Richard Stallman: 'Ubuntu is spyware'

I'm not concerned about the details of what Ubantu says or doesn't say about what they reveal; I'm only concerned about the mindset.

Everything is getting monetized these days, especially privacy. If they need that revenue stream to grow their empire, so be it. I'll never live there.

A few years ago I decided to bite the bullet and learn enough Linux to migrate. I wanted to leave MS, Google, et al behind. I installed Mint and fooled around for a while. Then I connected to the internet. Without any action on my part, *Mint Pinged Google*; just reporting in, I guess.

I don't hate computers; I've had fun with a few programming courses. I just have other interests and needs beyond mastering various Linux builds in order to possibly find one that I'm sure can be private.

 

FWIW, some news about the next version of Canonical's home shopping OS. With even smarter "let us decide what you are trying to search for so you don't forget to see our partner ads" capabilities and in-Dash purchases powered by Ubuntu One.

Searching in the Dash in Ubuntu 13.04
http://blog.canonical.com/2012/12/07/searching-in-the-dash-in-ubuntu-13-04/

 

Leaving privacy concerns (which I think are valid) aside for the moment, "Canonical's home shopping OS" may be just the thing to take Linux mainstream

 

I think competition is essential and generally welcome greater exposures, use, advancement of GNU/Linux type OSs. However, when I say competition what I'm really thinking about is "competition that results in diversity of products/services so that it is easier for all consumers to end up with a solution that they truly like and which works well for them in practice". Since I believe in things like privacy, user control over their platform/data/information, open interoperability and availability, freedom to compute without being the product, etc and know that so many others do as well, I don't wish for there to be fewer/weaker options in those areas. Industry has been channeling the mainstream away from such things and we've already lost so much ground.

Would we really be better off if GNU/Linux achieves more widespread familiarity and use by building its own new canals in the same general direction? A somewhat different oasis is still an oasis and surely the same principles would evaporate along the way. More people may learn to build and easily navigate a GNU/Linux canal and thus one might stand a better chance of taking larger numbers of people on a course to a truly better place. Would they have the motivation and energy to do so though, or perhaps simply decide that a GNU/Linux oasis is a "good enough" alternative to Microsoft's or Apple's or Google's?

 

@TheWindBringeth

I love how you expressed that Building canals is a good metaphor.

But sadly enough, most people seem quite willing to trade privacy for convenience

 

Indeed it would seem so. In a way it doesn't matter why people do things as long as they do them. On the other hand, I think agreements/transactions take on more legitimacy as the participants' knowledge of the situation and potential consequences increases and as the willingness approaches true, purely voluntary, desire and satisfaction. I wonder how things would break down on an "informed, genuine willingness" scale.

 

Society as we know it would cease to exist

 

Hello forum,

I registered this account in order to make this post as there are errors in this thread. There is also incomplete information and I see noobs here being given advice which clearly does NOT come from first-hand experience.

FYI: I have used Xubuntu full-time for three years now and I am writing from PERSONAL DIRECT EXPERIENCE

Also, for the record, I discovered and remedied the following BEFORE reading Stallman's blog comments..

There is MUCH MORE to the problem than rms indicated in his article/has been indicated in this thread.

Earlier in this thread the opinion was expressed that the 'spyware' issues only apply to Ubuntu and not it's X*, L*, E*... brethren - this is categorically incorrect. There are multiple privacy issues with 12.* - not just the one referred to by rms.

This means that some serious privacy/security issues apply to ALL FLAVOURS OF UBUNTU 12.*

In addition to the Unity Desktop search issues referred to by rms - which obviously do not apply to users of the (superior) and increasingly popular XFCE, or Gnome (or many others besides):

ZEITGEIST

Sensing Xubuntu 12 to be laggy compared to 11, I looked in my System Monitor. There I saw three processes named 'Zeitgeist-*'.

From https://launchpad.net/zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is a service which logs the users's activities and events (files opened, websites visited, conversations held with other people, etc.) and makes relevant information available to other applications. It is able to establish relationships between items based on similarity and usage patterns.​

In layman's terms Zeitgeist logs all manner of file/software/communication activity and records it in a common database for any/all software to access. Of course this info does have legitimate uses. And of course there are legitimate reasons to refuse or protect that info.

Zeitgeist is new and by default Zeitgeist is on. As a long-term user I was NOT informed of the presence of this software let alone that it was silently logging all my activities. I feel that this crosses a line in terms of what 'free' and 'open' computing means to me as a user.

I personally am uncomfortable with such logs even existing as they represent a substantial pot of gold for hostile users/invaders of my machine and they serve me no personal benefit.

I use XFCE for efficiency and speed - it is lightning quick and I DO NOT want auto-tailored/custom searches, recent doc lists, system suggestions, background tasks etc etc.

If you DO NOT use the Unity Desktop you can simply nuke Zeitgeist from your machine. I use Xubuntu/XFCE and so have completely removed Zeitgeist:

Code:

sudo apt-get remove zeitgeist*

Zeitgeist's files are in the following directory:

Code:

~/.local/share/zeitgeist

Alternatively you can use 'Activity Log Manager' - a GUI for Zeitgeist to deactivate, tweak settings, delete logs, whitelist/blacklist etc - just look in your Software Centre

Zeitgeist help -

http://askubuntu.com/questions/45548/disabling-zeitgeist
http://askubuntu.com/questions/14721/where-does-zeitgeist-store-its-data

GEOCLUE


From https://launchpad.net/geoclue

Geoclue is a modular geoinformation service built on top of the D-Bus messaging system. The goal of the Geoclue project is to make creating location-aware applications as simple as possible.​

In plain English, GeoClue uses any and all means to work out your precise Geo location and makes that info available to whoever or whatever might ask for it.

Again, I exercise my individual right to privacy and my right to exlicitly OPT IN to such data, rather than be obliged to opt out of something whose presence and functionality I was simply not made aware of or asked about.

There are many legitimate uses for Geodata. There are also many legitimate reasons to opt out, unfriendly governments being high amongst them.

GeoClue can be removed from your system. The problem is that *Ubuntu tied GeoClue into the date/time applet. If you remove GeoClue you lose your ability to see the time on your desktop.

More simplistically, use System Monitor to Kill 'GeoClue' and 'geoip'

GeoClue help -

http://askubuntu.com/questions/142581/is-ubuntu-geoip-geoclue-used-for-tracking

More user help -

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2000108

At this point on the learning curve I realised that the best single option is to ABANDON *UBUNTU

There are many other distributions out there and any desktop you like from the *Ubuntus you will find elsewhere.

At the time of posting, this thread is on page 2 of a Google search for 'ubuntu spyware' and as a severely disgruntled soon-to-be-ex Xubuntu user, I hope as many people as possible find this information and decide to join me and

ABANDON *UBUNTU

It is fundamental to free and open computing that the user has TOTAL CONTROL of the system AT ALL TIMES. Transparency and user control are fundamentals that must be protected.

Being obliged to opt out of unannounced background services stinks of Micros***

http://betanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/no-to-ubuntu.png

 

Zeitgeist is a logging service, and it's there for programs to use. The only thing Zeitgeist logs by default is Gtk.RecentManager. It's a necessary service for a lot of functions.

All anyone has to do to control their privacy settings is type "Privacy" into Dash. They'll be met with the ability to disable Zeitgeist, limit it to specific applications, blacklist applications, etc.

If you disable zeitgeist you'll notice that your "Recent apps" in the Dash won't work properly/ at all.

Zeitgeist doesn't ever transfer your information online.

It's not a privacy issue.

Tell me how I'm somehow not in control of Ubuntu. Even if your criticism of Zeitgeist were legitimate I can easily disable it.

By your parameters rsyslog (which is used by Gentoo, by the way, the RMS choice of Linux) is spying on you because it's creating logs.

Again, you aren't being tracked. This is a service that applications opt into when they want to provide a location based service... like your clock, which is why it's tied into it (time zones?).

If you want to opt into things that have become basic functions for computers run Gentoo.

Using Ubuntu doesn't degrade freedom, and RMS should never be taken seriously.

 

I gotta say, Zeitgeist freaked me out when I ran Linux (I needed PD for FDE, and LUKS is like a beacon in the night, so back to TC/Win I went. I know, I know...). I was like "What the heck is all this past activity!? Damn, I should have named planstodominatetheworld.txt to something else!" You can still plan for an attacker to get full control of your machine and maintain some security with hidden containers (which Zeitgeist logged as well IIRC...the container was in the list). If they popped up a "Hey, welcome to Ubuntu. Want to help us out and let Amazon look for things you may want to buy", or "Hi, Zeitgeist can really help, can we keep a list of everything you open?" It would be better. As it is, you need to search and do work to turn it off. Things could be improved in that regard.

PD

 

Thanks for the info. So sad BTW.

 

Yes, isn't it very curious, that when it comes to privacy issues, most of the time, such "features" come as default instead of "opt-in"? And this in Linux! If i were to install Ubuntu, i wouldn't know what this thing is or that it existed. So why shove it down my throat with the excuse that i can disable it? I can't disable what i don't know it's there. Actually i would have NEVER imagined that such a "feature" exists in Linux.