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Thread: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

  1. #1
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    USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    http://blog.emsisoft.com/2013/05/27/...combat-piracy/

    Just a few days ago the “Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property” released their 84-page report. Amidst a large amount of rather naive ideas there is one idea that strikes us as particularly insane: The report proposes the use of malware to determine whether or not you are pirating intellectual property and if you are, to lock your computer and holds all your files hostage until you call the police and confess to your crime:

    Additionally, software can be written that will allow only authorized users to open files containing valuable information. If an unauthorized person accesses the information, a range of actions might then occur. For example, the file could be rendered inaccessible and the unauthorized user’s computer could be locked down, with instructions on how to contact law enforcement to get the password needed to unlock the account. Such measures do not violate existing laws on the use of the Internet, yet they serve to blunt attacks and stabilize a cyber incident to provide both time and evidence for law enforcement to become involved.

    It gets even better:

    While not currently permitted under U.S. law, there are increasing calls for creating a more permissive environment for active network defense that allows companies not only to stabilize a situation but to take further steps, including actively retrieving stolen information, altering it within the intruder’s networks, or even destroying the information within an unauthorized network. Additional measures go further, including photographing the hacker using his own system’s camera, implanting malware in the hacker’s network, or even physically disabling or destroying the hacker’s own computer or network.

    Read more ....
    Actual report http://ipcommission.org/report/IP_Co...ort_052213.pdf

  2. #2
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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    I've always felt that not allowing free downloads of music on the interweb but a bunch of B.S. Everyone knows that musicians make the majority of their money from Conserts and selling T-Shirts, ect. and not from CD's or music downloads.
    I think this is just another attemp by our government to subvert the interweb and take away our Freedom. We need to e-mail Congress and fight this with all we have. JMHO, YMMV.

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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    I rarely say this, but I can't help but see just how stupid, nearsighted, and ironically ignorant this solution is to the actual situation involving piracy. Locking down a computer, or it's ISP access, like other companies want to do, is not the solution, and you can't get that software running on all systems anyway, so I can see a lot of people flocking to obscure Linux distros just so they can access their files. This won't stop piracy, it will encourage it to flock to other channels instead.

    God knows the performance hit this nonsense would cause too, knowing how bad Spyware can be at hogging resources to do its own thing, and that'd rustle a lot of jimmies in power users. Programs like this just would not see the widespread adoption it'd need to be truly effective in application.

    Why don't companies hire a small team of keyboard warriors on-site to surf Google all day, looking for torrents and warez sites hosting company property, (Seriously, it's not that hard to find most hosters of illegal content.) so they can report said sites and get them shut down? Oh wait, that would involve skimming the top off their profits just a tad to make sure their property is protected! The ever growing corporate greed for that bottom dollar in this country is starting to drive me insane.

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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    No, this is the state police wanting to have access to anything that you do in the interest to protect those poor, helpless and oft victimized multi-billion dollar corporations who's business models are from an age when the dodo bird was still running around. Basically, they're legalizing -- for themselves -- certain actions that would be considered immoral at best. The Russian Duma has done a similar thing in the past by legalizing the assassination of "terrorists", without clearly specifying what a terrorist is.

    The state grants itself vague and broad powers because what it currently has is not enough.

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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    Quote Originally Posted by johnluke728 View Post
    Why don't companies hire a small team of keyboard warriors on-site to surf Google all day, looking for torrents and warez sites hosting company property, (Seriously, it's not that hard to find most hosters of illegal content.) so they can report said sites and get them shut down? Oh wait, that would involve skimming the top off their profits just a tad to make sure their property is protected! The ever growing corporate greed for that bottom dollar in this country is starting to drive me insane.
    But thats going off the assumption that higher ups have common sense :/

  6. #6
    prodigy_ is offline May the Ubuntu Be With You!
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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    Yarr! They've been trying to fight us for decades. And all their attempts so far have been laughable. And this particular one will take its rightful place among the most pathetic examples.

    A good laugh though. As always.
    Last edited by prodigy_; June 5th, 2013 at 08:41 PM.

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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone of two things:

    1. Anything that might imply the conduct of illegal activity is a violation of the Code of Conduct and can precipitate the jailing of posts and possibly penalties for those who post.

    2. We have been more tolerant of political discussions in the Cafe, so long as they stay within the bounds of political developments as they apply specifically to open source. This is close enough that it can probably proceed. However, be aware that if this strays into a more general political discussion the thread will probably be closed.

    Keep it on the specific topic in the original post and avoid gratuitous negative generalizations about any particular government, please.

    Thanks.
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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    Rootkits and spyware, and other forms of malware should remain illegal.
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  9. #9
    monkeybrain2012 is offline Grande Half-n-Half Cinnamon Ubuntu
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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    Well I wouldn't worry. If there is any taker on such insane ideas it is going to be MicroSoft and it will be a Windows only "feature", with approrpiately Orwellian names like "secure computing" or "trusted computing delux". MS may apply for a few patents. Just going to drive more users to other platforms.
    Last edited by monkeybrain2012; June 6th, 2013 at 12:16 AM.

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    Re: USA to legalize rootkits, spyware, ransomware and trojans to combat piracy?

    Quote Originally Posted by TNFrank View Post
    I've always felt that not allowing free downloads of music on the interweb but a bunch of B.S. Everyone knows that musicians make the majority of their money from Conserts and selling T-Shirts, ect. and not from CD's or music downloads.
    I think this is just another attemp by our government to subvert the interweb and take away our Freedom. We need to e-mail Congress and fight this with all we have. JMHO, YMMV.
    I am a musician, not a T-shirt designer. You do not have my permission to download my music for free. Please do not download my music for free! If you are stealing my music then I hope your computer gets malware and gets shut down.

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