Free Republic

Can the computer expert Freepers explain how one can verify/authenticate the IM's attributed to Foley? Can it be done reliably and/or on the other side, is it possible for someone well-versed in computer technology to issue "phony" IM's, so it would appear as if Foley had sent them?

Foley, Pirro, Allen - Political Set-Ups? Written by Doc Farmer Tuesday, October 03, 2006 File this article under "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...." First of all, let me make my meaning plain -- Former House Representative Mark Foley is a bastard. He's a scumbag. He's a sleazy pervert. He's a disgrace. I don't care if he laid a finger on any congressional pages or not. His Instant Messages were disgusting, and he had no business using his position of power to "flirt" with underage boys (or girls, if he were so inclined). I do, however, have to ask this...

I didn’t hear the beginning of the Mark Foley debacle, as I was out of town communing with nature (and my wife, and the kids, and the cat). But I thought it was interesting to see the reactions on this. From the right, there seem to be two schools of thought. One of them is the “why did the Republicans shoot themselves in the foot again? This is typified by commentators such as Captain Ed of Captains Quarters blog, who said: “I cannot tell CQ readers how disgusted I am with Speaker Hastert. Reynolds is no fringe nutcase; he's the...

See for example this thread first. The dumbest Congressman I've seen Using IM to hit on a teen And more's the dismay turns out he was gay. "Log Cabin" meets NAMBLA, I mean.

Hey, I can't vouch for the authenticity of this, but it sounds real. The NYT National Secrets Department supposedly intercepted this confidential IM conversation between Blair and Bush, and posted it on the web. Here it is: Chat with Sxybritguy10 4:01 a.m. Kickass43: yo tone Kickass43: u there bud? Sxybritguy10: just got 2 my desk Sxybritguy10: wot r u doing up??? Kickass43: man im so jet laggd from st. pete Kickass43: wuz up @ 3 Kickass43: cdnt evn rowz barney 4 a walk Kickass43: he's like: dude. its 2 erly evn 4 dogs Kickass43: so ran 10k on tha tredmill...

Musharraf insists: I'm not George Bush's poodle · General says US air strikes infringe sovereignty· President denies running military dictatorship Declan Walsh and Simon Tisdall in Rawalpindi Friday April 28, 2006 The Guardian (UK) General Pervez Musharraf, facing a surge of anti-American sentiment, yesterday warned that covert US air strikes against al-Qaida inside Pakistan were an infringement of national sovereignty. Admitting that his popularity was waning, the Pakistani president insisted he was "not a poodle" of George Bush and rejected accusations he was running a military dictatorship. Speaking to the Guardian at Army House in Rawalpindi weeks after a tense...

IRC channel #freeps open for realtime on-line chat 24/7.Stop in and meet other freepers in a live [irc] chat. Romulus the bot will greet you on the way in. Most modern browsers support irc chat sessions, along with specific chat clients like PircH and mIRC for windows, and Xchat and Konversation for linux. Colloquy is availible for mac OSX. General instructions: log on to irc.freenode.net:8001 (in some cases, irc://irc.freenode.net will work) when the server gets done with it's messages, pick a nickname (your FR name) and type /nick [your FR name] then type /msg nickserv register to register your nickname...

Just a reminderThere is an open chat channel on irc.freenode.net:8001 for freepers called "freeps"Using any IRC or IM clinet*, log on to irc.freenode.net:8001 and /join channel #freeps.Romulus the Bot will greet you on the way in, so stop by and say hello!*mIRC for windows, xchat for linux recommended.

I've been getting a large number of firewall probes all morning - on the order one every minute to two minutes. Mostly pings and port 1026s (Windows Messenger). I've been monitoring the WMF exploit for the last couple of days, and when I was checking up on this morning's high activity, I noticed this article:Worry Watch -- Instant Messenger attacks rise in number and damage (from post-gazette.com, 12/31/2005) Wonder if someone(s) are trying to use the WMF exploit via Windows Messenger in a big way?

Microsoft and Yahoo are set to announce on Wednesday a blockbuster interoperability deal that will reshape the landscape of the fragmented instant messaging market. The companies will connect their IM networks so users on each can communicate with one another using text and voice chat free of charge. The agreement marks the first time major players in the highly-competitive IM industry have officially partnered up to enable cross-network communication. Interoperability has always been a hot topic among instant messaging providers, but had never yielded a compromise. In 1999, Microsoft connected its MSN Messenger client to AOL's AIM network - without...

For those who may like a "live chat" now and then, there is an IRC (internet relay chat) channel up on irc.freenode.net:6667 called #freepers.It's not part of free republic, nor owned or operated by anyone associated with free republic. It's just a place for freepers to "chat live" with each other.Some IM clients for windows can do IRC, as well as mIRC (stand alone client for windows), along with many IRC clients for Linux and Mac. (google "IRC" and "clients" to get more info on IRC and how it works)See you there!server: irc.freenode.net:6667, and /join #freepers

If money is the root of all evil, then hackers are evil incarnate. According to a security intelligence firm, more than half the cyber-attacks conducted in 2004 were carried out by criminals interested in only one thing: money. iDefense, a Reston, Va.-based supplier of security intelligence to both corporations and government agencies, delved into its private database of more than 100,000 malicious code attacks to publish analytical findings publicly for the first time, said Ken Dunham, the company's director of research. Using that database, iDefense tallied a record 27,260 attacks in 2004. Over 15,000 of those, or some 55 percent,...

First, the blame. Then, the healing. In a new book, NEWSWEEK talks exclusively with John Kerry about why he lost—and looks at his plans for another run. It was a little after 7 p.m. on election night 2004. The network exit polls showed John Kerry leading George Bush in both Florida and Ohio by three points. Kerry's aides were confident that the Democratic candidate would carry these key swings states; Bush had not broken 48 percent in Kerry's recent tracking polls. The aides were a little hesitant to interrupt Kerry as he was fielding satellite TV interviews in a...

Change your chat handle on AIM/Microsoft Messenger/Yahoo/.. GAIM whatever to include www.georgewbush.com/call/ We need as many people out there calling as we can muster.

In 1996 a little known Israeli company wrote a piece of software that quickly became one of the most downloaded programs on the web and revolutionised global communications. It enabled any two people anywhere to type messages to each other in real time. ICQ was a prototype instant messaging (IM) system that within two years had 11 million users. It attracted the attention of internet powerhouse America Online, which bought it outright in 1998 for $287 million. Since then scores of companies have produced similar products that can usually be obtained free of charge. "If you live in Europe or...

In 1996 a little known Israeli company wrote a piece of software that quickly became one of the most downloaded programs on the web and revolutionised global communications. It enabled any two people anywhere to type messages to each other in real time. ICQ was a prototype instant messaging (IM) system that within two years had 11 million users. It attracted the attention of internet powerhouse America Online, which bought it outright in 1998 for $287 million. Since then scores of companies have produced similar products that can usually be obtained free of charge. "If you live in Europe or...

And I thought Jabber was cool.... The Coalition forces in Iraq are using IM chat to speak and translate on the fly in Iraq. "...technology funded by the Office of Naval Research, among other DoD organizations, is helping to narrow that cultural gap by enabling U.S. and coalition forces to communicate more effectively with the Iraqis and among themselves. A 'coalition chat line' now being used at several U.S. and allied sites around Iraq enables commanders and operators who speak different languages to communicate rapidly and reliably, using the 'instant messaging' practices familiar to millions of teenagers. "

Nina Gordon types out an instant message and sends it. The data travels some 500 miles, from the computer in her living room in Queens to America Online's servers in Northern Virginia, and then to her son Schuyler's computer, which just happens to be in the next room — about 20 feet away from where she is sitting. you hungry for dinner? After a little online banter over dining options, her son, a 17-year-old with a wicked sense of humor and no shortage of attitude, sends his request: an insty pizza and a beer don't push your luck, comes the...

AOL Preps Live Video IM America Online is poised to unveil the next version of its client software, and which includes an enhancement to its built-in instant messaging that offers streaming videoconferencing. The Dulles, Va.-based Internet giant, a unit of New York media conglomerate Time Warner, plans to launch the next version of its flagship client software, codenamed Tahiti, early into 2004. With that release, the AOL software should include capabilities enabling AOL subscribers to initiate streaming video sessions from within an IM conversation. "We're currently testing it within the beta of the AOL service," said AOL spokesman Derick...

Microsoft pockets an IM patent Last modified: October 7, 2003, 6:15 PM PDT By Jim Hu Staff Writer, CNET News.com Microsoft has won a patent for an instant messaging feature that notifies users when the person they are communicating with is typing a message. The patent encompasses a feature that's not only on Microsoft's IM products but also on those of its rivals America Online and Yahoo. The patent was granted on Tuesday. Patent No. 6,631,412 could serve as a weapon in Microsoft's battle for IM market share. Microsoft is investing heavily in IM as a springboard for selling communication...