Hacker Chronicles 1/HACKER1.ISO/cud3/cud316e.txt

Text File | 1992-09-11 | 13KB | 239 lines

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From:  FYI
Subject: Prodigy's Response to Stage.dat File
Date: May 5, 1991

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***  CuD #3.16: File 5 of 6: Prodigy's response to Stage.dat File***
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$Moderator's note: We received a number of copies of the following
response by Prodigy to the Stage.dat problem.

 PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service        05/03/91       10:49 PM

              The Privacy of Member Information

 Some members have asked recently about the privacy of information
 they store on their personal computers, as it relates to their use of
 the PRODIGY service. I felt this subject was important enough to
 inform all our membership about it.

 Privacy of a member's personal information is of primary importance
 to us. We know that our members consider this kind of information
 proprietary, and so do we.

 A recent, unsubstantiated and incorrect newspaper report suggested
 that members' personal information--unrelated to their use of the
 PRODIGY service--is being transmitted to our host computers from our
 members' computers. This is simply not true. It never has been.

 We have no central computers that access private computer files. The
 PRODIGY service software does not read, collect, or transmit to the
 Prodigy Services Company any information or data that is not directly
 connected with your use of the service.

 Member privacy has always been a top priority for Prodigy.  Your use
 of the service can continue with the highest confidence that your
 personal data will not be accessed by us.

 Ted Papes
 President, Prodigy Services Company
 May 2, 1991

 You may have recently read about data from other files appearing
 inside the STAGE. This is a harmless side effect of DOS file
 operations and the process by which the PRODIGY STAGE is created. On
 the following screens you'll find a discussion of your STAGE.DAT
 file.

 If you're interested in the details, please read on. I think you'll
 be more comfortable once you've read the facts.

                              Harold Goldes (CBXH97A)
                              Technical Editor, PRODIGY Star


 used by the STAGE has prompted some to speculate that PRODIGY can gain
 access to that information or other information on a member's hard
 disk. Here are the facts:

    The PRODIGY software does not examine a member's hard disk as a
    whole. It does not read files created by other software. It does
    not read data other than its own. It does not upload files to do
    this. The PRODIGY software confines its file operations to a
    limited and well defined section of your disk: The PRODIGY
    directory.

 When you install the PRODIGY software on your computer we create a
 unique file on your floppy or hard disk:  STAGE.DAT. The STAGE (or
 STAGE.DAT as it appears in your directory or folder) is a "container".
 What does it hold?

 The STAGE contains frequently used information and instructions that
 make up PRODIGY applications ("applications" refers to the individual
 activities available to you on the service; FIND and the Movie Guide,
 are examples).

 Placing portions of applications on the STAGE (and not in other more
 remote parts of our network) puts them close to you. Without a storage
 structure like the STAGE, key components of an application would be
 sent to your computer whenever you visited the application.  This adds
 transmission time. Placing them on your computer saves time. When you
 install the DOS version of the PRODIGY software, you have the choice
 of creating the STAGE in a range of sizes from about 160Kb to 950Kb.
 For Macintosh users there is one size: 200,064 bytes.

 If a member installs to a floppy disk(s), the STAGE may vary in size.
 These intermediate sizes depend on several factors including the
 capacity of the disk and the version of DOS. Once it's been created,
 the STAGE never changes its size. But the date and time stamp on the
 STAGE does change and is updated at the end of every PRODIGY session.
 This reflects the fact that during your session we read PRODIGY
 content from it and write updated PRODIGY content to it.  To improve
 performance during your session, certain frequently used parts of the
 service are always "staged". A larger STAGE, should you choose one,
 permits a growing inventory of applications to reside on your
 computer.  Because our software adapts itself to you, some of the
 content you use regularly can become staged.

 Whenever and wherever you logon to the Prodigy service, we check to
 see if you've got the latest versions of a variety of programs and
 data that reside in the STAGE. If not we send you what you need. You
 don't have to ask for new disks. And you don't have to reinstall.

 Some members use RAMdisks to improve performance. A RAMdisk is a "disk
 drive" made from memory (RAM) not from mechanical parts. It's faster
 than its physical counterpart but can more easily lose data.  For that
 reason we don't recommend using a RAMdisk.  However here's something
 to keep in mind if you're going to do it anyway. A RAMdisk is
 volatile. If you turn your machine off, the information stored on the
 RAMdisk evaporates. As you may be receiving an update each time you
 sign on, be sure to save the updates. To do this, copy the file named
 STAGE.DAT back to your PRODIGY directory before you hit that switch.

 Members often ask about the need to update the PRODIGY software on
 their PRODIGY installation disks. There is no need to update the
 original installation disks. Use those disks (or backup copies) to
 install the software on any computer you use to sign on to the PRODIGY
 Service. Then, when you sign on for the first time, the service will
 automatically update the PRODIGY software.

 Suppose you have two computers and use them both to access the
 service. Let's say you use one more frequently than the other.  Each
 of your computers will get updates, if needed, when you use them. The
 machine used most frequently will be updated steadily (almost
 imperceptibly) by increments. When you use the other machine, you
 might notice a delay during logon because it's receiving a greater
 amount of updated information all at once.

 There's a practical limit to the kinds of changes we can make
 automatically to an existing version of the software.  If you've ever
 tried adding air conditioning to a car you bought without it, you'll
 understand this; sometimes it's best to start over with the really
 useful options built in.  So over time when we make extensive
 improvements to the PRODIGY software, we may send you a new set of
 disks.  From time to time members using the DOS version of the PRODIGY
 software see information from "other" (non-PRODIGY) applications in
 the disk space used by STAGE.DAT.

 Data from non-PRODIGY files is never actually part of STAGE.DAT. More
 importantly it is never accessed or uploaded by the PRODIGY software.
 There are two ways in which extraneous data can appear in the STAGE.
 In the first case, the data was originally located in areas of the
 hard disk once used by other software. At one point in the past, this
 data was erased.

 When you erase a file, PC-DOS or MS-DOS (the operating system for
 personal computers) does not remove the file's contents from your
 disk. Instead it only marks the space used by the file as now
 "available for use". In doing this, it gives other software permission
 to reuse that space.  Until that space is used by its new owner, the
 old data remains. This is why certain "unerase" software packages can
 recover accidentally deleted files.  When you install the PRODIGY
 software, it asks DOS to supply disk space for the STAGE.DAT file.
 Depending on the size of the STAGE you choose, this is usually a
 request for anywhere between 160Kb to 1 Mb.

 DOS then checks its inventory of available disk sectors, finds the
 space and reserves it for its new owner:  STAGE.DAT. But DOS leaves
 any old data in that space intact. Please keep in mind that DOS simply
 supplies the sectors we request (as long as they are available) and
 does not touch their original contents. Next, our install program
 starts filling the space with blocks of PRODIGY information. The
 PRODIGY install program does not erase any old data because to do so
 would appreciably lengthen the install process. As a result, old
 "erased" data may appear in unused space following the blocks (where
 it's more noticeable) as well as in smaller areas that occur within
 the blocks (for more on this see "HOW WE USE SPACE" below).  If you
 chose a large STAGE (anything from 250Kb to 950Kb), chances are that
 at first, a portion of it will be unused.  It is likely that some of
 the space within that unused portion was used by other software at one
 time. If so what you'll see if you examine that area will be
 "leftovers".  Over time, the PRODIGY software will write blocks of
 information to the STAGE replacing whatever is there.  Please keep in
 mind that the PRODIGY software can only recognize the blocks of
 information that it puts into STAGE.DAT itself. It does not read,
 collect, process or transmit "non-PRODIGY data". All disk space
 containing such data is treated as empty.

 Like most major software, to ensure compatibility and reliability when
 creating, reading and writing files, the PRODIGY software employs
 standard "services" provided by your computer's operating system. By
 viewing the STAGE with certain software tools, members have observed
 information from non-PRODIGY applications. However the PRODIGY
 software can neither see this information nor use it. To the PRODIGY
 software this space is considered "empty" and available for storing
 PRODIGY data. Over time, as you use the service, this "empty" space is
 covered by PRODIGY content.

 When we store data in the STAGE, we do it via DOS in blocks of a
 specific size. Let's say that size is 100 bytes. If we store a 120
 byte "object" then we use two blocks (or 200 bytes of storage). What
 we store takes up all of the first block but only 20 bytes of the
 second block. What happens to the remaining 80 bytes of the second
 block? Whatever was there originally remains. If that block was built
 on a previously used sector, 80 bytes of "old" data will be seen.

 There's a second way in which extraneous data may appear within the
 disk space used by the STAGE. When the STAGE is being created, certain
 "control" areas may incorporate information that was in your
 computer's memory (RAM). These areas are used by the STAGE itself to
 keep track of its own contents. This extraneous data may include
 non-erased data or data from another disk. You may observe the names
 of directories, your PATH, or information from the software you were
 using just before you installed the PRODIGY software. To minimize the
 occurrence of this data within the STAGE, just turn your PC off, wait
 15 seconds then turn it on again before installing the PRODIGY
 software.  In short, extraneous information can appear in the disk
 space used by the STAGE and yet not actually be part of it.  The
 appearance of this "non-PRODIGY data" is a side effect of DOS file
 operations or the process by which the STAGE is created.  But, like a
 bottle containing oil and water, this disk space STAGE can contain
 both PRODIGY and non-PRODIGY data which are different and remain
 separate.

 The PRODIGY software does not read information created by other
 software. And it does not read data other than its own. Nevertheless
 some members have tried to delete non-PRODIGY data from the STAGE by
 using file editors.  Modifying the contents of the STAGE file will do
 more harm than good. To maintain the integrity of the STAGE, we use
 special techniques that detect alteration of its contents.  Changing
 the contents of the STAGE with a software tool (like an editor) will
 render the STAGE unusable. You'll have to reinstall the PRODIGY
 software. For those members who are concerned by even the appearance
 of extraneous data within the STAGE, we are preparing a utility to
 eliminate non-PRODIGY data from the STAGE.

 No extraneous information appearing within the disk space used by
 STAGE.DAT is known to or used by PRODIGY.

 The only information used by the PRODIGY software is what is needed
 for the installation and operation of the software.

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