Big Brother Really Is Watching You

You may not know it yet, but Microsoft has thrown your privacy out the window in order to aid law enforcement. It has developed the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor AKA COFEE, a USB device that can extract information from your computer.

The device contains 150 commands that can dramatically cut the time it takes to gather digital evidence, which is becoming more important in real-world crime, as well as cybercrime. It can decrypt passwords and analyze a computer’s Internet activity, as well as data stored in the computer.

It also eliminates the need to seize a computer itself, which typically involves disconnecting from a network, turning off the power and potentially losing data. Instead, the investigator can scan for evidence on site.

Let’s set the obvious privacy concerns for a moment and allow me to tell you why I’m posting this here. If you’ve been a long time computer user, then you know that this isn’t the first time that security issues have been raised on Windows. For all its bells and whistles, Microsoft’s operating system has long had the dubious reputation of being difficult to secure. For example, World of Warcraft players live in constant fear of having their precious accounts hacked or keylogged through rogue software, resulting in the loss of months of playing time.

Serious security advocates have promoted abandoning Windows and jumping to Linux or Mac. Serious gamers, on the other hand, know that they have little choice. Windows is the primary gaming operating system and until that changes, all we can do is practice the utmost caution. This device may only add to the vulnerability that Windows users already feel.

Source: The Seattle Times

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