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Recently in Salon Technology

The real Y2K crash
Why did stocks that skyrocketed on the promise of "silver bullet" millennium bug solutions fall back to earth?
By Mark Gimein
[12/21/99]

Technology: View from the top
Hold the phone
Robert Tercek and PacketVideo think media convergence is headed for your cell phone.
By John Geirland
[12/20/99]

Something for nothing?
On freebie sites you can't always get what you want, but if you try real hard you just might get something free.
By Lydia Lee
[12/17/99]

Books
Legends in their own minds
Two new books try to lionize warrior-entrepreneurs battling in Microsoft's shadow, but leave us wondering where high tech's heroes are.
By Thomas Scoville
[12/16/99]

Microsoft, Mahir and money, money, money
A software superpower is declared a monopoly, free software rakes in billions and money makes the world go round: The year in tech.
By Janelle Brown, Mark Gimein, Andrew Leonard and Kaitlin Quistgaard
[12/15/99]

Complete archives for Technology

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Everybody has heard of hacks into government or corporate Web sites but, fool that I was, I didn't even know my PC was susceptible. Looking back, I can't believe I hadn't paid more attention to all the media hoopla over viruses -- and I can't understand why my Internet service provider didn't offer better warnings about the potential vulnerabilities of cable modems. Now some guy I know nothing about has explored my hard drive and learned who-knows-what about me; I feel violated, angry, afraid. I can't believe I have no recourse, no way to find this guy, no way to keep him out of other people's computers. Instead, I'm left looking both ways before I download anything and slinking through once familiar sites with a frightening sense of apprehension.

It all started when, trying to kick the tail-end of the flu, I'd stayed home from a Christmas party, fired up my computer and poured myself a glass of wine. I was researching a graduate school essay about women who are using the Web to promote a healthy sexuality and gender equality. So, I meandered through Bliss and its collection of erotica, poetry, comics and sex-positive essays falling under the description "Life beyond the mission position." The pages are full of overtly sensual text and images, but the site falls well short of gratuitous pornography.

I also thumbed through the Web pages at Danni's Hard Drive, where former stripper-turned-webmistress Danni Ashe promotes her brand of sexuality and the nude female form through a hugely successful e-commerce venture. The site is chock full of college girls flaunting their all-natural breasts, "amateur entrepreneurs" showing it all for the camera, and big-busted babes built of silicone. The text introducing these nude models is not the typical "XXX sluts want you to give it to them now!!!" Danni imbues the site with a friendly feel, as if she's a mutual friend of model and viewer, arranging a blind date. She and her girls give off the image of women who truly believe they are empowered by the site, which is something I wanted to discuss in my essay.

But as I was sifting through Danni's Hard Drive on Netscape Communicator 4.05, a revolting photo of a woman defecating on a guy's face suddenly popped up on the screen. This was definitely not what I was searching for. However, there was no delete box and I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. I thought to myself, "Ha ha, another disturbingly amusing download trick from one of these sites." Yet it wouldn't go away. Then a small dialogue box sprang up, similar to a chat room interface or ICQ:

You can type in the top.

These were the first words I received from him. Still living in denial and naiveté, I thought it was just a bizarre program or advertisement I'd inadvertently grabbed.

Next page | "Stop looking at that smut or I'll erase your files!"