NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/dcom/modems-part2/11091

Text File | 1996-08-05 | 9.7 KB | 224 lines

Newsgroups: comp.dcom.servers,comp.dcom.modems,alt.censorship
Path: gail.ripco.com!dr
From: [e-mail] (David Richards)
Subject: Livingston caves in to Censorship
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: comp.dcom.servers,alt.censorship
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Sender: [e-mail] (Net News Admin)
Organization: Ripco Internet BBS Chicago
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 16:09:20 GMT

My personal opinion is that "ChoiceNet" is not inherently bad, however
I am disappointed that Livingston has chosen to position this 'feature',
as a response to the Communications Decency Act specifically.

==========================================================================
     The press release below is quoted from Livington's web site,
     http://www.livingston.com/Marketing/Press/choicenet_press.html
==========================================================================
Company contact:
Bruce Byrd
Livingston Enterprises
510-426-0770
[e-mail]


Agency contacts:
William Orrange
Janis Ulevich
Ulevich & Orrange, Inc.
415-329-1590
[e-mail]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Networld+Interop -- Booth #5089

LIVINGSTON'S SERVER-BASED "CHOICENET" TECHNOLOGY OFFERS
CUSTOMIZABLE CONTROL OVER INTERNET ACCESS

PLEASANTON, Calif., April 2, 1996 -- A new network
filtering technology that offers customized control over
Internet access -- providing an alternative to
government-imposed censorship by implementing Internet
content-selection mechanisms for children or corporate
employees -- has been introduced by Livingston Enterprises.

Livingston's ChoiceNet(TM) is the first technology to take a
centralized, server-based approach to Internet access control,
enabling access to a user's authorized "site lists" from a
single point, rather than requiring filtering software and site
lists to be installed and updated at every PC.

ChoiceNet is also unique in permitting fully customized
access for every user, so that a parent, employer or Internet
service provider (ISP) can select preferred site lists -- and
can even choose different allowable lists for different
members of a family, staff, organization or subscriber base.
And because it uses a "permit access" approach to accessible
sites, ChoiceNet is inherently safer than existing Internet
content-control products whose "deny access" technology
allows access to anything not specifically designated as off-
limits.

Invisible to the End User

ChoiceNet is a client-server application platform that
functions invisibly to the end user on Livingston PortMaster
dial-up Communications Servers, PortMaster Office Routers
and IRX Firewall Routers. ChoiceNet is designed to be
offered as a value-added service by ISPs, which will allow
the more than 1,500 ISPs currently deploying Livingston
products to offer the technology immediately to their more
than 3,000,000 users.


For dial-in users, ChoiceNet extends the dial-in
authorization capability of Livingston's RADIUS (Remote
Authentication Dial-In User Service) security and accounting
protocol by implementing downloadable user-specific filters
from a central server, rather than utilizing shared filters
residing on the dial-in device. This enables an organization
to customize filter lists for individual users, and to easily
manage and update those lists at a single central site.

For users on local-area networks (LANs) connected to the
Internet with Livingston IRX or Office Routers,
content-control lists can be applied for the entire LAN or
customized for each LAN-connected PC. Costs for
businesses or schools using ChoiceNet are significantly lower
than those associated with existing Internet content-control
solutions, which require constant updates and changes by an
on-site Internet administrator. ChoiceNet content control is
implemented in an existing piece of required Internet
equipment -- the router -- which further reduces the need
for a business or school to purchase additional products.

Application Platform for Content Control,
Special-Purpose Networks, ISP Value-Added Services

ChoiceNet can be used to enforce Internet content control in
a variety of environments. At home, it can keep children
from seeing sexually explicit material on Internet web sites.
At work, it can boost employee productivity by limiting
access to game or stock-quote sites from company
computers, or reduce potential employer liability by blocking
access to pornography sites.


But, ChoiceNet's utility is not limited to content control.
ChoiceNet can give ISPs a competitive edge by letting them
use their existing network infrastructure to offer value-added
services such as a multi-player game server or a fee-based
content server. Previously this would have required
installation of a separate infrastructure to keep users from
roaming at will among Internet sites once access had been
established; now it can be done simply by setting up different
accounts for different services and using ChoiceNet to
control access to those services.

ISPs can also use ChoiceNet to lease out network usage for
specific purposes. For example, a corporation can offer
prospective customers access to its on-line marketing
materials -- but not to the rest of the Internet -- using the
ISP's existing dial-in points of presence (POPs). The ISP can
track access and bill the corporation using Livingston's
RADIUS accounting services.

Server-Based Technology More Scalable, Manageable
Than PC Applications

Bruce Byrd, Livingston director of marketing, said, "As a
general-purpose access-control technology, ChoiceNet can
serve as the enabling platform for many new applications as
the Internet broadens in size and scope. Many early users,
however, will focus on Internet content control for children
and corporate employees. The chief failing of existing
content-control products, such as Surfwatch and Cybersitter,
is that they are PC applications: the filtering software and all
site lists must reside on every PC. And whenever there's a
site update, an ever-larger list file must be downloaded over
the Internet to each PC, taking several minutes and
consuming hard-disk space. In addition, these programs may
themselves need to be updated to work with newer versions
of web browsers or PC operating systems.

"With ChoiceNet, neither the filtering application nor the
authorized (or unauthorized) sites reside on the PC. When a
user tries to access a given site, the local dial-in
communications server or router goes to the ChoiceNet
server to check that user's site list. This is infinitely scalable
and much easier to manage."

ChoiceNet addresses three additional drawbacks of PC-based
products. First, these products offer fixed sets of
vendor-selected lists which cannot be customized for a
particular user (e.g., to permit access to safe-sex instruction
but block all other sex-oriented material). Second, they use a
"deny access" approach where any undesirable material must
specifically be disallowed; thus newly added -- and
potentially undesirable -- Internet sites are automatically
accessible until the next time the vendor updates its software.
ChoiceNet avoids this problem by offering a "permit access"
approach that assumes nothing is allowed unless specifically
indicated ("deny access" can be used, however, if the user
prefers). Finally, PC-resident software is inherently insecure,
subject to deactivation by a computer-knowledgeable adult
or a precocious child "hacker."

How ChoiceNet Works

The four components of ChoiceNet are the ChoiceNet server,
which resides on a UNIX workstation and holds
downloadable user-specific filters and site lists that can
contain thousands of host names or addresses; the ChoiceNet
client, included with the ComOS system software on all
Livingston routers and communications servers; the
Livingston RADIUS server, which contains user profiles and
performs user authentication and accounting; and an optional
PC notification application that tells users when access to a
site has been denied.

When a user logs into a network and is authenticated, the
specific filter name specified in his RADIUS user profile is
downloaded to the local PortMaster communications server
from the RADIUS server. If the user's filter is not resident
on the PortMaster, it is downloaded from the ChoiceNet
server. When the user tries to access a particular Internet site,
the filter is queried to see whether such access is permitted
for that user. The PortMaster requests a lookup of the site list
stored on the ChoiceNet server and, based on the result, either
permits the access or denies it and sends the user a message

Availability -- But No Pricing (It's Free!)

ChoiceNet is a standard feature included free with all
Livingston communications servers and routers shipped
beginning in May. Users of already installed Livingston
equipment can obtain the ChoiceNet server via the Internet
from Livingston's web site, http://www.livingston.com/.

The ChoiceNet server operates on most UNIX platforms,
including SunOS, Solaris, Solaris x86, SGI Irix, AIX,
HP/UX, Alpha OSF/1, Linux, and BSDI.

Livingston's ChoiceNet Philosophy
Livingston's ChoiceNet and The Communications
Decency Act (CDA) Questions and Answers

Livingston Enterprises, Inc., founded in 1986, specializes in
dial-up access and LAN-to-LAN interconnectivity. Best
known for its Internet connectivity products, Livingston
supplies its PortMaster Communications Server and
FireWall IRX Router technology to more than 1,500 Internet
Service Providers worldwide. Livingston products come with
free software updates and lifetime technical support. The
privately-held company is located in Pleasanton, Calif.

--
David Richards                                     Ripco Communications Inc.
My opinions are my own,                            Public Access in Chicago
But they are available for rental                  FREE Usenet and Email
[e-mail]                                       [phone]