Greetings all, This was forwarded to me from rec.video.sat. Does anyone know any concrete details about the CC decoders installed in televisions? -Ophir | ------------------------------------------------------- | | > ... Here is some | > important information about the use of televisions. | > | > In an effort to gain access to the homes of millions of Americans, | > the FBI, CIA, and NSA have collaborated on a scheme which will | > finally bring to fruition George Orwell's nightmare scenario. | > | > American citizens will be the unwitting accomplices in this plan | > as they purchase new televisions and bring them into their | > livingrooms and *bedrooms*. I'm speaking of the CC decoders that | > have secretly been mandated by law. These decoders supposedly | > provide captions to TV shows for the hearing impaired, but in | > fact they are also rebroadcasters which will allow the gov. | > to spy on anyone they want. | > | > The television already comes with everything necessary to be | > a spying apparatus. Speakers are essentially no different than | > microphones and therefore can be used to pick up sounds in the | > room. The infrared eye which detects the remote control | > signal also receives an infrared picture of the room, especially | > detecting heat sources like people. Thus, all that is needed is | > a way of gathering this information and relaying it to the government. | > The little understood "Decoder" is the solution. | > | > The congress has recently passed a Law (in virtual secrecy) | > that requires all new TV's to have the "Decoder." This is | > claimed to be for the benefit of deaf people but that is | > obviously a smoke screen. | > | > How we know the congressional law mandating the "Decoder" is not | > for the deaf: | > 1) Legitimate CC decoders are already available for TV's. | > 2) The law doesn't cover other things, like telephones, | > which are obviously in the same situation w.r.t. the deaf. | > 3) There is no law requiring that shows even be broadcast with | > closed captions, only that the TV have the "Decoder". | > | > Clearly we see that there is no real justification for mandating | > decoders other than for gathering intelligence. | > | > How to deal with the decoder: simply removing the decoder will not | > be an option because it will undoubtedly be integrated in such a way | > that the television will not function without it. Also, if you open | > the TV to get at it, you will void the warrenty and then when you | > get it fixed, they will just replace the "Decoder" without telling. | > | > The best way to avoid the "Decoder" is to avoid it by not buying any | > new TV's. This will be made difficult by the predictable introduc- | > tion of High Definition Television soon after the "Decoders" are | > on line. In this way you will be forced to buy a new TV because the | > old one will not get HDTV. When HDTV is made a standard by the govern- | > ment, the old style sugnal will not be allowed to be broadcast on the | > grounds that it interferes with the HDTV. This is all to force people | > to buy new TV's with the "Decoder". | > | > When you find yourself with a TV equipped with the "Decoder" there | > are several things you can do to protect yourself. First, don't | > put the TV in your bedroom, this is where the government is most | > interested in spying. When not watching, push the antennas all the | > way in or disconnected the cable. Unplugging the TV will not help | > because the "Decoder" will use passive broadcasting to continue | > sending its signal. Also turn the volume down when not watching. | > When you watch the TV, place a candle or other heat source to confuse | > the infrared EYE. Don't say anything secret or get undressed near | > the TV. Don't be seen smoking near the TV. | > | | ________________________________________________________ Ophir Ronen <a-ophirr@microsoft.com> (Myself != Microsoft) E67065:66 57 94 27 D9 70 C5 B4 95 31 F6 41 FD 5C EB 1A