Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Google eavesdropping tool installed on computers without permission...

Privacy campaigners and open source developers are up in arms over the secret installing of Google software which is capable of listening in on conversations held in front of a computer.

First spotted by open source developers, the Chromium browser – the open source basis for Google’s Chrome – began remotely installing audio-snooping code that was capable of listening to users.

It was designed to support Chrome’s new “OK, Google” hotword detection – which makes the computer respond when you talk to it – but was installed, and, some users have claimed, it is activated on computers without their permission.

“Without consent, Google’s code had downloaded a black box of code that – according to itself – had turned on the microphone and was actively listening to your room,” said Rick Falkvinge, the Pirate party founder, in a blog post. “Which means that your computer had been stealth configured to send what was being said in your room to somebody else, to a private company in another country, without your consent or knowledge, an audio transmission triggered by … an unknown and unverifiable set of conditions.” Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Google and Whatsapp will be forced to hand messages to MI5...
  2. The privacy app that's taking on Google...
  3. Google's road to global domination...
  4. Thai villagers mistake Google worker for government snoop...
  5. Google knows nearly every Wi-Fi password in the world...

No comments:

Post a Comment