Posted on 06/21/2005 4:36:58 AM PDT by Budgie
Edited on 06/21/2005 5:05:29 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Mirrored by iBabes.org - Babevoting
I was opening up my almost brand new Dell 600m laptop, to replace a broken PCMCIA slot riser on the motherboard. As soon as I got the keyboard off, I noticed a small cable running from the keyboard connection underneath a piece of metal protecting the motherboard.
I figured "No Big Deal", and continued with the dissasembly. But when I got the metal panels off, I saw a small white heatshink-wrapped package. Being ever-curious, I sliced the heatshrink open. I found a little circuit board inside.
Being an EE by trade, this piqued my curiosity considerably. On one side of the board, one Atmel AT45D041A four megabit Flash memory chip.
On the other side, one Microchip Technology PIC16F876 Programmable Interrupt Controller, along with a little Fairchild Semiconductor CD4066BCM quad bilateral switch.
Looking further, I saw that the other end of the cable was connected to the integrated ethernet board.
What could this mean? I called Dell tech support about it, and they said, and I quote, "The intregrated service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal information." He then hung up.
A little more research, and I found that that board spliced in between the keyboard and the ethernet chip is little more than a Keyghost hardware keylogger.
The reasons Dell would put this in thier laptops can only be left up to your imagination. It would be very impractical to hand-anylze the logs, and very CPU-intensive to do so on a computer for every person that purchased a dell laptop. Why are these keyloggers here? I recently almost found out.
I called the police, as having a keylogger unknown to me in my laptop is a serious offense. They told me to call the Department of Homeland Security. At this point, I am in disbelief. Why would the DHS have a keylogger in my laptop? It was surreal.
So I called them, and they told me to submit a Freedom of Information Act request. This is what I got back:
Well God had mercy on me and got me fired so I can freep all day! :D
Horse Poop!
I hesitated for a moment though *lol* I said let me read down the thread some more before I issue a tirade hehehe.
LOL....
At least they didn't order you to disrobe like the FIB state cop
in suburban Chicago has been doing.
You always were a cheap date. =;^)
I read it. At least it was an interesting hoax. :o)
WHOW!
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Thanks for the update ping.
Fax it to CBS?
I'm guessing this will turn out to be nothing important, but I also recognise that I may be wrong and that it isn't beneath the government (or business for that matter) to do it.
I know it's a hoax, and that the letter was cribbed from another FOIA request, but what's interesting to me is that the government has contractors (SAIC in this case) processing FOIA requests.
It's a hoax because the images are lifted from an online product review (the filenames are left intact, even) and none of the descriptions fit what you would really find inside a laptop case. For example, a keylogger like that wouldn't come in a wrapper like what's described.
This is a 100% hoax, debunked minutes after it was put online days ago.
Thanks.
Interesting. The Snopes debunking shows that the copy of the government letter refusing the FOIA request is actually an altered copy of a letter to some leftist looking for info on JEFF GANNON!
LOL.
The letter is real, but it doesn't pertain to this guy's computer. The letter is in response to an FOIA request about Jeff Gannon.
BUMPping
Thanks, I'll wipe off the chagrin. I hate falling for these.
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