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Restraining Order On Commercial Spyware Lifted

Posted by Soulskill on from the sketchy-enough-for-government-work dept.

Back in 2008, the US Federal Trade Commission filed a restraining order against CyberSpy Software, makers of a commercial spyware program that logged keystrokes, took screenshots, monitored IM conversations, and sent all the collected data back to the company's servers. Reader suraj.sun tips news that the order has now been lifted, allowing CyberSpy to sell its software, but with a few restrictions. "According to the US District Court settlement, the company must not provide users with the means to disguise the software as an innocent file or email attachment. Users must also be advised that doing so may violate US state or federal law. Additionally, all recorded information sent over the Internet must be encrypted and older legacy versions of the software must be removed from computers on which it was previously installed. ... RemoteSpy is said to employ rootkit techniques to hide from virus scanners."

2 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Re:So Little by couchslug · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "Do the authorities care so little for the average citizen?"

    Yes. This will last a while, til things get rotten enough, then the purge-and-replace cycle begins again. It was ever thus, and so it shall be.

    --
    "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  2. Re:Use in the workplace by GillyGuthrie · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The name of the software company ("CyberSpy") sure seems to imply that its marketing strategy is to appeal to the obsessive stalker who needs a convenient way to spy on another person and steal their passwords, read their email, etc. I personally knew a guy that was so obsessed with his ex that he tricked her into d/l a similar spy program with very similar functionality to CyberSpy and all he did was change the filename of the install package to something a little less obvious (unicorns_with_flowers.jpg.exe was a good example).

    I agree that the most legitimate use of this software would be for employers to monitor their employees. An employer who owns the computers its employees are using has a right to install spyware without employee's knowledge... duh. They are handing out paychecks and if they don't want their employees farting around on Facebook all afternoon, it's their right to "spy" and verify that rules are not being broken.