Cant make this up

This type of thing pisses me off. NOT because it isn't true, but because it isn't just the government doing it and takes being used as a political tool before someone publicizes it. You can send proof of this type of activity by various other software companies and news outlets just ignore it until something like this pops up that can be used to further a political agenda.

Ever since (partially) Windows XP and fully with Windows Vista on, your computer spies on everything you do and reports it back. If you are running Windows or Mac you don't fully own your PC. It polices YOU rather than the other way around. All the DRM (google it) and phone home routines in commercial software today is absolutely beyond frightening.

Get a clue and turn on network sniffers on your own network and watch the traffic when various software packages are started up. What you run, when you run it, what you have installed and your usage patterns are all recorded and sent by various packages on your machine.

With Microsoft, video drivers can be disabled remotely software can be added and removed from your machine without your approval, etc. With Mac OS, the same thing. Companies don't respect who actually owns the computer anymore.

Microsoft, Apple, and Autodesk (Autocad packages) are the worst offenders. Others companies do it to a lesser degree.

What is so bad is that so called SOFTWARE firewall packages like Symantec's Internet Security, McAfees Internet security, BlackICE, Comodo and ALL of the packages that work on Microsoft PRE-whitelist this network activity without your consent.

This isn't tin foil hat stuff, its fact and its sickening that no one cares. I preach it and PROVE it to people and all they care about is having the familiar environment of windows or mac. Not what it means to their privacy, security and control of their own machines. People should be beating the doors down on these companies and demanding that the owner has full control and no-one else.

Its why I went to open source and linux and will never look back to the commercial packages again.
 
Listen---The lone Ranger theme song, Who in the he-- is going to stop this crap? I hope that all of those responsible, and you know who you voted for,is happy now. God bless us all.
P.S This is not a policatial post
 
Selling out....

Selling out....

I did not realize Mac was a sellout as well.

Good stuff to know, just begin to wonder how it takes longer to boot my xp or vista machine than my old windows 95 / 98 product. Just too much crap loading up keeping tabs. As long as you realize everything you do on the idiotbox is being monitored.......

J
 
If you are frightened by this, you won't like to know what Google does and is all about.

-- Chris.
 
Thanks Chuck,
Do you know of a good virus scan download that does not require you to buy it after it detects something on your computer.
 
My knowledge in that area is essentially zero, Mark.

I have an old copy of Norton that seems to have infinite life, it has never expired and it’s at least 10 years old; they just keep on updating it.

But I haven’t installed it in a couple of years, the updates were too much trouble for someone on a rural dial up connection. The ISPs all have virus scans anyhow. I learned a long time ago not to open attachments from unknown sources.

I use Comodo’s free firewall, which seems to do a good job of blocking computer break-ins.
 
I'm surprised anyone would be shocked by this.... Oh well, here's some goodies.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/products.php

http://free.avg.com/

Hope that helps someone.

Thats the problem, no one is shocked and they should be. At best there is a ho hum and maybe at most a small incentive to work around the issue like Chuck.

But no one is willing to stop pumping money into that system or vote with their wallet and stop using products that take your privacy and ownership for granted.

Heck, look at the iphone. Its one of the worst offenders. Apple tightly controls what you can even put on your own phone. If some uncooperative developer decides he wants to work around them and he makes a free application that consumers want but undermines another application that Apple is selling on the itunes store. They immediately black list the application which pulls if off your phone if you have it installed.

Ever since Vista Microsoft can do the same thing with applications or drivers on Windows even with the blocker type apps that Chuck posted a link to. Next time your machine goes to get security updates, if it is blacklisted software, its gone.

Just this week, there is a fairly highly publicized incident of Amazon remotely pulling a book off of users Kindle book readers.

The only way to stop this type of stuff is don't use it. There are alternatives like Linux that don't even require work arounds. They honor the wishes of the OWNER of the device right from the first startup.
 
Really?

What apps are you talking about?

The above post is my original post. I submit this as my own rebuttal:

I've had an HP desktop computer I bought new with Vista for 2 years now. I have NEVER had a problem with this computer. I use it for internet and business. If you use your computer for "other" things, you might have a problem.....yes you....quit looking at crap your not supposed to, and you won't have a problem :)
 
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Ok.. examples:

Windows itself: Everytime you update the system, whether or not you have used apps like Chuck mentioned, the complete software loadout on your system is transmitted. Also MS just got busted loading dotnet plugin in the Firefox web browser without consent. For corporate users, MS search was pushed out without consent.

Individual apps: Autodesk software, the makers of Autocad and 3d Studio now have systems that monitor the usage of their software. Many things you do OUTSIDE of those apps trigger a reactivation that must be called in and explained to Autodesk. Steam, the management engine behind games from Valve software reports what apps you have on your machine and full statistics on it. What you do and when you do it. Many other games put copy protection software on your machine and does NOT remove them when you uninstall the game.

Apple iTunes software on both Windows and Mac transmits usage statistics back to Apple without your consent. Apples Safari web browser on both windows and mac transmits web site visits back to Apple with no way to stop it. So does IE.

Kindle example I used before: Talk about ironic. Amazon remotely erases 1984 by Orwell off of people Kindles who had purchased the kindle ebook version. The story is that the company who distributed it didn't have rights to do so so Amazon pulls it off the Kindles where it had been purchased. Regardless of who was right or wrong, they have no right to add or remove anything from people devices. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html

I know you were joking about looking at crap I'm not supposed to, but that is typically a response authority figures throw around. "Well if you're not doing something you're not supposed to, then why does it matter"? It matters because if I'm NOT doing something I'm not supposed to then my constitution used to guarantee that I don't have to fear being searched. Not by government entities and certainly not by corporations.
 
Offended...

Offended...

I am offended by the fact that someone up the food chain would need permission to hyjack my computer and its contents to somehow go on a fishing expedition to use the cash for clunkers program as an excuse.

The cash for clunkers program has some serious limits, you just cannot go tow down any old p.o.s and get 4500 or 9 grand total, some mfg's are matching the gov cash. The vehicle needs to get mpg's under a certain limit and has to BE ALREADY registered and on the road for at least long period of time..... Now I am sure somewhere some how some slick con man has come up with a way to cheat the system but this is the feds we are talking about, who wants to end up a felon anyway over a car ? And if you are that hard up for a new vehicle I am sure you can get a great price without uncle sam pitching in other folks tax dollars to make the sale.

Look we all know they have programs to search anyones computer if they so desire, they have back doors written into every operating system including lineux.....sorry they do. With over 50k ports on your average network connection the only way you can keep your stuff private is not have anything on there in the first place. Of course if your box is connected to the internet they could upload any nonsense to your unit anyway.

The real question is why do they feel the need ? This is paranoia and exactly the type of thing they do when governments go bad.

Just watch for the 3rd week of September. Its coming folks. Just watch the news. They are telling you right now. It fits hand in glove with the big push for gov mandated health insurance.

The time line and stage has been set with movies "I am Legend" and cute little tales of "The Simpsons movie".

Spider pig, Spider pig does whatever a spider pig does.....:p


J
 
I guess some of us will make it work, and some of us won't.

I don't have a problem, and if YOU do........get a clue.

Jon, no one ever said that it doesn't work. I never said I can't make it work. I make my living mostly with MS products, but only because there is only so much that can be changed in a small amount of time. I migrate to open source and linux when and how I can, but it takes time. Most users don't have anything but fear of the unknown to keep them from moving on to open source in a home user environment.

These abuses of power by software companies are relatively new and have really only gotten bad in the last 5 years. Thats not enough time for most companies to migrate to other sources of software and in some cases it simply isn't available for other platforms so they have a captive audience. "What are you going to do, retool your entire plant?" they say with a snicker.

Its only the people who continue to use the software by these shady companies knowing what they are giving up when there are choices that are losing anything at all.
 
Jon, no one ever said that it doesn't work. I never said I can't make it work. I make my living mostly with MS products, but only because there is only so much that can be changed in a small amount of time. I migrate to open source and linux when and how I can, but it takes time. Most users don't have anything but fear of the unknown to keep them from moving on to open source in a home user environment.

These abuses of power by software companies are relatively new and have really only gotten bad in the last 5 years. Thats not enough time for most companies to migrate to other sources of software and in some cases it simply isn't available for other platforms so they have a captive audience. "What are you going to do, retool your entire plant?" they say with a snicker.

Its only the people who continue to use the software by these shady companies knowing what they are giving up when there are choices that are losing anything at all.

I guess were on the same path then. I use what works for me. When it doesn't, I shift gears.

Unfortunatly, most people aren't savy with technology.
 
Look we all know they have programs to search anyones computer if they so desire, they have back doors written into every operating system including lineux.....sorry they do.

J

Jonathan, I don't doubt that somewhere out there, there is an open source example where you are right and that there are compromises in the code.

The difference in open source is that it is MUCH MUCH less likely. The source code for every application is out there for anyone and everyone to look at. People from different countries. People with different political views.

All the eyes keep it much more honest. Much harder to get surreptitious code included in a mainstream application and definitely nearly impossible to keep it there for long even if it does get there to start with. There are just too many eyes from too many people looking.

The other factor is that open source software is not written for two masters. Let me explain that. Microsoft or Apple must write software that gives a certain amount of control to software authors to control distribution of that software. Those controls come at the expense of the owner of the computer. The catch is that they have to give that control in a way that doesn't COMPLETELY alienate the end user.

Open source typically doesn't have that problem. It is written for the complete and utter satisfaction of the end user. There is no corporate entity that has to be placated. Ultimate control is given to the end user.
 
I’m with you, Bob. I don’t believe MS or other software vendors are up to anything malicious, just aggressive marketing; however, I try not to be one of their guinea pigs.

I installed Netscape on my first computer, a Dell with 333 MHz Pentium, and after MS squeezed them out, switched over to Firefox. I’ve never had occasion to download any of MS’s security patches. Don’t use their firewall or automatic updates.

I’ve never purchased any MS software other than the W95 OS, Word 97 and Excel 97 that came with the Dell. I might have purchased WXP SP-2, don’t remember but if so, the cost was no more than shipping and handling.

Someone gave me an unactivated copy of WXP and MS has been relatively hassle free when necessary to reactivate on another computer. I once had to plead my case to a young lady in India; informing her that lightning had zapped my old computer.

I’ve played with Linux but I’m not smart enough to make it do anything useful; I usually end up with an error message that says; “kernel panic.’’ I don’t have the foggiest notion of what that means nor do I want to know.

My favorite OS is W2K; no activation hassles and once installed on a hard drive, will run on any computer without blue screening. My cousin let me copy his bootleg copy. And therein lies the reason for WPA.
 
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