Canadian Copyright Lobby Fighting Anti-Spyware Legislation

[Captain_Caveman]

Apparently the Copyright Lobby doesn't want a law in Canada that would prevent them from unknowingly installing spyware on peoples computers & tracking what they do.. Sounds crazy right? It is.

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/10/17/022239/Canadian-Copyright-Lobby-Fights-Anti-Spyware-Legislation

"New Canadian anti-spam and anti-spyware legislation is scheduled for a key vote on Monday. Michael Geist reports that the copyright lobby has been pushing to remove parts of the bill that would take away exceptions which currently allow spyware to be installed without authorization. 'The copyright lobby is deeply concerned that this change will block attempts to track possible infringement through electronic means.' There have also been proposals to extend the exemptions granted to telecom providers to include the installation of programs without the user's express consent, which Geist says will 'leave the door open to private, surreptitious surveillance.'"

WTF!?

 

[The Rockerfly]

So let me get this straight. It is illegal to unknowingly install spyware?

What?
Why on earth would you have a law like that? It's not like we want the illegal spyware

 

[Dr Faust]

So let me get this straight. It is illegal to unknowingly install spyware?

What?
Why on earth would you have a law like that? It's not like we want the illegal spyware

The law would make it illegal for companies to install programs on your computer without your consent, like the Sony rootkit scandal a few years back. The copyright holders want to install monitoring software on your computer that would report you for "infringing"

 

[Arassar]

I think we should install spyware on their computers and use it to monitor their credit card numbers.

 

[Carne]

So basically things like SecuROM would still be allowed as long as it said it was going to be installed and gave the option to cancel the installation there.

 

[KeyMaster45]

Ah, god bless anti-virus/anti-spyware software, it lets me sleep soundly at night knowing that ninjas are dispatched to the homes of those who try to put shit on my computer against my will.

.....wait, doesn't everyone's protection software do that? Well in that case I hope the Canadian government sees reason and tells the Copyright people to go suck a big fat one.

 

[The Rockerfly]

The law would make it illegal for companies to install programs on your computer without your consent, like the Sony rootkit scandal a few years back. The copyright holders want to install monitoring software on your computer that would report you for "infringing"

Oh okay that seems a bit more logical. I'm sure some people would not like the idea of being monitored like that

Thanks for clearing it up all the same

 

[cleverlymadeup]

yeah i love my country sometimes and the great laws that we decide to pass, we give so much more power to the consumer than the corporation

 

[Therumancer]

Hmm, well I hope it doesn' pass, but truthfully I think the "copyright protection" crowd is simply gaining far too much steam in recent years for me to have faith here (in any nation).

I at least hope that if they put the spyware into games, they are forced to annouce such on the boxes rather prominantly. That way you won't say go pay $60 for a game, open it up, go to install it, be told "we want to put all this invasive cr@p on your computer" and then have the game not install/run if they say 'no'. Largely because at that point it's very difficult to return software for a cash refund if at all possible. You basically either let them mess with your computer, or your out $60.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Ah, god bless anti-virus/anti-spyware software, it lets me sleep soundly at night knowing that ninjas are dispatched to the homes of those who try to put shit on my computer against my will.

.....wait, doesn't everyone's protection software do that? Well in that case I hope the Canadian government sees reason and tells the Copyright people to go suck a big fat one.

Ninjas, sir? A reasonable stopgap, but I think you will find that dispatching heavily-armed mercenaries is a far better bet.

On a serious note, I am now glad I have Norton. As a friend of mine put it 'Having Norton is rather like using a Tiger to guard your room. Sure, it's effective, but nothing's going to get in, not even that metaphorical hooker you just ordered.'

 

[KeyMaster45]

On a serious note, I am now glad I have Norton. As a friend of mine put it 'Having Norton is rather like using a Tiger to guard your room. Sure, it's effective, but nothing's going to get in, not even that metaphorical hooker you just ordered.'

Bleh, I hate Norton, its a resource hog and never worked in all the times its been put on my computer. Go grab Avast! Anti-Virus off the internet for free along with Spyware S&D, I assure you that your computer will be well protected with 100% less headaches than Norton will give you.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

On a serious note, I am now glad I have Norton. As a friend of mine put it 'Having Norton is rather like using a Tiger to guard your room. Sure, it's effective, but nothing's going to get in, not even that metaphorical hooker you just ordered.'

you tell yourself that, Norton isn't very effective at stopping things AND it's a memory and resource hog. if i recall correctly their anti-virus catches somewhere in the neighbourhood of 60% of the stuff out there. i don't think their anti-spyware stuff fares any better

 

[Lullabye]

.....sometimes i hate living in Canada. We dont have very smart politicians. They simply take advantage of the fact that next to nobody follows canadian politics so they try to sneak crap like this...

 

[Rolling Thunder]

On a serious note, I am now glad I have Norton. As a friend of mine put it 'Having Norton is rather like using a Tiger to guard your room. Sure, it's effective, but nothing's going to get in, not even that metaphorical hooker you just ordered.'

Bleh, I hate Norton, its a resource hog and never worked in all the times its been put on my computer. Go grab Avast! Anti-Virus off the internet for free along with Spyware S&D, I assure you that your computer will be well protected with 100% less headaches than Norton will give you.

On a serious note, I am now glad I have Norton. As a friend of mine put it 'Having Norton is rather like using a Tiger to guard your room. Sure, it's effective, but nothing's going to get in, not even that metaphorical hooker you just ordered.'

you tell yourself that, Norton isn't very effective at stopping things AND it's a memory and resource hog. if i recall correctly their anti-virus catches somewhere in the neighbourhood of 60% of the stuff out there. i don't think their anti-spyware stuff fares any better

No offence gentlemen, but I trust my IT tech more than random people on the internet. I trust you will understand. And I must say, I've been remarkably pleased with my Norton. No headachs, no slowdown, no problems really. Nothing seems to have gotten through, and nobody has managed to steal anything from me, though I will happily consider Avast if Norton transpires to be ineffectual.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

No offence gentlemen, but I trust my IT tech more than random people on the internet. I trust you will understand. And I must say, I've been remarkably pleased with my Norton. No headachs, no slowdown, no problems really. Nothing seems to have gotten through, and nobody has managed to steal anything from me, though I will happily consider Avast if Norton transpires to be ineffectual.

ummm sure cept i have worked for forutne 500 companies AND i've had to deal with Norton on a corporate level, ie having to call them to say "you guys screwed up", there's also the fact that i've actually ran countless spyware and adware scans on home pc's and found tons of virii when Norton was being used AND it was updated

so i'm going to say your it guy has no clue what he's talking about. also the fact that you can't see what's going on doesn't mean you aren't being compromised. just because you don't see the guy pick your pocket doesn't mean he hasn't done it already.

i'd suggest running a sweep of your system with something like housecall or spybot and see what Norton actually misses, it would surprise you. there's also the fact that you have to pay for it every year AND avg can find more and do it for free