On 2003.07.14 12:45 Dennis Rowe wrote: > They said that the uncappers were stealing bandwidth. Ftp servers do > not steal bandwidth. It might not agree with the TOS but it will not > get the fbi on you. If they attacked every server, then everything from > kazaa to msn messenger would be affected. > > Dennis >
I'm not sure they "stole" bandwidth. One of the people raided only uncapped for short bursts. He used it to save himself time uploading his work from home. The uploads would have simply taken him longer. The laws might be insanely impractical, but they are what they are. That it can happen does not mean that it will. I understand that AOL instant messenger, for instance, has it's own little server on port 21. Just the same, the low probability of such a thing happening to me is not zero. They could log up my ftp use and bust me. It's all the same thing, obtaining data services without permission. The No Electronic Theft act is stupid but it's there. I'm not a very practical target. The 3 gigs of photos and what not I used to serve out to friends and family by ftp don't make a very inviting target either. Imagine the kind of publicity they would get for raiding someone sharing baby pictures with their mom. Still, it's different enough to get me in trouble. Not a lot of people run ftp, so it would not hurt Cox badly if they did something ugly. I could easily be lumped into a group of unsophisticated warez traders. I never consumed much bandwidth, but other people running ftp sites have. ftp on Cox is not practical anymore anyway, so I just don't do it. They have changed my ip several times and uploads from their crimped modems are painfully slow.
