CST Week 5 Scrapbook

CST 373 Week 5 Scrapbook

HP quietly installs sytem-slowing spyware on its PCs

Link: https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/28/hp-quietly-installs-system-slowing-spyware-on-its-pcs/

PDF: https://drive.google.com/a/csumb.edu/file/d/1uJ3Z4WVa5zZ4t3vkYh1EwAg26y9Y_U-3/view?usp=sharing

Article Summary

The article explains how many consumers have been complaining that Hewlett Packard has installed software on their system without them knowing. The software in question is called HP Touchpoint Analytics. The article explains that the program appears to replace previous software called HP Touchpoint Manager. It seems that this may have gone unnoticed had it not been for the new software creating slowdown in customer's systems. HP responded to Engadget's article with the following statment.

HP Touchpoint Analytics is a service we have offered since 2014 as part of HP Support Assistant. It anonymously collects diagnostic information about hardware performance. No data is shared with HP unless access is expressly granted. Customers can opt-out or uninstall the service at any time.

HP Touchpoint Analytics was recently updated and there were no changes to privacy settings as part of this update. We take customer privacy very seriously and act in accordance with a strict policy, available here.

Why It was Chosen:

This article was chosen because I take privacy with regards to computer software seriously. The article claims that the software collects user's data without their permission. It is even more disturbing when a company distributes software without the user's knowledge.

Ethical Implications

The ethical implications are that software is potentially being distributed by a company without a user knowing that it is being put on their system and breach of privacy. Obviously it is illegal for a company to install software on a user's system without their consent. A disturbing way around this is that companies may put in their licensing agreement which may consist of numerous pages of legal jargon that allow them to do this. A company may have it's software default to automatic updates or bundle other software in a software suite where the user may not fully understand what they are getting. I do not like such practices as many users unknowingly just click through the defaults when installing software. Companies should find a way to make it very clear that a customer may be getting additional software. I feel that companies get away with this when they make their installation software in small print. 

Credibility of Source

Engadget has been around since 2004 as a source for technology news and reviews. The company operates on a global scale.