Every time you update your software from the dialog box that automatically pops up while you are using a program, that software vendor collects information about you from your own computer then "phones home" to report your doings. Now a company has turned that capability into a product, selling their stealth code to software developers where it lies dormant until pirated, then reports in about the pirates whereabouts. Look for everybody's software to start reporting in about your activities. Make sure you are not using any "free" copies of software--big brother is watching. R.C.J.
Software vendors fed up with software piracy have responded by beefing up their licensing and activation procedures, only to have pirates crack their code again. A company called V.i. Laboratories Inc. is proposing a new approach called CodeArmor Intelligence, which embeds stealth algorithms inside programs that "phone home" with information about the unauthorized usage of software, including their Internet domain and even a company location on a Google map.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217600543
