Republished: Phorm your own opinions

Originally published on Benscomputer.no-ip.org on 06 October 2008

It has been revealed today that BT consider it the account holders responsibility to explain about Webwise to all users of their connection. BT have revealed in their revised terms and conditions that they can accept no responsibility if users of a connection are not kept informed about Webwise by the account holder.

What this basically means is if your child opts-in to Phorm on their user account, it is your fault and not BT's. That a child is too young to consent to interception of traffic doesn't seem to matter, it remains your responsibility to inform all users, and to opt-out on each and every browser and user account on each and every net connected computer in your home. To clarify what this means, if you have a PC and a laptop, both with three user accounts, and both Firefox and Internet explorer in use, you will have to complete the Opt-out process a total of 12 times.

If you clear your cookies, you will have to opt-out again. You can block cookies from WebWise.com however your traffic will still pass through the hardware. Phorm promises not to use it if you have opted out though.

The reality is, if you are with BT your traffic will pass through Phorms system whether you like it or not, you can either leave or encrypt your traffic.

BT claim they are working on a network level opt-out, but cannot guarantee that it will be in place before WebWise is rolled out.

For a more detailed look at what Phorm is up to try reading donottrustwebwise.org