unity-design team mailing list archive

[nick rundy <nrundy@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with you that, in a perfect world, individual applications should have settings to control Internet-Connection-Behavior. But in reality this is often not the case. I regularly come across applications/features that do not have these settings (both in ubuntu and third-party apps). Sometimes the lack of settings is a "bug," other times it is not.

With Mac and Windows an application firewall solves the problem. Linux does not have application firewall so users are left with no way of controlling the applications. I think something needs to be done about this.


> Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:38:56 +0000
> From: mpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: unity-design@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Unity-design] Ubuntu's Internet-Connection-Behavior needs addressing in "System Settings > Privacy"
> 
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> nick rundy wrote on 23/02/12 14:45:
> > 
> > I'd like to see some settings created in "System Settings >
> > Privacy" that address privacy from an Internet-Connection-Behavior
> > standpoint. Essentially, the creation of some mechanism whereby
> > users would be able to configure Ubuntu so that nonessential
> > internet connections do not occur unless specifically called-for by
> > the user (e.g., by manually starting up an "internet only" app like
> > Firefox). Many "local" events (e.g., like the user playing an MP3
> > file or a video file that is stored locally on the harddrive) are
> > resulting in the establishment of an internet connection. The
> > reason for the internet connection might be for a "valid" reason
> > (e.g., to download cover art for the MP3 file), but it is not
> > "essential."
> 
> 
> That kind of thing should be configured in individual applications
> wherever possible, rather than in global settings. The closer the
> setting is to the behavior it controls, the more likely people will
> find the setting, and the more understandable the context will be. For
> example, a "Get album art from the Internet" option in Rhythmbox's
> Preferences would be much easier to understand than a "Block Internet
> connections for: Rhythmbox" setting somewhere else.
> 
> Besides which, privacy is not the only reason you'd want to control
> non-essential Internet connections. Bandwidth is another reason.
> 
> - -- 
> mpt
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