a disconcerting Google ad

[March2005]

Below is an actual ad that I saw today on Google.com:

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Password Finder $39.95
Secretly record instant messages,
read their email, & find passwords
www. domain name was here. com
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[dcristo]

It'll get removed as soon as there's a human review of the ad.

 

[hugegrowth]

yeah, doesn't seem right, but might be useful for parents

 

[RTM.net]

What is disconcerting about an ad for monitoring software ? It's quite a common tool... there are many ads for this type of software in many print computer mags... a lot of concerned parents use this type of stuff on their kids computers.

I'm not for it... I believe more in talking than spying That being said, I doubt the ad will be pulled.

Rob

 

[March2005]

Disconcerting due to: extortion, blackmail, identity theft, national security, industrial espionage, financial crimes, and other such things.

 

[GT Web]

Disconcerting due to: national security

LOL!

Al Queida will steal your passwords!! :-#

 

[RTM.net]

Errr.... what ?! This is software that must either be consciously installed by the owner of the computer in question, or remotely installed using some sort of malware or trojan that would involve a bit of innovative social engineering.

Windows XP and 2003 feature remote desktop control utilities, and there are many third party monitoring tools available for quite a while now - NetOp is one that comes to mind; it can be installed to run covertly and record all activity on a given computer.

All of this requires physical (or full remote admin console) access as a prerequisite... so this is not disconcerting whatsoever as far as advertising very common software tools...

Just my $0.02.

Rob

 

[March2005]

I am not familiar the the software being sold or how it works.

I do not think that secretly recording people's passwords, instant messages, and e-mails is usually appropriate behavior.

It seems that Google is helping to sell software that it could be used for illegal, unethical, or immoral purposes.

 

[Steen]

Google also displays ads for email clients like Opera. You know, someone might use that to blackmail or extort!

You think this is bad? Try "fake diplomas."