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Zango - using Hak5 content to spread spyware to unsuspecting users...


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Posted

Hak5 forum users,

I am just passing this along from Chris Pirillo's blog.  Last night I was in Chris Pirillo's chat room on wyldryde. org  #Chris.  He was talking about a site called Zango. com.  Zango at first glance looks like your typical Youtube clone.

In fact it is not. . .  Once you are at the Zango website click on a video. .  They request you agree to a ELUA. . . ?? End User License Agreement. !! Why would you need such a thing? Spyware? .  How did I come to this conclusion. . .  Linux and Unix users are prompted to use IE 6 or Firefox on Windows. . .

Why would you need Windows??? Unix and Linux platforms can view flash videos just fine!!!!  Plus there are a ton of articles on the web about this company and there shady dealings on the web. 

So in a nut shell Zango is phishing users to there site. . .  Having them agree to this ELUA. . .  and slam them with spyware. . .  So they can make $$$

At the expense of  Hak5, live. pirillo. com, Ask a Ninja, ijustine, Justin. tv, Tikibar. tv and others. . . 

Digg this story:  hxxp: digg. com/security/Zango_is_Hijacking_Videos

Wirelesspacket

Posted

Well we all know it's spyware... but no need to boycott. If you don't secure your system, then you're screwed. And at whom's expense? nobody's except the people who got their computers screwed up and needed to pay for a technician to fix it. It's quite obviously a rant, but you do have a point... Zango is spyware and should be banned, but hey, nobody regulates the internet, so deal with it.

Posted

At the very least it violates the Creative Commons license for the show. They make money off hits to the page and advertisements, etc, so in a way, they are using it for Commercial use and profiiting from a free to download video available from Hak5 for free.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/

I would think their use of the files falls into Commercial Use, but I am no lawyer. If Darren and Wess put it on their site, it would be different, like how they upload to youtube, but why would anyone need to go to their site when they can get all the files from Hak5 for free?

They make you agree to their terms because they are going to serve you ads: http://adservices.zango.com/

Its not exactly spyware because you agree to be served with the ads, but yeah, its a sh*t site.

Posted
At the very least it violates the Creative Commons license for the show. They make money off hits to the page and advertisements, etc, so in a way, they are using it for Commercial use and profiiting from a free to download video available from Hak5 for free.

Explain to me the difference between Stage6 and these guys? Not the whole software/spyware thing, but the license breaking part. Doesn't Stage6 show you ads on the page? I doubt Hak.5 get any of that, yet the guys are cool with them hosting their DivX files (and for good reason).

They make you agree to their terms because they are going to serve you ads: http://adservices.zango.com/

On the page, on the player, or in the playing content (or all of the above)?

Its not exactly spyware because you agree to be served with the ads, but yeah, its a sh*t site.

Getting ads served to you by software is 'adware'. 'spyware' is software that's actually spying on you. A notable difference.

Posted

Stage6 has adverts?... And a company is trying to turn a buck by providing something "free" in return for installing adware? OMG!

But in all seriousness, bandwidth isn't free. It costs a shit load of money to provide streaming video (just ask google about the running costs of youtube). Just because its a CC media show it doesn't magically make it free to transport across the tube. As long as they make the whole ad-serving client deal transparent, then its a personal decision if you want to install it or not.

Posted
Explain to me the difference between Stage6 and these guys? Not the whole software/spyware thing, but the license breaking part. Doesn't Stage6 show you ads on the page? I doubt Hak.5 get any of that, yet the guys are cool with them hosting their DivX files (and for good reason).
I assume the guys upload the files to stage6? And they in effect give permission for them to serve the files. I thought Zango was allowing others to downlaod the files only after agreeing to be served ad content beased on their keywords and the advertisers(who in turn pay Zango). I don't know, it just seems like they are making a buck off the show, which to me is commercial use, as where Stage 6 is given permission to do whatever since Hak5 uploaded the files for viewers to download. The terms of the Creative Commons license state, share and share alike, but Zango is not sharing the files, they are feeding you ads through the use of their service to create revenue off of someones elses free product.

Question? Did they guys upload these files to Zango? That makes all the difference, in my opinion.

On the page, on the player, or in the playing content (or all of the above)?

From what I saw, you can't view them from the page. You are required to download their software or whatever.

Getting ads served to you by software is 'adware'. 'spyware' is software that's actually spying on you. A notable difference.
  I did notice however that my work Blocks the site in their filters as Spyware, so there is soemthing going on there. If I get redirected through work to one of the content filters it tells me the reason the site was blocked, so yeah, there is something not right about the site. As far as adware, I guess you could say they server adware since you agree to be served the ads, but if its being blocked as spyware, maybe they are doing something else behind the scenes that they do not disclose in the EULA. I am nto about to install anything to watch  what I get from the Hak5 site for free, so I can't tell you what it is doing at the moment, but maybe I will give it a spin in VMWare and test out what people are saying when I get home and have some free time.

In the meantime, check this out: http://www.aboutus.org/Zango.com

Posted

Out of interest, what do people think of veoh? They have a 45min limit on watching videos online, anything longer needs to be downloaded using the veoh client.

Posted
Because with content being presented on Zango's website like this:

http://zango.com/results.aspx?ct=0&search=hak5

users can click on it.. (required to download Zango software to view Hak.5 content)

Spyware... it forces you to download and install spyware... at the expense of Hak.5

Yeah............ stfu  :x

Spyware!!

ps. ask darren or weiss to stop these spyware craps

Posted
Out of interest, what do people think of veoh? They have a 45min limit on watching videos online, anything longer needs to be downloaded using the veoh client.

I watched Heros on Veoh, I think it was longer than 45 minutes.. unless that is a new thing.

Posted

ah there's a veoh player? Nice. Does it install spyware? Does it run in wine?

Sometimes links on the site don't work, do you users of their player get a slightly higher priority?

oh on the spyware thing...yea it's kinda shit to have your work being used to whore spyware, but still that's internet and freedom for ya. As long as it doesn't say "HAK.5 recommend gator, for that never alone while you surf safety!", then meh.

Posted

The veoh client appears to be a bit torrent client that downloads divx files, so far no spyware has shown up with it installed.

Posted
I can never play the dix from stage6 on my box. Annoying.

Install xvid codec and rename the .divx file to .avi ;)

Also, might have to force the fourcc to run as xvid and not as divx.

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