First off, apologies for not responding here to your individual replies indvidually since they do deserve such a response. They have been most appreciated for their lucidity. :-) Saying, Wow! would be too cheesey at this point, I think?


Next, to MsMittens, I do live in Canada and is connected through Rogers as well - ( sucks since Shaw and the CRTC sold us down the river for a pretty penny or two is my position on that subject. ). With respect to being proactive, as anyone should be when there are clear indications that unauthorised individuals are attempting to enter places with mal-intent, I do making it a point to pester service providers when the intrusions passes even my threshold of tolerable annoyance. Best response to date has been from an ISP in Agentina who after several weeks sent a reply stating that they had identified and discontinued service of one of their subscribers who I had identified through his attempts to hack into my network. Small victory but you take the where you find them.

And, thank you as well for your response, OBI ( why do I think of Star Wars when I see those letters? ). I understand your concerns about shifting the burden of responsibility for network security unto the shoulders of of ISPs ( along the lines of where does the line start and end where they can dictate what you can or cannot do under the terms of use agreements - I say that it begins and ends where the physical cable connects to my first connection to their network via the modem. )

I guess what I never did get around in saying in my 'rant' was that if they can demonstrate, in some measurable way, that they care about the concerns of their 'valued customers' when it comes down to the quality and security of their own networks then we, as the customers will not have to be so concerned and 'overburdened' with securing our own personal 'networking spaces'. That is, if it were not for the presence of cops and other quite visible means of assuring us that we are relative safe in our homes and out in public places we'd probably be all living in fortified and baracaded fortresses. Perhaps wrong analogy. But point is, from whence does trust original in the larger picture?

And that larger picture, as you have alluded to, can be equally scary as well. Check out the following link ..... it's quite long winded but downright informative at the same time, addressing questions and issues you seldom see examined indepth in our mainstream media.

http://mindworks.dnsalias.net/rights_and_democracy.htm

And with that, I look forward to some hearty discussions on the subject in the future. The thrusts and parries appear to be promising. :-)