Lies, Lies and Adobe Spies

[Chris]

Dan over at UneasySilence has found some interesting screens inside of the Adobe CS3 applications. He notes, "When you launch a CS3 application the application pings out to what looks like an IP address - and internal IP address: 192.168.112.2O7."

Now any tech geek knows that looks like an internal address and that Adobe has always monitored who is using their software on the network to make sure everything is legit. In fact I remember back to working at an elementary school in Brooklyn in the early days and getting buzzed about reg issues on the network.

But if you look closely at the IP address above, the 2O7 part looks weird - turns out it's not the number two-hundred-seven but it's actually two-letter-O-seven and that domain is owned by Web analytics firm Omniture. It seems so spyware-ish to make it look to the ordinary geek that it's an internal address. In fact, many of the very evil phishing scams use these type of urls (bankofamerica.com vs. bank0famerica.com, etc.). I am not suggesting that Adobe is doing anything wrong, but it just seems out of character for the very much loved graphics manufacturer.

More | Here

Update: Adobe Replies To Privacy Spy Concerns

Yesterday we wrote about Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) and their potential spying on CS3 customers. The questions were based on screenshots showing a domain "2o7.net" which is owned by tracking firm Omniture. The screenshot (posted below again) shows what appears to be an internal IP address which it's not. Why would Adobe try to hide the tracking with a fake IP address?

John Nack, Adobe Photoshop product manager has provided a reply to the privacy concerns. He mentions that Adobe is closed this week and so his reply is the best he could find out while everyone else is away. We appreciate the effort John, thank you.

More | Here

Adobe ate me baby!! Adobe's Response.

Every year around this time, the online community latches onto some story (CS3 icons last year; "Microsoft to buy Macromedia" before that; etc.) and goes nuts with speculation. The specualtion is all the more thrilling given that the affected companies are only lightly staffed right now, making it hard to provide a meaningful response.

This year it's "Lies, Lies, and Adobe Spies"--a story noting that some Adobe apps contact a Web address associated with Web analytics company Omniture. The story is getting echoed & amplified on Valleywag ("You're not the only one watching what you do in Adobe Creative Suite 3... Adobe is watching you, too"), CenterNetworks ("I am not suggesting that Adobe is doing anything wrong..." but then "Shame on Adobe, shame"), Daring Fireball ("Assuming this is true, it’s a disgrace, whatever the actual reason for the connections" [emphasis added]), and I'm sure elsewhere.

Whoa, Nellie.

More | Here

Lies, Lies and Adobe Spies

Yes, I am a tin foil hat guy. The sky is falling, the NSA is listening and Adobe is watching how many times you open your programs. Okay, the first two can’t be PROVEN but I can show you that Adobe is spying on users application habits.

When you launch a CS3 application the application pings out to what looks like an IP address - and internal IP address: 192.168.112.2O7.

That makes sense, right? Adobe wants to be sure you aren’t running multiple copies of their programs…. Wait something is wrong here.

More | Here

[Mike567]

Thanks, domain is now blocked :D.

I cannot believe adobe would do something like that though, so cheeky!!

[D4\/!d]

Thanks, domain is now blocked :D

Mike, how do you block a domain

[Mike567]

use the powerful host file http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_file