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Microsoft defends IE8 'phone home' feature, clarifies privacy policy
,----[ Quote ]
| The data Microsoft does collect and record, however, is kept intact for 18
| months, twice as long as Google will retain search logs under a new policy
| announced this week. At the end of the year-and-a-half-long period, Microsoft
| strips some information, particularly the query string, from the URLs it's
| obtained from IE8 users. The query string is the part of a URL that's passed
| to Web applications, and often includes a username and password, or other
| confidential information.
`----
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=security&articleId=9114595&taxonomyId=17&intsrc=kc_top
It also has keyloggers (for Microsoft to collect keystrokes). They can sell
this data or have it stolen/misused.
Devangshu Datta: Closing the gates on windows
,----[ Quote ]
| Until a few years ago, mainstream media (MSM) editors insisted the expansion
| of “FAQs” be provided when the term was used. Nowadays, faqs require no
| explanation. “FOSS” is another acronym heading in the same direction though
| MSM editors still insist on explaining that it stands for Free (and) Open
| Source Software.
|
| Even if Foss supposedly requires expansion, the concepts have gone
| mainstream. A substantial portion of large global enterprise and all the
| world’s small businesses and individual IT users depend on Foss.
|
| The term embodies two different related concepts. Free software need not be
| open source and open source software may not be free. For example, Microsoft
| offers a free but not open source browser (Internet Explorer) and Red Hat
| offers open source applications that it charges for.
|
| But most frequently, Foss is both free and open source. That is, it can be
| downloaded and distributed freely without payment and the source code is also
| freely available for anybody to tinker with. Foss has changed computing
| paradigms.
|
| Enter Chrome. The browser from Google is deliberately misnamed because it
| uses a minimum of “chrome”, which is what the look and feel of a browser is
| called. Chrome rides the trend of increasing dependence on Foss and other
| trends in communication technologies that suggest the imminent superseding of
| the traditional desktop computing model.
`----
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=334282
Related:
Microsoft Giving Away Vista and More for Information
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is giving away free versions of Vista Ultimate, Office 07 Ultimate,
| and more in exchange for your participation in the Windows Feedback Program.
| Basically, in exchange for letting Microsoft scan your computer and programs
| for three months...
`----
http://www.gamingshogun.com/Default.aspx?a=558
,----[ Quote ]
| Vista--Microsoft’s latest operating system--may prove to be most
| appropriately named, especially for those seeking evidence of how a
| computer was used.
`----
http://www.abanet.org/journal/ereport/jy13tkjasn.html
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-about-the-WGA-20-Windows-Vista-Features-and-Services-Harvest-User-Data-for-Microsoft-58752.shtml
Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems
,----[ Quote ]
| The adware framework would leave almost no data untouched in its quest to
| sell you stuff. It would inspect "user document files, user e-mail files,
| user music files, downloaded podcasts, computer settings, computer status
| messages (e.g., a low memory status or low printer ink)," and more. How could
| we have been so blind as to not see the marketing value in computer status
| messages?
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070717-microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems.html
New software can identify you from your online habits
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| That is the spectre raised by new research conducted by Microsoft.
| The computing giant is developing software that could accurately
| guess your name, age, gender and potentially even your location,
| by analysing telltale patterns in your web browsing history. But
| experts say the idea is a clear threat to privacy - and may be
| illegal in some places.
`----
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=mg19426046.400&feedId=being-human_rss20
http://tinyurl.com/2lrazk
Microsoft could be teaching police to hack Vista
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| Microsoft may begin training the police in ways to break the
| encryption built into its forthcoming Vista operating system.
`----
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150555/microsoft-teaching-police-hack
UK holds Microsoft security talks
,----[ Quote ]
| "UK officials are talking to Microsoft over fears the new version of
| Windows could make it harder for police to read suspects' computer files."
`----
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4713018.stm
Data Protection Commissioner criticizes search of private PCs online
,----[ Quote ]
| "In the case of a search via the Internet a police officer covertly,
| without the person knowing about it, accesses a person's computer."
| During such an operation he or she might copy data and obtain all
| kinds of personal documents; the police officer was acting as a "state
| hacker," so to speak. Mr. Schaar observed. "Such an approach is in
| conflict with the legal obligation to protect the core of
| individuals' privacy," Mr. Schaar stated emphatically.
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/82529/from/rss09
Could Hollywood hack your PC?
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| Congress is about to consider an entertainment industry proposal
| that would authorize copyright holders to disable PCs used for
| illicit file trading.
`----
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945923.html
German Supreme Court Deems Police Hacking Illegal
,----[ Quote ]
| Germany's supreme court determined Monday that police may not
| secretly hack into suspects' computers. Some are celebrating
| the decision as a civil rights victory, but the ruling may
| not be the last word on the matter.
`----
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2337932,00.html
Data Protection Commissioner criticizes search of private PCs online
,----[ Quote ]
| "In the case of a search via the Internet a police officer covertly,
| without the person knowing about it, accesses a person's computer."
| During such an operation he or she might copy data and obtain all
| kinds of personal documents; the police officer was acting as a "state
| hacker," so to speak. Mr. Schaar observed. "Such an approach is in
| conflict with the legal obligation to protect the core of
| individuals' privacy," Mr. Schaar stated emphatically.
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/82529/from/rss09
United States Government Online Watchdogs? Part of the war on terror?
,----[ Quote
| Is there anyone in the abandonia community with a US based connection who is
| experiencing this watchdog behavior? Are any foreign Vista users experiencing
| similar attacks from their own countries ministries and governing agencies?"
`----
http://www.whitedust.net/news/3984/United_States_Government_Online_Watchdogs?_Part_of_the_war_on_terror?.../
FBI ducks questions about its remotely installed spyware
,----[ Quote ]
| There are plenty of unanswered questions about the FBI spyware that, as we
| reported earlier this week, can be delivered over the Internet and implanted
| in a suspect's computer remotely.
`----
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9747666-7.html
Yahoo!, Microsoft ink web pact with Chinese government
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| Microsoft and Yahoo! have signed a pact with the Chinese government
| that "encourages" the big name web players to record the identities of
| bloggers and censor content. So says Reporters Without Borders, an
| organization that fights for journalistic rights across the globe.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/24/yahoo_and_microsoft_ink_chinese_blogging_pact/
Microsoft, Yahoo Tailor Ads To Users' Behavior
,----[ Quote ]
| Google will remain on the sidelines — at least for now. But its Web portal
| rivals are stepping up their efforts to use behavioral targeting to make
| display, or banner, ads more relevant to Web site visitors.
`----
http://investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=17&issue=20070823
India’s Cops Get Orwellian
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| If Orwell were brought back from the dead, I presume he’d chuckle and think
| how little things have changed. He would certainly have been bemused by
| happenings in India. A few days ago, Mumbai’s police revealed their plans to
| install keystroke loggers in Mumbai’s cyber cafes, besides imposing licensing
| requirements on them.
|
| [...]
|
| The government’s rationale (or rationalization) behind this is familiar and
| silly. Whenever the government wants to restrict freedom, it invokes
| security, and cops justify this move under the grounds of fighting terrorism.
| Well, firstly, at a practical level, the cops won’t have the manpower to
| scrutinize the massive volume of keystroke logs generated everyday, or to
| figure out what is terrorist code and what is teenage lingo. Secondly, at a
| moral level, it is simply wrong to deny people of their privacy in this
| manner.
`----
http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/indias-cops-get-orwellian/
US politicians go to bat for Microsoft
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/26/microsoft_eu_political_lobbying/
Report Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff
,----[ Quote ]
| E-mails released by the committee show that Abramoff, often
| with the knowledge of the groups' leaders, exploited the tax-exempt
| status and leveraged the stature of the organizations to build
| support among conservatives for legislation or government action
| sought by clients including Microsoft Corp., mutual fund company
| DH2 Inc., Primedia Inc.'s Channel One Network, and Brown-Forman,
| maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
`----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101200889.html
http://tinyurl.com/y2rbpu
Politicians in Microsoft's Pocket
,----[ Quote ]
| Continuing on the theme of which politicians are receiving money from
| who. Here is a list of candidates who took money from MSFT.
`----
http://www.fonz.net/blog/archives/2007/06/04/politicians-in-microsofts-pocket/
Politics and tech companies: follow the money
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft took first place with $651,100 given out, while
| Hewlett-Packard gave only $185,550, and Gateway gave a paltry
| $2,000. Microsoft's donations certainly illustrate well the true
| size of the company and the extent of its political concerns.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061110-8194.html
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