p2pnet - rss feed: G’ment key loggers in laptops
p2p news / p2pnet:- “I URGE you to take copy of this page immediately and spread this information to everyone you know immediately!” concludes a post on InfoWars.com.
“The more people who find out about this, the more can protect themselves and raise a HUGE outcry to force government and computer manufacturers to immediately CEASE installing these devices in new computers!”
Here you go >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
GOVERNMENT AND COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS CAUGHT INSTALLING HARD-WIRED KEYSTROKE LOGGERS INTO ALL NEW LAPTOP COMPUTERS!
I was opening up my almost brand new laptop, to replace a broken PCMCIA slot riser on the motherboard.
As soon as I got the keyboard off, I noticed a small cable running from the keyboard connection underneath a piece of metal protecting the motherboard.
I figured “No Big Deal”, and continued with the dissasembly. But when I got the metal panels off, I saw a small white heatshink-wrapped package. Being ever-curious, I sliced the heatshrink open. I found a little circuit board inside.
Being an EE by trade, this piqued my curiosity considerably. On one side of the board, one Atmel AT45D041A four megabit Flash memory chip.
On the other side, one Microchip Technology PIC16F876 Programmable Interrupt Controller, along with a little Fairchild Semiconductor CD4066BCM quad bilateral switch.
Looking further, I saw that the other end of the cable was connected to the integrated ethernet board.
What could this mean? I called the manufacturer’s tech support about it, and they said, and I quote, “The intergrated service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal information.” He then hung up.
A little more research, and I found that that board spliced in between the keyboard and the ethernet chip is little more than a Keyghost hardware keylogger.
The reasons a computer manufacturer would put this in their laptops can only be left up to your imagination. It would be very impractical to hand-anylze the logs, and very CPU-intensive to do so on a computer for every person that purchased a laptop. Why are these keyloggers here? I recently almost found out.
I called the police, as having a keylogger unknown to me in my laptop is a serious offense. They told me to call the Department of Homeland Security. At this point, I am in disbelief. Why would the DHS have a keylogger in my laptop? It was surreal.
So I called them, and they told me to submit a Freedom of Information Act request. This is what I got back:
Under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) the only items exempt from public disclosure are items relating to “law enforcement tools and techniques” and “items relating to national security.”
The real life implications of this are plain: Computer manufacturers appear to be cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security to make every person who buys a new computer subject to immediate, unrestricted government recording of everything they do on those computers! EVERYTHING!
This information can be sent to DHS, online, without your knowledge or consent, without a search warrant or even probable cause! That’s why this device is hard-wired directly into the ethernet card, which communicates over the internet!
I am not certain how long this information will be permitted to remain online for all the world to see before the government takes some type of action to attempt to have it removed from public view. I URGE you to take copy of this page immediately and spread this information to everyone you know immediately! The more people who find out about this, the more can protect themselves and raise a HUGE outcry to force government and computer manufacturers to immediately CEASE installing these devices in new computers!
(Thanks, DaBlade)
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UPDATE: OK. It’s a hoax. I knew it all along. ahem.
Actually, I didn’t. I went for it hook, line and sinker because it’s so damned plausible and is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to find happening under joint US presidents Dick Cheney and George W. So no worries, DaBlade. No apology necessary : )
Cheers!
Jon
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October 5th, 2005 at 6:04 pm
Is this not a well known hoax?
October 5th, 2005 at 6:06 pm
Yes it is
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000317047049/
and many other pages.
October 5th, 2005 at 6:50 pm
Crap. I didn’t know it was a hoax when I emailed Jon the story.
Well I’d rather have this be a hoax and embarass myself than it being reality.
October 5th, 2005 at 7:11 pm
Yes it’s a hoax, but it could happen. If you’re concerned about it, open the case and check your laptop (careful not to damage anything).
The so-called “trusted computing” scheme would accomplish the same thing, but much, much worse.
October 5th, 2005 at 7:11 pm
“exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to find happening under joint US presidents Dick Cheney and George W”
You got THAT right anway =)
October 7th, 2005 at 3:38 am
Excuse me people.
How do you know it’s a hoax.
Do you just WANT it to be a hoax so you don’t have to face the truth of the police state popping up all around you ?
October 26th, 2005 at 4:53 pm
someone please explain how they know this is a hoax so that I don’t have tear my laptop apart or smash it with a sledgehammer.
Oh, and please give me something that is real and verifiable.