Adobe Spies On Users' eBook Libraries

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Adobe Spies On Users' eBook Libraries

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday October 7, 2014 @05:41AM from the digital-edition-is-the-worst-software dept.

New submitter stasike writes: Nate at the-digital-reader.com reports that Adobe is spying on any computer that runs Digital Editions 4, the newest version of Adobe's Epub app. They are collecting data about what users are reading, and they're also searching users' computers for e-book files and sending that information too. That includes books not indexed in DE4. All of the data is sent in clear text. This is just another example of DRM going south.

33 of 150 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Moo by Chacham · 2014-10-07 05:42 · Score: 5, Funny

In Soviet Russia, you watch Adobe!
Wait, wait, something's wrong here....

--
Have you read my journal today?
1. Re:Moo by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-07 05:56 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It's yet another example of how pirates provide better service to their customers than the legitimate retailers.
2. Re:Moo by Russ1642 · 2014-10-07 06:18 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I played a DVD the other day, something I haven't done in a few years. It took damn near forever to get the actual movie playing. It was ad after ad for movies from ten years ago. Pirated movies are great. You hit play and the movie starts. That's it.
3. Re:Moo by meerling · 2014-10-07 07:09 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  This pic is pretty much accurate...
  http://cdn-www.i-am-bored.com/media/7125_piratemoviechart.jpg
4. Re:Moo by jones_supa · 2014-10-07 07:27 · Score: 2
  
  It's yet another example of how pirates provide better service to their customers than the legitimate retailers.
  Buying legitimate dead-tree books is still possible and does not come with the problem.
5. Re:Moo by Jason+Levine · 2014-10-07 07:44 · Score: 3
  
  The same graphic is true if you buy the DVD and rip it to MKV or MP4 or something. Hit enter and just play without a ton of ads/warnings. Of course, ripping a DVD - even one you've purchased yourself and thus own a valid copy of - violates the DMCA so I would never, ever do this. *whistles innocently*
  
  --
  My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
6. Re:Moo by MMC+Monster · 2014-10-07 07:53 · Score: 2
  
  I rent from Redbox and transfer to computer with makemkv. I then transcode with Handbrake.
  I haven't found a single instance where this didn't work.
  
  --
  Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
7. Re:Moo by steelfood · 2014-10-07 07:54 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It was ad after ad for movies from ten years ago.
  
  The worst are the ads telling you not to pirate movies. Since you're seeing the ad, I think it'd be safe to assume you didn't pirate it. Because if you did pirate the movie, you certainly wouldn't be seeing that useless crap.
  The stupidity just boggles the mind sometimes.
  
  --
  "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
The Issue is Not Plain-Text by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-07 05:48 · Score: 5, Insightful

The outrage needs to be swift and directly entirely at the fact that they are collecting this information in the first place not whether it is transmitted in plain text or encrypted.
1. Re:The Issue is Not Plain-Text by Em+Adespoton · 2014-10-07 08:02 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Because "plain text" is a MAJOR issue.
  If it's encrypted, then Bad Actor #1 (in this case, Adobe) steals all your personal info. All fine and dandy; you can sue them and get them to drop all that personal info, and life goes back to normal.
  If it's plain-text, then opening, say, an OverDrive eBook while at Starbucks suddenly makes your entire eBook collection, including titles that have nothing to do with Adobe, available to anyone else listening in on the public WiFi.
  so: outrage over the action in the first place, merited. Furor over not even taking pains to protect the data from other eyes, way more than merited.
  Think about it like this: which is worse: the guy next door taking pictures through your windows night and day, or the guy next door taking pictures through your windows night and day and posting them all online? They're both bad, but the second is much worse.
2. Re:The Issue is Not Plain-Text by nabsltd · 2014-10-07 08:19 · Score: 2
  
  The outrage needs to be swift and directly entirely at the fact that they are collecting this information in the first place
  Kindle reading apps and standalone readers also send exactly this same kind of information about books you download from Amazon. They do this to pay authors royalties for books that were loaned by other users or though KindleUnlimited or Prime.
  The difference here is that ADE sends info about any ePub you open with it, even if that file was downloaded by some other app, and even if it is not protected with Adobe DRM. I read everything through Calibre's reader, so I'm not really worried about this, even though I do download books from my library that use Adobe DRM.
Outrage burnout by ilsaloving · 2014-10-07 05:52 · Score: 2

I can't even bring myself to be outraged by this sort of thing anymore, because it's become so expected.
What's especially annoying though, is that so many *other* companies have hitched themselves to the DE bandwagon, that you cannot use their (what should be) completely legitimate services without getting bent over by Adobe. Library ebook rentals, for example, because most of them rely on Overdrive.
1. Re:Outrage burnout by taustin · 2014-10-07 06:12 · Score: 2
  
  You've clearly never tried to read a PDF on a book reader with a small screen.
2. Re:Outrage burnout by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2014-10-07 07:20 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  To the best of my knowledge, you don't have any alternative when it comes to getting the file; but stripping the DRM and reading it on something else does spare you the reporting that Adobe does of every move you make from one page to another, and keeping your copy of Digital Editions on a separate system(VM or isolated physical machine), will presumably keep it from scanning its merry way through your entire library...
  
  Even if there were a 'clean' client, they'd still know who sent a request to their servers, and for what; but the ADE behavior goes well beyond that, and most of it will only work if the client is a traitor to the reader.
Adobe has an ereader app? by Mysticalfruit · 2014-10-07 05:55 · Score: 2

I guess I was surprised that Adobe has an ereader app. Yet another reason to not use Adobe's products.

--
Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
1. Re:Adobe has an ereader app? by Anrego · 2014-10-07 06:46 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I doubt they'd notice, but still might be a nice touch to have a few thousand files named along the lines of screw_you_adobe_00123.epub
Yet another reason ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-07 06:02 · Score: 3, Insightful

Yet another reason why I don't like Adobe or their products.
They suck at security, and they don't give a rat's ass about your privacy.
Fuck you Adobe. Fuck you.
You probably agreed to it by wcrowe · 2014-10-07 06:18 · Score: 2

At first I thought, "How do they get away with this?" Then I realized, it's probably in the EULA somewhere that everyone clicks on and nobody actually reads.

--
Proverbs 21:19
I just hope that they ... by geantvert · 2014-10-07 06:18 · Score: 5, Funny

... found my favorite e-book: "'Alice In Wonderlands) ; DROP TABLE Books ; --.epub"
Typical Adobe product by dysmal · 2014-10-07 06:19 · Score: 3, Funny

If history repeats its self, this "feature" will be buggy and need constant patching. They'll then spin it off as a cloud service where it'll cost you more to spy on yourself and yet spy less.
Not to worry, I store my eBooks in the cloud... by QuietLagoon · 2014-10-07 06:24 · Score: 4, Funny

... so I know they are private and secure from prying eyes.
Re:See what really happened first by Obfuscant · 2014-10-07 06:30 · Score: 2

So is there any good reason why Adobe would do this that benefits the customer?
Yes.
"I see you are reading 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'. Adobe recommends the following books: 'Mein Kampf' by A. Hitler, 'Banking and Currency and the Money Trust' by C.A. Lindbergh, and 'God is Not Great' by C. Hitchens."
DRM vs. Pirating by briancox2 · 2014-10-07 06:49 · Score: 3, Interesting

Supporting DRM is morally worse than supporting pirating. At least with supporting pirating, no one gets hurt.

--
We should learn what we need to know about issues, before we decide what we need to feel about them.
1. Re:DRM vs. Pirating by brit74 · 2014-10-07 11:32 · Score: 2
  
  Yup, just like counterfeiting money. Show me one person harmed by my creation of counterfeit money. You CAN'T! Therefore I'm right! [/sarcasm]
Time for some crapflooding. by AnotherBlackHat · 2014-10-07 06:52 · Score: 4, Interesting

If Digital Editions, or any other program, is sending meta-data about the contents of hard drives, then they deserve to what they get.
I picture a small program that creates millions of pseudo-random file names ending with .epub, .pdf, or whatever else D.E. is scanning for.
I'd certainly be willing to dedicate a few gig to the task, I'm sure there are several thousand others who feel the same.
1. Re:Time for some crapflooding. by tbuddy · 2014-10-07 07:34 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  If they aren't encrypting they probably aren't set up on whatever is reading these for SQL injection or all sorts of other fun. Could be hilarious actually.
2. Re:Time for some crapflooding. by Em+Adespoton · 2014-10-07 08:27 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Yeah; I think everyone needs a copy of "'Alice In Wonderlands) ; DROP TABLE Books ; --.epub" as mentioned by geantvert earlier in this thread. There's a few other titles that are equally entertaining that are must-reads.
I just hope that they ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-07 07:03 · Score: 3, Funny

Bobby, we've talked about this...
There is a bright side... by Rick+Zeman · 2014-10-07 07:06 · Score: 2

...if Adobe had used encryption no one would have known that the hard drives were being scraped of epub data.
That's not DRM by mknewman · 2014-10-07 07:08 · Score: 5, Insightful

That's spyware.
Why would anyone want Wi-Fi in an ebook reader? by rotenberry · 2014-10-07 07:08 · Score: 2, Insightful

Anyone who has an ebook reader with Wi-Fi is asking for trouble.
It will be a sad day for me when my Sony PRS-300 reader fails to start. This reader has no Wi-Fi.
What is that I hear you say? Turn off the Wi-Fi on the reader? Please, how naive do you think I am?
"The only controls available to those on board were two push-buttons on the center post of the cabin -- one labeled on and one labeled off. The on button simply started a flight from Mars. The off button connected to nothing. It was installed at the insistence of the Martian mental-health experts, who said that human beings were always happier with machinery they thought they could turn off."
- Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan
1. Re:Why would anyone want Wi-Fi in an ebook reader? by hackertourist · 2014-10-07 07:36 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Digital Editions is the PC app you use to download ebook files from the internet, and then upload them to your non-Wifi ebook reader.
Congratulations to Adobe by CptJeanLuc · 2014-10-07 09:05 · Score: 2, Insightful

Congratulations to Adobe, as I would congratulate a fellow human being (since the supreme court ruling that corporations are people), for truly living the hardcore capitalist version of the American Dream. Doing whatever you can legally or illegally get away with to make more money, and not giving a [your favourite naughty word for excrement goes here] about anyone you walk over in the process.
It is the spyware part which bothers me the most. It is like having a plummer come to fix your toilet, you step out of the house for a few minutes, only to find when you come back that he is going through all your stuff - in order perhaps to understand you better as a person so that he can service you better in the future - or figure out if you are rich so he can charge you more. Or perhaps sell a list of your inventory to someone, for whatever purpose which is no longer the plummer's concern once he gets payment.
I should probably be upset about this whole Adobe thing, but after watching John Oliver's Last Week Tonight show from yesterday about how the police in the US can cease assets and bring cases against physical objects such as money or houses on a guilty until proven innocent basis, and proudly spend the money on whatever they want including machines for making frozen margueritas in the office - I just give up. How can you expect companies to do the right thing when the whole system is rotten to the core.