Adobe Flash Player slammed for spying

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Local Shared Objects, LSO, commonly called Flash cookies are collections of cookie-like data stored as a file on a user computer. Used by Flash-based applications to store preferences, cache files or save state and temp data, all methods of improving user experience. The sole purpose of this technology is to trace user movements around the Internet and it has the ability to store a lot of information about you, which is around 100 Kilobyte for each cookie whereas, normal HTTP cookies can store only about 4 Kilobyte. The bad news is that you can't locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. All use them employ Web ad companies like Quantcast, Specificmedia, and Clearspring to deliver Flash ads, and all of those ads store Flash cookies on your hard drive. The bizarre thing is that they can be used to recreate tracking cookies you've deleted.

Adobe Flash Player

In other words, if you've told an advertiser you don't want to be followed around the Web by deleting its tracking cookie, that advertiser can use Flash to reproduce that deleted cookie and continue to track you in secret. This clearly breaks international laws against computer intrusion and surveillance for which several famous companies have been alleged including Disney, Warner Bros. Records, Ustream, Youtube, Google Videos, Columbia Pictures,  and others. They have installed illegal codes on millions of computers with the purpose of tracking the online activity of its users.

This is exactly what the companies referred to collectively as "Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates". The defendants are Clearspring Technologies, the company developing Flash-based technologies and its customers, which include Walt Disney Internet Group, Demand Media, Project Playlist, Soapnet, SodaHead, Ustream and Warner Bros. Records. The complaint read, "Defendants Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates acted with Defendant Clearspring, independently of one another, and hacked the computers of millions of consumers' computers to plant rogue, cookie-like tracking code on users' computers. With this tracking code, Defendants circumvented users' browser controls for managing web privacy and security."

According to the complaint, the collected information could have been used to determine "users' video viewing choices and personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income, what the web user looked at and what he/she bought, the materials he/she read, details about his/her financial situation, his/her name, home address, e-mail address and telephone number, and even more specific information like health conditions, such as depression." The company developing Flash, has condemned the practice of using Local Storage for backing up or restoring cookies without express user consent.

Getting rid of the perilous danger

You just need to use “Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager”. The Website Storage Settings display all Flash cookies that are currently saved on your computer. You can delete flash cookies from individual sites or all at once.

It is also possible to increase or decrease the Kilobyte size of all information that are stored on your computer. No Flash Cookies will be saved if you go into Global Storage Settings and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. Just follow the instructions and you're good to go.

Surf the internet safely.

Written by: Sarah Ssmq

Edited by: Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

Adobe Flash Player slammed for spying

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Local Shared Objects, LSO, commonly called Flash cookies are collections of cookie-like data stored as a file on a user computer. Used by Flash-based applications to store preferences, cache files or save state and temp data, all methods of improving user experience. The sole purpose of this technology is to trace user movements around the Internet and it has the ability to store a lot of information about you, which is around 100 Kilobyte for each cookie whereas, normal HTTP cookies can store only about 4 Kilobyte. The bad news is that you can't locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. All use them employ Web ad companies like Quantcast, Specificmedia, and Clearspring to deliver Flash ads, and all of those ads store Flash cookies on your hard drive. The bizarre thing is that they can be used to recreate tracking cookies you've deleted.

Adobe Flash Player

In other words, if you've told an advertiser you don't want to be followed around the Web by deleting its tracking cookie, that advertiser can use Flash to reproduce that deleted cookie and continue to track you in secret. This clearly breaks international laws against computer intrusion and surveillance for which several famous companies have been alleged including Disney, Warner Bros. Records, Ustream, Youtube, Google Videos, Columbia Pictures,  and others. They have installed illegal codes on millions of computers with the purpose of tracking the online activity of its users.

This is exactly what the companies referred to collectively as "Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates". The defendants are Clearspring Technologies, the company developing Flash-based technologies and its customers, which include Walt Disney Internet Group, Demand Media, Project Playlist, Soapnet, SodaHead, Ustream and Warner Bros. Records. The complaint read, "Defendants Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates acted with Defendant Clearspring, independently of one another, and hacked the computers of millions of consumers' computers to plant rogue, cookie-like tracking code on users' computers. With this tracking code, Defendants circumvented users' browser controls for managing web privacy and security."

According to the complaint, the collected information could have been used to determine "users' video viewing choices and personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income, what the web user looked at and what he/she bought, the materials he/she read, details about his/her financial situation, his/her name, home address, e-mail address and telephone number, and even more specific information like health conditions, such as depression." The company developing Flash, has condemned the practice of using Local Storage for backing up or restoring cookies without express user consent.

Getting rid of the perilous danger

You just need to use “Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager”. The Website Storage Settings display all Flash cookies that are currently saved on your computer. You can delete flash cookies from individual sites or all at once.

It is also possible to increase or decrease the Kilobyte size of all information that are stored on your computer. No Flash Cookies will be saved if you go into Global Storage Settings and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. Just follow the instructions and you're good to go.

Surf the internet safely.

Written by: Sarah Ssmq

Edited by: Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

Adobe Flash Player slammed for spying

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Local Shared Objects, LSO, commonly called Flash cookies are collections of cookie-like data stored as a file on a user computer. Used by Flash-based applications to store preferences, cache files or save state and temp data, all methods of improving user experience. The sole purpose of this technology is to trace user movements around the Internet and it has the ability to store a lot of information about you, which is around 100 Kilobyte for each cookie whereas, normal HTTP cookies can store only about 4 Kilobyte. The bad news is that you can't locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. All use them employ Web ad companies like Quantcast, Specificmedia, and Clearspring to deliver Flash ads, and all of those ads store Flash cookies on your hard drive. The bizarre thing is that they can be used to recreate tracking cookies you've deleted.

Adobe Flash Player

In other words, if you've told an advertiser you don't want to be followed around the Web by deleting its tracking cookie, that advertiser can use Flash to reproduce that deleted cookie and continue to track you in secret. This clearly breaks international laws against computer intrusion and surveillance for which several famous companies have been alleged including Disney, Warner Bros. Records, Ustream, Youtube, Google Videos, Columbia Pictures,  and others. They have installed illegal codes on millions of computers with the purpose of tracking the online activity of its users.

This is exactly what the companies referred to collectively as "Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates". The defendants are Clearspring Technologies, the company developing Flash-based technologies and its customers, which include Walt Disney Internet Group, Demand Media, Project Playlist, Soapnet, SodaHead, Ustream and Warner Bros. Records. The complaint read, "Defendants Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates acted with Defendant Clearspring, independently of one another, and hacked the computers of millions of consumers' computers to plant rogue, cookie-like tracking code on users' computers. With this tracking code, Defendants circumvented users' browser controls for managing web privacy and security."

According to the complaint, the collected information could have been used to determine "users' video viewing choices and personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income, what the web user looked at and what he/she bought, the materials he/she read, details about his/her financial situation, his/her name, home address, e-mail address and telephone number, and even more specific information like health conditions, such as depression." The company developing Flash, has condemned the practice of using Local Storage for backing up or restoring cookies without express user consent.

Getting rid of the perilous danger

You just need to use “Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager”. The Website Storage Settings display all Flash cookies that are currently saved on your computer. You can delete flash cookies from individual sites or all at once.

It is also possible to increase or decrease the Kilobyte size of all information that are stored on your computer. No Flash Cookies will be saved if you go into Global Storage Settings and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. Just follow the instructions and you're good to go.

Surf the internet safely.

Written by: Sarah Ssmq

Edited by: Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

Adobe Flash Player slammed for spying

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Local Shared Objects, LSO, commonly called Flash cookies are collections of cookie-like data stored as a file on a user computer. Used by Flash-based applications to store preferences, cache files or save state and temp data, all methods of improving user experience. The sole purpose of this technology is to trace user movements around the Internet and it has the ability to store a lot of information about you, which is around 100 Kilobyte for each cookie whereas, normal HTTP cookies can store only about 4 Kilobyte. The bad news is that you can't locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. All use them employ Web ad companies like Quantcast, Specificmedia, and Clearspring to deliver Flash ads, and all of those ads store Flash cookies on your hard drive. The bizarre thing is that they can be used to recreate tracking cookies you've deleted.

Adobe Flash Player

In other words, if you've told an advertiser you don't want to be followed around the Web by deleting its tracking cookie, that advertiser can use Flash to reproduce that deleted cookie and continue to track you in secret. This clearly breaks international laws against computer intrusion and surveillance for which several famous companies have been alleged including Disney, Warner Bros. Records, Ustream, Youtube, Google Videos, Columbia Pictures,  and others. They have installed illegal codes on millions of computers with the purpose of tracking the online activity of its users.

This is exactly what the companies referred to collectively as "Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates". The defendants are Clearspring Technologies, the company developing Flash-based technologies and its customers, which include Walt Disney Internet Group, Demand Media, Project Playlist, Soapnet, SodaHead, Ustream and Warner Bros. Records. The complaint read, "Defendants Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates acted with Defendant Clearspring, independently of one another, and hacked the computers of millions of consumers' computers to plant rogue, cookie-like tracking code on users' computers. With this tracking code, Defendants circumvented users' browser controls for managing web privacy and security."

According to the complaint, the collected information could have been used to determine "users' video viewing choices and personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income, what the web user looked at and what he/she bought, the materials he/she read, details about his/her financial situation, his/her name, home address, e-mail address and telephone number, and even more specific information like health conditions, such as depression." The company developing Flash, has condemned the practice of using Local Storage for backing up or restoring cookies without express user consent.

Getting rid of the perilous danger

You just need to use “Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager”. The Website Storage Settings display all Flash cookies that are currently saved on your computer. You can delete flash cookies from individual sites or all at once.

It is also possible to increase or decrease the Kilobyte size of all information that are stored on your computer. No Flash Cookies will be saved if you go into Global Storage Settings and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. Just follow the instructions and you're good to go.

Surf the internet safely.

Written by: Sarah Ssmq

Edited by: Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

Adobe Flash Player slammed for spying

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Local Shared Objects, LSO, commonly called Flash cookies are collections of cookie-like data stored as a file on a user computer. Used by Flash-based applications to store preferences, cache files or save state and temp data, all methods of improving user experience. The sole purpose of this technology is to trace user movements around the Internet and it has the ability to store a lot of information about you, which is around 100 Kilobyte for each cookie whereas, normal HTTP cookies can store only about 4 Kilobyte. The bad news is that you can't locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. All use them employ Web ad companies like Quantcast, Specificmedia, and Clearspring to deliver Flash ads, and all of those ads store Flash cookies on your hard drive. The bizarre thing is that they can be used to recreate tracking cookies you've deleted.

Adobe Flash Player

In other words, if you've told an advertiser you don't want to be followed around the Web by deleting its tracking cookie, that advertiser can use Flash to reproduce that deleted cookie and continue to track you in secret. This clearly breaks international laws against computer intrusion and surveillance for which several famous companies have been alleged including Disney, Warner Bros. Records, Ustream, Youtube, Google Videos, Columbia Pictures,  and others. They have installed illegal codes on millions of computers with the purpose of tracking the online activity of its users.

This is exactly what the companies referred to collectively as "Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates". The defendants are Clearspring Technologies, the company developing Flash-based technologies and its customers, which include Walt Disney Internet Group, Demand Media, Project Playlist, Soapnet, SodaHead, Ustream and Warner Bros. Records. The complaint read, "Defendants Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates acted with Defendant Clearspring, independently of one another, and hacked the computers of millions of consumers' computers to plant rogue, cookie-like tracking code on users' computers. With this tracking code, Defendants circumvented users' browser controls for managing web privacy and security."

According to the complaint, the collected information could have been used to determine "users' video viewing choices and personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income, what the web user looked at and what he/she bought, the materials he/she read, details about his/her financial situation, his/her name, home address, e-mail address and telephone number, and even more specific information like health conditions, such as depression." The company developing Flash, has condemned the practice of using Local Storage for backing up or restoring cookies without express user consent.

Getting rid of the perilous danger

You just need to use “Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager”. The Website Storage Settings display all Flash cookies that are currently saved on your computer. You can delete flash cookies from individual sites or all at once.

It is also possible to increase or decrease the Kilobyte size of all information that are stored on your computer. No Flash Cookies will be saved if you go into Global Storage Settings and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. Just follow the instructions and you're good to go.

Surf the internet safely.

Written by: Sarah Ssmq

Edited by: Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

Adobe Flash Player slammed for spying

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Local Shared Objects, LSO, commonly called Flash cookies are collections of cookie-like data stored as a file on a user computer. Used by Flash-based applications to store preferences, cache files or save state and temp data, all methods of improving user experience. The sole purpose of this technology is to trace user movements around the Internet and it has the ability to store a lot of information about you, which is around 100 Kilobyte for each cookie whereas, normal HTTP cookies can store only about 4 Kilobyte. The bad news is that you can't locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. All use them employ Web ad companies like Quantcast, Specificmedia, and Clearspring to deliver Flash ads, and all of those ads store Flash cookies on your hard drive. The bizarre thing is that they can be used to recreate tracking cookies you've deleted.

Adobe Flash Player

In other words, if you've told an advertiser you don't want to be followed around the Web by deleting its tracking cookie, that advertiser can use Flash to reproduce that deleted cookie and continue to track you in secret. This clearly breaks international laws against computer intrusion and surveillance for which several famous companies have been alleged including Disney, Warner Bros. Records, Ustream, Youtube, Google Videos, Columbia Pictures,  and others. They have installed illegal codes on millions of computers with the purpose of tracking the online activity of its users.

This is exactly what the companies referred to collectively as "Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates". The defendants are Clearspring Technologies, the company developing Flash-based technologies and its customers, which include Walt Disney Internet Group, Demand Media, Project Playlist, Soapnet, SodaHead, Ustream and Warner Bros. Records. The complaint read, "Defendants Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates acted with Defendant Clearspring, independently of one another, and hacked the computers of millions of consumers' computers to plant rogue, cookie-like tracking code on users' computers. With this tracking code, Defendants circumvented users' browser controls for managing web privacy and security."

According to the complaint, the collected information could have been used to determine "users' video viewing choices and personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income, what the web user looked at and what he/she bought, the materials he/she read, details about his/her financial situation, his/her name, home address, e-mail address and telephone number, and even more specific information like health conditions, such as depression." The company developing Flash, has condemned the practice of using Local Storage for backing up or restoring cookies without express user consent.

Getting rid of the perilous danger

You just need to use “Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager”. The Website Storage Settings display all Flash cookies that are currently saved on your computer. You can delete flash cookies from individual sites or all at once.

It is also possible to increase or decrease the Kilobyte size of all information that are stored on your computer. No Flash Cookies will be saved if you go into Global Storage Settings and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. Just follow the instructions and you're good to go.

Surf the internet safely.

Written by: Sarah Ssmq

Edited by: Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

Adobe Flash Player slammed for spying

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Local Shared Objects, LSO, commonly called Flash cookies are collections of cookie-like data stored as a file on a user computer. Used by Flash-based applications to store preferences, cache files or save state and temp data, all methods of improving user experience. The sole purpose of this technology is to trace user movements around the Internet and it has the ability to store a lot of information about you, which is around 100 Kilobyte for each cookie whereas, normal HTTP cookies can store only about 4 Kilobyte. The bad news is that you can't locate them in your browser. They are not shown in the list of cookies that you can see when you take a look at the cookies that are currently saved in your web browser. All use them employ Web ad companies like Quantcast, Specificmedia, and Clearspring to deliver Flash ads, and all of those ads store Flash cookies on your hard drive. The bizarre thing is that they can be used to recreate tracking cookies you've deleted.

Adobe Flash Player

In other words, if you've told an advertiser you don't want to be followed around the Web by deleting its tracking cookie, that advertiser can use Flash to reproduce that deleted cookie and continue to track you in secret. This clearly breaks international laws against computer intrusion and surveillance for which several famous companies have been alleged including Disney, Warner Bros. Records, Ustream, Youtube, Google Videos, Columbia Pictures,  and others. They have installed illegal codes on millions of computers with the purpose of tracking the online activity of its users.

This is exactly what the companies referred to collectively as "Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates". The defendants are Clearspring Technologies, the company developing Flash-based technologies and its customers, which include Walt Disney Internet Group, Demand Media, Project Playlist, Soapnet, SodaHead, Ustream and Warner Bros. Records. The complaint read, "Defendants Clearspring Flash Cookie Affiliates acted with Defendant Clearspring, independently of one another, and hacked the computers of millions of consumers' computers to plant rogue, cookie-like tracking code on users' computers. With this tracking code, Defendants circumvented users' browser controls for managing web privacy and security."

According to the complaint, the collected information could have been used to determine "users' video viewing choices and personal characteristics such as gender, age, race, number of children, education level, geographic location, and household income, what the web user looked at and what he/she bought, the materials he/she read, details about his/her financial situation, his/her name, home address, e-mail address and telephone number, and even more specific information like health conditions, such as depression." The company developing Flash, has condemned the practice of using Local Storage for backing up or restoring cookies without express user consent.

Getting rid of the perilous danger

You just need to use “Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager”. The Website Storage Settings display all Flash cookies that are currently saved on your computer. You can delete flash cookies from individual sites or all at once.

It is also possible to increase or decrease the Kilobyte size of all information that are stored on your computer. No Flash Cookies will be saved if you go into Global Storage Settings and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. Just follow the instructions and you're good to go.

Surf the internet safely.

Written by: Sarah Ssmq

Edited by: Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

What is Traitorware? - Technology that secretly spies on you

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to our Daily Updates via Networked Blog
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Your digital camera may embed metadata into photographs with the camera's serial number or your location. Your printer may be incorporating a secret code on every page it prints which could be used to identify the printer and potentially the person who used it. Your web browser may report your Internet surfing information to some ghost remote machine without your notice, stealing your usernames / passwords to spy on you through automated bots. If Apple puts a particularly creepy patent it has recently applied for into use, you can look forward to a day when your iPhone may record your voice, take a picture of your location, record your heartbeat, and send that information back to the mothership. This is traitorware: devices that act behind your back to betray your privacy.

Perhaps the most notable example of traitorware was the Sony rootkit. In 2005 Sony BMG produced CD's which clandestinely installed a rootkit onto PC's that provided administrative-level access to the users' computer. The copy-protected music CD’s would surreptitiously install its DRM technology onto PC’s. Ostensibly, Sony was trying prevent consumers from making multiple copies of their CD’s, but the software also rendered the CD incompatible with many CD-ROM players in PC’s, CD players in cars, and DVD players. Additionally, the software left a back door open on all infected PC’s which would give Sony, or any hacker familiar with the rootkit, control over the PC. And if a consumer should have the temerity to find the rootkit and try to remove the offending drivers, the software would execute code designed to disable the CD drive and trash the PC.

Traitorware is sometimes included in products with less obviously malicious intent. Printer dots were added to certain color laser printers as a forensics tool for law enforcement, where it could help authenticate documents or identify forgeries. Apple’s scary-sounding patent for the iPhone is meant to help locate and disable the phone if it is lost or stolen. Don’t let these good intentions fool you! Software that hides itself from you while it gives your personal data away to a third party is dangerous and dishonest. As the Sony BMG rootkit demonstrates, it may even leave your device wide open to attacks from third parties.

The most recent example of traitorware is Google's famous browser Chrome that keeps on "updating" even when the browser is up-to-date. It installs a separate updater service on the client computer which remains active even when the browser is not open. And interestingly, you will never find this cute little updater service silent on the network! As it was exposed by a well known TV anchor Alex Jones, Google has been affiliated with CIA and NSA(National Security Agency) for the last many years and they are providing their "services" worldwide free of cost just for the sake of keeping an eye on everyone. This is the only reason why China blasted Google and banned its website network as well as its products inside China. But outside China, Google is running wild with its Online Office and other "handy" tools and violating its users' privacy.

There are several such applications even built into some of the most commonly used operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, which claim to "report user experience to the company for improvement of product and services" but behind the scene, the user's privacy is completely compromised. Traitorware is not some science-fiction vision of the future. It is the present. Indeed, the Sony rootkit dates back to 2005. Apple’s patent application indicates that we are likely to see more traitorware on the horizon. When that happens, EFF will be there to fight it. We believe that your software and devices should not be a tool for gathering your personal data without your explicit consent. As a safety measure, always DISCONNECT your computer from internet while working on sensitive data and it would be even better if you use an external storage device for your critical private data to ensure privacy.

Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

What is Traitorware? - Technology that secretly spies on you

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to our Daily Updates via Networked Blog
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Your digital camera may embed metadata into photographs with the camera's serial number or your location. Your printer may be incorporating a secret code on every page it prints which could be used to identify the printer and potentially the person who used it. Your web browser may report your Internet surfing information to some ghost remote machine without your notice, stealing your usernames / passwords to spy on you through automated bots. If Apple puts a particularly creepy patent it has recently applied for into use, you can look forward to a day when your iPhone may record your voice, take a picture of your location, record your heartbeat, and send that information back to the mothership. This is traitorware: devices that act behind your back to betray your privacy.

Perhaps the most notable example of traitorware was the Sony rootkit. In 2005 Sony BMG produced CD's which clandestinely installed a rootkit onto PC's that provided administrative-level access to the users' computer. The copy-protected music CD’s would surreptitiously install its DRM technology onto PC’s. Ostensibly, Sony was trying prevent consumers from making multiple copies of their CD’s, but the software also rendered the CD incompatible with many CD-ROM players in PC’s, CD players in cars, and DVD players. Additionally, the software left a back door open on all infected PC’s which would give Sony, or any hacker familiar with the rootkit, control over the PC. And if a consumer should have the temerity to find the rootkit and try to remove the offending drivers, the software would execute code designed to disable the CD drive and trash the PC.

Traitorware is sometimes included in products with less obviously malicious intent. Printer dots were added to certain color laser printers as a forensics tool for law enforcement, where it could help authenticate documents or identify forgeries. Apple’s scary-sounding patent for the iPhone is meant to help locate and disable the phone if it is lost or stolen. Don’t let these good intentions fool you! Software that hides itself from you while it gives your personal data away to a third party is dangerous and dishonest. As the Sony BMG rootkit demonstrates, it may even leave your device wide open to attacks from third parties.

The most recent example of traitorware is Google's famous browser Chrome that keeps on "updating" even when the browser is up-to-date. It installs a separate updater service on the client computer which remains active even when the browser is not open. And interestingly, you will never find this cute little updater service silent on the network! As it was exposed by a well known TV anchor Alex Jones, Google has been affiliated with CIA and NSA(National Security Agency) for the last many years and they are providing their "services" worldwide free of cost just for the sake of keeping an eye on everyone. This is the only reason why China blasted Google and banned its website network as well as its products inside China. But outside China, Google is running wild with its Online Office and other "handy" tools and violating its users' privacy.

There are several such applications even built into some of the most commonly used operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, which claim to "report user experience to the company for improvement of product and services" but behind the scene, the user's privacy is completely compromised. Traitorware is not some science-fiction vision of the future. It is the present. Indeed, the Sony rootkit dates back to 2005. Apple’s patent application indicates that we are likely to see more traitorware on the horizon. When that happens, EFF will be there to fight it. We believe that your software and devices should not be a tool for gathering your personal data without your explicit consent. As a safety measure, always DISCONNECT your computer from internet while working on sensitive data and it would be even better if you use an external storage device for your critical private data to ensure privacy.

Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

What is Traitorware? - Technology that secretly spies on you

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to our Daily Updates via Networked Blog
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Your digital camera may embed metadata into photographs with the camera's serial number or your location. Your printer may be incorporating a secret code on every page it prints which could be used to identify the printer and potentially the person who used it. Your web browser may report your Internet surfing information to some ghost remote machine without your notice, stealing your usernames / passwords to spy on you through automated bots. If Apple puts a particularly creepy patent it has recently applied for into use, you can look forward to a day when your iPhone may record your voice, take a picture of your location, record your heartbeat, and send that information back to the mothership. This is traitorware: devices that act behind your back to betray your privacy.

Perhaps the most notable example of traitorware was the Sony rootkit. In 2005 Sony BMG produced CD's which clandestinely installed a rootkit onto PC's that provided administrative-level access to the users' computer. The copy-protected music CD’s would surreptitiously install its DRM technology onto PC’s. Ostensibly, Sony was trying prevent consumers from making multiple copies of their CD’s, but the software also rendered the CD incompatible with many CD-ROM players in PC’s, CD players in cars, and DVD players. Additionally, the software left a back door open on all infected PC’s which would give Sony, or any hacker familiar with the rootkit, control over the PC. And if a consumer should have the temerity to find the rootkit and try to remove the offending drivers, the software would execute code designed to disable the CD drive and trash the PC.

Traitorware is sometimes included in products with less obviously malicious intent. Printer dots were added to certain color laser printers as a forensics tool for law enforcement, where it could help authenticate documents or identify forgeries. Apple’s scary-sounding patent for the iPhone is meant to help locate and disable the phone if it is lost or stolen. Don’t let these good intentions fool you! Software that hides itself from you while it gives your personal data away to a third party is dangerous and dishonest. As the Sony BMG rootkit demonstrates, it may even leave your device wide open to attacks from third parties.

The most recent example of traitorware is Google's famous browser Chrome that keeps on "updating" even when the browser is up-to-date. It installs a separate updater service on the client computer which remains active even when the browser is not open. And interestingly, you will never find this cute little updater service silent on the network! As it was exposed by a well known TV anchor Alex Jones, Google has been affiliated with CIA and NSA(National Security Agency) for the last many years and they are providing their "services" worldwide free of cost just for the sake of keeping an eye on everyone. This is the only reason why China blasted Google and banned its website network as well as its products inside China. But outside China, Google is running wild with its Online Office and other "handy" tools and violating its users' privacy.

There are several such applications even built into some of the most commonly used operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, which claim to "report user experience to the company for improvement of product and services" but behind the scene, the user's privacy is completely compromised. Traitorware is not some science-fiction vision of the future. It is the present. Indeed, the Sony rootkit dates back to 2005. Apple’s patent application indicates that we are likely to see more traitorware on the horizon. When that happens, EFF will be there to fight it. We believe that your software and devices should not be a tool for gathering your personal data without your explicit consent. As a safety measure, always DISCONNECT your computer from internet while working on sensitive data and it would be even better if you use an external storage device for your critical private data to ensure privacy.

Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force

What is Traitorware? - Technology that secretly spies on you

Read on Pakistan Cyber Force Facebook Page

• Subscribe to our Daily Updates via Networked Blog
• Subscribe to our Twitter/Google/Yahoo Daily Updates

Your digital camera may embed metadata into photographs with the camera's serial number or your location. Your printer may be incorporating a secret code on every page it prints which could be used to identify the printer and potentially the person who used it. Your web browser may report your Internet surfing information to some ghost remote machine without your notice, stealing your usernames / passwords to spy on you through automated bots. If Apple puts a particularly creepy patent it has recently applied for into use, you can look forward to a day when your iPhone may record your voice, take a picture of your location, record your heartbeat, and send that information back to the mothership. This is traitorware: devices that act behind your back to betray your privacy.

Perhaps the most notable example of traitorware was the Sony rootkit. In 2005 Sony BMG produced CD's which clandestinely installed a rootkit onto PC's that provided administrative-level access to the users' computer. The copy-protected music CD’s would surreptitiously install its DRM technology onto PC’s. Ostensibly, Sony was trying prevent consumers from making multiple copies of their CD’s, but the software also rendered the CD incompatible with many CD-ROM players in PC’s, CD players in cars, and DVD players. Additionally, the software left a back door open on all infected PC’s which would give Sony, or any hacker familiar with the rootkit, control over the PC. And if a consumer should have the temerity to find the rootkit and try to remove the offending drivers, the software would execute code designed to disable the CD drive and trash the PC.

Traitorware is sometimes included in products with less obviously malicious intent. Printer dots were added to certain color laser printers as a forensics tool for law enforcement, where it could help authenticate documents or identify forgeries. Apple’s scary-sounding patent for the iPhone is meant to help locate and disable the phone if it is lost or stolen. Don’t let these good intentions fool you! Software that hides itself from you while it gives your personal data away to a third party is dangerous and dishonest. As the Sony BMG rootkit demonstrates, it may even leave your device wide open to attacks from third parties.

The most recent example of traitorware is Google's famous browser Chrome that keeps on "updating" even when the browser is up-to-date. It installs a separate updater service on the client computer which remains active even when the browser is not open. And interestingly, you will never find this cute little updater service silent on the network! As it was exposed by a well known TV anchor Alex Jones, Google has been affiliated with CIA and NSA(National Security Agency) for the last many years and they are providing their "services" worldwide free of cost just for the sake of keeping an eye on everyone. This is the only reason why China blasted Google and banned its website network as well as its products inside China. But outside China, Google is running wild with its Online Office and other "handy" tools and violating its users' privacy.

There are several such applications even built into some of the most commonly used operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, which claim to "report user experience to the company for improvement of product and services" but behind the scene, the user's privacy is completely compromised. Traitorware is not some science-fiction vision of the future. It is the present. Indeed, the Sony rootkit dates back to 2005. Apple’s patent application indicates that we are likely to see more traitorware on the horizon. When that happens, EFF will be there to fight it. We believe that your software and devices should not be a tool for gathering your personal data without your explicit consent. As a safety measure, always DISCONNECT your computer from internet while working on sensitive data and it would be even better if you use an external storage device for your critical private data to ensure privacy.

Enticing Fury

Pakistan Cyber Force