Fencing (location-signalling computers)

[Asgaard <asgaard@sos.sll.se>]

On Wed, 13 Mar 1996, Timothy C. May wrote:

> (And then they'll have to return the computer as stolen property and tell
> what they know about who sold it to them. Sounds fair to me.)

Really? In Sweden, if you buy stolen property from a thief or fence
'in good faith', not knowing that it was stolen (usally arguable in
court only if the price was substantially below market value) you
can keep it. The original owner, or his insurance company, can buy
it back only if you let them. It's up to the others to prove that
you didn't act 'in good faith' - if it can be proved that you did
not, you are likely to be prosecuted for fencing, of course (if
the state doesn't drop the case for lack of manpower, which often
occurs with 'minor' crimes).

I can think of another application for computers (or modems)
signalling their presence with regular intervals. Manufacturers
can keep track of their use, life-length etc. Using some kind
of Chaumian blind signatures (like those implemented in
anonymous toll systems) this could be done without revealing
the geographical location of a specific computer, I guess - the
manufacturers presumably wouln't care if the hardware was stolen
or not.

Asgaard