Re: Trying to Figure out What's OK and What to Block

On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 09:46:44 -0800, Kerodo <loopback@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

In article <vve812tcu8i7hu2a7fg292vfdmdekvc4h0@xxxxxxx>,
fishlips@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx says...
On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 10:13:49 +0100, Sebastian Gottschalk
<seppi@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Fishlips wrote:

So far I still didn't see any proof. All network communication behaviour
of WMP is well-documented and can be disabled, even before ever
attempted. If you left it enabled, intentionally or due to lack of
interest, it's fully intended communication and no phone-home. Merely a
privacy-concerning bad default configuration, but nothing evil.

Wrong.

I have read many of the threads that you are in, and generally you are
very knowledgeable. But on this one you are just plain wrong.

As I explained to Kerodo, after you configure WMP to not connect to
the internet for any reason it goes ahead and does it anyway.

So how did you configure it? Read the manual and did all the
configuration available in the Options menu _and the Group Policy
settings_ accordingly?

I don't want to spend the time going through each menu and detailing
each setting for you. But I am smart enough not to misconfigure WMP
and then complain about what it's doing

I have set that program up every time I installed Windows - dozens of
times, and it is always the same. It always tries to connect within
the hour, ostensibly for updates, after being configured not to.


I do know about some hidden settings, but none of them is related to
network connections.
Did you trigger something that is fully intended to create a network
connecting, like playing a MMS stream or DRM-fucked-up stuff?

Nope.


And keeps doing it every time you use it. But you wouldn't know that
because you don't believe in personal firewalls..er..packet filters or
whatever you call them.

But I do believe in netstat or GUI versions like TcpView. And they give
me clear indication that everything works like documented.

I will not make any efforts to prove it to you.

I'm always interested in details on how your setup is and what
communication you catched (preferably using a network sniffer). Usually
it turns out to be some fully documented option that, if used correctly,
does not create a connection any more.

And if you choose to remain ignorant about WMP, I don't care.

I wouldn't call trying to reproduce your findings as ignorance.

Probably the biggest part of zonelab's business is selling statistics
of what people are doing with their computers. How do you think they
compile those statistics?

Through the statistics that it sends when the related options are turned
on by default and never turned off by clueless users?

Here is an interesting bit:

http://groups.google.com/group/dk.edb.sikkerhed/browse_thread/thread/b6f249ed5333774d/b9f7d112c935cbaf?lnk=st&q=zonealarm+spying&rnum=3&hl=en#b9f7d112c935cbaf

There is also an article somewhere that shows, from Zonelabs own
documentation, that Truevector is designed primarily as a reporting
tool to gather user behavior.

At one point a paid version came out that had a menu option which gave
the user the choice to opt out of information gathering. Whether that
setting actually worked or not is anybody's guess. The free version
did not have that option, neither did any version of Zonealarm prior
to that, although Zonelabs had been boasting of their data gathering
capability for years.

At this point I don't care. I haven't used Zonealarm for years. But
when I did use it, like the guy in the google thread above, I used a
second firewall to block Zonealarm from connecting out, which it tried
to do.

Rather than spend hours trying to figure out how to block these programs
from dialing out, it would seem best to just use other programs, no? I
have seen others do similar things and waste a tremendous amount of time
and energy on this. There are Media Player alternatives, mostly free,
and there is no shortage of firewalls also. So IMO, if you don't trust
the product you're using, then don't use it. Simple enough. :)

BTW, it doesn't take hours to figure out how to block these programs.
With most of the PFW products there is a "learning"mode. It says
something like "WMP is trying to connect to Microsoft, what do you
want to do? Block just this time, or Block always?" Click "Block
always." It writes a rule that you can modify if you wish. Done.

-Fishlips



"Delicious Fried"
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Trying to Figure out Whats OK and What to Block
    ... after you configure WMP to not connect to ... connecting, like playing a MMS stream or DRM-fucked-up stuff? ... documentation, that Truevector is designed primarily as a reporting ... I haven't used Zonealarm for years. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: Trying to Figure out Whats OK and What to Block
    ... after you configure WMP to not connect to ... connecting, like playing a MMS stream or DRM-fucked-up stuff? ... documentation, that Truevector is designed primarily as a reporting ... I haven't used Zonealarm for years. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: Trying to Figure out Whats OK and What to Block
    ... after you configure WMP to not connect to ... connecting, like playing a MMS stream or DRM-fucked-up stuff? ... documentation, that Truevector is designed primarily as a reporting ... I haven't used Zonealarm for years. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: Cannot connect
    ... WMP 10 with Window XP Home Edition SP2(Service Pack ... has a problem with connecting to the internet. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsmedia.player)
  • Re: Trying to Figure out Whats OK and What to Block
    ... after you configure WMP to not connect to ... connecting, like playing a MMS stream or DRM-fucked-up stuff? ... I haven't used Zonealarm for years. ... and there is no shortage of firewalls also. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)