They are also tracking your phones; Mobile "rootkit" maker tries to silence critical Android dev

[DainBramaged]

A data-logging software company is seeking to squash an Android developer’s critical research into its software that is secretly installed on millions of phones, but Trevor Eckhart is refusing to publicly apologize for his research and remove the company’s training manuals from his website.

Though the software is installed on millions of Android, BlackBerry, and Nokia phones, Carrier IQ was virtually unknown until the 25-year-old Eckhart analyzed its workings, recently revealing that the software secretly chronicles a user’s phone experience, from its apps, battery life and texts. Some carriers prevent users who actually find the software from controlling what information is sent.

Eckhart called the software a “rootkit,” a security term that refers to software installed at a low-level on a device, without a user’s consent or knowledge in order to secretly intercept the device’s workings. Malware such as keyloggers and trojans are two examples.

He also mirrored the Mountain View, Calif. company’s training manuals he’d found on Carrier IQ’s publicly available website. The manuals provide a limited roadmap for how Carrier IQ works, Eckhart said in a telephone interview.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/mobile-rootkit-maker-tries-to-silence-critical-android-dev-1.ars

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[Electric Monk]

1. I wish I was shocked, but I've been saying this was probably the case for years now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JaMBEIM0kM

[Electric Monk]

2. kick nt

[Wilms]

3. ^

[Downwinder]

4. Maybe Righthaven can represent Carrier IQ.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

5. Is there a way to find out if Carrier IQ is on your Android phone?

I'll have to search for that.

[AnnieBW]

6. Maybe they can improve my battery life

Hey, assholes... if you're spying on my Android phone, can you kick Samsung in the a** to have them make a smartphone whose battery life can be measured in more than hours?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

7. The battery life for my HTC Incredible 2 is not good at all.

If I use it to surf the web or take pictures it's dead within a few hours.

[JoeyT]

8. I wonder how much processing the programs use.

If you run a laptop WFO it significantly decreases charge duration.

This kind of crap may be one of the reasons cell phone battery life seems to get shorter and shorter.