April 30, 2004, Hour One: First Fire Use / Spyware

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > April > April 30, 2004:
Hour One: First Fire Use / Spyware

It might show up as your computer behaving strangely -- taking extra-long to start up, for instance, or opening lots of extra windows unasked as you go online. Or, it might be more insidious, simply sending information on your web viewing habits back to its masters unbeknownst to you. The problem has been come to be called 'spyware,' a term for programs that surreptitiously take action without the computer owner's knowledge. Sometimes, they're quietly installed as you surf the web, often exploiting flaws in the Windows operating system. In other cases, they piggyback on programs that you knowingly install, with only a reference buried in the fine print of an end-user agreement to tip off their presence. In this hour, we'll talk about the problem, its origins, and about possible solutions to the problem -- both technological and legal.

Plus -- the first controlled use of fire was a turning point in human development. Writing in the journal Science this week, archaeologists excavating a site in Israel report that they've found what may be evidence for the oldest-known controlled fire use yet. Dating to around 790,000 years ago, the burned remains of fragments of flint, wood, fruit and grains from the site could help scientists put a date on this important event in the history of civilization. We'll find out more. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

Guests:
Nira Alperson
Graduate Student, Institute of Archaeology
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel

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Chris Jay Hoofnagle
Associate Director
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Washington, DC

John Clyman
Contributing Editor
PC Magazine
Seattle, Washington

Larry Abramson
Correspondent
National Public Radio
Washington, DC

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth and Erica Altman

Archived Audio:
fire
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spyware
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Books/Articles Discussed:

"Evidence of Hominin Control of Fire at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel," N. Goren-Inbar et al, Science, April 30 2004.

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)