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Are Key Loggers Being Built into New Laptops?
Several Web sites and blogs have recently discussed a mysterious
heatshrink-wrapped device that people are finding inside their new notebook
computers from Dell, HP and Gateway. Some have claimed that these appear to
be hardware key loggers - devices that capture and save everything you type
into your computer using the keyboard. We haven't run across anything like
this in our (Sony and Toshiba) notebook computers.
The pictures of the mystery device shown at
http://c0x2.de/lol/lol.html do
indeed look like the internal key logger photo shown on the Anti-Spy Shot
Web site at
http://www.anti-keylogger.com/keylogging_hardware.html, but the
letter purporting to be from the Department of Homeland Security doesn't
exactly ring true. And normally, you have to remove a hardware key logger in
order to retrieve the data it's recorded, so DHS would have to actually
seize your computer for it to be any good to them. So we don't buy the idea
that this is some government conspiracy, and neither does Snopes.
If key loggers are being built into new computers (and that's a big "if"),
it's more likely the device is intended to function like the "black boxes"
in cars, perhaps to be used to collect information for troubleshooting if
the computer is returned to the vendor for repairs. So far, we've heard of
no responses from the hardware vendors about this. If you've recently
purchased a new portable computer from a major vendor, you might want to
open up the case and see what's in there, just for curiosity's sake.
<%= Clinton Gallagher
METROmilwaukee (sm) "A Regional Information Service"
NET csgallagher AT metromilwaukee. com
URL
http://metromilwaukee.com/
URL
http://clintongallagher.metromilwaukee.com/
"Mythran" <ki********@hot mail.comREMOVET RAIL> wrote in message
news:%2******** ********@TK2MSF TNGP10.phx.gbl. ..
"clintonG" <cs*********@RE MOVETHISTEXTmet romilwaukee.com > wrote in message
news:e4******** ******@TK2MSFTN GP12.phx.gbl... There is a rumor that has yet to be substantiated but the rumor is that
Dell has built keyloggers into their laptops to assist the criminals
working in and with the US government to spy on citizens.
Rumor or not. This trend is growing. Autodesk for example now has
language in their license stating a customer must agree to allow Autodesk
to "enter" the customer's computers and networks "electronically ."
Can you spell backdoor remote control?
There are some very dangerous software engineers in this world. If
Autodesk can enter electronically so can others. AutoCAD is everywhere.
Imagine what is going to happen when this police state sh!t and greedy
stinking slime like Autodesk are exploited when deployed in a nuclear or
chemical plant where AutoCAD is installed!
<%= Clinton Gallagher
METROmilwaukee (sm) "A Regional Information Service"
NET csgallagher AT metromilwaukee. com
URL http://metromilwaukee.com/
URL http://clintongallagher.metromilwaukee.com/
That would be considered a Conspiracy Theory and therefore un-justified
w/o substantial evidence that can be proven. With that said, do I believe
that the government does stuff like this? Yes. But on such a vast scale?
Maybe. Should I have to worry about it? Possibly. Do I? No. Why?
Because I know where I am going in the end. That's all I can say w/o
taking this completely off topic and start getting flamed.
Mythran
