Government And Computer Manufacturers Caught Installing Keystroke Loggers Into All New Laptops

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Government And Computer Manufacturers Caught Installing Keystroke Loggers Into All New Laptops

Aug 23, 2009 27 Comments ›› Pat Dollard

Device captures everything you type and sends it via your ethernet card to the Dept. of Homeland Security without your knowledge, consent or a search warrant – every time you log on to the internet!

I was opening up my almost brand new laptop, to replace a broken PCMCIA slot riser on the motherboard. As soon as I got the keyboard off, I noticed a small cable running from the keyboard connection underneath a piece of metal protecting the motherboard.

I figured “No Big Deal”, and continued with the disassembly. But when I got the metal panels off, I saw a small white heatshrink-wrapped package. Being ever curious, I sliced the heatshrink package open. I found a little circuit board inside.

Being an EE by trade, this peaked my curiosity considerably. On one side of the board, one Atmel AT45D041A four megabit Flash memory chip.

On the other side, one Microchip Technology PIC16F876 Programmable Interrupt Controller, along with a little Fairchild Semiconductor CD4066BCM quad bilateral switch.

Looking further, I saw that the other end of the cable was connected to the integrated ethernet board.

What could this mean? I called the manufacturer’s tech support about it. They said, and I quote, “The intregrated service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal information.” He then hung up.

A little more research, and I found that that board spliced in between the keyboard and the ethernet chip is little more than a Keyghost hardware keylogger.

The reasons why a computer manufacturer would put this into their laptops can only be left up to your imagination. It would be very impractical to hand-analyze the logs and very CPU-intensive to do so on a computer for every person that purchased a laptop. Why are the keyloggers there? I recently almost found out.

I called the police, as having a keylogger unknown to me in my laptop is a serious offense. They told me to call the Department of Homeland Security. At this point, I am in disbelief. Why would the DHS have a keylogger in my laptop? It was surreal.

So I called them. They told me to submit a “Freedom of Information Act” request.

This is what I got back:

Continue

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Trigger Control

I am going to have to call BS on this one, Having spent a lot of time in the computer arena, no manufacture would risk their stock plunging into the toilet when something like this would get out. The list of lawsuits would take them down. Did you notice there was not laptop manufacture mentioned in the article. The reason is that if they did they would be liable. I don’t trust our government at all, but this type thing will only come about when CommieObammie nationalized all industry.
March

It’s almost time for war ladies and gents.
MD_Vet

So where’s the ACLU on this …seriously

Do we have any lawyers in active to start a class action suit on this

It’s bad enough I have to run malware checks several times a day to keep this shit off my computer and now the govt. builds it in..who a thunk it.

I emailed everyone on my list the article and suggest everyone here does the same…this needs to go viral, just like the healthcare issue
Tyler520

I am calling shenanigans on this, too. It wreaks of bat-shit crazy, tin-foil hat wearing, Alex Jones style shitfuckery, which is further emphasized by the bat-shit crazy, tin foil hat wearing shitfuckery found on the author’s website.

The author doesn’t provide an ounce of objective, hard-hitting evidence – no names, no manufacturers, no companies…nothing.

Seriously, people, this shit will only hurt our cause
Andy

“shitfuckery”. I learned a new word today!

Previously I thought I only had the option of using “asshattery” or “douchebaggery”. :beer:

I concur with the declaration of Shenanigans. I would expect to know the manufacturer of the laptop.
DonnieB

Story has been out there since 2005, total hoax. It is done with sofware today!
Trigger Control

Holy Assholiery, I also have learned many new words this fine day! This stuff does hurt the cause folks, let’s get a little more objective with some hard facts.
Jim C.

FWIW, here’s the Snopes page on this.

http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/dellbug.asp
Barry Goldwater

Total hoax. They do not need anything this crude to intercept all your stuff.
dadeo

The author of that site definitely has some top notch moonbatshit kookery.
Steele

I looked up the data sheets for each one of these. If this configuration does exist, it is interesting that there is a controller, flash memory and a switch between the keyboard and the NIC.

What this article doesn’t say is exactly where this is off the keyboard or split off rather, I mean, you still have to have input from the keyboard. What would make MORE sense is the line from the keyboard to this “contraption” with two wires coming off of it, one to the NIC the other to the Motherboard.

If this configuration DOES exist (please note I did not say it does or doesn’t, I simply said if it DOES exist), why would one need a “mini brain”, “programmable memory” and a switch between the keyboard and the NIC when all the keyboard does is take input in the form of letters, numbers, and symbols?

Just thoughts to ponder…
VW2027

Ill have to agree w/you on this.
copperpeony

Well I know for a fact that DHS uses keyloggers on all their contractor’s employees, but I’m sure it’s done with software.

This is like bugged laptops used by the CIA or FBI. Who knows what is real and what isn’t now? In my humble opinion, snopes discredits many factual items, so I don’t find them a reliable source for anything.

I don’t put anything past this corrupt administration.
Political.fish

I saw something that looks just like that sticking out of my dog’s poop. He’s been looking at me funny lately. I think he might be an alien.
DC

Your BS call is spot on. Scroll down to the bottom of the linked page and tell me what you see!
Anyone who dabbles in that kind of crap has a screw loose!
DC

Well, that’s as believable as this story! :beer:
http://HBCIndy.com Dr. Jerry

Be careful what you hear or see. There are certainly those who wish to incite the right and not every story is true or accurate. But, at the same time, I do not trust those in power at all.
Mark in WA

LMFAO
copperpeony

Claim: Snopes.com are liberal idiots.

Status: True.

Snopes.com and TruthOrFiction.com are secret tools of the Democratic Party to promote Barack Obama – Truth!

http://snopes.us/
DJ

Has anyone else taken a laptop apart to find out if this situation exists on their own computer? Until then, maybe it’s true, maybe not, but anybody with any sense at all would do the research before name-calling (so demoncratic) and frankly, judging anybody by their profession (such as a “reader” being called “bat-shit crazy”) is just plain ignorant. I’d trust a “reader” before I’d trust a politician any day! Never-the-less, talk about it when you have some data to offer – and “Snopes” is out of the question as a reliable source of information as they have proven time and time again to be kool-aid drinking Obamanites. Certainly somebody knows somebody in the tech field who can clear this matter up with a little research, eh?
Buck O’Fama

HOAX ALERT! CHECKED THIS WITH A COMPUTER EXPERT

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/homeland%20security%20logger.htm
Ernest T. Bass

…I’m selling tin foil hats…made out of Reynolds(R)…not the bargain stuff. E-mail me with your size.
moriah

Dude counsels people who see UFO’s and is a pet “spirit guide…hmmm
Giorgi

yea, no need to hardwire this, now the whitehouse will get allyour web activity through cookies..although, one can always block the cookies on your comp, adn allow only those you trust (i mean your online banking account/user access/pasword or online shopping store, and pat dollard site ) firefox has that add-on that prevents the cookies.
also, remember the story way back with similar crap involving the Dell computers and their mysterious “silver box” that allegedly dumped all the files and websites that you worked on to the DHS..i mean they might require a HUGE db to store that much data. just to prove – if 300 million users will just start typing bla bla for several days in a row, for a whole day, their server will overheat and explode, together with the infrasturcture wires melting away
copperpeony

Geez, truthorfiction is an expert libtard site.
Cpl.Munk

I cannot remember the company that manufactures the servers but the government already plugged into the major internet hubs located in the major cities and has been data mining for several years now. The Bush administration got into all kinds of heat over it but as usual nothing was done. There is no need for internal systems when the government has already tapped directly into the internet streams years ago.
EL GONZO

Don’t worry, even if these ObamaShit A-Holes are reading your keystrokes, many of them probably will not understand proper English. Don’t use “Jive”, Urban or Spanish, and also words like “Freedom” Founding Father’s” and “Constitution” will seem like typos to them….. In reality, they really don’t need a “switch” all they have to do is control the providers at centralize locations. There are tools used in marketing for Behavioral Tracking that sort of does this function anyway. So….If the secret service is looking at my key strokes read this….”Arrest the Joker as soon as possible,you are protecting a Chicago-Style Thug Communist.” How’s that for reading my keystrokes Mr Obama????? Or Chavez??? Or whomever the joker rented the “Off-White House” this week for a sum.