Adobe DE 4 spies on users

[fjtorres]

Over at the Digital Reader Blog Nate reports:

My source told me, and I can confirm, that Adobe is tracking users in the app and uploading the data to their servers. (Adobe was contacted in advance of publication, but declined to respond.)

And just to be clear, I have seen this happen, and I can also tell you that Benjamin Daniel Mussler, the security researcher who found the security hole on Amazon.com, has also tested this at my request and saw it with his own eyes.

Adobe is gathering data on the ebooks that have been opened, which pages were read, and in what order. All of this data, including the title, publisher, and other metadata for the book is being sent to Adobe’s server in clear text.

I am not joking; Adobe is not only logging what users are doing, they’re also sending those logs to their servers in such a way that anyone running one of the servers in between can listen in and know everything,

But wait, there’s more.

Adobe isn’t just tracking what users are doing in DE4; this app was also scanning my computer, gathering the metadata from all of the ebooks sitting on my hard disk, and uploading that data to Adobe’s servers.

In. Plain. Text.

More at the source:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/1...comment-660086

[barutanseijin]

Reprehensible & loathsome.

It's gotten to the point where i expect this sort of behaviour from info technology & communications firms. But is no less reprehensible or loathsome for being the new norm.

[cromag]

Well, that's a disappointing level of stupidity.

[bgalbrecht]

Sadly, all this means is that Adobe will continue to spy on the content of your computer, but they'll send it over a secured and encrypted session.

[mycurlylocks]

Wasn't Adobe scanning a user's computer including Calibre brought up in 2011? I believe the member was told he was wrong. I vaguely remember reading something about it on here.

More than likely he was correct and Adobe has been doing this for years.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

Wasn't Adobe scanning a user's computer including Calibre brought up in 2011? I believe the member was told he was wrong. I vaguely remember reading something about it on here.

More than likely he was correct and Adobe has been doing this for years.

I will go find a copy of Adobe DE 2 and doubl echeck.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

Wasn't Adobe scanning a user's computer including Calibre brought up in 2011? I believe the member was told he was wrong. I vaguely remember reading something about it on here.

More than likely he was correct and Adobe has been doing this for years.

Good memory.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=145284

So what we have here is an inert ebook that exists in my system only in Calibre.

And is being tracked by Adobe Digital Editions.

Why?

charleski (#5 in the other thread) believes that ADE is syncing annotations. the.Mtn.Man (#2) suggests ADE "probably has to make a catalog of what's already on the reader [Kobo] in order to avoid conflicts when transferring new books."

What syncing? ADE crashed the first time I plugged in my Kobo, and has crashed every single time, whether it is running when Kobo is plugged in or I try to boot it when Kobo is already plugged in, and this is also the case when no other ebook app, including Calibre, is running. There is no working relationship whatsoever between ADE and my Kobo.

But I have to use ADE. It has an exclusive role in getting public library ebooks via Overdrive. ADE has an exclusive role in downloading a good number of ebook purchases. I have no choice to have it on my PC. But I won't use it for elibrary management and can't use it with my Kobo for any function. I use the ever-evolving and useful Calibre to run my elibrary.

I ask this forum: Why is ADE poking around in a desktop and tracking all titles in a Calibre library? Not just on my computer: yours. And yours.

[Kumabjorn]

Doesn't this beg the question if it is time to legislate around this? How many have contacted their congressman or senator?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I will go find a copy of Adobe DE 2 and doubl echeck.

I would be interested to find out.

[linrey]

My only use for ADE is for digital library books. As far as I know, it's the only way to check out e-books from my local library.

Libraries have always cared a great deal about keeping their patrons' reading habits PRIVATE, fighting legal battles to keep it so.

This should really tick them off.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by linrey

My only use for ADE is for digital library books. As far as I know, it's the only way to check out e-books from my local library.

Try this:

http://app.overdrive.com/

Overdrive Media Console works on its own without ADE.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by linrey

My only use for ADE is for digital library books. As far as I know, it's the only way to check out e-books from my local library.

Libraries have always cared a great deal about keeping their patrons' reading habits PRIVATE, fighting legal battles to keep it so.

This should really tick them off.

Yep. I raised this point in my post.

[mycurlylocks]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Try this:

http://app.overdrive.com/

Overdrive Media Console works on its own without ADE.

Sorry for my ignorance, but when you use this app, you have to use your Adobe ID. So wouldn't the authorization allow Adobe to scan your computer?

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I will go find a copy of Adobe DE 2 and doubl echeck.

ADE2 sends some data but it's small enough that it could just be necessary authorizations. It's also obfuscated in such a way that I don't see any useful info.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

Sorry for my ignorance, but when you use this app, you have to use your Adobe ID. So wouldn't the authorization allow Adobe to scan your computer?

If you don't have an Adobe ID you can create one with an older version and then delete it. Or create it on a library PC.

Once you have the ID you can use just Overdrive.