Re: Windows 95 Espionage ( ?? )
John Mayo - NSM (John.Mayo@CSCOE.AC.COM)
Tue, 6 Jun 1995 12:02:39 -0500
> > > Microsoft officials confirm that beta versions of Windows 95 include a
> > > small viral routine called Registration Wizard. It interrogates every
> > > system on a network gathering intelligence on what software is being run
> > > on which machine. It then creates a complete listing of both Microsoft's
> > > and competitors' products by machine, which it reports to Microsoft when
> > > customers sign up for Microsoft's Network Services, due for launch later
> > > this year.
> > >
Microsoft has stated that the Registration Wizard has to be run by a user,
and the user has to "authorize" (via a dialog box) sending the info.
According to them, the Registration Wizard is simply supposed to
replace the paper-based resgistration card.
> > > "In Short" column, page 88, _Information Week_ magazine, May 22, 1995
> > >
> > > The implications of this action, and the attitude of Microsoft to plan
> > > such action, beggars the imagination.
> > > An update on this. A friend of mine got hold of the beta test CD
> > > of Win95, and set up a packet sniffer between his serial port and the
> > > modem. When you try out the free demo time on The Microsoft Network, it
> > > transmits your entire directory structure in background.
I can think of at least one reason for this (not that it is necessarily
a good one):
The MSN downloads new versions of itself automagically. Transmitting the
directory structure *could be* a way to find somewhere to put the
downloaded files (i.e. Where's the temp directory?).
Of course, conspiracy theories are more fun. :)
Disclaimer: I am a Unix admin, not a Windows 95 wizard.
For more info, lots of trade magazines had followup articles last week.
There were several letters to the editor in Information Week, I believe.
Jack Mayo
mayojoh@cscoe.ac.com | Disclaimer: What I say isn't what they say.
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