Re: Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please

On Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:40:06 -0800 (PST), Dudley Henriques <dhenriques@xxxxxxx> wrote in
<1e2ae370-4077-477a-a290-0a8a84eac5c4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

What's concerning me is ... how
someone can access the data and path necessary to have a post appear
with my name appearing as the poster in the thread hierarchy to the
point where someone can actually see my name as the poster and click
on the profile link to see my regular profile. For all practical
purposes, this would appear to be a post from me personally and I need
to find out how this person is accomplishing this.

They just have to lie about who the post is "from."

The software protocol that runs Usenet (NNTP) does
not check the authenticity of the "from" field. Nor
does Google cross-check the authenticity of a post
that says it was "from" <dhenriques@xxxxxxx>.

... can someone explain exactly how
a person can access this forum having my name and profile appear as
though the post came from me?

Once the post with the lying "from" field is injected into
any old server, Google archives it, finds your e-mail in the
from field, and sets it up so that the post is associated
with your profile.

I understand someone could open an account on one of the free servers
using my name and have taken the steps necessary along those lines,
but how can their posts appear on Google Groups allowing access
through links to my profile?

Google doesn't check authenticity. It merely reports correlations.
It can't tell the difference between the real you and the counterfeit
you.

Is there any way at all this can be stopped by notifying Google
Groups?

You may ask Google to remove the counterfeit posts from their
archives. They say there is a removal tool available to you
if you are logged in to Google Groups:

<http://groups.google.com/group/google-groups-guide/web/google-groups-faq>

Is this even a Google Groups problem?

Not really. It is a huge loophole in NNTP and not one that
is liable to be closed any time soon (that I know of--I am
not involved in that part of the system).

Marty
--
Big-8 newsgroups: humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*
See http://www.big-8.org for info on how to add or remove newsgroups.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Hey Sherry, Jack. (OT)
    ... When Robert said that Sherry had been sharpening her usenet claws I clicked on 'view profile' to see if she had been posting in other newsgroups. ... It seems as though Google aggregates all postings from an e-mail address and if a bogus e-mail address has been used and other posters have chosen the same bogus e-mail address, Google thinks all the postings came from the same person. ... Clicking once in a while on "View Profile" for a particular poster ...
    (rec.gambling.lottery)
  • Re: Need a Usenet computer guru opinion please
    ... point where someone can actually see my name as the poster and click ... on the profile link to see my regular profile. ... not check the authenticity of the "from" field. ... any old server, Google archives it, finds your e-mail in the ...
    (rec.aviation.piloting)
  • Re: Who has the right?
    ... >>> When ever I see a new poster I always click on their profile. ... removed from Google after a certain number of days. ... Evelyn ...
    (soc.senior.issues)
  • Re: Hey Sherry, Jack. (OT)
    ... clicked on 'view profile' to see if she had been posting in other ... It seems as though Google aggregates all postings from an ... posters have chosen the same bogus e-mail address, Google thinks all the ... Clicking once in a while on "View Profile" for a particular poster ...
    (rec.gambling.lottery)
  • Re: Google uses the Me@Privacy.NET in my from line to get my profile.
    ... in the absence of any physics you discuss other topics. ... Google uses the Me@xxxxxxxxxxx in my from line to get my profile. ... profile appears to simply be a way people with Google Groups accounts can ...
    (sci.physics)