Avast 與 Jumpshot 販賣使用者瀏覽記錄與行為

過了一陣子了,可以整理一下資料記錄起來...

報導可以看 PCMag 的「The Cost of Avast's Free Antivirus: Companies Can Spy on Your Clicks」與 Motherboard (VICE) 的「Leaked Documents Expose the Secretive Market for Your Web Browsing Data」這兩篇,大綱先把重點列出來了,Avast 在賣使用者的瀏覽記錄與行為:

Avast is harvesting users' browser histories on the pretext that the data has been 'de-identified,' thus protecting your privacy. But the data, which is being sold to third parties, can be linked back to people's real identities, exposing every click and search they've made.

Avast 利用免費的防毒軟體,蒐集使用者的瀏覽記錄與行為,然後透過 Jumpshot 這家子公司販賣出去:

The Avast division charged with selling the data is Jumpshot, a company subsidiary that's been offering access to user traffic from 100 million devices, including PCs and phones.

算是「免費的最貴」的標準型。另外比較有趣的是「資料賣給了誰」這件事情:

Who else might have access to Jumpshot's data remains unclear. The company's website says it's worked with other brands, including IBM, Microsoft, and Google. However, Microsoft said it has no current relationship with Jumpshot. IBM, on the other hand, has "no record" of being a client of either Avast or Jumpshot. Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Microsoft 說「現在沒有關係」,IBM 說「沒有 client 的記錄」,Google 則是不回應。

然後配合解釋資料長什麼樣子,以及可以怎麼用:

For instance, a single click can theoretically look like this:

Device ID: abc123x Date: 2019/12/01 Hour Minute Second: 12:03:05 Domain: Amazon.com Product: Apple iPad Pro 10.5 - 2017 Model - 256GB, Rose Gold Behavior: Add to Cart

At first glance, the click looks harmless. You can't pin it to an exact user. That is, unless you're Amazon.com, which could easily figure out which Amazon user bought an iPad Pro at 12:03:05 on Dec. 1, 2019. Suddenly, device ID: 123abcx is a known user. And whatever else Jumpshot has on 123abcx's activity—from other e-commerce purchases to Google searches—is no longer anonymous.

所以,如果 Google 手上有這個資料,就可以交叉比對自家的記錄,然後得到使用者完整的記錄。

在消息一公開後沒多久後,Avast 就宣佈關閉 Jumpshot,感覺連被抓包後的反應動作都超流暢,一臉就是排練過:「A message from Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek」。

看了一下,Avast 旗下還有 AVG,還有個 VPN 服務...

透過 Avast 防毒軟體蒐集資料的 Jumpshot

看到「Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click」這篇,在說明 Google 的搜尋結果頁面內的行為大幅偏頗 Google 自家服務的問題,這個問題最近幾個禮拜開始紅了起來...

但另外一點值得注意的是裡面提到 Jumpshot 這個服務可以分析使用者的頁面以及行為這件事情...

在 2013 年 Avast 買下 Jumpshot:「AVAST Software Acquires Jumpshot to Work Magic Against Slow PC Performance」,當時的目標是效能:

Having served as PC tech consultants to their friends and family, their goal was to build a product to help less tech-savvy PC users optimize and tune up their PC performance, cleaning it from unpleasant toolbars and junk software.

但在 2015 年的時候就可以看到 Avast 在他們自家的論壇上有說明,Avast 會收資料丟進 Jumpshot:「Avast and Jumpshot」。

These aggregated results are the only thing that Avast makes available to Jumpshot customers and end users.

而藉由這些資料而提供服務。

Kaspersky 反過來告美國政府 (DHS)

早先時候美國政府宣布禁用 Kaspersky,現在 Kaspersky 的律師出動反過來告美國政府了:「Kaspersky sues DHS over federal blacklist」。

(拉板凳) 不過在 Trump 政府下應該只是掙扎兩下做個意思,應該是進不去了 XD

以色列黑了 Kaspersky 的系統,然後通報美國機密資料外洩...

前幾天在「俄羅斯政府透過卡巴斯基的漏洞,偷取美國國安局的文件」這邊提到了俄羅斯是透過 Kaspersky 的漏洞取得,後續又有些消息揭露出來了...

這件事情會被抓包,是因為以色列黑進去 Kaspersky 的系統 (???),然後發現美國的機密資料外洩 (??????),於是通報盟友美國後追查出來的 (?????????):「Israel hacked Kaspersky, then tipped the NSA that its tools had been breached」。

這過程是殺小 XDDD

俄羅斯政府透過卡巴斯基的漏洞,偷取美國國安局的文件

這下知道為什麼美國政府要直接禁用 Kaspersky 了:「Russian Hackers Stole NSA Data on U.S. Cyber Defense」。如果看不到 WSJ 的文章,可以看「Russia reportedly stole NSA secrets with help of Kaspersky—what we know now」這邊。

最近的事件被發現與 Kaspersky 的漏洞有關:

The hackers appear to have targeted the contractor after identifying the files through the contractor’s use of a popular antivirus software made by Russia-based Kaspersky Lab, these people said.

加上 Kaspersky 有濃厚的俄羅斯官方色彩 (關係良好),以及法令上與技術上都有可能性要求 Kaspersky 協助。雖然這次事件是合約工家裡電腦用 Kaspersky 造成的,但已經有足夠的風險讓美國政府決定開鍘下令完全禁用了:

For years, U.S. national security officials have suspected that Kaspersky Lab, founded by a computer scientist who was trained at a KGB-sponsored technical school, is a proxy of the Russian government, which under Russian law can compel the company’s assistance in intercepting communications as they move through Russian computer networks.

關於防毒軟體...

這篇的標題真直接 XDDD:「Disable Your Antivirus Software (Except Microsoft's)」。

其實差不多跟作者提到的一樣,防毒軟體的功用真的很少。真的要執行來路不明的檔案時 (或是確定會有一堆 malware 的中國軟體時 XDDD),應該要丟到其他的 vm 裡面隔離,甚至是另外一台實體機器,而非靠防毒軟體擋下。

實在是有太多防毒軟體來亂了,為了達成目的把本來的安全設計打掉,然後再加上自己有問題的設計...

Avast 買 AVG

AvastAVG,這兩家都不小:「Avast acquires rival AVG for $1.3 billion to create a security software giant」。

文章開頭提到的交易的形式與金額:

Security software giant Avast Software has acquired rival AVG Technologies. Avast will pay $25 cash for each of AVG’s outstanding ordinary shares in a deal amounting to around $1.3 billion.

兩家也都放了新聞稿:

AVG 更新隱私條款,以便能夠蒐集使用者的搜尋紀錄並且賣給其他人

在「AVG can sell your browsing and search history to advertisers」這邊整理的比較清楚:

The updated policy explained that AVG was allowed to collect "non-personal data", which could then be sold to third parties.

或是抓原文:

Do you share my data?

Yes, though when and how we share it depends on whether it is personal data or non-personal data. AVG may share non-personal data with third parties and may publicly display aggregate or anonymous information.

新的條款會在今年 (2015) 的十月十五日生效。