sears.com "SHC Community" installs spyware

[linear]

This isn't widely reported. If you join the free community on sears.com, they quietly install software on your machine that monitors your usage in a variety of ways that would usually be considered spyware.

Reference:
http://community.ca.com/blogs/securi...t-spyware.aspx

Every website visitor that joins the Sears community installs software that acts as a proxy to every web transaction made on the compromised computer. In other words, if you have installed Sears software ("the proxy") on your system, all data transmitted to and from your system will be intercepted. This extreme level of user tracking is done with little and inconspicuous notice about the true nature of the software. In fact, while registering to join the "community," very little mention is made of software or tracking.

In real life I work in the computer security field. While alarming notices happen with regularity, I wanted to share this information with you in case any of you have joined this site and have this spyware. It seems fairly simple to remove, if you are made aware of its existence at all.

[footprintsinconc]

Thanks!

now, if they are so much involved with their website and computer in this, then the pricing of the drill press wasn't an error (couldn't resist bringing it up again )

[crokett]

Thanks. Somebody was telling me about this just the other day. He is not gonna like the email I just sent him.

[windmill]

Omar, you make a good point :-) And now we know the $5 off coupon isn't a "hack" either.....

[brecklundin]

Glad to see this already made it here...I was just over reading stuff on DSLReports and found a few articles about this Sears moving into the scumware biz...looks like they lost my online biz.

Here are a couple follow-up pieces:

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/S...By-Sears-90652

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01...re_disclosure/

The real amazing part is there is actually a disclosure about the depths of tracking they will be doing...on page 10 of a 54ish page document!! Gawds!!

I will certainly squirt off an email to Sears expressing they have lost my business until this policy stops.

This crud is just wrong...

[Uncle Cracker]

You can be assured that Sears is off my Christmas card list, and I wrote them and told them so. I would urge others to do the same.

[Ed62]

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't joined, and I won't be doing so. I will send an e-mail, expressing why.

Ed

[Uncle Cracker]

I wanted to follow up on the nasty letter I sent Sears in response to this topic. The fellow who responded says that only a randomly selected few who join the mySHC community are "tracked", and only after they accept Sears' invitation to download the software that is part of the study. The members of the community who decline, and those who are not asked in the first place are not tracked. I have not been made this offer, so I cannot say how well this is explained in the "invitation". And I'm not sure that I completely believe a carefully crafted response designed to curb the public outcry. But that's what the man say...

[LCHIEN]

The news reports say that the website does not divulge exactly what the software will do that they install on your computer.

latest news
http://www.news.com/8301-10789_3-984...=2547-1_3-0-20

[Uncle Cracker]

The news reports say that the website does not divulge exactly what the software will do that they install on your computer.

Figured it was something like that. Sears can rot, for all I care.