Re: Moscow Fax intercept procedure, Neuroscience Marketing Schemers

[pho <photon@2600.org.au>]

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> If you fax your fax to Moscow ...

sure.  ukusa sucks.
 
> I used a popular search engine and used the following keywords
> "neuroscience" and "neural system". I had not used these keywords
> earlier with any search engines or in any internet communications. In
> fact, this was my first time to use "neuroscience" on the internet. Few
> days after using these keywords, I received in mail a magazine
> addressing many interesting neuroscience and neural network related
> topics.

co-inky-dink.

> I have never before received any neuroscience magazines. 
> So somebody took my IP communication ID#, my keyword information 
> that I used with the search engine and got my postal address from data
> retailers -- and sold/provided this information to a company /
> institution. It was clear this was a commercially orchestrated process
> by certain companies. 

no, no it wasn't.  have you ever communicated with any science publisher
or written your name on any survey, exhibition entry form, museum 
donation form, convention entry form or any other possibly science-
related database?

the fact is, with only an IP address (unless you are a lucky static-
person), it is a significant-enough effort to attempt to find someone's 
exact address and name (i assume the post was addressed to you?).  
significant enough, in fact, that it could take an hour or more of 
correspondance with ISPs _or_ good network knowledge and a lot of luck.
most of the time, it is not possible to find out someone's name + 
address from their IP without using social engineering.  doing this 
to large numbers of search requests is just not going to be 
commercially viable.

*shrug*

may i ask which search engines these were?


- pho


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