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Adobe Spies On Users' eBook Libraries

Posted by Soulskill on 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.

11 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Moo by Chacham · · 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 · · 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 · · 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 · · Score: 4, Informative

      This pic is pretty much accurate...
      http://cdn-www.i-am-bored.com/media/7125_piratemoviechart.jpg

    4. Re:Moo by steelfood · · 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."
  2. The Issue is Not Plain-Text by Anonymous Coward · · 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 · · 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.

  3. I just hope that they ... by geantvert · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... found my favorite e-book: "'Alice In Wonderlands) ; DROP TABLE Books ; --.epub"

  4. Not to worry, I store my eBooks in the cloud... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... so I know they are private and secure from prying eyes.

  5. Time for some crapflooding. by AnotherBlackHat · · 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.

  6. That's not DRM by mknewman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's spyware.