Now you see why I use *.txt format

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Asher

How is it without your knowledge?

Why do you think it asks for your initials and full name when you first install it?
What do you think all of that information is there for all to see in File->Properties?

The only people complaining are dumbasses who've been caught with their pants down by plaigurizing someone else's work.

If you didn't set up the computer how are you to know these things. I've writtern hundreds of essays and documents at work and university. Many of them say that the author is someone other than me (including my boss, work colleagues, people I've never heard of, and my dad) because of the way the system was configured.

I certainly didn't plaigurize any work, but it could sure look like someone else did the work instead/for me.

It happens in your OS, too, when you create a file, your username and the time it created is recorded.

Not in mine, because its not setup properly. Whether this is my fault for being lazy is debatable, but that's moot as its not really something that bothers me in the slightest.

This is in no way, shape, or form, an infringement of civil liberties.

Totally agree.

[Whaleboy]

Let me make it clear that this is not a breach of civil liberties. However, in many cases, such software creates info about the documents that is at least hidden to some degree, at worst people don't know about it.

Part of creating a secure system, or more specifically, having secure documents is knowing about the info you have, so you can protect it, either with firewalls, encryption etc.

While it isnt a civil liberties breach, it can facilitate it, and it can be a weak spot for information obtained during such a breach, either by intelligence organisations or private crackers.

I wouldn't say that I'm particularly paranoid, however, I do want a secure system, and it would be incompetent of me to ignore possibilities, simply because they carry the stigma of forty year old virgins with questionable personal hygiene, who harbour conspiracy theories.

Asher, stripping away the trolls and ad hominems from your argument, it would seem that you are implying "if you have nothing to hide, what are you worried about?". In that case, it is a slipperly slope. If private information can be read by other organisations, noteably governments, it is a step on the road to totalitarianism, and with the nature of computing, such things will quickly escalate. As a writer, I dont want my documents falling out of my control until I and they are ready for publication.

[Kuciwalker]

EVERY filesystem tracks when files were last accessed, and I think some filesystems track the user, too.

[Immortal Wombat]

Originally posted by Fve Crathva
I use plaintext because I want archaeologists 1000 years from now to find my hard drive, dig up an ASCII chart and a dictionary, and figure out what I've written!
SP

YES!!!!!

[Kuciwalker]

???

[Whaleboy]

EVERY filesystem tracks when files were last accessed

Encrypted file systems, and steganographic ones like stegfs dont IIRC, or if they do, it cant be read. Can someone confirm?

[Ari Rahikkala]

Well, it depends. My home computer's root filesystem (Reiser3) is mounted by default with -o noatime (no access time), which means that it doesn't update the last access time of a file when one is read. Change times are stil updated, though. But of course you could go to the source and change that, too. Not that it would be very useful, though.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by skywalker
EVERY filesystem tracks when files were last accessed, and I think some filesystems track the user, too.

Most systems do not track access time, just creation and modification time.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Big Crunch
I certainly didn't plaigurize any work, but it could sure look like someone else did the work instead/for me.

It just so happens that 99% of computers in business are that way. The people who install them are not the same people who use them.

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Asher
Indeed. It is a supreme infringement of our civil liberties when our word processor timestamps and records when we modify a document.

[Ted Striker]

Linux geeks would have you believe that all proprietery software is being controlled by Osama Bin Laden.

Only GNU code can save the day!!!

[Urban Ranger]

Gee Ted, it's not even October yet and you are acting funny already.