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Sears Installs Spyware
Gandalf_the_Beardy writes in with news that's been around a while but is getting more attention lately. Last month Benjamin Googins, a security researcher at CA, determined that Sears Holding Corp. installed ComScore spyware without adequate disclosure. Sears said, yes we tell people about tracking their browsing. On Jan. 1 spyware researcher Ben Edelman weighed in, noting that Sears' notice occurs on page 10 of a 54-page privacy statement, and twits Sears because its installation identifies the software as "VoiceFive" and later claims it's coming from a company called "TMRG, Inc." even though a packet sniffer confirms the software belongs to ComScore, adding "These confusing name-changes fit the trend among spyware vendors."
From TFA:
Every website visitor that joins the Sears community installs software that acts as a proxy to every web transaction made on the compromised computer.
Wait a second...this so-called "privacy breach" requires a user to sign up, give away personal information, and download and install software?
Oh, the horror!
Give...me...a...freaking...BREAK! Whining and bitching because someone is too lazy to read a 54-page privacy document? Intimidated by such a beast? Then DON'T INSTALL THE SOFTWARE!
If there ever was a story that needed to be tagged "nothing to see here, move along," this is it. When will the public wake up and figure out that they expose themselves to nefarious evil-whoring overloads whenever they download and install unknown software from the Internet?