Ms Wmp Keylogger, Why?

randiroo76073 · Joined: Feb 15, 2003 Posts: 792

Was doing a reinstall, went to win update, dld & install Windows Media Player ver.9, MS tried to install a keylogger too[professional grade], talk about spyware, everyone of my alert prgms went off w/sirens screaming! What the F*** does MS think we are? stupids or what.
Here's 1 reply I got:
The Washington Post is reporting that:

"Microsoft's popular Media Player software is logging the songs and movies that customers play.

The company said it was changing its privacy statement to notify customers about the technology after inquiries from The Associated Press.

The system creates a list on each computer that could be a treasure for marketing companies, lawyers or others. Microsoft says it has no plans to sell the data collected by Media Player , which comes free with the Windows XP operating system."

Now what the F***, does MS think they're doing!

User: inactive Posts:

Well I for one am switching media players. Thanks. Smile

myob69 · Joined: May 10, 2003 Posts: 936

Oner of the reasons why I don't use WMP

tgal · Joined: Mar 05, 2005 Posts: 96

This article has some good open source alternatives if you have to use windows as an operating system.
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?s...tid=130&tid=132

randiroo76073 · Joined: Feb 15, 2003 Posts: 792

Thnx Tgal will ck out Smile

Am currently messing w/ Ubuntu trying to get away from MS, but am thick headed so it goes slow, have other linx OS's lined up Smile

goretsky · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:10 am Post subject:

Hello,

As I understand it, Microsoft Windows Media Player periodically connects to the Internet in order to update and install new codecs to improve its ability to play media files as well as to automatically populate the IDv3 tags of MP3 files, in order to help users more accurately identify them.

This is not a keylogger, which is a program which surreptitiously monitors input from the keyboard and stores the keystrokes in a file or sends them over a network connection to another computer.

Information on disabling these features can be found in several places, including this message thread as well as this one. Conversely, this message thread explains how to tell Windows Media Player which folders to monitor for new MP3 files so it can fill in the IDv3 tags for them.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

usasma · Joined: May 06, 2003 Posts: 5007

You can install a software firewall (if you don't have one already) and set it to "Ask" for WMP - then each time it tries to phone home you can allow or deny it.

randiroo76073 · Joined: Feb 15, 2003 Posts: 792

This is not the first time I've installed WMP 9, but this is the first time all the bells & whistles went off! MS added something & it set off alarms, wanted you to be aware of it. SpybotS&D tagged it spyware, CounterSpy[same as MS antispyware only better] tagged it as keylogger[pro grade] & Winpatrol just flagged as adding things. Do what you will w/ info.
USASMA, am running ZA & do restrict what prgm have access Smile

but right in the middle of install w/ a screen full of alerts is hardly the time to think about firewall Laughing

goretsky · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:49 am Post subject:

Hello,

Do you recall exactly what was reported by Spybot - Search & Destroy? I know that the problem looks at a lot of things which are potentially privacy violations but not necessarily spyware, such as MRU lists. Perhaps this was one of those situations?

I would be very surprised to find that Microsoft had repackaged an older version of an existing product and added spyware to it. I'm more inclined to think it is either some kind of overzealous report, like calling Alexa spyware, or a false positive alarm of some sort.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

ssilvi · Joined: Dec 05, 2002 Posts: 77

Not sure about WMP 9, but I'm using WMP 10 and none of my spyware/adware programs (Spybot S&D/AdAware/MS Antispyware) has ever found any spyware/adware/keyloggers related to WMP other than the MRU lists mentioned in the previous reply. The MRU lists are considered to be a negligible threat aand WMP can be configured to not save its MRU list.

tony7914 · Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 4965 Location: Peru Indiana

hi there,
i have WMP 10 on my system and haven't run into that problem yet (mostly because i don't use it much) i have noticed something new with windows xp pro sp 2 though... i have a copy of everest home addition and was looking at the properties for the installer and i noticed a new addition to the window called security. this wasn't there before the last round of updates (to the best of my knowledge) seems like MS is starting their "trusted computing" a little sooner than planed.
anyone else run into this yet? how about with "open source" programs? i noticed this isn't on other installers on my system.

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nlinecomputers · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:07 am Post subject:

I with Gortsky here. Both Adaware and Spybot have privacy items that they can list and remove. They can kill the lists of recently open files for example. Sounds like you got flagged on that and misread it. Easy to do with Spybot's clumsy interface. Or more unlikely you've got a virus on your system that is infecting files on your system and marking good files as bad. But I'd think your AV program would pick up on that before Ad-Aware and Spybot would. This sounds like a false positive to me.

User: inactive Posts:

With ZoneAlarm, for instance, installed on your PC, you will see that WMP has tried to access the internet. Just permanently SAY NO, and that will be the end of it. No use not using media player. It works great!

If in your MSCONFIG, you see that WMP is trying to run an updater,,,,just disable that function. End of Problem. It's easy to knock it down to do what it's supposed to do and leave you alone.

There are many programs like that,,,,,that just need to be whittled down to their basic functions. Shucks, in my own ZA permissions list, I have nearly a dozen programs that have tried to access the internet,,,,and I've permanently blocked that activity.

They can run, but they can't hide! Laughing

Ya'all have a Happy Easter!
The Shadow B)

randiroo76073 · Joined: Feb 15, 2003 Posts: 792

Wish y'all would read what I posted before you reply, I answered them in my last post[5 above this post], after that happened I scanned my puter up, down, sideways, online, offline, w/ every scan I know of[alot y'all probably don't know about] & they all were clean!!! Just take this as a FYI, & stick it in file 13.

Aryeh, sorry, I don't know exact mssg, but it was tagged as spyware, was kinda busy trying to stop install short of power off. Very Happy

Hate those E-stops

PS: What you see in my sig ain't half the security prgms I have available Very Happy

usasma · Joined: May 06, 2003 Posts: 5007

Hi tony7914!

Nope, don't have that on my system - even downloaded the Everest file to check. But I ran into a problem with IE today, on my son's system (I use FireFox). It blocked my downloads - so I told it to allow them. I suspect it's a part of the SP2 Security Center.

Bingo!!! I downloaded it using IE. IE blocked the download, and I told it to download anyway. And then got the stuff that you're describing on the file properties. Yep, it's definitely SP2 related - but it only affects IE, not FireFox!

tony7914 · Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 4965 Location: Peru Indiana

usasma,

it's really weird! i was going thru some of the programs i have stored on my computer and not all of them are like that. the installer for my PowerPoint viewer (got it from MS) gets the same thing.
i'm not sure what it's about as there is no help documentation that i have found on it yet but i do think it has to do with the Trusted Computing thing MS and others are going to.

goretsky · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:56 am Post subject:

Hello,

You may wish to contact Sunbelt Software and see if this could have been a false positive alarm from CounterSpy.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

randiroo76073 · Joined: Feb 15, 2003 Posts: 792

Thnx Aryeh, consider it done Smile

Will post if/when reply comes.