Windows users is the fbi watching you.

[earobinson]

So if someone had come up to me yesterday and said the fbi could have something in windows that lets them track you, I would have said bull ****. But I just read this artical (http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_10.php#004063 also a link permalink on my blog http://earobinson.blogspot.com/2005/10/tech-news-secret-code-in-color.html) and no it dont seem so weird.

If the fbi can get companies like canon to put tracking dots in there products why not windows.

Just another reason to use ubuntu :)

[Goober]

Notice it says Laser Printers, which are, IO assume, of good enough quality to be able to reproduce and counterfiehgt currency, especially American, which is fairly, well unsecure and hard to counterfeit.

Americans might make fun of our Currency, yes our beaver Buckls have colours other then Green, but they are difficult to counterfeit! (Or so the local propaganda from Ottawa goes anyway)

[BWF89]

Thanks for the info. It used to be the people that had all these conspiricies about the government tracking you were just dismissed as being nutjobs.

I posted this on 2 other forums:
http://gamerplug.com/showthread.php?t=56292
http://dcforums.co.uk/index.php?showforum=4

[Kapre]

OK, this is some info. What else is next? Microwave is bugged (being tracked for how many times you've used it and how are you helping conserve electricity? ;) )Checking out the list, all of them are colored printers (laser and injets). It did not report any black and white laser printers, does it mean I'm safe with my printer (old HP Laserjet 4P)

K

[Sirin]

Americans might make fun of our Currency, yes our beaver Buckls have colours other then Green, but they are difficult to counterfeit! (Or so the local propaganda from Ottawa goes anyway) Well then, what's the way to say "Where's my Greens?" in Canada? :rolleyes:

[earobinson]

I got no clue what is tracked and not, Its just really messed up in my mind that companies would do that just because someone might do something illigal with a product.

[Cyril]

The FBI can trace printed documents, therefore the FBI can "watch" windows users? This is a very weak arguement if you ask me.

[WildTangent]

The FBI can trace printed documents, therefore the FBI can "watch" windows users? This is a very weak arguement if you ask me.
I think what the original poster was getting at was that the idea of Windows users being monitored is plausable. I agree with him, it doesn't seem too far fetched to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to adjust my tinfoil hat

http://longlivemarneus.serveftp.net/Justin/tinfoil_tux.jpg

-Wild

[gray-squirrel]

They've probably been at it for years.

Now, what about the _NSAKEY that was discovered in Windows registries?

[earobinson]

They've probably been at it for years.

Now, what about the _NSAKEY that was discovered in Windows registries?
Is this the same thing all I could find was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSAKEY on it and well just an encription key is usless unless other data is found to be recored on the computer using that encription... no?

And yes im not saying windows tracks (not send out network info but just record it to the hard dirve) you, im just saying if the fbi can get hp xerox and many other big companies to track there docs why cant the fbi, or nsa get windows to do it?

And I guess im not saying only windows, but google, yahoo, any non open source tech could be doing something the same

[Kimm]

Acctually, Microsoft, Intel and AMD are working together to create a new... something for computers. Its supose to make them more secure... not against viruses or other malware, but to piracy.
This new "feature" will be part of Windows Vista and will monitor what the user does and what software he/she uses, and where its from ofcourse. And, windows does allredy log the websites you visit with IE in a file that will not be removed along with cockies and such, but I would belive you allredy knew that.

[newbie2]

They've probably been at it for years.

Now, what about the _NSAKEY that was discovered in Windows registries?
"A third key?!
But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even Microsoft's top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI development at Microsoft was "stunned" to learn of these discoveries, by outsiders."
http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/te/5263/1.html

"The European Parliament reports have sparked Continent-wide anger. Questions
have been raised by officials in Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Holland,
while the Swedish government has launched an investigation into whether
Swedish companies have been victims of covert NSA surveillance.
In Italy, a Rome deputy district attorney has opened an inquiry to determine
whether NSA activities violate Italian privacy law.
More important, perhaps, the reports encouraged France and Germany to lift
their restrictions on the use and sale of strong encryption software, which
Washington has been trying to limit."
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/pipermail/ukcrypto/1999-September/005968.html
"Germany's Bundiswehr is banning Microsoft software (and presumably other major American software packages) from use in critical environments due to concern over "back doors" suspected to have been placed for the use of U.S. spy agencies, particularly the NSA (National Security Agency).
China, last year, declared Linux, particularly the home grown Red Flag Linux, the official operating system for Chinese government and commerce due to similar security fears."
http://www.aaxnet.com/news/M010318.html

[gray-squirrel]

Is this the same thing all I could find was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSAKEY on it and well just an encription key is usless unless other data is found to be recored on the computer using that encription... no?

And yes im not saying windows tracks (not send out network info but just record it to the hard dirve) you, im just saying if the fbi can get hp xerox and many other big companies to track there docs why cant the fbi, or nsa get windows to do it?

And I guess im not saying only windows, but google, yahoo, any non open source tech could be doing something the same

A Google search turned up hundreds of references, and I'm trying to locate the one that I saw in a Linux article. . . one second. . .


Well, I can't find the on-line Linux journal where I first saw this, so I'll have to put it aside for later. But I can say this (it may have been said already): the discovery of _NSAKEY opened up speculation that the NSA could gain access to every Windows machine. Microsoft, of course, denies it - but we obviously don't know for sure because they don't open their source code up. So, the rumor - true or not - continues to go around. That's one reason why foreign government are dropping Windows from their systems - they can't tell for sure whether our government would be spying on them courtesy of NSA and Windows.

Also, I remember reading a page where it was said that Microsoft Word and Windows Media Player leave all sorts of evidence of a user's activity and offered a way to remove everything, even things left behind after a typical installation. I had the document in PDF format, but it is currently on a USB flash drive that I have to do a data recovery operation on. I'll post back here if I do get that document back.

[gray-squirrel]

Acctually, Microsoft, Intel and AMD are working together to create a new... something for computers. Its supose to make them more secure... not against viruses or other malware, but to piracy.
This new "feature" will be part of Windows Vista and will monitor what the user does and what software he/she uses, and where its from ofcourse. And, windows does allredy log the websites you visit with IE in a file that will not be removed along with cockies and such, but I would belive you allredy knew that.

That would be the TCPA (Trusted Computing Platform Alliance), and DRM is a component of the "trusted" computing platform.

[newbie2]

That would be the TCPA (Trusted Computing Platform Alliance), and DRM is a component of the "trusted" computing platform.
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html