We all use software everyday. Some of it you pay for, like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop, but much of it you don't. In fact, when I look at the software that I use everyday I find that the vast majority of it has no monetary cost. I use Firefox and Thunderbird for web and mail, Eclipse is my preferred development environment, Google and their apps fill all kinds of niches, iTunes handles my music, and Digsby cleans up my IM mess. You have to admit, we as users get a lot of value out of free software.
The problem comes when a users are not savvy about exactly what is going on with their computers. It's a simple fact, most users don't really have any idea the fulls scope of what most of this software does for them, on behalf of them, and *to* them.
Two recent examples.
Digsby is my unified IM client. It is available free of charge from their website, and allows me to use a single piece of software to manage all my IM accounts, as well as track Facebook and LinkedIn. It checks my email accounts and tells me when I have messages there as well. It's attractive, slick and works great. The problem comes from the fact that until recently, unless you knew where to look, Digsby was hijacking the computer and using it to do distributed processing work, for which Digsby was making money. This situation didn't hold for me, as I knew the setting was there and disabled it. Today, Digsby still offers this 'feature', but it now defaults to 'off'. This change was made after a huge outcry online, and is probably a case of closing the barn door after the horse has left. Digsby lost users over this, guaranteed.
When I booted up my computer a week ago, it prompted me to upgrade iTunes to Version 9. The Apple Software Update window told me updates were available for iTunes + Quicktime, as well as the iPhone Configuration Utility. But I don't have an iPhone. So I unchecked that box, and let the software go on it's merry way, updating iTunes. (That later caused drama as well, but it's unrelated to this post.)
Today, during my morning read, I discover that the iPhone Configuration Utility was not only completely unnecessary for just about everyone, but it actually installs an Apache Web Server on your PC, which is simply appalling to me. The software itself is probably useful for some - specifically System Admins on a corporate network integrating iPhones with their message systems - but a complete security risk for just about everyone else.
We put a lot of our lives into bits and bytes that we then store on our personal computers, as well as on online services. The number of people who are cognizant of the security and privacy issues is growing, but it still isn't high enough. Add to that mix companies who are, in effect, preying on this user ignorance and you have a serious problem that will only get worse. Do you believe that the trend of digitizing one's life is going to reverse? Me neither. And I'm also afraid that most people are going to maintain just the bare minimum of awareness and skills to protect themselves. Companies such as Digsby and Apple need to recognize this, and act accordingly. As the number of software options increase, the company with the best track record of privacy and security awareness will fare better in a crowded market.
More reading on the issue:
http://lifehacker.com/5336382/digsby-joins-the-dark-side-uses-your-pc-to-make-money
http://blogs.computerworld.com/14808/apple_shovelware_problems_again_iphone_configuration_utility
Tuesday, September 29
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