Simply Spying Software Serving Sears

Sears Faces Legal Risk From Spyware Programs //Simple spying on customers by Sears has recently come to light…and where there is any spot light to be had immediately a flock of legal eagles descended and started pronouncing about how Sears is liable under FTC regulations, not to mention Sarbane-Oxley issues. Apparently Sears decided to monitor and install software which would record what their customers were doing. As usual the EULA I’m sure was at best ambiguous (where did I hear that term earlier this week? Oh yes…McAfee) and as usual most of the end users did not take the time to actually review it before they blindly clicked “Sure, install this please”. From reading and doing preliminary research a CA analyst by the name of Benjamin Googins reported his discovery about the shenanigans last month. Are we all shocked that the man behind the initiative, Vice President Rob Harles fired back that hey….com-oonnn…com-oooooonnnnn….it’s not really doing anything nefarious and the vast majority of folks weren’t being tracked? Never mind the fact that the software is tracking everything you surf on the Internet as from Mr. Harles’ words it seem that they were only tracking the minority of users.

There are three issues that I take notice of and how we as Americans…ummm, the vast majority of Americans…are deserving of being tracked:

Point 1: We blindly believe the corporate world has our best interests in mind. I don’t mind saying here in the open…corporate America is not interested in your privacy or best interest. They are interested in your wallet and will say things or conspicuously omit, even purposefully pound contracts and EULAs through so many legal-”verbology” meat grinders that you simply lose all hope of understanding their terms anyways. The principal of the customer comes first is nothing more than a feel good marketing gimmick to separate you from your hard earned dollar. No, I’m not bitter…just pointing out the blatantly obvious. Disagree with me? Think back, how many troubles you have when trying to get service for your cell phone or cable company, buying a car or switching utilities. How many phone calls to “customer service” hotlines that end up in India, Pakistan or the Philippines speaking with someone oddly named “Bob” have you had in the past year? Perhaps you have mastered the finger numbing computer generated menus when just trying to reach someone named “Bob” to begin with? That is if you don’t accidentally hit numero dos and end up in an entirely different language altogether. Countless articles and news reports keep appearing referencing how Company XYZ just lost hundreds of thousands of customer’s personal information because they let an employee take it home on an unsecured, unencrypted laptop. Bottom line here is it is true a company is in business to provide a service or merchandise, but don’t forget their bottom line is their bottom line. How much money can they get and how quickly they can induce us with marketing and gimmicks to fork it over is their goal.

Point 2: We are own worst enemy. Why do we even sign up for something from SEARS?! Sears is great at providing me appliances, household goods and that’s it! Why in the world would or should you or I sign up for informational services from a non-technology corporate entity that requires you to install software on your personal computer? Warning 1…see above Point 1…Warning 2…if you chose to install miscellaneous software from a company STOP and READ THE PAPERWORK AND EULAs!! If it isn’t practically and simply stated for you to understand what the software does and will do OR you don’t track with it, DON’T INSTALL IT!! Funny how as a nation we can spout stats about professional sports and what Brittney Spears latest on-goings are, but we can’t take 5 minutes to read about the software we are going to install. Now before you disagree and say these poor people were suckered and begin your flames, I will point out Point 1 yet again, and also say that age old saying of “let the buyer beware” came about for a reason. Obviously our great ancestors put up with shenanigans in their day just in different ways. Bottom line here is just because you are given an “extra” from a company doesn’t mean it is a benefit to you. How is Sears’ software going to help me manage my house anyways? I buy a washer and dryer maybe once every 8 years.

Point 3: We are shocked and outraged about a company collecting data about us all the while others SELL our data to anyone with what???…oh yeah…money! We all have things we don’t want our neighbors, our boss or companies knowing about us. The right to privacy is ingrained in our minds and personalities as Americans. We value it so greatly our Founding Fathers made sure to include it in the Constitution! We get emotionally reactive and act shocked, disgusted and outraged when a company gets caught not protecting our data…or worse over-collecting it. YET and I do mean YET, we walk around as simple ignorant sheep and IGNORE companies that will SELL our data to whomever contributes to their bottomline. It is more worrisome to me that someone could take my name and go to companies such as Intelius or USSearch and for mere chump change in today’s society obtain my personal information, where I live, my phone number, who carries it, criminal background etc. No matter the company or product they want your information and money because that gains them what???….that’s right….more money.

So yeah, I’m irked that another company has been caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. From a security standpoint they should have their hand smacked hard and fined heavily. No, I’m not a socialist or communist. Rather I do believe in captialism and the law of supply and demand. But at the same time I sit here and would say the entire scope and mindset on personal information security and privacy needs a major overhaul in our country. Too many people and entities that are not concerned with your well being are privy to your privacy. Change the way you think and how quickly you are willing to part with your dollar……it forces the company to have to work for you instead of the other way around.

~Kryptikos

Psalms 44:21 “would not God have discovered it, since He knows the secrets of the heart?”

*note the graphic’s credit goes to lorri37 from flickr.