Rented Computers Captured Customers Having Sex, F.T.C. Says ...

If you rented a computer, you probably should not have been blogging without your shirt on.

On Tuesday, seven computer rental companies agreed to a settlement with the federal government after it was discovered that they were unlawfully capturing photos of customers by using illicit software that controlled a computer?s webcam.

The Federal Trade Commission said?the seven companies involved had worked with?DesignerWare,?a Pennsylvania-based?software maker, to create a program that secretly captured ?webcam pictures of children, partially undressed individuals, and intimate activities at home.? This included people who while engaging in sexual?activities?in their homes were being recorded on their rental computers.

The webcam software, called PC Rental Agent, had been installed on approximately 420,000 computers worldwide, according to the F.T.C., and as of August 2011 it was being used by approximately 1,617 rent-to-own stores in the United States, Canada and Australia.

In a news release issued by the F.T.C.,?Jon Leibowitz, the agency?s chairman, said the software had also captured?consumers? private e-mails, bank account information and medical records. In some instances the software was able to capture Social Security numbers, medical records and doctor?s names. Most disturbing, the webcam captured pictures of children.

The reality that nearly half a million people were so intensely spied upon?without?their knowledge highlighted what some say is a need for more oversight by government?officials?for people who do not own their own computers. Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general, said: ?There is no justification for spying on customers. These tactics are offensive invasions of personal privacy.?

The settlement agreed upon by the F.T.C. will ban the rent-to-own companies from using monitoring software of any kind and prohibit the companies from tracking a user?s location without that person?s knowledge or consent. All of the stores involved are also?prohibited from using any of the information?collected?from the computers to collect outstanding debts.? The companies will also be monitored by the F.T.C. for the next 20 years.

The companies involved in the settlement include: Aspen Way Enterprises; the Watershed Development Corporation, which operates under the names Watershed and Aaron?s Sales & Lease Ownership; Showplace Rent-to-Own; J.A.G. Rents, operating under the name?ColorTyme; B. Stamper Enterprises,?which operated under the name Premier Rental Purchase; and?C.A.L.M. Ventures, which also operates under the public name Premier Rental Purchase.

Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/rented-computers-captured-customers-having-sex-f-t-c-says/

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