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<title>Potential Malware
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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<h2>Potential Malware</h2>
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<p>Nonfree (proprietary) software is very often malware (designed to
mistreat the user). Nonfree software is controlled by its developers,
which puts them in a position of power over the users; <a
href="/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">that is the
basic injustice</a>. The developers and manufacturers often exercise
that power to the detriment of the users they ought to serve.</p>
<p>This typically takes the form of malicious functionalities.</p>
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<p>This page describes malicious techniques that proprietary
software might use in the future for malicious purposes. We don't
have any evidence that they are in use yet.</p>
<div class="column-limit" id="potential-malware"></div>
<ul class="blurbs">
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<li id="M202107050">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-07</small>'
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<p><a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/05/advertisers-targeted-dream-incubation">
Advertising companies are experimenting to manipulate people's
minds</a>, and impose a new way of advertising by altering their
dreams. This “targeted dream incubation” would trigger
“refreshing dreams” of the product, according to the
companies.</p>
</li>
<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in potential-malware.html. -->
<li id="M201903280">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-03</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Car companies are coming up with a list of clever reasons why <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/business/autonomous-cars-technology-privacy.html">
they “have to” put cameras and microphones in the
car</a>.</p>
<p>BMW says its software does not store any driver-monitoring
information. If this means none of the data that come out of the
cameras and microphones can be seen by anyone else, the cameras and
microphones are not dangerous. But should we trust this claim?
The only way it can deserve rational trust is if the software is
free.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201903200">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-03</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Volvo plans to <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/20/volvo-to-install-cameras-in-new-cars-to-reduce-road-deaths">
install cameras inside cars</a> to monitor the driver for signs of
impairment that could cause an accident.</p>
<p>However, there is nothing to prevent these cameras from doing
other things, such as biometrically identifying the driver or
passengers, other than proprietary software which Volvo—or
various governments and criminals—could change at any time.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201903080">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-03</small>'
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<p>Malware installed into the processor in a hard drive could <a
href="https://yro.slashdot.org/story/19/03/08/1928257/hard-disks-can-be-turned-into-listening-devices-researchers-find">
use the disk itself as a microphone to detect speech</a>.</p>
<p>The article refers to the “Linux operating system” but
seems to mean <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux</a>. That
hack would not require changing Linux itself.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201902200">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-02</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Some portable surveillance
devices (“phones”) now have <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/20/samsung-galaxy-s10-launch-triple-cameras-ultrasonic-fingerprint-sensors-and-5g">
fingerprint sensors in the display</a>. Does that imply they could
take the fingerprint of anyone who operates the touch screen?</p>
</li>
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<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2017-12</small>'
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<p>Patent applications show that Google and Amazon are interested in <a
href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/privacy-technology/home-assistant-adopter-beware-google-amazon-digital-assistant-patents-reveal">
href="https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/privacy-technology/home-assistant-adopter-beware-google-amazon-digital-assistant-patents-reveal">
making “digital assistants” study people's activities to
learn all about them</a>.</p>
<p>AI programs would understand what people say to each other,
observe the clothing they wear and the objects they carry (including
the marketing messages on them), and use sound to track people's
activities, including in the toilet or in bed.</p>
<p>It should be illegal to have such a device in your apartment
without getting signed consent from the people that live in the other
apartments in the building.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201708160">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2017-08</small>'
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<p>Any device that has a microphone and a speaker could be <a
href="http://www.washington.edu/news/2017/08/16/computer-scientists-use-music-to-covertly-track-body-movements-activity/">turned
href="https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/08/16/computer-scientists-use-music-to-covertly-track-body-movements-activity/">turned
into a sonar system that would track the movements of people in the
same room or other rooms nearby</a>.</p>
</li>
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