull the plug and call the IT people right away, for pete's sake.

You know...if I was her I'd be thinking about suing the school for not providing her with a secure work environment.

I think it's the "showing porn to a kid" that is getting the ridiculous jailtime here.

And yeah, pull the plug and call the IT people right away, for pete's sake.

I don't know about that school but the IT people at my school (high school and college even probably) have very little clue wtf they are doing outside of basic networking. They have no idea how to keep a computer clean and up to date. The only reason the ones at my college are clean is because they are reformatted every 6 months (and then not updated).

Who used the same computer - I think the previous user caused all her problems (might even been one of the students).

I don't know about that school but the IT people at my school (high school and college even probably) have very little clue wtf they are doing outside of basic networking. They have no idea how to keep a computer clean and up to date. The only reason the ones at my college are clean is because they are reformatted every 6 months (and then not updated).

heh...I was doing some consulting for a major pharmaceutical company. The main networking guy told me in no uncertain terms that IE 6 & 7 were totally secure browsers. Needless to say, after I picked myself up off the floor from laughing I ripped him a new arsehole.

I will say though that that was a very unusual situation. What I find is that the issue lies with managers who are not willing to affect a change in fear that the user community gets all het up.

I've gone through that process and it can be a nightmare but at the end of the day I have legal responsibilities to deliver a secure environment whether the users like it or not. Too many users think that the machine they use for work is actually theirs. Well...its not.

That's very possible but, I was thinking more in the lines of CYA.

"OMG get DOWN here, the computer went NUTS! I had to unplug it, the pop-ups were OBSCENE!"

vs.

"Mommy, today Ms Smith showed us NAKED PEOPLE!"

NOT dealing with something of this nature head-on and reporting it before the kids do makes you look like you were doing something wrong.

She's not going to get as much as six months. The only reason it says 'Facing forty years" is because showing pornography to a minor can be considered an act of a sexual predator.

I'd be slightly surprised if she got a fine. The reporter was just trying to be sensationalist.

That's very possible but, I was thinking more in the lines of CYA.

"OMG get DOWN here, the computer went NUTS! I had to unplug it, the pop-ups were OBSCENE!"

vs.

"Mommy, today Ms Smith showed us NAKED PEOPLE!"

NOT dealing with something of this nature head-on and reporting it before the kids do makes you look like you were doing something wrong.

Can't argue with that. And pretty sensible. But given that the idiots were prosecuting based on the browser history I doubt that would have made much difference. Who knows...

But the fact is that it is down to the IT dept to ensure the integrity of the environment.

Reminds me when we got zapped with Malissa (thanks to someone using Virus Express...against company policy)...I had to leg into to the server room to unplug the Exchange server to prevent our clients being hit.

How the fuck is "impairing the morals of a child" a crime, much less a felony. And have any of those fuckwads ever been to a school? The school "computer experts" never clean out the computers of spyware or viruses and the students go wherever they want when they are on them. But most schools have (really shitty) site blocking filters. I vote she file something against the school for not having such filters.

It's not like that at the schools I've been to. My science and history teacher in middle school now also takes care of a lot of the computers there, and he really seems to know what he's doing.

Bess blocked pretty much everything at the elementary schools I went to, too. It's nearly impossible to even do research on those computers because the filters block everything.

I was intrigued by this:

"You have to physically click on it to get to those sites," Smith said. "I think the evidence is overwhelming that she did intend to access those Web sites."

Now, I don't know about you, but if pop-ups are coming nonstop, especially porn ones, and I'm in a classroom, my first reaction would be to close the popups as fast as possible. Which means I'm rushing to the "X" box, and if you aren't careful, accidentally clicking them(Especially if flooded with many, many pop-ups), is not that far-fetched.
I once got trapped in a pop-up loop frenzy. As soon as I clicked on one to shut it down, more appeared. It ended up getting to over 100 before my comp just seized up.
Ever since I installed ad-blocker software and firefox, I haven't had this prob.

I was intrigued by this:

"You have to physically click on it to get to those sites," Smith said. "I think the evidence is overwhelming that she did intend to access those Web sites."

Now, I don't know about you, but if pop-ups are coming nonstop, especially porn ones, and I'm in a classroom, my first reaction would be to close the popups as fast as possible. Which means I'm rushing to the "X" box, and if you aren't careful, accidentally clicking them(Especially if flooded with many, many pop-ups), is not that far-fetched.You (and the woman) have obviously never heard of "control-shift-w" (control apple w on a mac)

Faces UP to 40 years... and for a total of 4 counts was it? Meanwhile I would contact and sue the website for infecting my computer with spyware that lead to the arrest.

Anyway, the teacher was very dumb. She could´ve close the pop ups, disconect the monitor or even shut down the monitor and the computer.

I think it's the "showing porn to a kid" that is getting the ridiculous jailtime here.

And yeah, pull the plug and call the IT people right away, for pete's sake.

You (and the woman) have obviously never heard of "control-shift-w" (control apple w on a mac)

Speaking as an IT support person, there are many factors to consider.
1) she may not be "computer Savvy" like everyone here. So expecting her to know which cable to pull out is a bit much.
2) damage to the monitor by just pulling the plug is possible. damage to the harddrive is also possible by just pulling the plug out. which is why people are suggested to useing Surge Protectors.
3) turning the monitor off may not turn the speakers off and some of the pop ups I had to remove included sounds. "Ms Amero... why is the computer moaning like that?"
4) turning off the CPU on today's computers involve holding the power button down for 10 seconds. with pop ups coming up, that could add several seconds more to the power off cycle. Computers sold nowdays don't power off after pressing the power button for 10 seconds but go into a wait or sleep mode. pressing the power button again just wakes it up.
5) If it was the school's computer, it's their responsibility to keep their protection up to date, scanners, firewall, even access.
6) She was Substituting, I doubt that she would bring her Computer to the classroom. If she brought her laptop, then it wasn't for the purpose of showing anything to the students (a hairstyling site?) but personal use.
7) seeing how some offices are set up, she may not have had access to get behind the computer to turn it off.
8) if spyware was found on the pc, the school should also look at the cookies and the history... it may not be her fault but the regular teacher's fault.

All in all, if she does get any jail time, then I would call it a gross miscarriage of justice.





I really hate Spyware... :mad:

They were looking at the history - out of context and in a biased point of view. The popups will story themselves in history thus making it look like the sub visited tons of sites only because there is no way to stop pop ups.

Pop ups make baby jesus cry.

Faces UP to 40 years... and for a total of 4 counts was it? Meanwhile I would contact and sue the website for infecting my computer with spyware that lead to the arrest.

2) damage to the monitor by just pulling the plug is possible. damage to the harddrive is also possible by just pulling the plug out. which is why people are suggested to useing Surge Protectors.

All in all, if she does get any jail time, then I would call it a gross miscarriage of justice.

I really hate Spyware... :mad:

Depends where the website is hosted or the company is located.

Surge protection has nothing to do with pulling a plug. It flattens voltages that can damage electronic kit. For example if you rise above 120volts for more than a couple of nanoseconds is a surge (less than a couple of nanoseconds is a spike).

the last two points....I agree with you wholeheartedly. Spammers and spyware/malware deserve to have...well if I describe what I would like to do to them I think I'd get banned.

Depends where the website is hosted or the company is located.

Surge protection has nothing to do with pulling a plug. It flattens voltages that can damage electronic kit. For example if you rise above 120volts for more than a couple of nanoseconds is a surge (less than a couple of nanoseconds is a spike).

the last two points....I agree with you wholeheartedly. Spammers and spyware/malware deserve to have...well if I describe what I would like to do to them I think I'd get banned.

Spyware is encoded into the website. that means 1) they know it's there. or 2) their secuity is faulty, which is still their responsibility.

the point is that it keeps the electrical flow going at a steady pulse. just cutting the juice can cause platter damage (rare, but it has happened) as well as damage to programs and the memory.

Spyware is encoded into the website. that means 1) they know it's there. or 2) their secuity is faulty, which is still their responsibility.

the point is that it keeps the electrical flow going at a steady pulse. just cutting the juice can cause platter damage (rare, but it has happened) as well as damage to programs and the memory.

If the company is based in Russia there really is not much you can do. That was my point. Believe me...I am fully aware how spy/malware works.

Yes. Which not what you said. What you are talking about has nothing to do with power surging.

Sorry if I upset you. That was not my intention.

We keep hearing these insane cases from the US, where unbelievable sentences are handed down for what are relatively minor crimes...is this a problem elsewhere? I mean...in Canada, there are regularly complaints about sentences being much too light for serious crimes...but I honestly can't think of any case where the sentence has been so fucking outrageous. We have a unified Federal Criminal Code, and sentences are clearly laid out there...is this why people don't get 40 years for being internet naive?

If anyone can think of a Canadian case even somewhat comparable to the overkill of this sentence, please let me know.

If the company is based in Russia there really is not much you can do. That was my point. Believe me...I am fully aware how spy/malware works.

Yes. Which not what you said. What you are talking about has nothing to do with power surging.

Sorry if I upset you. That was not my intention.

not upset. sorry if I came across like that... well I am upset but that's because I am currently rebuilding a harddrive that has several colonies of viruse and spyware on it. :p

well, I'm sure that the lawyer can at least look into it. after all, this will be a civil lawsuit and not a class action suite.

not upset. sorry if I came across like that... well I am upset but that's because I am currently rebuilding a harddrive that has several colonies of viruse and spyware on it. :p

I hear you! LOL Its a total pain in the ass.

well, I'm sure that the lawyer can at least look into it. after all, this will be a civil lawsuit and not a class action suite.

Well you see this is the problem. Most of those pop ups have some kind of payload that is either damaging to your machine (zombies) or to your privacy (keyloggers). Either way they are attempting something that is really rather illegal. Or should be.

So at the end of the day they are involved in some illegal activity...so saying the host/company has a responsibility is pointless. They know they are treading a fine line. Look at Spoke.com (http://phil.yanov.com/2007/01/spokecom-is-evil.htm) as perfect example.

When I am dealing with corporate infrastructures I know that there is bad shit out there and the only way to deal with it is to protect myself with technology and user education.

I Well you see this is the problem. Most of those pop ups have some kind of payload that is either damaging to your machine (zombies) or to your privacy (keyloggers). Either way they are attempting something that is really rather illegal. Or should be.

So at the end of the day they are involved in some illegal activity...so saying the host/company has a responsibility is pointless. They know they are treading a fine line. Look at Spoke.com (http://phil.yanov.com/2007/01/spokecom-is-evil.htm) as perfect example.

When I am dealing with corporate infrastructures I know that there is bad shit out there and the only way to deal with it is to protect myself with technology and user education.
which is why I said civil lawsuit. because they are installing a program without your knowledge, that can be used to set the prescident of Trespassing, and since those programs ended up with the sub getting arrested and facing jail time, it has some damages done as well. And since people bring up silly lawsuites all the time... (Suing McDonalds for making you fat? c'mon now...)

Hmm... that would make spyware littering... and mal ware an invasion of privacy...

it would be fun to watch at least. :p

which is why I said civil lawsuit. because they are installing a program without your knowledge, that can be used to set the prescident of Trespassing, and since those programs ended up with the sub getting arrested and facing jail time, it has some damages done as well. And since people bring up silly lawsuites all the time... (Suing McDonalds for making you fat? c'mon now...)

Hmm... that would make spyware littering... and mal ware an invasion of privacy...

it would be fun to watch at least. :p

yeah...something security advocates like me have been harping on about for the last 10 years LOL! But in the meantime we still need to be able to protect ourselves.

It is an invasion of privacy. And a total pain in the ass...but in a corporate environment (and home!) you still need to protect yourself.

(suing maccyD for making one fat...good grief!LOL)

WHAT? :headbang:

this is retarded. remind me to never go live in Norwich, conn. that is retarded. t also sounds like the prosecutions "expert" probably only took maybe one class in internet explorer basics. i can see this being appealed and God willing a more sane judge.

wow, you got some properly fucked up sentencing conventions over there. the maximum i'd have thought would be necessary for "corrupting the morals of a minor" (lol) is a fine to cover the cost of whatever therapy/brain washing is deemed necessary to fix the kid's morals. and maybe she should lose her job, maybe.

"The minors than reportedly went home and watched large-breasted anime woman be raped"

:p

pure hysteria, thats what it seems like

she should just get a verbal warning from her employees, maybe monitored for a a few months. 40 years is a farce

Clicky (http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070106/NEWS01/701060312/1002/NEWS17)

So 40 years in prison for some porn-ups? If I were her I'd sue the school for nonfunctioning software.:D

The guys who arrested her are assholes, and the judge who sentenced her is an asshole.

They're all ASSHOLES!

"The minors than reportedly went home and watched large-breasted anime woman be raped"

:p
as long as they were large brested, adult, animated women that were being Raped... after all, we gotta protect the minors.

as long as they were large brested, adult, animated women that were being Raped... after all, we gotta protect the minors.

Nah, they were 15. And it was by 3 year old tentacle monsters.

Clicky (http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070106/NEWS01/701060312/1002/NEWS17)

So 40 years in prison for some porn-ups? If I were her I'd sue the school for nonfunctioning software.:D

I'm actually wondering how you found this article ;)

:fluffle: anyway

<snip>

In other amusing news, Jolt hates European spelling for some reason ;)

In other amusing news, Jolt hates European spelling for some reason ;)

Really? :rolleyes: :p

I don't know about that school but the IT people at my school (high school and college even probably) have very little clue wtf they are doing outside of basic networking. They have no idea how to keep a computer clean and up to date. The only reason the ones at my college are clean is because they are reformatted every 6 months (and then not updated).

I knew a school tech support that didn't even know how to remove a jammed floppy disk! They were going to send it back to the factory! (Which is horrible since it was MY DISK)

Well well!

According to el reg -

The license for the school's content filtering software, which (if working) would have blocked the images, had expired.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/11/spyware_teacher/

I hate America.

You (and the woman) have obviously never heard of "control-shift-w" (control apple w on a mac)

No, no I haven't. Like I said, most laymen don't have a clue about computer functions.

Nah, they were 15. And it was by 3 year old tentacle monsters.

Well, additively...

I'm actually wondering how you found this article ;)

:fluffle: anyway
:fluffle: I saw a Dutch version, really;)
In other amusing news, Jolt hates European spelling for some reason ;)

Really? :rolleyes: :p
Guh?:confused:

That's just wrong...

...
Speaking as an IT support person, there are many factors to consider.
1) she may not be "computer Savvy" like everyone here. So expecting her to know which cable to pull out is a bit much.
2) damage to the monitor by just pulling the plug is possible. damage to the harddrive is also possible by just pulling the plug out. which is why people are suggested to useing Surge Protectors.
3) turning the monitor off may not turn the speakers off and some of the pop ups I had to remove included sounds. "Ms Amero... why is the computer moaning like that?"
4) turning off the CPU on today's computers involve holding the power button down for 10 seconds. with pop ups coming up, that could add several seconds more to the power off cycle. Computers sold nowdays don't power off after pressing the power button for 10 seconds but go into a wait or sleep mode. pressing the power button again just wakes it up.
5) If it was the school's computer, it's their responsibility to keep their protection up to date, scanners, firewall, even access.
6) She was Substituting, I doubt that she would bring her Computer to the classroom. If she brought her laptop, then it wasn't for the purpose of showing anything to the students (a hairstyling site?) but personal use.
7) seeing how some offices are set up, she may not have had access to get behind the computer to turn it off.
8) if spyware was found on the pc, the school should also look at the cookies and the history... it may not be her fault but the regular teacher's fault.

All in all, if she does get any jail time, then I would call it a gross miscarriage of justice.

...

If her lawyer had known these basics, there wouldn't be any need to appeal.
A short demo in the court, with the judge or prosecutor demonstrating how to close popups in a hurry while keeping porn off the screen, should seal the case.

And what about examining the motives of the 'perpetrator'? Surely using a school computer for non-educational purposes is a sackable offence at most? Not covering it up is incompetence. Not knowing that it would need covering up is incompetence. Both are no more than sackable offences, unless they endanger life, in which case they are criminal negligence.

Dead on appeal. She never teaches again, and probably never wants to.

WHAT? :headbang:

this is retarded. remind me to never go live in Norwich, conn. that is retarded. t also sounds like the prosecutions "expert" probably only took maybe one class in internet explorer basics. i can see this being appealed and God willing a more sane judge.

Roger that. Dead on appeal.
I knew a school tech support that didn't even know how to remove a jammed floppy disk! They were going to send it back to the factory! (Which is horrible since it was MY DISK)

You get a screwdriver and remove the floppy disk drive, then throw it away. That's right, isn't it? :p

No, no I haven't. Like I said, most laymen don't have a clue about computer functions.

Laymen? No, it's judges and legislators and musicians who have no clue. They expect it to "just work" for them. Maybe not so much musicians, since they've experienced musical instruments, and realize that just because it was made to do something doesn't mean it does that thing all by itself.