Netscape Privacy Invasion (Score 1)

Steve Gibson, author of SpinRite, OptOut, and the ShieldsUp! web site, sent out a security alert last Saturday which said,

"I verified the rumors... regarding [AOL]. [Some of their] programs immediately tag your computer with a unique ID, after which EVERY SINGLE FILE you download from ANYWHERE on the Internet... is immediately reported back to AOL where it is logged and recorded along with your machine's unique ID...

"This information is then compiled and used to create a detailed 'profile' about who you are based upon the web sites you visit and the files you have downloaded.

"Perhaps you don't mind being watched and tracked as you move around the Internet ... and then having every file you download logged and cataloged and used to assemble 'your profile'. But the idea of this seems extremely invasive to me, and unless you have carefully read the program's license you might not be aware that this is going on or that 'you agreed to it' when you accepted the terms of the license!

"More than 14 Million people are already using the original NetZip Download Demon. NetZip knows the exact number, since every copy of their program [reports] what their users are doing! [This affects everyone who uses] Real Network's RealDownload and Netscape's SmartDownload... [which use the NetZip software].

"A Class Action lawsuit was recently filed against Netscape/AOL because of this privacy invasion, so perhaps the PC industry will begin to receive the message that this sort of secret spying and profiling is not okay with the rest of us, even if it is buried within a lengthy license agreement."

See the full technical story at http://grc.com/downloaders.htm

Fred Langa commented about this story:

"This is so wrong it's beyond words. Alas, it's also very, very typical of AOL's abusive approach to end-users; seeing them only as passive targets for advertising."

Fred Langa's articles appear in several industry magazines, including WinMag.com. (http://www.winmag.com/columns/default.htm)

This invasion of privacy is a very big issue for me personally. I will immediately delete all copies of Netscape and Real Player from my customer's computers.

(Futurepower is a trademark.)