[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: POINTCAST - Could it be a Trojan Horse?
On Wed, 20 Mar 1996, Bill Stewart wrote:
<snip>
> > There is a new web site http://www.pointcast.com which provides a
> > program file pcninstl.exe. You download pcninstl.exe and run the
> > program on your PC from Windows 95 or Windows 3.1
> >
> > PCN is a program that interfaces to the Internet using port 80 and
> > provides you customizable up-to-the minute downloads of news
> > headlines, stocks, customizable sports, customizable weather,
> > customizable financial, Internet access (HTTP only with this release)
> > and personal (horoscopes and lotteries).
IBM is also running such a service. It's called InfoMarket and it does
the same thing. You load the trojan, uh.., I mean "client," onto your
box, and then it listens to the channels for you and puts up on the
screen the tasty bits that you want. Of course, on a DOS box, it can
also put all sorts of other stuff onto your computer.
And, of course, after the "trial period" you'll be charged to dine at
their info-trough.
( InfoMarket bullshit is at http://www.infomkt.ibm.com/ )
> > Well, Maybe it is too good to be true. This program becomes a proxy
> > operator for you. Downloading, through your firewall, whatever it
> > decides should be downloaded, data, new executables, etc. What is to
> > prevent a hacker (or cracker if you like that term better) from
> > offering a similar product which captures you PC keystrokes and scans
> > your hard drive and uploads information, accesses your LAN or PC
> > functions, or destroys PC files and data.
Thanks for the suggestions. We'll add them to the list....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Liberty is truly dead |Mark Aldrich |
| when the slaves are willing |GRCI INFOSEC Engineering |
| to forge their own chains. |[email protected] |
| STOP THE CDA NOW! |[email protected] |
|_______________________________________________________________________|
|The author is PGP Empowered. Public key at: finger [email protected] |
| The opinions expressed herein are strictly those of the author |
| and my employer gets no credit for them whatsoever. |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------