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Microsoft Makes the COFEE
by David Brant
http://www.groundreport.com/Media_and_Tech/Microsoft-Makes-the-COFEE
We now know as of yesterday that, since June of 2007, law enforcement agencies have been making use of a computer security-bypassing piece of hardware made by Microsoft called COFEE (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor).
The USB thumb drive contains 150 Microsoft programmed special commands to allow the user to decrypt passwords, recover all of the computer's data stores, and read a complete log of the computer's Internet activities. It works on-site with any Windows-loaded computer, including PDAs.
Microsoft's General Counsel Brad Smith described COFEE yesterday as being new technology developed to aid law enforcement in this new age of “new digital cities” online.
Microsoft gives law enforcement authorities the COFEE for free. So far, over 2000 agents in 15 different nations across the globe, including Interpol, are using COFEE.
The revelation has some feeling uneasy, and asking themselves the question: "If MS can write a tool that bypasses all of that pesky Windows security, how long will it take before someone else does, too?"
However, computer experts are already saying that the only thing new about COFEE is that now those who are not computer code or hardware and software experts can do what those have already been able to do for quite some time, and do it faster and more conveniently.
Smith told a gathering of law enforcement agencies in Redmond, Washington yesterday that online publishers who see huge financial opportunities in advertising to the fervently churning Internet online community and thus permit people to participate anonymously, such as with Google AdWords and AdSense, are also permitting "criminals to infiltrate the community, become part of the conversation. and persuade people to part with personal information...[Also], criminals seek to win a child's confidence in cyberspace and meet in real space."
Microsoft has been acting to meet law enforcement wishes for better, faster methods of fighting cybercrimes since at least 2005, as more and more crimes get committed in the digital world in parallel with increased socializing, commerce, researching, and banking online. Phishing, fake IDs, and bots roam the cyberworld and law enforcement insists that it must be able to keep pace without needing to hire masses of computer hacking experts or rely on comfiscating every suspected computer and taking it back to a central lab.
Microsoft invests millions of dollars annually into its law enforcement aiding efforts.
"It's in Microsoft's interest for people to have a safe and healthy computing experience. This is a part of our broader corporate citizenship," says Aaron Kornblum, a senior attorney with Microsoft's Internet Safety Enforcement division.
(\\__/) And if you don't believe The sun will rise
(='.'=) Stand alone and greet The coming night
(")_(") In the last remaining light. (C. Cornell)
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Dear E J,
Every time I read something like this I feel guilty that I haven't sorted myself out and installed a version of Linux.
The problem is that it is so easy to continue with MS and there are so many programs (that I want to use) that don't have simple counterparts that will run under Linux.
But it is the whole ethos of the computer business that is wrong in my view. It ought to have the objective of putting the user in charge. Instead everything is sold as making it easy and the programmers assume that they know best waht it is that users (should) want. If you are a user who does know what he wants you are out on a limb with no-one to support you. And even Linux requires one to know so much that most ordinary people can't spend the time required to learn it.
And so, because they are sold it as 'easy' everyone does critical calculations with spreadsheets and trusts the answers yet most spreadsheets contain errors that are never spotted because nobody ever does adequate checks on them.
Love,
Anthony
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Anthony said,
>The problem is that it is so easy to continue with MS and there are so many programs (that I want to use) that don't have simple counterparts that will run under Linux.
If you're happier with MS, then I'd recommend staying with it until you're convinced it's better to switch over. In the meantime, the best way to sample Linux would be to try installing it on an old or cheap machine -- learn how it works, learn the equivalent programs and commands, make sure it's right for you. Only then switch. Otherwise many people become overwhelmed very quickly, switch back to Windows, and never dare to try anything else again.
>But it is the whole ethos of the computer business that is wrong in my view. It ought to have the objective of putting the user in charge. Instead everything is sold as making it easy and the programmers assume that they know best waht it is that users (should) want. If you are a user who does know what he wants you are out on a limb with no-one to support you. And even Linux requires one to know so much that most ordinary people can't spend the time required to learn it.
There's a fundamental conflict there: if (like under Linux, or at least old-fashioned Linux) you give the user a wealth of choice (putting them in charge), then most people don't know which option to choose ... so very frequently they choose the wrong one, and can't work out why it doesn't work. That's hardly better. If you don't give people as many options, there's a greater chance they'll be able to work it out on their own (and won't be so frustrated). I have to say, Microsoft products do generally let advanced users do what they want ... but they hide away the options so they aren't obvious to less advanced users.
You're absolutely right about Linux ... historically, it has provided such a wealth of options that the learning curve is huge. That's the alternative -- cryptic but powerful, rather than easy-to-use and simple. That said, I constantly hear good things about modern Linux distributions like Ubuntu, which are very easy to install and use.
If you want something in the middle ground, you could try getting a Mac. They have an easy-to-use interface, but they are also based on UNIX (of which GNU/Linux is a clone), so underneath they are very similar. They also run most major commercial applications.
>If you are a user who does know what he wants you are out on a limb with no-one to support you.
I'm a user who knows what he wants, and I can always find people to support me. (Microsoft actually has very good documentation, if you know where to find it. Linux has reasonable documentation, and there are many, many places to go for support. Actually, I make a living supporting Linux and Windows Server operating systems ... if you don't know where to go to find an answer, you could always ask me.)
Getting back to the original post -- it doesn't exactly worry me that Microsoft have tools that let people track what you've been doing with your computer. The data is there, on the computer, regardless of the operating system (unless you switch off all logging and caching, virtually impossible, or wipe the hard disk every time you use it, or know precisely which logs to clean, again, almost impossible on a modern OS) so law enforcement officials can access it anyway -- it's just, perhaps, a bit easier for them to get what they need with Microsoft products. These tools are designed for use by someone with physical access to your computer; the assumption should always be that if someone has physical access to a machine, they can access anything on it anyway. Passwords aren't much use if you can just mount a disk in another machine and copy the data off. The exception is if the data is encrypted, but there are many potential points of failure and you can't always assume it's entirely unbreakable, particularly for cheap closed-source consumer encryption solutions.
David
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Trust me
my comp got attacked by a memory virus on friday
i wont be able to fix anything till tuesday when the recovery disks come from the company
using a library comp right now
HUGGS
Jordy
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Wow, Deej,
Thank you very much. I didn't expect a free lesson.
You know I used to be a computer professional. I started my first programming job in 1958 when there were only eight computers at work in the UK. The pace of change has accelerated so much and the amount of knowledge one has to have to control and link modern software that I flounder.
Anyway, it was generous of you to reply so fully and please accept my late wishes for a happy year after your recent birthday.
Love,
Anthony
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And my friends looked down their noses at me with sneers of derision when I bought my first Mac in 1993. I'm still having the last laugh. Everyone in the house runs the Mac platform with very few problems.
Hugs,
Scott
Cycling is the one sport where a guy can shave his legs, wear spandex and bright colors, and be accepted.
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