http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/30/smartphone_spying_app/

Quote :

"An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users. In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ recorded in real time the keys he pressed into a stock EVO handset, which he had reset to factory settings just prior to the demonstration. Using a packet sniffer while his device was in airplane mode, he demonstrated how each numeric tap and every received text message is logged by the software. Ironically, he says, the Carrier IQ software recorded the “hello world” dispatch even before it was displayed on his handset. Eckhart then connected the device to a Wi-Fi network and pointed his browser at Google. Even though he denied the search giant's request that he share his physical location, the Carrier IQ software recorded it. The secret app then recorded the precise input of his search query – again, “hello world” – even though he typed it into a page that uses the SSL, or secure sockets layer, protocol to encrypt data sent between the device and the servers. “We can see that Carrier IQ is querying these strings over my wireless network [with] no 3G connectivity and it is reading HTTPS,” the 25-year-old Eckhart says. The video was posted four days after Carrier IQ withdrew legal threats against Eckhart for calling its software a “rootkit.” The Connecticut-based programmer said the characterization is accurate because the software is designed to obscure its presence by bypassing typical operating-system functions. In an interview last week, Carrier IQ VP of Marketing Andrew Coward rejected claims the software posed a privacy threat because it never captured key presses. “Our technology is not real time,” he said at the time. "It's not constantly reporting back. It's gathering information up and is usually transmitted in small doses.” Coward went on to say that Carrier IQ was a diagnostic tool designed to give network carriers and device manufacturers detailed information about the causes of dropped calls and other performance issues. Eckhart said he chose the HTC phone purely for demonstration purposes. Blackberrys, other Android-powered handsets, and smartphones from Nokia contain the same snooping software, he claims. The 17-minute video concluded with questions, including: “Why does SMSNotify get called and show to be dispatching text messages to [Carrier IQ]?” and “Why is my browser data being read, especially HTTPS on my Wi-Fi?”"

if an average person created and installed this software on phones, they'd go to jail

[Edited on November 30, 2011 at 7:56 AM. Reason : .]

11/30/2011 7:53:41 AM

Fuck!


I just threw my android up against the wall. But, it has an otterbox on it....so it merely bounced back and landed safely in my hand

11/30/2011 7:58:12 AM

it's the fucking wild west on mobile devices still

11/30/2011 8:11:10 AM

Hey ThePeter

11/30/2011 8:13:30 AM

i wonder if iphones have something similar

[Edited on November 30, 2011 at 8:15 AM. Reason : .]

11/30/2011 8:15:03 AM

this is kinda old hat; it's been on phones forever

good to see people are finally upset about it now i guess

11/30/2011 8:41:15 AM

Coward is an awful last name

11/30/2011 8:53:19 AM

As long as it doesn't record my dick strokes!

11/30/2011 8:55:29 AM

I just destroyed my android device as soon as I completed reading this article

whew, that was close

11/30/2011 9:15:30 AM

First Apple, now Android AND Blackberry? Is Windows Phone safe

11/30/2011 9:37:33 AM

My God.

If word leaks about all those "lols", this could be devastating.

11/30/2011 9:40:35 AM

This is important news. I will return to the telegram for all of my terrorist activities

I'm Krallum and I approved this message

11/30/2011 9:48:35 AM

haha can't believe some of you don't care that your unencrypted passwords, credit card numbers, contacts, etc, are in the hands of telecom and/or government employees

that or you just haven't thought this out completely

[Edited on November 30, 2011 at 9:49 AM. Reason : .]

11/30/2011 9:48:46 AM

Oh God Please! Not my tww password!! Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11/30/2011 9:51:41 AM

If you don't like it or are afrade make your own cell phone and agree to your own terms and conditions

I'm Krallum and I approved this message

11/30/2011 9:53:32 AM

If it was just my information, that'd be different.

But when my personal information (which is valuable to me, but essentially useless to anyone else) is compiled with that of many, many others....


Well:

11/30/2011 9:56:45 AM

Exactly if someone wants to filter my creditcard out of all the numbers ever sent by smartphones then I encourage them to

I'm Krallum and I approved this message

11/30/2011 9:59:12 AM

Also, let's get this out of the way:

Quote :

"OR ARE AFRADE"

11/30/2011 10:00:28 AM

they know i use the internet

11/30/2011 10:27:41 AM

Quote :

"If you don't like it or are afrade make your own cell phone and agree to your own terms and conditions"

haha

11/30/2011 11:14:29 AM

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/reasons-to-wear-tinfoil-hats/all/1

11/30/2011 11:18:05 AM

I guess the way I see it is they're just going to find me playing Words with Friends and looking at TWW a lot and boring medical stuff

11/30/2011 11:19:18 AM

^
Check out the Wired article I posted above

It may not affect you directly at present, but you should think about how it affects everyone.

Not to mention the whole "creeping fascism" thing.

[Edited on November 30, 2011 at 11:40 AM. Reason : .]

11/30/2011 11:39:05 AM

^ we have other things to worry about, get in line

11/30/2011 11:42:01 AM

^
Yep. Your average American is more concerned about college football than our gradual transformation into a police state. I know, thinking is hard.

[Edited on November 30, 2011 at 11:50 AM. Reason : .]

11/30/2011 11:49:58 AM

finally the truth

11/30/2011 11:55:52 AM

Please provide us with your solution

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

11/30/2011 6:09:58 PM

Can't say this surprises me at all. It'll be interesting to see if anyone actually does anything about it.

11/30/2011 6:55:47 PM

Just run Cyanogen (if you can), it doesnt have carrier IQ in it.

11/30/2011 6:59:05 PM