said by michieru:The correct term is spyware
That's about as close as anyone will get. "The 17-minute video sparked a firestorm not only because it alleged the software logged numerous details about users' activities, but also because it did so without their knowledge".. So if it's not a keylogger or spyware people, then what is it REALLY?
Ok, sticking my neck out and I'm sure some of you will take a whack at it
, having worked for Sprint for 10 years as a switch tech in one of their central offices (no longer there or with Sprint
), they do not, again, they DO NOT need this kind of installed software to check network performance. Any Sprint network operations person, any ATT or Verizon network person, who says otherwise, is full of crap. Having spent those 10 years as a switch tech, we have "built in" metrics/software IN THE SWITCH (Nortel, Lucent) that tracks network usage and problems. If you dropped a call for example, it is logged in the system logs. If enough drop, alarms are sent to the switch, a ticket will be generated or a switch tech will see a cell in trouble and take a look at it. Every call that hits the network even tells what digits you dialed the trunkgroup it handed the call off too. It will tell you what BSS, what tower, what node/antenna, what trunk group, all the way down to the member number of that trunkgroup itself. It could even tell the difference from fading out, to network congestion problems (if it was getting overloaded with calls, it would show alarms in the switch for that tower/T1). All this and without having to know what sites you visited, passwords, any data at all or your keystrokes. Yes, the amount of data from the first bit to the last was counted but all the bytes in between, from the network reliability reasons, we didn't give a crap or captured. But it seems someone decided it was. Gotta wonder if someone else isn't pulling Sprints, AT&T and Verizons strings? FBI, NSA maybe? Carnivore as it use to be known, isn't as dead as people think.
I seem to recall that Carrier IQ has said the FBI approached them about this software. Oops, the smoking gun?
, having worked for Sprint for 10 years as a switch tech in one of their central offices (no longer there or with Sprint 
), they do not, again, they DO NOT need this kind of installed software to check network performance. Any Sprint network operations person, any ATT or Verizon network person, who says otherwise, is full of crap. Having spent those 10 years as a switch tech, we have "built in" metrics/software IN THE SWITCH (Nortel, Lucent) that tracks network usage and problems. If you dropped a call for example, it is logged in the system logs. If enough drop, alarms are sent to the switch, a ticket will be generated or a switch tech will see a cell in trouble and take a look at it. Every call that hits the network even tells what digits you dialed the trunkgroup it handed the call off too. It will tell you what BSS, what tower, what node/antenna, what trunk group, all the way down to the member number of that trunkgroup itself. It could even tell the difference from fading out, to network congestion problems (if it was getting overloaded with calls, it would show alarms in the switch for that tower/T1). All this and without having to know what sites you visited, passwords, any data at all or your keystrokes. Yes, the amount of data from the first bit to the last was counted but all the bytes in between, from the network reliability reasons, we didn't give a crap or captured. But it seems someone decided it was. Gotta wonder if someone else isn't pulling Sprints, AT&T and Verizons strings? FBI, NSA maybe? Carnivore as it use to be known, isn't as dead as people think. 
I seem to recall that Carrier IQ has said the FBI approached them about this software. Oops, the smoking gun?