Blue light special: Earn $10 by installing spyware

supermat007 · Sep 14, 2009

Code:

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/13/blue-light-special-earn-10-by-installing-spyware/

Ars technica is reporting on the ruling from the FTC about the software shenanigans of Kmart and Sears. The marketing geniuses behind the parent company of Sears and Kmart decided they needed more information about the users of their website. Their solution? Offering $10 to users who install their custom software which phones home with data on just about everything they do on their computer. Not content with just browsing habits of webites, the software apparently recorded everything the user did online, including secure sessions. Under the settlement (PDF) with the FTC, Sears says they will stop collecting data and promises to destroy any and all information they've collected so far. Selling what websites you've been to, how much money you have, which prescriptions you take and what products you're interested in for the low low price of $10 seems like a bargain.

Anyone else heard about this?

Maybe there's some way we can use this?.... Gateway page even? ahaa

rudyvise · Sep 14, 2009

I think Microsoft with IE did this already and then they got their arses kicked by the monopolies commission.

They effectively depoyed a trojan on the users computers and made it difficult to untangle it from the O/S. Kind of reminds me of malware!

Make a nice piece of desktop software that users can download and use for their internet experience and you just made yourself a billionaire.

best

rudy

supermat007 said:
Code:

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/13/blue-light-special-earn-10-by-installing-spyware/

Anyone else heard about this?

Maybe there's some way we can use this?.... Gateway page even? ahaa

boussena · Sep 14, 2009

made many virtual machines and get the profits then destroy the machines,clear and retry.

Debian · Sep 14, 2009

They ought to be sued. Plain and simple. No one has the right to spy on your computer activities and monitor you. I can already see a class action suit and the ACLU sicking the hounds already!

wowhaxor · Sep 14, 2009

If you're dumb enough to take money and not read the TOS I don't think you should have any legal rights. Always know what you're paying/getting paid for - it is your fault if you're too lazy to read.

Debian · Sep 14, 2009

Thats very true and not enough people stop to read about what they are installing. But its a shame that retailers would take advantage of that. There is absolutely no reason they need to know every single thing a person does on their computer. When did retailers get into the intelligence business?

Blue light special: Earn $10 by installing spyware

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