Re: The repair guy told me Sygate Firewall was spyware

From: Mike (info_at_michaelmoyse.co.uk)
Date: 08/18/04 

Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:23:36 +0100

Gary101 wrote:

> Nil wrote:
>
>>*On 16 Aug 2004, Gary101 <Gary101.1b2ml2@mail.webservertalk.com>
>>wrote in news:Gary101.1b2ml2@mail.webservertalk.com:
>>
>>
>>>Some people will say "it's just checking for updates", but if they
>>>only update their program once a year, what's the point in having
>>>it phone home a number of times each day?
>>
>>It is checking for updates... if you let it. It's an option you can
>>turn off. *
>
>
> You're right, the free version does offer that option--but I wonder how
> many people ever see it. Because if you hit the enter key after
> selecting options, you're taken to the Sygate website where they
> promote the options available in the paid version. And many people
> won't realize that clicking on the OK button will open the options for
> their free version.
>
> And again, if Sygate only updates the program on an annual basis, why
> would the default be set to phone home on a daily basis. As that makes
> suspicious people think they ARE logging keystrokes and phoning home
> the logs.

Think about it for a moment. Unless they release their updates on
exactly the same day every year how else could it work? Even then if
they updated on 1st January every year and the program only checked on
that one day, an install on the 2nd of January would have to wait 364
days before its next chance to update and hope that the PC is switched
on that day. Of course it has to check every day, its the only logical
and workable way to do it or else it has to be manual in which case
99.99% of the installed base would never get updated at all.

> Since the majority of people never read help files or explore program
> options, my guess is that 90% of the users aren't aware the firewall is
> phoning home on a daily basis. And I'm sure that 99.99% of them don't
> know that Sygate is doing something that allows them to read every
> keystroke they type.

Your evidence for that is what exactly? It couldn't just be hooking into
the keyboard to ensure that commands only come from the user at the
keyboard and not some other re-directed input source could it? Nah, that
wouldn't satisfy your paranoia and would actually be a useful protection
method for a personal firewall.

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