Got Chrome? Google Just Silently Downloaded This Onto Your Computer

On June 17th, Google did not announce (the news broke) that the DARPA affiliated corporation has been silently downloading audio listeners onto every computer that has Chrome.

This effectively means that Google sees your privacy as piddly-squat, which does not necessarily come off as a surprise, when one considers Google’s censorship of We Are Change – this very organization as nothing. The website Private Internet Access‘s Rick Falkvinge reported how he came to understand this new policy:

“It looked like just another bug report. “When I start Chromium, it downloads something.” Followed by strange status information that notably included the lines “Microphone: Yes” and “Audio Capture Allowed: Yes”.




Without consent, Google’s code had downloaded a black box of code that – according to itself – had turned on the microphone and was actively listening to your room.”





Without going into detail, Falkvinge describes the nature of open-sourced/free-software and how it relies on transparency and the innovation of many software programmers before being finished as a final product. The transparency allows the user to know that the open-sourced software truly does what it claims to do. Chromium, the open-source version of Google Chrome is supposed to operate the same way. Only Google abused the nature of open-sourced transparency, and by-passed the process that would have prevented this from happening.

Google rationalized that enabling the ability to be eavesdropped via your personal computer was well worth it, because now “Ok, Google” works! Now when you say certain words, Chrome begins searching preliminaries – is it truly worth losing the stability of your privacy though? Obviously, it is Google’s servers that respond to what is being said along with your computer. So a computer black-box was installed, hooked onto a private corporation’s server and now has the ability to eavesdrop on you and Google had no intention to let anyone know about it!

Eventually Google did respond to the accusation, in which Falkvinge “paraphrased”:

“1) Yes, we’re downloading and installing a wiretapping black-box to your computer. But we’re not actually activating it. We did take advantage of our position as trusted upstream to stealth-insert code into open-source software that installed this black box onto millions of computers, but we would never abuse the same trust in the same way to insert code that activates the eavesdropping-blackbox we already downloaded and installed onto your computer without your consent or knowledge. You can look at the code as it looks right now to see that the code doesn’t do this right now.

2) Yes, Chromium is bypassing the entire source code auditing process by downloading a pre-built black box onto people’s computers. But that’s not something we care about, really. We’re concerned with building Google Chrome, the product from Google. As part of that, we provide the source code for others to package if they like. Anybody who uses our code for their own purpose takes responsibility for it. When this happens in a Debian installation, it is not Google Chrome’s behavior, this is Debian Chromium’s behavior. It’s Debian’s responsibility entirely.

3) Yes, we deliberately hid this listening module from the users, but that’s because we consider this behavior to be part of the basic Google Chrome experience. We don’t want to show all modules that we install ourselves.”



The writer describes that “software switches” are no longer enough to protect against this type of eavesdropping, software switches are programs that turn off your webcam/mic etc,. Really, the author feels a physical switch that cuts electrical connection to the device is required to prevent this. It is an odd thing to observe for me, because many people were furious when news of the NSA’s technological trawler of private information became common knowledge. When Google silently attempts to install even more passage ways for your intimate information to be siphoned, not much is said about it.

In fact many have begun the repetitive nature of apathetic perception, one example being “It only eavesdrops when you say, “OK, Google” (Wouldn’t it need to listen to everything to know when you say, “OK, Google”?) and it goes on and on. Ultimately, there will always be a large portion of users who simply do not care whether or not a shadowy corporation is listening to them, or a maniacal government for that matter.

Yet in principle, the fact Google did this with the intention of users having no clue that they have had their privacy sliced even deeper; simply demonstrates the corporation’s lack of compassion and boundaries. However you choose to handle this story, deleting Chrome in exchange for more private-oriented software programs, not doing anything or learning more about it; one thing is clear: we also have a responsibility to ensure this type of usurpation is not treated with an accepting embrace. More learn what is happening by the day, it is only a matter of time before there is a tipping point – I hope to see you there. Thanks for reading.


http://www.disclose.tv/news/got_chrome_google_just_silently_downloaded_this_onto_your_computer/119470?utm_content=buffer938b5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

I am uninstalling chrome now.

sick of Google rubbish just becoming another Apple

That's disconcerting. Why do we get so angry with governments for snooping but nobody cares when big corporations do it?

Never thought I'd have to watch my mouth at the computer ...

veya_victaous wrote:I am uninstalling chrome now.

sick of Google rubbish just becoming another Apple

Firefox all the way buddy :-)

I have all 3 (need them for work) but chrome is coming off my home PC... I never use it any way because... firefox

Never liked chrome. I don't know why, but always thought something stunk about it. Maybe I am just paranoid.

this may sound technical but you could always disable your mic...

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:this may sound technical but you could always disable your mic...

on a standalone pc yes and you could just unplug it
but on a laptop not so much (if it has built in web cam+mike)you could disable it but it could be turned back on remotely

It's part of the voice recognition software.

Samsung and Microsoft (via Xbox) do the same thing and copy your audio to improve their service. If you're worried, I'd stop using these too.

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:this may sound technical but you could always disable your mic...

on a standalone pc yes and you could just unplug it
but on a laptop not so much (if it has built in web cam+mike)you could disable it but it could be turned back on remotely

you can fully disable it on a laptop, if you don't use the mic you could uninstall the drivers...

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
on a standalone pc yes and you could just unplug it
but on a laptop not so much (if it has built in web cam+mike)you could disable it but it could be turned back on remotely

you can fully disable it on a laptop, if you don't use the mic you could uninstall the drivers...

it takes about 4 lines of code to enable your mic to fully disable it you would need a hardware switch on the actually mike otherwise it could be re-enabled very simply without you knowing as they have said

also in theory you could use a speaker as a mic

@HF
no you cant
not short of Physically unplugging it
even I could knock up a script to have your mic enabled while the OS is telling you it is disabled. this isn't hard to do but it is generally considered part of a virus and has always been something you had to authorize by any legitimate software manufacturer.


@Zack
yep wouldn't buy an Xbox either. BUT note that Xbox Said they were it was open and not hidden, this is the REAL problem is that Google have a system that supposedly allows visibility but then By passed it for this specific module.. making it too suss in my opinion

Is It possible that this install is just opening up the capability of voice command control of some features, like there is on other devices and in cars etc...?


Although I am as sceptical of this myself as some of You... just a thought...

yes that is what they are saying it is for (Google voice aka siri knock off)
apparently having users control the mic themselves was too much Google needed to have more control of the mic than the person that owns the computer. they needed to be able to have the mic On even though the user sitting at the desk has actively pressed the button on the screen that says OFF. And they needed to bypass all their OWN transparency anti-scamware procedures with out telling anyone because ....

what is extra dumb is that Google's entire smart phone presence is based around "not being Apple" so hopefully going down the apple path will cause them to get tossed as they are no longer "not being Apple".

Well quite... if it is totally innocent, why install it surreptitiously?

The excuses are pathetic, Google is trying to say that it's just listening for the words "OK Google" in order to activate the voice search.

I can't quite figure out how it would be able to pick up "OK Google" if it isn't listening to anything else ...

@ben

and they could have let you Choose to turn the mic on/off and no over ride your selection without telling you they are doing so and without you authorization to do so.

Because even if is Said "Ok google" if I had turned the mic off I probably DO NOT WANT IT TO RESPOND!

And you are right it cannot just pick up certain words it can just 'react' to certain words but it has to pick up all of them.

Of course they should have advertised the fact of what they were doing and why and given the option to install or not as well as activate or not, and uninstall that bit at will.

wow how odd i have disabled the mic on my laptop... tried to reactivate it remotely and couldn't...

wow how odd i have disabled the mic on my laptop... tried to reactivate it remotely and couldn't...

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:wow how odd i have disabled the mic on my laptop... tried to reactivate it remotely and couldn't...

i wonder why that is perhaps you don`t posses the necessary skills or training ..tell me what computer skill do you have ? other than typing crap in to a web site that is ?

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:wow how odd i have disabled the mic on my laptop... tried to reactivate it remotely and couldn't...

tell you what download and install this and i will do it for you

https://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx?pid=google.s.uk&gclid=COnFmPS5pcYCFW2WtAodPxwMMw


god your a idiot of truly biblical proportions

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:wow how odd i have disabled the mic on my laptop... tried to reactivate it remotely and couldn't...

i wonder why that  is perhaps you don`t posses the necessary skills or training ..tell me what computer skill do you have ? other than typing crap in to a web site that is ?

ypou mean apart from my business??

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
i wonder why that  is perhaps you don`t posses the necessary skills or training ..tell me what computer skill do you have ? other than typing crap in to a web site that is ?

ypou mean apart from my business??

and what pray tell is your business bullshit merchant perhaps ?

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

ypou mean apart from my business??

and what pray tell is your business  bullshit merchant perhaps ?

no, I would leave the BS to you..

i've been in business for quite some years now technology, mainly telecommunications but computers, tablets , that sort of thing...

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
and what pray tell is your business  bullshit merchant perhaps ?

no, I would leave the BS to you..

i've been in business for quite some years now technology, mainly telecommunications but computers, tablets , that sort of thing...  

how many wires do you need to make a phone work

what do you use a pipe for

what does this do
Private Declare Function OpenProcess Lib "Kernel32" (ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, ByVal bInheritHandle As Long, ByVal dwProcessId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetExitCodeProcess Lib "Kernel32" (ByVal hProcess As Long, lpExitCode As Long) As Long
Private Declare Sub Sleep Lib "Kernel32" (ByVal dwMilliseconds As Long)
Const STILL_ACTIVE = &H103
Const PROCESS_QUERY_INFORMATION = &H400

Sub Shell32Bit(ByVal JobToDo As String)

        Dim hProcess As Long
        Dim RetVal As Long
        'The next line launches JobToDo as icon,

        'captures process ID
        hProcess = OpenProcess(PROCESS_QUERY_INFORMATION, False, Shell(JobToDo, 1))

        Do

            'Get the status of the process
            GetExitCodeProcess hProcess, RetVal

            'Sleep command recommended as well as DoEvents
            DoEvents: Sleep 100

        'Loop while the process is active
        Loop While RetVal = STILL_ACTIVE


End Sub

i have a friend that works in a shoe shop doesn`t mean he can make shoes

so tell us how did you try to remotely turn on your mike what was the method you tried

and as i say down load that program from the link i supplied i will do it for you

is someone trying to make a program compatible with their system..?
it takes one wire to make a phone work,??

who was on about making technology..lol

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:is someone trying to make a program compatible with their system..?
it takes one wire to make a phone work,??

who was on about making technology..lol

wrong it takes two wires to make a phone work red and green (if wired correctly )

and if your first comment refers to the code i posted

wrong again its code to Shell out to a 32-bit application and wait until task completes

honestly HF i can spot computer related bullshitters a mile away and your shining like a lighthouse

hear is a easy one HF

what`s the ring wire used for ?

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:is someone trying to make a program compatible with their system..?
it takes one wire to make a phone work,??

who was on about making technology..lol

wrong it takes two wires to make a phone work  red and green (if wired correctly )

and if your first comment refers to the code i posted

wrong again its code to Shell out to a 32-bit application and wait until task completes

honestly HF i can spot computer related bullshitters a mile away and your shining like a lighthouse

lol it takes one wire the mains lead...

i've worked with mobile phones going as far back as the original Motorola's like the memphis and before the nokia 3210 but I guess you know best..lol...

you know when you were in nappies still...

the bullshit you constantly smell is probably your body odour..

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
wrong it takes two wires to make a phone work  red and green (if wired correctly )

and if your first comment refers to the code i posted

wrong again its code to Shell out to a 32-bit application and wait until task completes

honestly HF i can spot computer related bullshitters a mile away and your shining like a lighthouse

lol it takes one wire the mains lead...

i've worked with mobile phones going as far back as the original Motorola's like the memphis and before the nokia 3210 but I guess you know best..lol...

you know when you were in nappies still...

the bullshit you constantly smell is probably your body odour..

the mains lead. ha ha ha what a bloody stupid arse you are
the mains lead
yes i know more than you your nothing more than a ridiculous bullshitter the only telecommunication industry you have worked in is i suspect flogging knocked of phones in a market
your a phony (pun intended) a twisted two faced liar your a fucking joke
the mains lead jeeze

the only reason you might have to plug in a mains lead is if its a answering machine or other device such as a wireless phone that needs mains power Ie 240 volts in this country as the "mains lead" generally refers to the main power you know "electricity"

phone "power" is supplied over the phone line from the exchange you idiot

A telephone is usually connected to the telephone exchange by about three miles of a twisted pair of no.22 awg or 0.5 mm copper wires, known by your phone company as "the local loop and is about 50 volts DC in the uk and on some modern exchanges the voltage can reach 60 volts thats why your phone still works in a local power cut

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

lol it takes one wire the mains lead...

i've worked with mobile phones going as far back as the original Motorola's like the memphis and before the nokia 3210 but I guess you know best..lol...

you know when you were in nappies still...

the bullshit you constantly smell is probably your body odour..

the mains lead. ha ha ha  what a bloody stupid arse you are  
the mains lead
yes i know more than you your nothing more than a ridiculous bullshitter the only telecommunication industry you have worked in is i suspect flogging knocked of phones in a market  
your a phony (pun intended)  a twisted two faced liar your a fucking joke
the mains lead jeeze

the only reason you might have to plug in a mains lead is if its a answering machine or other device such as a wireless phone that needs mains power Ie 240 volts in this country as the "mains lead" generally refers to the main power you know "electricity"

phone "power" is supplied over the phone line from the exchange you idiot  

A telephone is usually connected to the telephone exchange by about three miles  of a twisted pair of no.22 awg or 0.5 mm copper wires, known by your phone company as "the local loop and is about 50 volts DC in the uk and on some modern exchanges the voltage can reach 60 volts thats why your phone still works in a local  power cut

lol, shows you what you know about mobiles.. i remember the good old days when every company had a separate lead required to charge the mobile up...

samsung was always fun just about every phone required a different lead, nokia managed to keep it down to three which is pretty good..

I bet you can tell me which early mobile would take four aa batteries if your normal battery ran out... i'll give you a clue .. it was more than a year ago..lol

odd are i'v forgotten more about repairing mobiles than you will ever know....

mind you the technology has changed somewhat...

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
the mains lead. ha ha ha  what a bloody stupid arse you are  
the mains lead
yes i know more than you your nothing more than a ridiculous bullshitter the only telecommunication industry you have worked in is i suspect flogging knocked of phones in a market  
your a phony (pun intended)  a twisted two faced liar your a fucking joke
the mains lead jeeze

the only reason you might have to plug in a mains lead is if its a answering machine or other device such as a wireless phone that needs mains power Ie 240 volts in this country as the "mains lead" generally refers to the main power you know "electricity"

phone "power" is supplied over the phone line from the exchange you idiot  

A telephone is usually connected to the telephone exchange by about three miles  of a twisted pair of no.22 awg or 0.5 mm copper wires, known by your phone company as "the local loop and is about 50 volts DC in the uk and on some modern exchanges the voltage can reach 60 volts thats why your phone still works in a local  power cut

lol, shows you what you know about mobiles.. i remember the good old days when every company had a separate lead required to charge the mobile up...

samsung was always fun just about every phone required a different lead, nokia managed to keep it down to three which is pretty good..

I bet you can tell me which early mobile would take four aa batteries if your normal battery ran out... i'll give you a clue .. it was more than a year ago..lol

odd are i'v forgotten more about repairing mobiles than you will ever know....

mind you the technology has changed somewhat...

who the fuck is talking about mobiles you stupid man ?

And properly the Motorola

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

lol, shows you what you know about mobiles.. i remember the good old days when every company had a separate lead required to charge the mobile up...

samsung was always fun just about every phone required a different lead, nokia managed to keep it down to three which is pretty good..

I bet you can tell me which early mobile would take four aa batteries if your normal battery ran out... i'll give you a clue .. it was more than a year ago..lol

odd are i'v forgotten more about repairing mobiles than you will ever know....

mind you the technology has changed somewhat...

who the fuck is talking about mobiles you stupid man ?

i was when i mentioned technology..

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
who the fuck is talking about mobiles you stupid man ?

i was when i mentioned technology..

Err what the first time you even mentioned mobile phones was above to try and deflect how fucking stupid and clueless you are
technology can mean anything from a digital watch to a space shuttle we are talking about mic`s on  laptops and pc`s that you say you tried to enable remotely
honestly is this you trying to wind me up or are you all ways this fucking dense

personally i will go with your all ways this dense

oh and read this mister mobile phone expert

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2225081/microsoft-subnet/black-hat--it-s-not--tricky--for-hackers-to-turn-your-phone-into-a-spyphone.html

1 Download and install a monitoring program on your Web-accessible cellular device. Such software can often be found by searching your model's application server on the phone itself, or via computer.

2 Enter the six-digit phone number you plan to call the remote device from into the software's Web page. Click "Save" and close the browser.

3 Test the installation by calling the remote device from the phone number you entered. The remote phone should not ring or light up. Hold the non-remote receiver to your ear to make sure sound is transmitting properly.

4 Mute the headset or receiver on the remote device to prevent accidental noise amplification.

Tips & Warnings

Do not use such setups without proper permission because it may violate wiretapping laws.

two seconds on goggle proves you haven`t a fucking clue

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_7672748_turn-cell-phone-microphone.html

oh and this

Even if you power off your cell phone, the U.S. government can turn it back on.

That's what ex-spy Edward Snowden revealed in last week's interview with NBC's Brian Williams. It sounds like sorcery. Can someone truly bring your phone back to life without touching it?

No. But government spies can get your phone to play dead.

It's a crafty hack. You press the button. The device buzzes. You see the usual power-off animation. The screen goes black. But it'll secretly stay on -- microphone listening and camera recording.

How did they get into your phone in the first place? Here's an explanation by former members of the CIA, Navy SEALs and consultants to the U.S. military's cyber warfare team. They've seen it firsthand

http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/06/technology/security/nsa-turn-on-phone/


seriously your a bit of a clueless moron really all hot air and grand claims but no substance

Last month, we discussed whether the new Microsoft Kinect could be used as an NSA spying tool. When it comes to the microphones in Android cell phones and laptop computers, though, surveillance might not be a theoretical question. The Wall Street Journal reports that the FBI can already remotely activate those microphones to record conversations.

"Remotely activated cell phone bugs predate iOS and Android "

That's according to a single anonymous former US official, mind you, and neither the FBI nor Google was willing to confirm or deny the report, but remotely forcing a cellular mic to eavesdrop isn't a new idea. The FBI's so-called "roving bugs" were used against alleged mobsters in 2004, and in 2002 the FBI kept tabs on supposed criminals using the microphone in a vehicle's emergency call system. What's new, according to several former anonymous officials, is a dedicated FBI group which regularly hacks into computers, using both custom and off-the-shelf surveillance software which it buys from private companies.




http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4580718/fbi-can-remotely-activate-android-and-laptop-microphones-reports-wsj

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

i was when i mentioned technology..

Err what the first time you even mentioned mobile phones was above to try and deflect how fucking stupid and clueless you are
technology can mean anything from a digital watch to a space shuttle we are talking about mic`s on  laptops and pc`s that you say you tried to enable remotely
honestly is this you trying to wind me up or are you all ways this fucking dense

personally i will go with your all ways this dense

hey if you can't answer my question about a mobile phone don't sweat it, people are used to you looking and sounding like a brainless ----...

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
Err what the first time you even mentioned mobile phones was above to try and deflect how fucking stupid and clueless you are
technology can mean anything from a digital watch to a space shuttle we are talking about mic`s on  laptops and pc`s that you say you tried to enable remotely
honestly is this you trying to wind me up or are you all ways this fucking dense

personally i will go with your all ways this dense

hey if you can't answer my question about a mobile phone don't sweat it, people are used to you looking and sounding like a brainless ----...

yes you have proved your just that a brainless buffoon  i never claimed to know a great deal about mobile phones but its obvious to me and most others on this site you know less than i do ,

your nothing more than a clueless arse  talking about things you don`t even understand the basics of
pretending to be something your not. that is intelligent,seriously grow the fuck up and stop trying to big your self up
your not succeeding in anything more than making your self look foolish


And as i said in the edit properly a Motorola but knowing the particulars of a phone over 30 years old is just a stupid asinine defection on your part

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

hey if you can't answer my question about a mobile phone don't sweat it, people are used to you looking and sounding like a brainless ----...

yes you have proved your just that a brainless buffoon  i never claimed to know a great deal about mobile phones but its obvious to me and most others on this site you know less than i do ,

your nothing more than a clueless arse  talking about things you don`t even understand the basics of
pretending to be something your not. that is intelligent,seriously grow the fuck up and stop trying to big your self up
your not succeeding in anything more than making your self look foolish


And as i said in the edit properly a Motorola but knowing the particulars of a phone over 30 years old is just a stupid asinine defection on your part

lol to say i've been working on them all these years that's kinda odd...lol

i know who I am, how long have you been bruce willis..lol

it shows I know what the phone was and a dumb fuck like you didn't..lol

so what you have now taken to typing random meaningless sentences

honestly your as thick as pig shit
you started taking about mobile phones then asked some random unrelated question
i have never claimed to work on mobile phones i am a computer engineer /network engineer i install phones and extensions in peoples homes your just a sad fuck with delusions of grandeur who goes of on random unrelated topics when shown to be the lying dick that you are
do you know what AMPS is ?

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
yes you have proved your just that a brainless buffoon  i never claimed to know a great deal about mobile phones but its obvious to me and most others on this site you know less than i do ,

your nothing more than a clueless arse  talking about things you don`t even understand the basics of
pretending to be something your not. that is intelligent,seriously grow the fuck up and stop trying to big your self up
your not succeeding in anything more than making your self look foolish


And as i said in the edit properly a Motorola but knowing the particulars of a phone over 30 years old is just a stupid asinine defection on your part

lol to say i've been working on them all these years that's kinda odd...lol

i know who I am, how long have you been bruce willis..lol

it shows I know what the phone was and a dumb fuck like you didn't..lol

bruce willis ? OFFS !!!well longer than you have been

korban dallas wrote:

heavenlyfatheragain wrote:

lol to say i've been working on them all these years that's kinda odd...lol

i know who I am, how long have you been bruce willis..lol

it shows I know what the phone was and a dumb fuck like you didn't..lol

bruce willis ? OFFS !!!well longer than you have been

no i think it serves to prove you know jack shit!!!

but that's no big surprise....