Overcome Phorm with noise!
22nd May 2008 by David North
After all the toing and froing with Phorm and various opponents including the ICO it seems another solution is being made available to Internet users and it’s free!
Rather than blocking the Phorm cookie required by the service or even opting out it takes it to the next level of actually providing Phorm with completely erroronous data. Called AntiPhorm this software runs in the background and simulates natural web surfing activity but of course this isn’t want Phorm wants as it’s effectively feeding random data into their system!
So if Phorm decide to continue with their current opt out stance enough people installing this simple piece of software will be a decent spanner in their works.
If Phorm is listening sort yourself out and change over to opt in - people are only going to resent, sue or try and sabotage your attempts. You might even be surprised how many people sign up for Phorm if it really provides such well targetted adverts as you claim.
you might also be interested in gathering more information on this Deep Packet Interception and so take a look at this tool, in Pete’s words:
Dephormation Pete the writer, is a Cable forum member, and as he says, “it’s a fig leaf”, so dont rely on it.
YOU need to understand the operation and the real implications involved in opting-in or not opting-out as it were, so read the information iv linked for your better understanding (or not, and stay ignorant of the facts as many sheeple do these days etc).
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/34554936-post6796.html
DePhormation said:
“Hello all,
I’d appreciate your feedback on a new version of Dephormation (v1.8)
This prerelease version adds experimental Nebuad suppression (based on Mel’s analysis of the faireagle a/b cookies on ISP review).
I’ve also added in this version a detailed browser state logging feature that reveals redirects used by these systems to create cross domain cookies, without needing a proxy server. (Click on tools/error console, and click the ‘i messages’ button to see a full log of browser state changes).
….
”
regarding Phorm and the phormettes NebuAd etc, they are cleary saying there IS A VALUE TO YOUR auto copyrighted DATSTREAM and the website owners copyrighted web pages, but they are not signing a contract or agreeing terms to pay you for this valuble data or its derivative work’s.
are YOU saying your happy to loss that new cash income and are willing to give it to any 3rd party that wants to take it?
do nothing and your activly helping these unlawful interceptors to profit from YOUR personal data…
——————–
and this update is most welcome for those NebuAd Phormettes that are looking to collect data for any interception and/or cookie redirects etc.
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/12/33628733-virgin-media-phorm-webwise-adverts-updated-page-465.html#post34557239
“Re: Virgin Media Phorm Webwise Adverts [Updated: See Post No. 1, 77, 102 & 797]
——————————————————————————–
X-posted from Badphorm
Hello all,
pleased to announce a new prerelease version of Dephormation is available to download.
It includes a significant new feature, developed by Narcosis, that records evidence of redirects by Phorm (or Nebuad) to a log file. This data could be used to support Fraud/Computer Misuse/RIPA complaints, or simply for technical analysis of DPI systems like Phorm and Nebuad. (I’ve checked every contributed line of code, and found only pure genius).
I’ve tested this on Windows XP/FF2, and Linux/FF1.5. Narcosis has tried it on a Mac.
http://www.dephormation.org.uk/prere…phormation.xpi
Please feel free to give it a try (and revert back to the current public v1.6 if you encounter problems).
Please note, with logging enabled, there is a trivial but discernable performance hit. The code probably needs some file handling optimisation. I’d suggest keeping the feature off, unless you suspect you are being redirected and want to capture a log.
On Windows, the log file is best viewed in Wordpad, not Notepad (due to carriage return/line feed layout issues).
PS… forgot to mention, the options can be accessed from the new Tools/Dephormation… menu item.
regards
Pete
__________________
BT/Virgin/TalkTalk customers - you don’t need Webwise and Phorm, pure and simple.
Find a Phorm Free ISP. Phorm must be stopped.
Download Dephormation for Firefox
“
— Posted by popper
also on a related matter your reader might not have realised this point.
again to help clarify and focus your Phorm and the Phormettes NebuAd learning curve and plans of attack that we have learned in the UK CableForum longest Phorm thread and full of end users activists and coders,webmasters,DePhormation Pete being a memeber, etc. http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/12/33628733-virgin-media-phorm-webwise-adverts-updated.html
and my post from /.
“Would, say, injecting a layer over the site (and placed above the site, much like Google does when you are searching for Images) really be copyright infringement though? Stealing advertising, maybe.”
the point your all missing or Obfuscate on purpose! (including Irish_Samurai)so far, is that the advert placements or even viewing/blocking them,
is secondary to all this real ‘copyright infringement’ and ‘unauthorised derivative work’ for commercual profit.
a commercial ‘unauthorised derivative work’ for profit IS a criminal offence in the UK/EU and i assume the US! and canada?
it is blatant “COMMERCIAL PIRACY FOR PROFIT”, end of story.
even without considering any copyright notice on a website, or all the ‘not for commercial use’ type notices, as is found on a LOT of sites today, not to mention the newest trend of forbiding Phorm or the Phormettes/other DPI dirivatives we (cableforum)in the UK have been advocating for all non signed up sites to include.
they the (ISP’s)2nd party ARE making this ‘unauthorised derivative work’ from BOTH the auto copyrighted consumers (1st partys)datastream AND the Auto copyrighted website content owners original work.
from this ‘unauthorised derivative work’ they (the 2nd party ISP’s or the 3rd partys Phorm/NebuAd etc) are selling this unauthorised data for profit to the 4th party ad network or ad customer in this case, well outside any ‘mere conduit’ in UK/EU legal terms, or ‘common carrier’ i think you call it in the US legal terms, and so not covered by any legal protections in that regard.
if as Irish_Samurai states, he’s putting the case of the ISPs that they will try to use ‘an agent for the users’, then they better find a far better defence as it cant possibly be defended against with this in effect ‘comercial piracy for profit’ ‘unauthorised derivative work’ .
as far as im concerned, even the crazy US courts dont allow any ‘unlawful clause’ inside a consumer T&C Contract to become ‘enforcable’ when its clearly not legal as in forcing one of the partys to break other clear cut laws.
any unlawful clause IS UNENFORCABLE, even if the rest of a contract is still deemed valid by a court, and while it might be the case in the US that you dont have stronger laws that the courts always favour the consumer position when ruling in explicit T&C consumer contracts, even the US courts must uphold unreasonable T&C consumer contract clauses as invalid and unenforceable in so called “good faith” legal terms…. do they?
what of the canadian courts, or the Oz for that matter?, remember people this interception for profit is far bigger than your corner of the world…..
you and your readers might also be (web)wise to read Richard Clayton’s Phorm report to get a good understanding of how it works.
ill also point out that it appears NebuAd is using virtually the exact same kit and operation (with a few tweaks here and there,tracking IP address alongside cookies etc) so read Richard Clayton posts and get informed.
http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2008/05/18/twisty-little-passages-all-alike/
http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/
— Posted by popper