Hello all--Privacy?

[Tony Harris]

Well, here's the thing - with VNC, the user can set the password.  plus,
unless someone customizes it, it leaves an icon in the sys tray, which means
that it can be disabled.

Frankly, I think that if a company is going to leave that option open on a
computer, they should inform the customer that it is there.

A simple example:
I have put VNC server on my g/f's parents computer which we assembled and
shipped to them.  This was not to spy, but rather to fix errors if they
occured - plus, we never left it in the start menu, it has to be started
manually.  And we set the password together - so they know that the program
exists, but we also only run it when they are having trouble....

-Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Lance Schlegel <lance "at" undergroundshopper.com>
To: vnc-list "at" uk.research.att.com <vnc-list "at" uk.research.att.com>
Date: Monday, July 12, 1999 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: Hello all--Privacy?


>>     I want to remove the tray icon under 98. Essentially I don't
>>     want the user to know anyone is connected, unless I tell them.
>
>This raises an important point related to the use of VNC--one that concerns
>the legal definition of privacy. I hate to bring legalities into the use of
>such a useful product, but I have some info I'd like to share concerning
>this point.
>
>I attended a developers meeting for a similar product made by Apple called
>Network Assistant. Someone posed the same question to a member of the
>development team. His answer was that the legal department prevented Apple
>from enabling anonymous viewing citing liability issues if a violation of
>privacy had occurred.
>
>This sparked some interesting conversation in the meeting, but the main
>questions of (1) what is the definition of privacy in the workplace and (2)
>who is liable in a case where a product like VNC is used to watch someone's
>desktop without his/her knowledge (if this actually violates privacy) were
>never answered. This assumes there is some sort of complaint involved.
>
>Of course, you could have a room full of lawyers and never get a straight
>answer either. All I know is that my employer doesn't allow anonymous
>viewing for fear that they could get sued.
>
>Gotta love the good ole USA.
>
>--L
>
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