Media Player 8 is watching you (and your films)

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March 16th, 2002, 01:15 PM
Gbin@ryR

Media Player 8 is watching you (and your films)
Expert have discovered an action of Windows Media Player 8.0, when multimedia files are processing. This programme make files LOG where it saves details for CDs and DVDs the user have played or seen. Then it sends detail to a Microsoft's server (windowsmedia.com) by a cookie and with the detail the unique ID of every user, which is creating the first time the programme is launched.
With this action Microsoft get two information:
- the film's title and
- the Media's Player (user's) ID
Also Media Player creates a small database on the HDD of the PC, where it has all the information of the DVDs and CDs. The site where i read this say that this action of Microsoft has made a good question: "Why does the user need the details of his/her DVDs and CDs since he/she has already from the CDs' box?"
The things are getting worse, as Richard M.Smith (representer of the site ComputerBytesMan) said when some1 sings up on the Newsletter of Windows Media. Because the cookie writes down the e-mail address of the user and sends it to the server of M$. This mean that it only needs to run a movie on the PC and the programme sends the e-mail to the servers, where then M$ will update the data of the user.
There is a way to protect yourself from this spy thing of M$. Go to and deactivate the use of the ID from the options of Media Player or deactivate all the on-line actions of the programme.
March 16th, 2002, 02:23 PM
Kindred69

Well well what a suprise that M$ is spying on users. Thanks for the info, i use Media player alot.

Kindred69
March 16th, 2002, 02:46 PM
tsom1b

realplayer does same thing!
March 16th, 2002, 03:13 PM
valhallen

windoze as well as the vast majority of m$ progs are all spyware - internet prizacy is a thing of the past - either deal with it or yank your modem outta the wall :(

v_Ln
March 16th, 2002, 04:05 PM
Noia

It really buggz me when Companyes play "I spy with my little Spy-code; somthing that you don't wan't seen!"
The use of Spy progs and spy-code should be illigal....
Nice 2 know....tanx
March 16th, 2002, 04:10 PM
Gbin@ryR

Remember everything i've written is for Media Player 8.0, but maybe it'll be on old versions of Media Player too.
March 16th, 2002, 04:36 PM
chsh

This is rather old news -- it was passed through bugtraq a couple of weeks ago.

I'd like to remind people that if you wanna really stay informed, securityfocus' mailing lists are the best way to go.
March 16th, 2002, 07:37 PM
Maverick811

Quote:

Originally posted here by chsh
This is rather old news -- it was passed through bugtraq a couple of weeks ago.

Agreed - I posted on this back in February, check the thread out here:

http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=219740
March 16th, 2002, 07:53 PM
cwk9

Yet another reason to use Linux for all my multi media stuff.
March 17th, 2002, 04:09 AM
ArmyOfOne

*sighs* Microsoft never quits... why would they want this info? I mean they say it's to help for better programs. what a croc of ****. I am so tired of MS but have to use it for Photoshop and Dreamweaver :\ ... not actually dreamweaver but I like it.... I've played with GIMP and there's just too many features Photoshop has...
March 17th, 2002, 06:51 AM
King of CaveMen

I wonder why the ad-aware didn't pick up on this. But whats the harm in them doing it? You dont wan't them to do it, dont use the products. Or pay "Real" money and they will give you one. But I much prefer a free one.
March 17th, 2002, 10:11 AM
Gbin@ryR

Quote:

Originally posted here by ArmyOfOne
*sighs* Microsoft never quits... why would they want this info? I mean they say it's to help for better programs. what a croc of ****. I am so tired of MS but have to use it for Photoshop and Dreamweaver :\ ... not actually dreamweaver but I like it.... I've played with GIMP and there's just too many features Photoshop has...

Maybe with the CDs details they take also the register (S/N, version and generally things that tell them your real ID) to see if the CD-DVD is written or if it's not. Of course the experts haven't said everything they know.
March 17th, 2002, 10:26 AM
Tim_axe

They never say everything they know... Something is always held back for some reason or another... I never liked Media Player at all though, it was too slow and too colorful or something... I liked the older version without all of those oversize skins... It could play everything that the current version 8 can play (At least I think it could...), but I can't get it back... I might use it, but I use WinAmp now... I always go through the options and deselect and disable anything that deals with sending info up to a server..., and then I set my firewall up to do the same... How can they find out what I'm listening to / watching with it if I'm not using it, and it isn't telling them anything? (sorry if it's confusing...) Oh well... I never really liked it to begin with... Should of known they were up to something when they disabled saving files...

-Tim_axe
March 17th, 2002, 11:20 AM
Gbin@ryR

Good for you using WinAmp
March 17th, 2002, 12:36 PM
shkuey

Quote:

Also Media Player creates a small database on the HDD of the PC, where it has all the information of the DVDs and CDs. The site where i read this say that this action of Microsoft has made a good question: "Why does the user need the details of his/her DVDs and CDs since he/she has already from the CDs' box?"

Media player keeps this database so that it doesn't have to index a CD or DVD more than once, otherwise you'd have to go through the thirty second index activity everytime you played anything.
March 18th, 2002, 02:36 PM
Gbin@ryR

Maybe the database has two uses.
March 18th, 2002, 02:46 PM
Vorlin

Well, it's nothing new to report that MS is/was/will be spying on its customers.

Use Radlight (http://www.radlight.net), it's smaller, faster, better than Quicktime/Windows Media Player/etc...

And btw, you misspelled "Launched" in your signature...if you're going to make something like 'CyberHell_Load', at least get everything right.
March 18th, 2002, 05:19 PM
jcmcb

I always use DivX for mac, I think its the best software I have used to far.
March 18th, 2002, 07:25 PM
freeOn

Just make your own media player it's not that hard, and you could even allow it to play the WIndows Media Format, I would also like to add that there is default option to download codec, I would unselect that just to make security tighter.

Tools ==>Options==>Player==> Uncheck Automatically Download Codec
March 19th, 2002, 05:30 PM
Gbin@ryR

Quote:

Originally posted here by Vorlin
Well, it's nothing new to report that MS is/was/will be spying on its customers.

Use Radlight (http://www.radlight.net), it's smaller, faster, better than Quicktime/Windows Media Player/etc...

And btw, you misspelled "Launched" in your signature...if you're going to make something like 'CyberHell_Load', at least get everything right.

________________
I corrected the mistake, thankz and u know to choose software, Radlight is good.
________________

Quote:

Just make your own media player it's not that hard, and you could even allow it to play the WIndows Media Format, I would also like to add that there is default option to download codec, I would unselect that just to make security tighter.

Tools ==>Options==>Player==> Uncheck Automatically Download Codec

________________
Personally, i don't have so good skills on programming, but i'm learning and for the security i have only one thing to say:

Quote:

Originaly said by Gbin@ryR Security protects you

________________
March 20th, 2002, 11:05 AM
Banana

evidence eliminator will kill those logs