Most sites are so over most people's heads and not at all people friendly. This site rocks - Carolina_Stardu 
Computing News | Sears found to be using spyware to track visitors
Posted by: Tweaker
Date added: 08:50 Thursday, 3rd January 2008 GMT
Source: Beta News
Security researches are criticizing retailer Sears for not adequately describing its efforts to track the behaviors of those who provide the company with their contact information.
The process begins after the customer provides Sears.com with an e-mail address. An e-mail will appear in the customer's inbox inviting them to join a program called "My SHC Community."
Sears says participating in the program is on the customer's terms, and discloses in the e-mail that it will ask the user to download software from its partner VoiceFive. Terms in the software say that the company will confidentially track users' browsing habits.
However, what Sears' e-mail doesn't disclose is that it not only tracks browsing behavior on Sears.com, but all data on where participants go on the Web. Disclosure of this does not appear until a user scrolls through a large portion of the privacy statement and user license agreement.
There, what Sears says it will track may be troubling to some: The software "monitors all of the Internet behavior that occurs on the computer on which you install the application, including ... filling a shopping basket, completing an application form, or checking your ... personal financial or health information."
The VoiceFive software comes from TMRG, which is not mentioned in any of the literature provided by Sears. Packet sniffing led researchers to believe that the software uses comScore technology to track user habits.
With the convoluted method in which Sears discloses the behavior of its software, it may actually run afoul of FTC regulations regarding spyware disclosure. The agency requires any tracking software to be clearly explained, which the retailer does not do, researchers argue.
Tools: Post a comment | Link to this news item | Send to a friend | Submit News
Error: You are not logged in.
In order to leave comments to news articles you must be a Cyber Tech Help Member.
Registration is completely free! 
Register to become a member
Along with access to leave comments to news articles you will be able to ask any computing questions you might have on the Cyber Tech Help Forums.
