[El Reg] Comscore (aka RelevantKnowledge - amongst others)

[MysteryFCM]

Oh dear ..... we knew they developed spyware, but not that they went this far - and now they've seemingly admitted it!

comScore tracks the online movements of more than two million people in 170 countries, including a million in the US. Thanks to its very own tracking software - sitting on end-user PCs from Japan to the UK - it sees not just Google ad clicks, but every other breed of internet usage, from audio and video streaming to secure web sessions. That's right, secure web sessions. If a user visits an online banking site or a health records site, comScore sees what the user sees - and it sees what the user types.

And it often knows the user's name. Even if multiple people use a machine - Bob, his wife Jane, and their daughter Sue, for instance - comScore can tell one from the other. You see, the company also tracks mouse movements and keystrokes, identifying the telltale habits of each user. Nine times out of ten, it doesn't just record that Christmas Amazon purchase. It records who made it.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/12 ... _comscore/

[addonsfan]

well, I must admit... that is pretty impressive.

[André]

I have to agree with addonsfan. It is very impressive. Now, just imagine what awesome, legit, programs the developers of this could come up with if they put their mind to it.

[WindRune]

It is impressive yet scary at the same time. What if that spyware inflicted your pc without your knowledge and you do online banking. On the other hand, it is good as well if you hate someone and use it to your advantage.

[AXEMAN]

Does anyone know how you get it i mean is it legit. Do you have to download it to get it.?????

[MysteryFCM]

It normally gets silently installed with other programs.