Adobe Discovers Encryption, Cuts Back On Its eBook Snooping A Bit

from the drm-is-bad,-mmkay? dept

The whole DRM for ebooks effort is still pretty braindead all around. It's amazing to me that everyone hasn't realized what the music industry figured out years ago (after many earlier years of kicking and screaming): DRM doesn't help the creators or the copyright holders in the slightest. It pisses off end users and tends to help give platform providers a dominant position by creating lock-in with their users. Time and time again we see copyright holders demanding DRM, not realizing that this demand actually gives all the leverage to the platform provider. And, of course, there are all the technical problems with DRM, from making "purchased" content disappear once DRM servers are turned off, to making it more difficult to actually use legitimately authorized content, to the fact that DRM tends to lead to privacy and security problems as well.

A few weeks ago, Nate Hoffelder discovered that Adobe's ebook reader, Digital Editions 4, was spying on your ebooks, collecting a ton of information about them, and then uploading it all to Adobe's servers in an unencrypted format, potentially revealing a lot of information about users of the product. Adobe came out with a ridiculously mealy-mouthed response that clearly had been worked over by a crisis team PR person, when what it should have done is say, "Uh, we screwed up."

Now, a couple of weeks later, Adobe has quietly updated Digital Edition, complete with encryption... and with greatly reduced snooping. It no longer does anything on non-DRM'd ebooks, only contacting the server for DRM'd books (which, as explained, is a dumb idea, but...). So, Adobe has corrected the egregious errors of its original snooping (though, frankly, the company should also (1) apologize to the public and (2) thank Hoffelder for pointing out the company's crappy practices).

Hoffelder goes even further, arguing that what Adobe should really do is stop the data collection entirely:

This is less a case of a company screwing up in supporting users than it is one of a major tech company grabbing more user info than is required and then, when they are caught, trying to write it off with a “My bad” and a promise to add encryption.

That is entirely the wrong response. What they should have said was that they would stop the spying, not that they would make it more difficult for the world to listen in.

From all appearances, the real problem here is... DRM. Adobe's designed a DRM system that requires a server check-in to make it work. This is dumb for a variety of reasons, and also means that when -- inevitably -- the server goes away, those "purchased" works are likely to disappear as well.

Filed Under: digital editions, drm, ebooks, encryption
Companies: adobe

Is Adobe's Ebook Reader Spying On What You Read -- And What You Have On Your Computer?

from the and-sending-your-data-in-cleartext-too? dept

Ebooks have many advantages, but as Techdirt has reported in the past, there are dangers too, particularly in a world of devices routinely connected to the Net. Back in 2010, we wrote about how Amazon was remotely uploading information about the user notes and highlights you took on your Kindle. More recently, we reported on how a school was using electronic versions of textbooks to spy on students as they read them. Against that background, you would have thought by now that companies would be sensitive to these kinds of issues. But if Nate Hoffelder is right, there's a big privacy problem with Adobe's Digital Editions 4, its free ebook reading app. Here's what Hoffelder writes on his blog, The Digital Reader:

Adobe is tracking users in the app and uploading the data to their servers. (Adobe was contacted in advance of publication, but declined to respond.)

Specifically:

Adobe is gathering data on the ebooks that have been opened, which pages were read, and in what order. All of this data, including the title, publisher, and other metadata for the book is being sent to Adobe’s server in clear text.

Yes, not only is the app spying on you, but it is sending personal information unencrypted over the Net. And it seems that this is not just about the ebook you are currently reading:

Adobe isn't just tracking what users are doing in DE4; this app was also scanning my computer, gathering the metadata from all of the ebooks sitting on my hard disk, and uploading that data to Adobe’s servers.

These are all serious accusations, and completely unacceptable if confirmed. At the very least, an independent investigation by Ars Technica has now confirmed all of the important details, though Adobe has still stayed silent. However, this also highlights why many people prefer to use pirated editions without DRM, which can be read on any suitable software: not because they're free, but because they're better products in just about every way -- for example, in respecting your privacy.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and +glynmoody on Google+

Filed Under: digital editions, ebooks, spying, spyware
Companies: adobe