Rent-to-own laptops were secretly recording users having sex and more.
Seven rent-to-own companies and a software maker are settling charges with the Federal Trade Commission that rental computers illegally used spyware that took “pictures of children, individuals not fully clothed, and couples engaged in sexual activities.”
As per the course, the FTC slapped the hand of DesignerWare of North East Pennsylvania and the rent-to-own companies. The settlement, announced Tuesday, only requires them to halt using their spy tools, which has been employed on as many as 420,000 rentals.
The software, known as Detective Mode, didn’t just secretly turn on webcams. It “can log the keystrokes of the computer user, take screen shots of the computer user’s activities on the computer, and photograph anyone within view of the computer’s webcam. Detective Mode secretly gathers this information and transmits it to DesignerWare, who then transmits it to the rent-to-own store from which the computer was rented, unbeknownst to the individual using the computer,” according to the complaint.
What the FTC deemed unlawful was an add-on program called Detective Mode, which at the rental company’s command could gather data from a renter’s computer and transmit it to DesignerWare's servers every two minutes for 60 minutes, or until the rent-to-own store told it to stop.
Detective Mode also enabled the rent-to-own stores to make a renter's computer display a fake software registration window that asked the user to enter a name, address and phone number. The window could not be closed until the information had been entered.
The FTC's complaint also noted that photos taken by Detective Mode's webcam included pictures of children, individuals not fully clothed and couples engaged in sexual activities.
The FTC said PC Rental Agent was licensed by 1,617 rent-to-own stores in the United States, Canada and Australia.As of August 2011, the agency said it had been installed in 420,000 computers worldwide.
Thorleifson said no money would be collected as part of the settlement with the FTC, but the firms, without admitting wrongdoing, agreed to deactivate Detective Mode and stop spying on its renters.
Under the settlement, the companies can still use tracking software on their rental computers, so long as they advise renters, the FTC said. The companies include Aspen Way Enterprises Inc.; Watershed Development Corp.; Showplace Inc., doing business as Showplace Rent-to-Own; J.A.G. Rents LLC, doing business as ColorTyme; Red Zone Inc., doing business as ColorTyme; B. Stamper Enterprises Inc., doing business as Premier Rental Purchase; and C.A.L.M. Ventures Inc., doing business as Premier Rental Purchase.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/09/laptop-rental-spyware-scandal/
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-designerware-pc-rental-agent-20120925,0,992059.story