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View Full Version : Government Invasion or hogwash?



belgareth
10-07-2005, 08:31 AM
I am pretty sceptical of the following article but decided to let you make up

your own minds. My reason for my sceptisism is that I handle new laptops often as an authorized dealer and warranty

service station for several brands. This morning I even took the time to open a brand new machine in my stock to

check for such a device. There wasn't one. Other computer dealers in the area have said nothing to me about it

either and there has been nothing in any trade publication. I would expect something

somewhere.

Belgareth

Sunday, October 2, 2005 10:00

PM EDT



GOVERNMENT AND COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS CAUGHT

INSTALLING HARD-WIRED KEYSTROKE LOGGERS INTO ALL NEW LAPTOP COMPUTERS!
Devices capture everything you ever type, then can send it via your ethernet card to the Dept. of

Homeland Security without your knowledge, consent or a search warrant each time you log onto the

Internet!
Freedom Of Information Act Requests For Explanation

From DHS, refused.
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

dissasembly. But when I got the metal panels off, I saw a small white heatshink-wrapped package. Being ever-curious,

I sliced the heatshrink open. I found a little circuit board inside.
Being an EE (Electronic Engineer) by trade, this piqued 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, and 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 a computer manufacturer would put this in their

laptops can only be left up to your imagination. It would be very impractical to hand-anylze the logs, and very

CPU-intensive to do so on a computer for every person that purchased a laptop. Why are these keyloggers here? 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, and they told me to submit a Freedom of Information Act request.

This is what I got back:
Under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)

the only items exempt from public disclosure are items relating to "law enforcement tools and techniques" and "items

relating to national security."
The real life implications of this are

plain: Computer manufacturers appear to be cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security to make every person

who buys a new computer subject to immediate, unrestricted government recording of everything they do on those

computers! EVERYTHING!
This information can be sent to DHS, online,

without your knowledge or consent, without a search warrant or even probable cause! That's why this device is

hard-wired directly into the ethernet card, which communicates over the internet!
I am not certain how long this information will be permitted to remain online for all the world to see

before the government takes some type of action to attempt to have it removed from public view. I URGE you to take

copy of this page immediately and spread this information to everyone you know immediately! The more people who find

out about this, the more can protect themselves and raise a HUGE outcry to force government and computer

manufacturers to immediately CEASE installing these devices in new computers!

koolking1
10-07-2005, 11:05 AM
Hi Bel, this was a fast

moving urban legend already debunked and discredited.

belgareth
10-07-2005, 11:40 AM
Thanks. I suspected as much but

you never know.

NaughtieGirl
10-07-2005, 02:39 PM
Thanks. I

suspected as much but you never know.

Thank you for actually opening one up and checking! The proof is

in the pudding!

DrSmellThis
10-08-2005, 02:42 PM
That's one you'd hate to be

true. Reality is disturbing enough as it is.