FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
There is no TRR addressing the kind of conduct Lenovo engaged in, nor any statute prohibiting such conduct: https://www.ftc.gov/reports/privacy-data-security-update-201.... While the FTC can declare particular practices unfair on a case-by-case basis, without a rule, in that situation it can only issue a cease-and-desist order. 15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(B).
> With limited powers and resources, the FTC could have become largely ignored by companies. Indeed, the FTC lacks the general authority to issue civil penalties and rarely fines companies for privacy-related violations under privacy-related statutes or rules that provide for civil penalties. Absent such grounds for issuing a civil penalty, the FTC is limited to fining companies under a contempt action for violating a settlement order.
Just an agreement that requires consent...you can drive trucks through the loopholes. "Yes, I want to speed up my internet" is one and 90% would click yes /install.
The company that makes/sells me a couch doesn't currently install a microphone in the couch, so that they can analyze my conversations and sell my data to advertisers.
Should they start trying? All of these tech companies are getting away with it!
Amazon Echo Sit
Relaxtion-as-a-service"
Translation
"We're selling an overpriced couch. The couch is manufactured by someone else. The microphone gives us your data. We're working on selling that to as many other people as we can."
1) Sell the couch at a loss.
2) Acquire customer voice data.
3) Run it through ML/AI
4) ????
5) Pivot the company.
This way when the company shuts down, your cushions are stuck in one position, unless you hotwire the couch :)
Will I be tried for criminal charges outside the US, and then extrajudicially extradited from my home in Cambodia?? [1]
It's a world of opportunity...
I am sensing a market
On losing signal they're programmed to instantly fire, just in case.
SitBit: we're not going anywhere.
Apple + Samsung have the phone market, but that didn't stop MSFT and AMZN from trying XD
Thanks Samsung.
I've charged back everything from erroneously issued parking tickets to flights canceled due to weather.
Every time, the credit card company immediately gives me my money back, settles with the merchant on my behalf, and I have always won.
The question is, who is giving the money to the banks that allows them to take this kind of a loss? People who have credit card debt???
Banks require merchants to keep a certain amount of money as a deposit with them, specifically for this. The amount varies depending on the type of business the merchant is in (and the size and reliability of the merchant - for example Walmart is probably not required to keep any amount at all).
Strange world!
The money comes from the business. The credit card company simply removes the money from the businesses bank account. This is one of the reasons it is so effective. Sometimes even mentioning the word "chargeback" when dealing with customer service will work wonders.
I have an ongoing complaint with Samsung, hopefully they'll see some sense.
Until then they're on my blacklist and at every opportunity I'll make it known that their products have ads built in. It's a pity, as the TV is great in every other regard.
I've read through the full settlement here: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/1523134_len...
As far as I can tell they've just been ordered to do things they should've been doing already (security testing, asking for consent). Is anyone familiar enough with the relevant US laws in play here to explain why there was no harsher punishment or fine?
All of my windows systems run an old copy of win7 and are built from newegg hardware, asus msi etc
If Apple would build a modern laptop in an old school ThinkPad bento box rollcage-protected user repairable/upgradable chassis with a replaceable battery, ECC memory and the new ThinkPad keyboard, I'd be all over that...yeah, I know, but one can dream.
At least keyboard-wise there's the ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard option [1]. Been using it with macOS for about 2 years now, just changed the keyboard modifier settings to make it work like a Mac keyboard (and one could use something like Karabiner/-Elements to map the weirdly placed PrtSc key to Alt/Option). And the Bluetooth version fits nicely over the integrated keyboard when on the go.
I find it compares to other keyboards as the MacBook trackpad compares to other trackpads, that is - it's in a league of its own in terms of feel.
[1] https://support.lenovo.com/en/solutions/pd026745
Edited to add the Bluetooth version.
(also see the other post about the Synaptics driver)
And restoring from the OEM copy is no guarantee it will be clear of all the preinstalled crap
For the issues I commonly have (wifi, audio, video), I don't see how throwing more power at them would really help anything
Default Ubuntu has been sluggish for me for a while. Install something more lightweight like xfce and Linux becomes way faster, even on older hardware.
Still, the OS is cleaner than what you usually get with the default OEM install.
interesting that a significant (supposed) advantage of separating the software company (e.g. MS, or Google) from the hardware company (e.g. Lenovo, Samsung) -- of making the software generic and capable of running on a broad universe of devices -- also became a powerful source of FUD.
All apps includes IE, Edge, svchost etc.
"netstat -nbt" is the command I used to monitor all outgoing connections. Anything I don't like, I block it with firewall.
Windows 10 is usable after that. CPU usage go from normally 30-50% to 5-15%. The Laptop CPU fan doesn't kick in anymore.
Windows also doesn't wake up in the middle of night and doing P2P network to provide network bandwidth to update my neighbor's computer anymore.
It is even more stable and faster than the latest MacBookPro I used at work.
If someone know a similar method to block Mac's App's outgoing TCP connections, I love to know more.
In 20 years, will you be blocked from opening certain accounts if the company can't find sufficient mined data on you?
next: being blocked from leaving a country.
This was documented by Lenovo: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13300357
I also remember similar case when chinese smartphone manufacturers preinstalled adware on the devices. It was showing ads above browser window to make it look as if it was a part of a webpage (and used Google ads by the way).
The customer needs to punish those apps by voting with their feet.