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View Full Version : Alabama Sheriff says ComputerCOP keylogger could have stopped Columbine




aGameOfThrones
10-04-2014, 11:34 PM
ComputerCOP Supercut


A county sheriff from Limestone, Alabama is sticking by his department's endorsement of ComputerCOP, a shady piece of software given to parents to monitor their kids online. Other law enforcement agencies, it appears, have followed that example. Earlier this week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation published an investigation into software called

In an article published by a local news outlet, County Sheriff Mike Blakely of Limestone, Alabama called the EFF an "ultra-liberal organization that is not in any way credible on this. They're more interested in protecting predators and pedophiles than in protecting our children."

He added, "There are some parents out in Columbine Colorado, if they had this kind of software, things would have turned out differently."

Blakely also told the news outlet, "We have had the key logger checked out with our IT people. They have run it on our computer system... There is no malware."

In a phone conversation with Ars on Friday, Sheriff Blakely referred us to the department's IT guys, whom he promised would return our call on Monday. Sheriff Blakely continued, “This is a disk that we give people but it is completely free... and parents are welcome to it if they want it.”

With respect to the EFF he said, “I'm not against their criticism but I just think they're probably more interested in protecting predators and pedophiles than in protecting our children.”

“As sheriff, I went down [to schools] and met with kids and I taught them about bicycle safety and not to talk to strangers,” Blakely said, adding that handing out ComputerCOP was just another branch of the department's efforts to keep kids from being solicited online.

“If you and I were married and had a 14-year-old daughter, then yeah I could check on who you're talking to online and you could check who I'm talking to,” he said. “But if [ComputerCOP is] used properly, it's something we whole-heartedly endorse. Now if you're of the persuasion of the people of the EFF who would rather not do anything, then that's something that I can't help.”

He also noted that the police wouldn't see the results of ComputerCOP's surveillance after a parent installed it on a computer. “This is not us checking on their kids, this is parents checking on their kids, [and it includes] stuff to read about how to deal with bullying,” and other things parents might not know how to address.

When Ars suggested that the keylogger portion of ComputerCOP could hypothetically allow hackers to see parents' passwords that they type into the same computer their children use, the sheriff once again referred Ars to the IT department.


After the EFF report was published, the District Attorney for the County of San Diego—which spent $25,000 in asset forfeiture funds on 5,000 copies of ComputerCOP in 2012—issued an alert to users of ComputerCOP, citing “potential security issues,” and telling parents to turn ComputerCOP's keylogging features off. According to TechDirt, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis has stuck by her support of the software.



http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/10/alabama-sheriff-says-computercop-keylogger-could-have-stopped-columbine/

alucard13mm
10-04-2014, 11:52 PM
One of my high school friends installed a keylogger on a few instructors computers. SOmehow they found out and he got expelled. Hehe.

invisible
10-05-2014, 12:54 AM
Sheriff Blakely continued, “This is a disk that we give people but it is completely free... and parents are welcome to it if they want it.”


spent $25,000 in asset forfeiture funds on 5,000 copies of ComputerCOP

So this isn't free software, but yet he's giving away copies? Did his department buy those copies legitimately? Or did he just admit to a copyright crime?

GunnyFreedom
10-05-2014, 01:33 AM
So this isn't free software, but yet he's giving away copies? Did his department buy those copies legitimately? Or did he just admit to a copyright crime?

They bought them legitimately, with stolen money.

XNavyNuke
10-05-2014, 07:21 AM
If Mr. Sheriff is so concerned about saving lives then I think that the confiscated FRNs should go to putting KeyFreeze(TM) on the computers in every LEO vehicle.

No charges for LASD deputy who fatally struck cyclist while typing on computer (http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20140827/in-calabasas-death-of-cyclist-milton-olin-no-charges-against-typing-deputy)

Distracted driving a problem for police officers (http://www.wave3.com/story/24631377/distracted-driving-a-problem-for-police-officers-too)


. "I can take you in here and show you some troopers that can sit in this automobile and never take their eye off that number 45 on the front of the post," said Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin while sitting inside his cruiser. "And they can sit here and type and send a full length dissertation on something and never look at the screen."

...as spoken by a deputy who has never read a dissertation, let alone write one, in their entire life.

Distractions lead to frequent police crashes in Texas (http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/series/driven-to-distraction/Distractions-Lead-to-Frequent-Police-Crashes-in-Texas-164342516.html)


. A search of state accident reports reveals at least 70 crashes in just 24 months where some kind of distraction inside an emergency vehicle contributed to the wreck -- an average of almost three crashes per month. Those are just the crashes that involved enough property damage or injury that they had to be reported to the state.

And I'm sure the taxpayers covered the cost of every bit of the damage, unlike when a mundane is in an accident.

XNN

jmdrake
10-05-2014, 08:02 AM
SMH. I remember when Columbine happened. One parent say the threats that Klebold and Harris were posting online and reported them to the sheriff. So having this keylogged would have helped how exactly? Also Harris and Klebold had pipe bombs lying around in plain view in their bedroom. And when the stuff went down one of the dads knew his son was involved before the name was out. All the software in the world isn't going to change a parent who looks the other way.

presence
10-05-2014, 09:17 AM
When Ars suggested that the keylogger portion of ComputerCOP could hypothetically allow hackers to see parents' passwords that they type into the same computer their children use, the sheriff once again referred Ars to the IT department.


Because they're fucking stupid tax ticking statists that couldn't even fathom the vulnerability you attempting to report on.

asurfaholic
10-05-2014, 11:10 AM
Having the key logger would require a parent who is willing to give enough a shit about their kid to check every word they are typing online.

Something tells me that the columbine shooter's parents didnt exactly actively stay involved in the kid's activities.

This would have never prevented anything.

Gotta say though, I am not opposed to parents monitoring the Internet activity of their kids, including using similar key logging programs. Involved and watchful parenting WOULD have prevented the shooting.

pessimist
10-05-2014, 12:50 PM
I trust no one who uses the dangers of sex predators as an excuse to completely override one's personal privacy. Many of them turn out to be perverts and predators themselves.

A keylogger is a complete and total invasion of privacy.

And any computer savvy kid would 1.) Know it's on there. 2.) Know how to get rid of it.

LOL @ at anyone trying to install a keylogger on my machines, even as an 11 years old. Hell, my 12 year old script kiddie self was the one doing the mischievous shit like that, haha.

Anyway- monitoring children’s online activity should be a priority for every parent, but a parent has no right to know every thought and conversation they have.

When I set up a network for my computer illiterate relatives who have young children- I set their network up with opendns to use their filters. I block porn sites (per request), proxy servers, torrents, .ru, .cn, .xxx. .info .biz domains, and block all non HTTP(s), FTP, and gaming ports. I also configure the router to prevent them from changing the dns address via network settings. In other words, a savvy kid who REALLY wanted to get to a site that is blocked would therefore have to physically reset the router (which on most it requires a pin or something, lol) or figure out the password to access the settings (not likely).

On mobile devices it gets tricky. Most kids use apple products, so unless you jailbreak it and use a custom hosts file or something, you'll probably have to shell out cash to your service provider to filter the traffic for you.

KCIndy
10-05-2014, 01:52 PM
......or parents could try talking with their kids, stressing the importance of mutual honesty, and keep the computer(s) limited to use in open areas of the house like living and dining rooms.

GunnyFreedom
10-05-2014, 03:33 PM
I trust no one who uses the dangers of sex predators as an excuse to completely override one's personal privacy. Many of them turn out to be perverts and predators themselves.

A keylogger is a complete and total invasion of privacy.

And any computer savvy kid would 1.) Know it's on there. 2.) Know how to get rid of it.

LOL @ at anyone trying to install a keylogger on my machines, even as an 11 years old. Hell, my 12 year old script kiddie self was the one doing the mischievous shit like that, haha.

Anyway- monitoring children’s online activity should be a priority for every parent, but a parent has no right to know every thought and conversation they have.

When I set up a network for my computer illiterate relatives who have young children- I set their network up with opendns to use their filters. I block porn sites (per request), proxy servers, torrents, .ru, .cn, .xxx. .info .biz domains, and block all non HTTP(s), FTP, and gaming ports. I also configure the router to prevent them from changing the dns address via network settings. In other words, a savvy kid who REALLY wanted to get to a site that is blocked would therefore have to physically reset the router (which on most it requires a pin or something, lol) or figure out the password to access the settings (not likely).

On mobile devices it gets tricky. Most kids use apple products, so unless you jailbreak it and use a custom hosts file or something, you'll probably have to shell out cash to your service provider to filter the traffic for you.

Why on earth would you have to jailbreak an iphone and pay the carrier some unknown amount of money when all the tools to do that (mostly) ship with iOS, and anything else you want for parental controls you can have dirt cheap or free right from the appstore?

pessimist
10-05-2014, 04:21 PM
Why on earth would you have to jailbreak an iphone and pay the carrier some unknown amount of money when all the tools to do that (mostly) ship with iOS, and anything else you want for parental controls you can have dirt cheap or free right from the appstore?


Because I assume most mobile 'parental control' apps would be garbage, the same way most 'protection' software is. I'm kinda unconventional in how I secure my devices, and I also don't use apple products. I guess it was unfair of me to assume.

However some tech savvy kid would find a workaround for most of that stuff, but I guess they'd probably work for the average person.

GunnyFreedom
10-05-2014, 04:36 PM
Because I assume most mobile 'parental control' apps would be garbage, the same way most 'protection' software is. I'm kinda unconventional in how I secure my devices, and I also don't use apple products. I guess it was unfair of me to assume.

However, some tech savvy kid would find a workaround for most of that stuff, but I guess they'd probably work for the average person.

This tech-savvy kid would either have to jailbreak the phone (which would be obvious) or crack the parent's password (which would be almost impossible if the parents had half a brain).

I'm a POSIX guy, I prefer NetBSD or FreeBSD for work, and MacOS for lounging. Apple started going berserk on security models in 2001 and has shown steady strengthening and improvement on security over the last 13 years. Apple's latest security model for iOS is rock solid. Faced with the dilemma of securing customer data in light of unconstitutional government demands, Apple has decided to encapsulate all customer data within an encryption schema which *only* the customer can access, actually eliminating their own ability to access such data so that the FBI/CIA/NSA/DHS can demand all the data they want and only ever get encrypted gibberish.

Apple's security and parental controls are in an entirely different league from similar Microsoft offerings, and their monolithic design paradigm that everyone complains about, is basically why they are able to do that.

People started complaining about unwarranted government overreach on cellphone data, and Apple responds by letting the user lock Apple (and by extension, the government) out of that data altogether. As a professional computer and network troubleshooter and engineer, I've never been more satisfied with Apple products and responsiveness than I am right now.

pessimist
10-05-2014, 05:23 PM
Okay, I have an iPod touch 5g in my possession, and I'm testing some of these parental/security controls out. The app store age restriction one is great. The ability to pass lock the restrictions setting is also good.

However I don't like the built-in Safari settings. No discernible way to filter or categorize by content, "Limit adult content"- that's a little vague, isn't it? I can't block TLD's or anything.

I mean, not bad for the average user. Although, you can override the parental controls simply by restoring to default settings via iTunes, can't you? That is why I think blocking/using filters via the network is a far superior method. I don't know why carriers charge extra for that. Well, actually yeah I do. Greed.

GunnyFreedom
10-05-2014, 05:39 PM
Okay, I have an iPod touch 5g in my possession, and I'm testing some of these parental/security controls out. The app store age restriction one is great. The ability to pass lock the restrictions setting is also good.

However I don't like the built-in Safari settings. No discernible way to filter or categorize by content, "Limit adult content"- that's a little vague, isn't it? I can't block TLD's or anything.

I mean, not bad for the average user. Although, you can override the parental controls simply by restoring to default settings via iTunes, can't you? That is why I think blocking/using filters via the network is a far superior method. I don't know why carriers charge extra for that. Well, actually yeah I do. Greed.

Right, what you can't do with the tools that ship with the OS, you CAN do with apps you can download for free or 99¢. Browsing I saw several apps that can filter TLD's. Search the App Store for "Parental Control" and look at what comes back.

COpatriot
10-05-2014, 11:26 PM
There's about a dozen other things that could have prevented Columbine. The signs were all there for those two. Jesus just look at some of the videos they made. They were clearly not right. Just one parent or teacher giving a shit could have probably done it.

nobody's_hero
10-06-2014, 04:06 AM
Or you could, you know, be even remotely interested in being a part of your child's life that you might actually notice something's not right.

PPPFFFFFTT. Who am I kidding? Gubmint gonna take care of your kids. Go back to sleep.

COpatriot
10-06-2014, 10:22 PM
People knew full well that those kids were fucked in the head. One of them had a blog that was as heinous as you could imagine. The cops saw it and they would have had no problem getting a search warrant.

Never happened.

aGameOfThrones
10-08-2014, 04:08 PM
when mundanes do it....



Timothy Lance Lai, a Southern California tutor accused of orchestrating a group of Corona del Mar High School students to install keyloggers on their teachers’ computers, has finally been arrested after more than eight months of being on the lam. Lai's keylogging ring aimed to alter student grades at the school, but he is now being held at the Santa Ana Jail in Orange County.
Lai was arrested late Monday after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport, and he was promptly charged with one felony count of second degree commercial burglary and four felony counts of computer access and fraud, according to the Newport Beach Police Department. The police also noted that if Lai is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years and eight months in jail.

Previously, Lai was wanted as a person of interest by local police but had not been formally charged with a crime. There also wasn't a warrant for his arrest. The police did execute a search on Lai's home in December 2013, seizing a number of items, including hard drives, flash drives, and school materials.

The keylogging ring is believed to have taken place between April and June 2013, and it eventually resulted in the expulsion of 11 students in January 2014. Six of those students already left the district by the time their expulsion was ordered, but five had transferred to another local school. Two of the 11 have since graduated high school.


http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/10/high-school-tutor-accused-of-planning-keylogging-ring-finally-arrested/