Sears Online 'Community' Still Looks More Like Spyware Than A Community
from the let's-try-that-again dept
Last month we wrote about how Sears and K-mart's websites both were urging people to join a "community," but that community didn't seem like much of a community at all. Instead, it involved quietly installing Comscore's tracking software without telling the user, and then tracking all of their web usage. Following all of this, a VP from Sears responded to CA's original post on the subject trying to refute the claims. However, well-known spyware researcher Ben Edelman has now weighed in on the subject, checking out this "community" and finding plenty to dislike. As the initial report noted, it's not clear at all to users that they're installing Comscore's tracking app, and even the few notifications that mention it are somewhat unclear. Given that both Edelman and CA have pretty clearly documented what's happening, it's hard to see how Sears can claim that the company "goes to great lengths to describe the tracking aspect."
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SHC Community - redundant much?
It just looks dumb, though that seems to be the least of their problems with it...
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MEh...
At this point who even cares about craftsman? This dinosaur needs to fall into a tar-pit for this crap!
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SHC stand for Sears Holding Corporation, not Sears Holding Community.
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They deserve it!
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Sears Credit not Craftsman
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No spyware for me
Oh well, I will just take my money to Ace Hardware.
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The disclosure is not as Chuck Norris' Enemy Descr
The relevant disclosures appear at page 10 of a lengthy license agreement squeezed into a small scroll box -- with no section headings to help users find the disclosures, and with a heading and caption that nowhere suggest that any such disclosures lie within.
You're right that users are presented with an ActiveX prompt ("installation window") indicating that something is going to be installed. But nowhere are users properly told what the software is or what it will do. That's a rotten deal, and it's contrary to recent FTC cases that call for much better disclosure than is provided here.
If you're so inclined, you can look at the screenshots on my site.
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Re: SHC Community - redundant much?
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Re: They deserve it!
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Red Flag
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Re: The disclosure is not as Chuck Norris' Enemy D
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How and where the disclosure is hidden
You're right that the disclosure appears in the fourth paragraph of the email. To those who take the time to read that paragraph, it's apparent that software will "track ... online browsing." Nonetheless, this disclosure falls short. Why?
1) The disclosure appears midway through a paragraph. Would a reasonable user read this entire 582-word email? Every single sentence? Reasonable users rely on headings and topic sentences to help them find what's important. Here, the topic sentence affirmatively hinders comprehension: The topic sentence is about something else (not installing software). A user might reasonably glance at the top of the email and perhaps a few topic sentences, then press Join and continue onwards. Such a user would miss the only on-screen program description Sears shows during the insatllation sequence.
2) The disclosure is vague. The disclosure never quite says what the software does. "Track your online browsing" -- but where (at what sites), and when? That's important information users need to know in order to make an informed decision.
3) The decision is far removed from the actual installation executable. Quite a few more clicks are required between the disclosure and the installation. With multiple steps between the disclosure and the installation, it's hard for reasonable users to see the connection. Conversely, when the user is sitting at the ActiveX install screen, there's no information available (nor recently presented) about what is to be installed.
4) FTC rules require a better disclosure. FTC precedent requires "prominent" and "unavoidable" notice. Is a disclosure midway through a paragraph "prominent"? "Unavoidable"? No.
5) Sears itself promised better. Sears' email promises that "during the registration process, you'll learn more about this application software" -- but in fact no more on-screen information ever appears. In its subsequent public statements, Sears claims disclosure occurs "on the first signup page." It does not. Sears also claims that the installer provides "a progress bar that they [users] can abort." But the screenshots and video show that there is no abort or cancel button.
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Re: The disclosure is not as Chuck Norris' Enemy D
Here is the problem ...
Do not ever allow ActiveX to be "active", or you will pay the price. Yeah, I know - M$ requires it for their auto update. You can do that manually.
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Sears sucks.
I used to waltz over my lunch break and buy my kids shoes and clothes there, because they offer a 'Kidvantage program' where they will replace the shoes and clothes if they wear out before the child outgrows them. And they rarely did.
Now, Sears still offers the Kidvantage program for thier kids shoes and clothing (which are NOT the quality that they used to be, although the price has stayed the same), but they will not honor it. Their prices have gone up, and I know two mechanics that used to exclusively use the tools from there because of thier replacement garuantee, which they also no longer honor. And it's not like they stopped these programs. They still advertise these programs... They just don't honor them. And the worst part...? They no longer even pay thier bills with us.
Sears has gone way down hill and I no longer shop there. When my children receive clothes (as gifts) from there, they are promptly returned. My two mechanic friends now both shop with Snap-On and I'm a Penney's fan.
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Re: The disclosure is not as Chuck Norris' Enemy D
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