Safe Speed Forums

In order to renew my driving licence recently I went online but couldn’t get far without registering with something called the Government Gateway.

Now I hadn’t heard of this before and didn’t think much of it at the time. But since then, having re-read the letter they subsequently sent in the post, I’m wondering if this isn’t just more ‘we want to know all about you’ through the back door. Like the ID card the Gov wanted to introduce. You don't have to have one but you can't do much without it, kind of thing.

Anyone else heard or used it or know if it’s a new thing? This is what is written in the first paragraph..

“The Government Gateway is the UK’s centralised registration service for e-Government and allows a single User ID and password to be used to access multiple online services”

The alarm bell went off in my head when I saw the words “centralised” and e-Government” but maybe I’m just being paranoid. It came with a credit card type of thing with "Government Gateway" written on one side complete with a unique User ID. It has "Connecting you to Government" written on the back. Yeah, they would like that I think.

Hmmm...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Think I've used it -certainly have a username & ID -but the last time I used it was for Driving licence -only odd thing I've had was a letter from the tax man asking if I was entitled to a rebate on bank accounts -first reaction "HMM some sort of scam " and shredded it .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I have been doing my SAT online for 4 years. I have the old pieces of paper with my user id and password.

Don't forget your user id and pass.
You cannot re-register using your email address as it will not allow it !
And try to use the same gateway....some people have trouble logging-in through different gateways.
Have you received your info-pack on the Summary Care Records yet ?

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Given all the paperwork used for Tax Vat and so on I can at least understand why they would wish to centralise this type of service. All the 'same' info about me going to one computer than 5 different departments. That I can appreciate.
I don't like the way they can have any Gov official acces it and one hopes that they have enough security in place but frankly I doubt it very much.
Considering they are allowing Councils to have access to certain data is very worrying as I am sure that is less secure than even the Gov (in)ability.
I have the Gov Gateway - the help lines give the usual confusing and contradictory messages so you can as usual end up going something wrong to which you have been given clear but totally wrong instructions ! Wasting your time that they care not a jot about.
If they made the system simple and easy to use and the questions intelligent and straightforward then it would not make you feel that you are conversing with a solid brick wall but more flexible and sensible systems and people behind it.
The general contralisation of it all does not bother me as I can see the sense at least in trying to collate the data - that should be more efficient if they can do it right but can they ? !
If it means that I don't have to keep re-entering info then that may help in the long run. If it might mean that in the future the Gov actually manages to realise the problems and issues of the real people then perhaps one day they might listen to the info and act appropriately.
It should also give them a far better and faster feedback on the state of the nation too and that ought to help them prevent some bad gov policies.

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

I agree with everything you said Claire. In an ideal world it would, or should, be easy for us all just in the same way if I am stopped on the road they already know who the car belongs to, if it’s taxed, insured etc. So if I have my licence there’s no faff or need for a ‘producer’.

But given the corrupt and shambolic manner in which Government operate with sleaze after sleaze making headline news all the time, (and this is only what the press manage to uncover )I am very uncomfortable letting those foxes take care of us chickens. I have no licence at the moment, apart from a photocopy which would be proof of nothing. It is in their hands and we are all being forced to go down a route which none of us subscribed to.

The bigger picture I suppose is that it’s not just this one experience I have had but the information gathering in general and the implications of it. I was told some time ago that the body who has and sells most information about you is Tesco! My friend absolutely refuses to have anything to do with Planet Tesco.

I myself regularly get post from companies whom I have never ever had the slightest contact with. Yet they know my name and where I live, even though I have only been here 18 months, and what I might be interested in buying.

This personal knowledge bank and information sharing should be of great concern to us but, and this is my gripe, I am being forced to comply.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

On my letter from the NHS they say that "only healthcare professionals treating you will have access to your details"
WHY do I not believe that statement ?

http://www.neilb.demon.co.uk/

http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/scr/staff/aboutscr/comms/pip/noscr.pdf

I'll run-through several problems:
No treatment would be considered based upon the healthcare records obtained from the database. Without verification from patient/patients_doctor/patients_relative the patient will be treated on symptoms.
The end-result of incorrect information is a bit too severe to risk.
And I just do NOT believe that bollocks about "info available only to healthcare pros'"
Before you know whether it's daylight the passengers on the 0745 from Basingstoke will be reading your details.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Thanks Jom.

Not for the first time here, I could add weight to your post, lots of it! But I can't and won't and I'm sure you understand why.

Hint - Small fish, big ocean....

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

You are right to be concerned Tone. The more information they get through the back door the more they can keep tabs on you. This is one easy and unsuspecting way of collating information from a gullable public. I also keep getting unsolicited emails from companies and others who I have never heard of and it alarms me that I can do nothing about it and would like to know who gives out this information. Never trust anyone that you don't know. As my father used to state, "One has to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff" and there's loads of chaff out there. OLLIE

Thanks Ollie

That's all I wanted to say. Well, that and my concern that it is not likely to be a problem to you or me in the evening of our life, but....................

Or maybe it will and we will be on the scrap heap in our dotage just like I see all to often

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

And it's not just the NHS that can lose patient records .The organisation with nice Mr Darcies( no ,not that one) are just as bad ,but based on the judgement of nursing staff ,you can be asked to allow them to delve into records held by your GP.Of course it's voluntary ( with yer arm up yer back ,as my GP explained) .
Circa2005 ,I was diagnosed with diabetes - so first thing they did was panic ,next refer me to my GP for diagnoses and treatment , then restrict the type of work I could do .After consultation with my GP it turned out they were indeed panicking - so off to HR .The back and forth to them every few months ,whereas my GP (based on his experience /advice from the consultant and test results only saw me every six) .Two years down the line ,I filled in the usual questionnaire as info all held ,nothing further to declare .This time ,I met a Doctor -who couldn't find my file on the system .Next visit ,it had turned up ,with this doctor deciding that they hadn't needed to call me in .Perhaps it was also on some foreign website -so should I expect junk e mail /post from health organisations to advise me of advances in diabetic treatment .
Some of the doctors I met were ex missionary - nice if I had recurring bouts of malaria ,but diabetes - although common in foreign climes -could I expect them to be as up to date as my own GP.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I hope you have it under control Dave. It's so very common these days.



Well, after an hour long talk with my ISP this morning I uncovered quite a useful tool. I'm guessing some IT type techies here will know this, but in your blank internet bar type this and press enter.

192.168.1.1

Fom there I typed in the word 'admin' in both boxes which retrieved more information than you can shake a stick at.

I assume this works for everyone but how much more info can 'they' suck from us which we are not aware of I wonder...


Oh, don't do it if it's likely to screw up your pc. I take no responsibilty for anything going wrong

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

On a home network using address translation, 192.168.1.1 is typically your router address. This range of IP addresses is reserved for private networks.

I'm not quite sure what you think this is giving away.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

I'm not sure either but if it could be done remotely somehow, like they do at work, then the natural progression could be to suck anything off my pc. Mine went from one screen to another with reams of information which I'm sure would be useful to someone for nefarious reasons.

This isn't my forte, (not that I needed to state that ), but given the amount of internet crime it's a worry and it just showed how powerful a little information can be. I’m not normally this paranoid but if an amateur hacker can break into NASA how vulnerable are the rest of us?

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I used to do internet banking but watched a TV programme on the subject of computers and hacking. They had a chap sit at a computer and type in his pass word for his bank and there was another chap with a computer over the table and within seconds the second chap informed them what pass word was used. Since that day I stopped using internet banking and all financial dealings on computer.OLLIE

There is a host in info that you can reach, generally but not to specific 'people', but can IP really only give you an IP location, that is it, you cannot in any way, (from here) then go on, to access anyone's computer.
For that you need some software on the receiving end - or you 'did'! - e.g. that how's MS manage it with explorer for example - or did until all the massive media fuss, but I still don't trust them.

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

Big Tone,

if it was your ISP that provided you with your router (the box between your computer and the phone line) i would get very angry!!!

Basically, you have been left with the default username and password, potentially allowing anybody access to how your Internet connection is configured (as i am sure that you have probably already guessed). Similar problems occur with wireless when they are left un-secure/un-encrypted or with default settings

This shouldn't happen, but you can bet that there are many surgeries, businesses, shops that you buy goods from etc. - that are equally exposed to outsiders getting in!

mb

I saw that but, rather than stop me using internet banking, I now make sure that there isn't another chap with a computer over the table when I log in.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

They did provide it! And I was bugged that it was such a simple word they used. Might as well have used 1234 like on my house alarm.

Opps, I'll have to change it now

I'm also nervous about online banking Ollie but I am using Kaspersky and AVG, which surprisingly don't fight with each other, and just hope for the best.

I'm sorry but whenever I hear thing's like 'it or they can't' or 'it's impossible' I never believe it. I just had a flash back of someone's signature here that went something like "If someone tells you nothing is impossible try bathing in a saucer of milk". Can’t remember who that was now..

I used to be obsessed with computers and software, and people came to me to set them up and fault find, but these days I want to get as far from them as possible. I always found that as soon as someone finds out you’re a whiz kid they want your help 24/7. I mean if I was a dustman they wouldn’t ask me to put thier bins out would they!

It’s just a tool to me, no different to a DVD player which I would expect to play DVDs without me having to upgrade the motor drive or reprogram the opening menu. I get enough of that kind of thing at work ..

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

All 192.168.1.1 does is access the administrator in your router.
Surely anyone who has read the info for the router has altered the password ?
If not...who cares anyway ?
Your browser holds the same info about sites you have been to (mine deletes it every time I log-out of the browser) and so does the operating system (DNS cache).......

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing