Can amazon check the contents on my kindle touch?

[epubRay]

Originally Posted by l_macd

I think there are plenty of more considerable 'big brother' issues to be concerned about than the possibility of Amazon caring about what books you have on your Kindle.....

Sure, but if I'm not going to buy books them them, and I can update my firmware with ease, why open the door to them?

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by l_macd

I think there are plenty of more considerable 'big brother' issues to be concerned about than the possibility of Amazon caring about what books you have on your Kindle.....

I agree! Totally not worried about it. I love the convenience of getting books onto the device via Amazon's servers! I just bought a Sony T1, don't know if I will like it or not, due to this fact. I have become quite spoiled by Amazon!

[TimW]

Originally Posted by epubRay

Sure, but if I'm not going to buy books them them, and I can update my firmware with ease, why open the door to them?

If you're concerned about Amazon cracking open your Kindle like "PC Anywhere," I wouldn't worry about that. A Kindle is just a big flash drive with a screen...I'm fairly certain you have to have physical access to it to view any files. If you return a book, they are quite capable of "poofing" a Kindle book without viewing the contents.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by etzarfat

I was wondering whether amazon can delete/check the content on my kindle and if so can they delete it or block my kindle?

Yes, they can see what you have on your Kindle. In the *vast* majority of cases they do not care to look, but the hardware and software is there. So. If you work for NSA and you have received a "Top secret" file, do not load it on your Kindle. Just in case. I would also remove any sensitive work-related info from the Kindle before traveling to China.

Yes, they (the Amazon) can delete a book from your Kindle. Once they did delete a book 1984 by Goerge Orwel (talk about irony ;-) ) that they sold but didn't really have right to sell (it is even more complicated than that). There was very big backslash and they promised never, EVER do it again. They were also sued and lost a lot of money and even more goodwill in that unfortunate case.

Storing questionable files in their cloud isn't a good idea IMHO. Just like sending questionable file for automatic conversion through their servers.

So far, I am not aware of anybody having any problem with Amazon regarding their side-loaded books. And people load all kinds of stuff on their Kindles. Including purchased books with stripped DRM.

Am I paranoid? Well, perhaps.
But that does not mean that they do not have technical means to check your files.

Let's have a look at the
Amazon.com Kindle License Agreement and Terms of Use
at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200506200
Point 4, paragraph 3

Information Received. The Software will provide Amazon with data about your Kindle and its interaction with the Service (such as available memory, up-time, log files, and signal strength). The Software will also provide Amazon with information related to the Digital Content on your Kindle and Other Devices and your use of it (such as last page read and content archiving). Annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar markings you make using your Kindle or Reading Application and other information you provide may be stored on servers that are located outside the country in which you live. Any information we receive is subject to the Amazon.com privacy notice located at www.amazon.com/privacy.

Emphasis mine.

[jbcohen]

One of the hats I wear in the real world is a Information Security Officer and what my pals in hte area have told me is it depends on the configuration of your firewall. If your firewall allows amazon's data to be streamed back to them of course they can inventory your kindle. However I have configured my firewall with strict rules on who is allowed to initate outbound communications and the list of them is very short: the web browser, email and my internet security software. Amazon is not allowed to do an outbound communications and they can't tell. Then there is the other question - there are millions of kindle out there with millions ofbooks on them to colate and make sense of the data is a rather dawnting task and would probably take all of Amazon's computing resources to process, leaving nothing left over for selling things. I don't think amazon wants to know whats on your kindle, it would be beyond the computing powers of their servers to find out.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

One of the hats I wear in the real world is a Information Security Officer and what my pals in hte area have told me is it depends on the configuration of your firewall.[...] Amazon is not allowed to do an outbound communications and they can't tell.

Your pals will also no doubt confirm that there are no guarantees there, especially considering that the Kindle is a portable, wireless devices, and may one day find it self connected to a network other than your own.

Best solution, as said before, is don't put put anything on it you'd have a problem with them knowing about.
The only sure technical solution is to disable the communication features (preferable by removing the radio hardware, never connect it to another computer, never let any body else use it, and, as the old bit goes, remove the battery and bury the device in cement. :-)

[kacir]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

it depends on the configuration of your firewall. If your firewall allows amazon's data to be streamed back to them of course they can inventory your kindle. However I have configured my firewall with strict rules on who is allowed to initate outbound communications and the list of them is very short: the web browser, email and my internet security software. Amazon is not allowed to do an outbound communications and they can't tell.

So you can't browse net on your Kindle or shop for books from Kindle, right?
You could just switch off the WiFi and no special firewall would be needed.

If you can browse from Kindle, if you can receive documents sent by email to Kindle then Kindle can call home.

[jbcohen]

Good point kcair, I have got to check on the configuration of the firewall and see if the kindle is allowed out. That would effect things wouldn't it.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Good point kcair, I have got to check on the configuration of the firewall and see if the kindle is allowed out. That would effect things wouldn't it.

I figure it this way, if you can shop at the kindle store on your Kindle then I'd wager that Amazon can access your Kindle, no?

[susan_cassidy]

The Kindle could easily send info back via http, if that port is open.

[JoHunt]

Originally Posted by ApK

Best solution, as said before, is don't put put anything on it you'd have a problem with them knowing about.

Amazon has no way of knowing how you acquired your non-Amazon books (by purchasing from other booksellers or otherwise), so I say there's nothing to worry about if/when the contents of your Kindle are transmitted to Amazon.

Besides they would be committing Kindlecide if they ever commented on the contents of anyone's Kindle.

[howyoudoin]

If anyone's concern is whether Amazon can detect any books on their device that shouldn't be there (come on guys, we all know what this thread is about ), I think they do have the capabilities to detect them, but they will never do anything about it. Their stance will always be that they do not concern themselves with the non-Amazon contents of their consumers' devices. The moment they snoop around and act on even a single illegal book on a kindle, the publishers will jump on them and demand that they expand their policing to all kindles out there. This is a headache Amazon can do without.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by howyoudoin

The moment they snoop around and act on even a single illegal book on a kindle, the publishers will jump on them and demand that they expand their policing to all kindles out there. This is a headache Amazon can do without.

Plus there would be an unprecedented shitstorm from angry users. Just look what backlash the 1984 incident caused and in that case the number of affected users was low and Amazon more or less legally defendable position.

[Clau]

Originally Posted by kacir

Yes, they can see what you have on your Kindle. In the *vast* majority of cases they do not care to look, but the hardware and software is there. So. If you work for NSA and you have received a "Top secret" file, do not load it on your Kindle. Just in case. I would also remove any sensitive work-related info from the Kindle before traveling to China.

Thank you! I was gonna ask about that. I was planning to use the Kindle to read some of the books and documents my clients send me but I wanted to be really sure about confidentiality.

By the way, I plan to use the Kindle to proofread documents and since I have to sign crazy NDAs on some of them, I'd like to protect myself. I just spoke with someone at Amazon and they told me that once a document uploaded via USB is deleted, it is deleted for good. But I'd like to double check if someone knows if a deleted file on a Kindle can be recovered with a software. For the record, I plan to turn off the WiFi while the file is on the Kindle.

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by Clau

... a document uploaded via USB is deleted, it is deleted for good. But I'd like to double check if someone knows if a deleted file on a Kindle can be recovered with a software. For the record, I plan to turn off the WiFi while the file is on the Kindle.

It probably can, because the file system is a normal FAT32 one. See the Wikipedia entry on undeletion.

To be on the safe side, use some program specifically designed for secure deletion. A quick search came up with this, however there are tons of alternatives.