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Chinese Govt Spyware Puts Computers At Risk

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the big-brother-speaks-mandarin dept.

Ihmhi writes "China's mandatory 'Green Dam Youth Escort' web filter software apparently has a series of severe flaws. In addition to not working on Linux or MacOS, traffic between the software and its servers is unencrypted." I'm sure it only gets better after that.

2 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Your friendly Chinese government official here. by BlueKitties · · Score: 5, Informative

    The "mandatory" software these computers will be shipped with is no different than a VChip inside of all modern American TVs; it's a feature people may use, but are allowed to uninstall at their sole discretion. Besides, this stuff runs on Windows, it's just one more straw on the pile of ways to hijack an unprotected computer. We also choose a tool that doesn't run on Linux because we're sick of typing 'sudo apt-get install wine' everytime we install a new Linux distro. This assures minimal typing for all Chinese Linux users.

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    "Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." [Ecclesiastes 7:3]
  2. Re:This software is legally mandated. by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's mandated that it be sold with all new computers. It doesn't need to be installed, just supplied with the PC.

    Think of it as an AOL Free Trial CD. You remember, the free coaster they shipped.

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