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RetroCoder Threatens Security Vendors

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the blustering-stuffed-shirts dept.

john83 writes "RetroCoder the company that brings you SpyMon, a commercial keylogger is trying to stop vendors of security software from looking at their software. RetroCoder uses a EULA that prohibits anti-spyware publishers / software houses from downloading, running or examining the software in any way. Essentially, they're trying to hide a key logger behind copyright law." While they are certainly not the first to do so, it is interesting that companies still take this approach.

6 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Dupe... by zenmojodaddy · · Score: 3, Informative

    ... from 11th November.

  2. YAD by Hieronymus+Howard · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yet Another Dupe

    This is why I let my subscription lapse. I was sick of paying for duplicate articles:
    http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/11/06 8222&tid=123&tid=172&tid=17

  3. Again? Only happened 4 days ago... by Haydn+Fenton · · Score: 2, Informative

    Dupe. Funny how fresh, new and on topic submissions get rejected whilst the same old junk (and sometimes dupes too) get through.

  4. Re:Summary is a wee bit off.... by ajs318 · · Score: 3, Informative
    In order to install the software you have to make a copy of it (either copy from the cd to hard drive, or copy from internet page to hard drive) but before you can copy you need a copyright license. What gives you that license if not the EULA?
    Copyright law gives you that licence. Making a copy in the memory of your computer is a necessary step in making use of software, therefore it's protected fair use.
    --
    Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
  5. Re:Summary is a wee bit off.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Copyright law is even explicit in that regard:
    http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#117

  6. Re:The funny thing is, by J053 · · Score: 2, Informative
    Much as I think keyloggers, etc. are despicable, the parent is incorrect. This type of software is usually marketed to companies or organizations which then install it on their computers. The intended use is to monitor the computer usage of employees. In this case, the employees are not the owners of the computer, and it is in the interest of both the keylogger maker and the company installing it that it not be automatically removed by anti-virus or anti-spyware software.

    If the keylogger were installed on a computer without the owner's knowledge, in that case the EULA would not apply and the owner of the computer could do whatever s/he wished.