In recent news, a software was discovered that was developed ostensibly with the idea of tracking down the locations of rented computers but, as it was soon to follow, the program had some guilty pleasures of its own. It covertly accumulated private and sensitive information from the users, like their medical records, bank statements and even web cam photographs of couples engaged in intimate activities, according to the Federal Trade Commission as it highlighted its settlement with eight companies, barring them from any further clandestine operations of spying on the consumers.

The aspiring spy

The case concerned seven rental companies, with another firm called DesignerWare LLC of North East, Pa., which was responsible for licensing the PC Rental Agent program to stores in order for them to have the capacity to shut off and recover the computers that were not returned back by the due time or were stolen, etc. However, what came off as a shock was the fact that the software was capable of doing a lot more than just track the locations and the capabilities of the program were abused to a great extent according to FTC. The software contained an add-on feature titled as the Detective Mode which, if activated, could take computers’ screen shots, surreptitiously use the machines’ web cams to take pictures of the users, log their keystrokes, and trick them into giving off private contact information and other sensitive data.

Spy turns rogue… rather perverse

This add-on Detective Mode was found to be capable of collecting data after every two minutes once a user would connect their computer to the internet, unless the particular program was brought to a halt. The data accumulated over the process would then be sent to DesignerWare’s servers and from there on to the particular rental store that owns the machine and activated the software, according to the commission. The FTC released a complaint in which the commission elucidated that at a multitude of instances, Detective Mode was activated to use web cams of the computers to take pictures of children, individuals not fully dressed, and couples engaging in sexual activities.

The perpetrators

There were several individuals and companies mentioned in the FTC complaint whose names are as follows:

• DesignerWare
• Aspen Way Enterprises Inc. of Billings, Mont.- a franchisee of Aaron’s Inc.
• Watershed Development Corp. of Lake Bluff, Illinois – Another franchisee of Aaron’s Inc
• Showplace Inc. of Marion, Ohio
• J.A.G. Rents LLC of Tampa, Fla.- a franchisee of ColorTyme Inc.
• Red Zone Inc. of Dallas- another franchisee of ColorTyme Inc.
• B. Stamper Enterprises Inc. of Russellville, Ky.- a franchisee of Premier Rental Purchase Inc.
• C.A.L.M. Ventures Inc. of Nashville, Tenn.- another franchisee of Premier Rental Purchase Inc.

While the commission ascertained that the settlements will prohibit the companies from any further actions of illegally monitoring users, activating any location tracking programs without customers’ permission, and secretly accumulating information regarding the users. We can hardly forget the menace of computer monitoring software (please visit mobitealth), keyloggers and the like as appropriated by hackers, but these rental stores following in their footsteps are a huge concern, not just for the users involved but the general populace, as a privacy breach affects and also reflects on the society at large.

Natalia David has been a regular contributor as tech writer, expert for some time now. Her work has received great appreciation from readers who turn to her to keep themselves updated with the latest happenings in tech world. You can also follow her on twitter @NataliaDavid4