We have an alert here due to lost discs.
In transit discs went missing.Things is it is Government information on every one who claims child benefit.Bank details insurance no.bith date etc. in fact indentity theft would be easy if the wrong person has these discs.
Lots has been said in the media but imagine how 25 million people must be concerned.
Its a scandle of massive proportions.
Mountain ash

Mountain ash

Hi, Mountain Ash. There is actually a suspicion (grapevine gossip) that these have been stolen "to order". With looming plans for identity cards and NI details on a free for all, we are looking at a high possibility of long-term fraud. Whilst access to funds may be password protected, fraudsters are actually sitting on a golden goose! Quite worrying.


Here's a link to the scandal Mountain Ash and I are talking about. It involves my grandchildren, Celtic's child and 24,996,000 others in the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7103566.stm

I would miss the internet nowadays...but we don't have TV by choice (7 or 8 years now I think. Living in a remote part of the world is wonderful...but I don't want to be completely cut off!

CountryGirl, how come you don't have access to TV in your area? How remote is your area anyway?

Lola can only a wireless computer be illegally conected to an unauthorized person? How you you tell he's online with you? That is really awful. Is there any way to avoid it, like getting a hooked up computer instead of a wireless?

I believe it's only confined to wireless, Hannelore. I get pinged by the security installed in my laptops, then I was instructed by our ISD fellow at the firm on how to encrypt (?) to find out who has logged in. Physically, it's quite easy to spot these people because sometimes they're right outside the property, as I said, sitting in their cars. Other times, they could be within a mile-radius of the hot spot.

My desktops have a separate connection from my broadband hub. But, as they are in fixed corners, i.e. study and bedroom, I obviously can't enjoy the mobility laptops offer. Wireless theft has been a problem in London since the '90's although at that time, it used to be restricted to companies. The problem has, however, encroached on residential premises and subscriptions. The price we pay for progress! We have actually formed a neighbourhood watch against these sort of activities. There's really no way to avoid wireless theft but, prosecution hopefully provides a deterrent.

P.S.

I have CCTV in my property which is hooked up to one of the channels in my TV, so it makes it easy to spot these people from inside my house. Then, I call the police to investigate.

I try to make sure I am not computer dependent. The funny thing is that I didn't know how to use a computer until about 8 years ago because as a working dancer and singer, there was no need to learn about them! I didn't know how to send an email, for example!

The computer, the internet, scares me in some ways. I think at times it is "too much information." It also stops me from concentrating on a good book or hearing a good piece of music. ( I stayed away from MTV so that I could hear songs and when I directed videos I had no preconcieved ideas from anyone elses work.) I do not watch other dance, for example so that my choreography is fresh. Too much information.

I like it for things like this site:
To be able to talk to people without the problems that can come from race, class, how a person looks, etc.. I've been able to get to know and understand people I never would have without a computer. I just would never be in the same place as some of the people I've met are! THAT part is fun and good, I think.

Otherwise, it does scare me a bit!

dancer

Provided I'm not trying to keep in touch with my partner each day when he takes an annual long bike trip himself, I can be away from computer/Internet for a few consecutive days and not feel I missed anything.

But after that, I feel my entertainment and learning is missing.

You gotta realize that I didn't live in a home with a TV for about... 20 years. Then last 5 years since living with my partner, we have a tv at home.

During tv-less years, it was the Internet where I got my news, some learning and entertainment.

As I posted in another forum, our DSL was out since Wednesday (just got fixed today.) So what did I do with all of that extra non-computer time?

Wednesday afternoon we shopped for more food. We didn't need a thing but it seemed like a good activity to kill time.
Thursday we went out to do laundry. The rest of the day we cooked. At night, Whozzis watched a movie and I read a book.
Friday/Saturday I spent a total of 5 hours ironing. Haven't ironed at all since June so there was a closetful to be done. Went to the gym Friday. Lots of little errands. Packed my car for tomorrow.

Other than the few shows we taped, I didn't watch extra TV because, frankly, there was nothing I wanted to see.

Oh yeah -- and El Hub spent way too many hours on the phone trying to figure out what was happening with the DSL. So I got to chop a lot of vegetables while he dealt with tech support. Truthfully, I think I got the better end of that deal.

Meredith, I would rather do the chopping, too!