Verizon is spying ...

Kenneth Crudup <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <4Pv4c.18326$%[email protected]>,
> "Bob Smith" <[email protected]> says:
>
>>http://rlenews.com/04/040311.html#verizon
>
> Paranoia. We aren't given any info as to what it's trying to send. For
> all we know, it could be determining if there's an update available.

If no notification is given that the program is phoning home, there is
*plenty* of reason for concern.

--
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---

› See More: Verizon is spying ...

"Kenneth Crudup" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <4Pv4c.18326$%[email protected]>,
> "Bob Smith" <[email protected]> says:
>
> >http://rlenews.com/04/040311.html#verizon
>
> Paranoia. We aren't given any info as to what it's trying to send. For
> all we know, it could be determining if there's an update available.
>
> -Kenny
>
> --
> Kenneth R. Crudup Sr. SW Engineer, Scott County Consulting, Los Angeles
> H: 3630 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #138, L.A., CA 90034-6809 (310) 391-1898
> W: 26601 Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA 91302-1959 (818) 444-3685

Kenny, check out the follow up post I did, which included the other URLs ...
As to an update, as far as I understand, this CD is to explain phones, plans
and coverage for the new Verizon users ... What's the need to load up a
stealth program, to contact a third party in stealth mode to usage on that
CD?

Bob

http://www.obri.net/verizon/

Go here and it will clear things up a bit. No matter what it is it is still
sending SOME kind of information, at the very least the domain name or IP
address of the user.

"Kenneth Crudup" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <4Pv4c.18326$%[email protected]>,
> "Bob Smith" <[email protected]> says:
>
> >http://rlenews.com/04/040311.html#verizon
>
> Paranoia. We aren't given any info as to what it's trying to send. For
> all we know, it could be determining if there's an update available.
>
> -Kenny
>
> --
> Kenneth R. Crudup Sr. SW Engineer, Scott County Consulting, Los Angeles
> H: 3630 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #138, L.A., CA 90034-6809 (310) 391-1898
> W: 26601 Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA 91302-1959 (818) 444-3685

With all the spyware out there why let this bother you? Get a spywar removal program.

-W

"Double U" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> With all the spyware out there why let this bother you? Get a spywar
removal program.
>
> -W

Why? Because it's loaded on your computer as a stealth program from your
cellular service from their CD ... That's why. Total bull**** from Verizon,
that some young punk in Verizon that thought he (or she) would score some
marketing points with management.

Bob

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<9WE4c.18721$%[email protected]>...

> > No offense, but I read through the links provided in this thread, and
> > the links that those links contain, and it all seems like a bunch of
> > CR*P. If any of this were true, particularly the part about having
> > received instructions on how to remove the "spyware", why doesn't the
> > author share *THAT* information?
>
> First off, I should have added the second link from that alt.privacy.spyware
> article. You might want to read at least the first link on the web page.
>
> http://www.obri.net/verizon/ . On this page, he provides a full history of
> email sent to Verizon and received from Verizon.
>
> It's not the original author's responsibility to tell everyone how to
> remove the spyware.

I did read that link, and found nothing there that would cause me to
believe his claim. Anybody can create a web page that looks like a
reproduced email message.

And I realize that the original author has no responsibility to tell
us how to remove the alleged spyware. But telling us how to identify
and remove it would lend credibility to his claim, and allowed others
to verify (on their own PCs) that what he is claiming happened to him,
has indeed happened to them too!

> Take the time to read it the information... It might open your eyes a bit.

I will continue to follow this, and read what I can about it, even if
only in an effort to debunk the story. I'll be as open-minded as I
can be, but without the desire to debunk, I'll probably lose the
incentive to follow this.

BTW - I had already run the welcome CD on my PC prior to reading this
thread. After seeing all the responses, I checked my PC for any
references to NOPTIFY.EXE, and found none. No files, no registry
entries, nothing. I then ran the CD again, and still nothing. In
fact, there is no "installation" performed at all when running the CD
- everything runs from the CD. I even monitored file I/O with a
system utility while the welcome app was running, and nothing
happened.

My CD is relatively new though... I got my phone (LG VX4500) about 3
weeks ago. Maybe the content of my CD is different because of the
phone model or production date of the CD?

And, yes, I do run a firewall too.

Spybot and Ad-Aware are great programs. They both work very well.

Antonio

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:4Pv4c.18326$%[email protected]...
> Just noticed a post on the alt.privacy.spyware Usenet newsgroup, where
> Verizon is loading up spyware on their CDs given to new customers ... If
> anyone is interested, here's the link -
> http://rlenews.com/04/040311.html#verizon
>
> Bob
>
> PS: If you haven't checked out what's going on with your hard drive and
> would like to do so, there are a couple of spyware-malware-adware
> detectors/remover software out there that you might want to check out.
I've
> been using them for awhile, and just had my daughter download and install
> these free programs ... She had 105 notifications ...
>
> Spybot S & D - http://www.safer-networking.org/
> Ad-Aware - http://lavasoft.element5.com/software/adaware/
>
> It's recommended to update both products each time you start them up.
>
>

"Peterbilt" <amazon-*****@REMOVETHEOBVIOUSeudoramail.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Did you check the registry for the entries he said were made? He did say
> that Verizon told them that the application would remove itself after 20
> reboots so it could be that once the registry entries are made and edited to
> reflect the 20 reboots that the application would not install itself again.

I've checked my PC for every "sign" of this spyware that's been
mentioned, and nothing shows up. The only thing I can think of is
that either Verizon's agreement with the James Tower company (I think
that's the name) was terminated or otherwise ended, or Verizon was
caught doing this by others and stopped in in fear of (or under threat
of) legal action, and in either case, removed the spyware from newer
CD releases?

If in fact earlier versions of the CD installed spyware, I think the
data gathered would prove useless since (as others have mentioned) the
only customers that they would be collecting data on would be those at
the lower end of the computer-literacy evolutionary scale. I'm sure
there are plenty of people out there running without a firewall or
antivirus software, but I wouldn't want to use their browsing or other
Internet habits as a means of guaging the needs or interests of my
customers.

"Michael Quinlan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Peterbilt" <amazon-*****@REMOVETHEOBVIOUSeudoramail.com> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
>
> > Did you check the registry for the entries he said were made? He did say
> > that Verizon told them that the application would remove itself after 20
> > reboots so it could be that once the registry entries are made and
edited to
> > reflect the 20 reboots that the application would not install itself
again.
>
> I've checked my PC for every "sign" of this spyware that's been
> mentioned, and nothing shows up. The only thing I can think of is
> that either Verizon's agreement with the James Tower company (I think
> that's the name) was terminated or otherwise ended, or Verizon was
> caught doing this by others and stopped in in fear of (or under threat
> of) legal action, and in either case, removed the spyware from newer
> CD releases?
>
> If in fact earlier versions of the CD installed spyware, I think the
> data gathered would prove useless since (as others have mentioned) the
> only customers that they would be collecting data on would be those at
> the lower end of the computer-literacy evolutionary scale. I'm sure
> there are plenty of people out there running without a firewall or
> antivirus software, but I wouldn't want to use their browsing or other
> Internet habits as a means of guaging the needs or interests of my
> customers.

Well, antivirus software would not have picked it up ... The firewall picked
it up because it was asking permission to connect to the internet. Spyware
software, like Spybot S & D would also pick it up and clean it out.

As to your comments on lower computer-literacy users, I can bet you that
there are quite a few people who don't know diddley about computers, save
for doing the elementary things like signing onto the internet or using IM.
They might have a firewall & anti virus software installed only because it
came with their systems, but I doubt they have spyware detection software
loaded up.

Bob ::my last post in this thread::

Bob

You guys are sure paranoid...Come on..the CD may have spyware...so
does every website out on the Internet...everyone knows Verizon is a
secret government agency and that they are using this data to program
the phones for mind control!!! Oh no! That guy who wrote up that long
letter and made that website obviously has way to much extra time on
his hands.


"Peterbilt" <amazon-*****@REMOVETHEOBVIOUSeudoramail.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> http://www.obri.net/verizon/
>
> Go here and it will clear things up a bit. No matter what it is it is still
> sending SOME kind of information, at the very least the domain name or IP
> address of the user.
>
> "Kenneth Crudup" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <4Pv4c.18326$%[email protected]>,
> > "Bob Smith" <[email protected]> says:
> >
> > >http://rlenews.com/04/040311.html#verizon
> >
> > Paranoia. We aren't given any info as to what it's trying to send. For
> > all we know, it could be determining if there's an update available.
> >
> > -Kenny
> >
> > --
> > Kenneth R. Crudup Sr. SW Engineer, Scott County Consulting, Los Angeles
> > H: 3630 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #138, L.A., CA 90034-6809 (310) 391-1898
> > W: 26601 Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA 91302-1959 (818) 444-3685

You guys are sure paranoid...Come on..the CD may have spyware...so
does every website out on the Internet...everyone knows Verizon is a
secret government agency and that they are using this data to program
the phones for mind control!!! Oh no! That guy who wrote up that long
letter and made that website obviously has way to much extra time on
his hands.


Steven J Sobol <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Newsgroups expanded to include alt.cellular.verizon...
>
> Bob Smith <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Just noticed a post on the alt.privacy.spyware Usenet newsgroup, where
> > Verizon is loading up spyware on their CDs given to new customers ... If
> > anyone is interested, here's the link -
> > http://rlenews.com/04/040311.html#verizon
>
> And this relates to SprintPCS how?
>
> Boy, this sucks. I have two VZW lines and no longer need the second line,
> and was going to port it to Sprint PCS anyhow, but if this is how VZW
> operates I'll cancel the second line outright and port my main number (which
> is advertised on my business cards) to Sprint. I have issues with Sprint,
> but at least they don't play games like that, and if VZW is going to screw
> with people this way, I won't keep my main VZW line *or* the secondary line.
>
> With most of my family members using Sprint anyhow, I'll save lots of
> money on airtime...
>
> (What a load of *bull****.* They don't deserve new customers if this is
> how the new customers get treated?)

"Antonio" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:BUX4c.20089$%[email protected]...
> Spybot and Ad-Aware are great programs. They both work very well.

They both work, but saying 'very well' is stretching it. Certainly better
than 'nothing' ---- that is for sure.





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In alt.cellular.sprintpcs Peterbilt <amazon-*****@removetheobviouseudoramail.com> wrote:
> Did you check the registry for the entries he said were made? He did say
> that Verizon told them that the application would remove itself after 20
> reboots so it could be that once the registry entries are made and edited to
> reflect the 20 reboots that the application would not install itself again.

That doesn't make it ok to install the spyware in the first place.

"But your honor, I didn't kill him, I just smacked him a couple times with
a baseball bat..."


--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
"someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy
slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs Jason Ludwig <[email protected]> wrote:
> You guys are sure paranoid...

You obviously have never run an ISP or maintained Internet-facing servers.

I have done the former and continue to do the latter on a daily basis.

Yes, I'm paranoid. Complacency causes your servers to get broken into.

> Come on..the CD may have spyware...so
> does every website out on the Internet

Ok, whatever.

> ...everyone knows Verizon is a
> secret government agency and that they are using this data to program
> the phones for mind control!!! Oh no! That guy who wrote up that long
> letter and made that website obviously has way to much extra time on
> his hands.

You obviously don't care about privacy. Fine. Most people do, and I take
great exception to some company installing spyware on my computer.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
"someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy
slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003

"Jason Ludwig" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> You guys are sure paranoid...

Being paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you, or your data.

>Come on..the CD may have spyware...so does every website out on the
>Internet

Oh? Every web site has spyware on it? Interesting --- and first I've heard
about it. Of course you're wrong as wrong can be with your statement --- but
whatever it takes to get the warm fuzzies over Vzw, I guess? And if there's
even one retailer that thinks its okay to snoop on you without your prior
knowledge and consent that's one too many --- isn't it.

I will say tho that you're probably right about Vzw web site tho ---- it
won't work right unless you open up your machine to many cookies, most of
which come from third party servers. So if your saying that the Vzw web site
has spyware I'd agree with you.

>everyone knows Verizon is a secret government agency and that they are
>using this data to program the phones for mind control!!!

Wow, you're just full of interesting factoids --- aren't you.

>That guy who wrote up that long letter and made that website obviously has
>way to much extra time on his hands.

And thank goodness for his efforts tracking it down. It appears that he
might have derailed the efforts by Vzw and their marketing partner to gather
a gold mine of free data.

The real pisser in this is that Vzw might not have had knowledge of this and
the third party disk creator might have placed the code their on their own
volition.






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