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Brenda J. Butler wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:20080101233919.GE27077@stuffed.animals"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">
I saw this on another mailing list and thought you-all might be
interested.
bjb
</pre>
</blockquote>
Great way to start 2008. I'm glad I'm not a Bell subscriber. Of course,
this may not be the evil thing it is presented as... They explicitly
state that it allows for some remote access (details would be nice),
and that it gathers settings and sends them to a third party (again
details would be nice). How different is this from WGA (Windows Genuine
Advantage)?<br>
<br>
To follow up on that post, Motive is (from their webpage):<br>
<blockquote>
<p><b>Company Overview<br>
</b></p>
<p>As the number of broadband and mobile data customers continues to
grow, communications providers are in a race to introduce compelling
services that attract new customers and help further their existing
relationships. <img src="cid:part1.02010805.00030100@ovsage.org"
style="float: left; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">In
addition, as new services, networks and devices converge, complexity is
inevitable, posing new challenges and risks for service providers. </p>
<p>To mitigate these risks and address these challenges, nearly half
of
the world’s leading communications providers rely on service management
software from Motive to deliver a new generation of IP-based services
that seamlessly integrate voice, video and data into a single connected
experience. With Motive, operators can leverage one service management
platform to automate and remotely manage key customer touch points
throughout the service lifecycle, across multiple services, networks
and devices. The result is a consistent, unified experience for both
customers and service providers that accelerates the rollout of new and
converged services, reduces operational costs, drive revenues and
builds lasting brand loyalty.<br>
</p>
<p class="titleTwo"><b>Facts at a Glance</b></p>
<p>
Motive, Inc. (OTC: MOTV.PK) is a leading provider of broadband and
mobile service management software. Motive’s software is helping
wireline and wireless operators worldwide fuel the growth of their
data, voice and video services. The company was founded in 1997 and
went public in June 2004. </p>
<p><b><span class="titlethree">Customers</span></b><br>
More than fifty of the world’s leading communications providers use
Motive software, including AT&T, Bell Canada, BellSouth, BT,
Deutsche Telekom, EMOBILE Ltd., HUGHES, Softbank BB, Swisscom, Telecom
Italia and Verizon. As a result, Motive products are used by more than
80 percent of DSL subscribers in North America, and more than 50
percent of DSL subscribers in Western Europe. Motive is the only vendor
to supply service management solutions to cable, DSL, mobile and
satellite operators worldwide. </p>
<p><b><span class="titlethree">Alliances</span></b><br>
Motive’s partners represent the communications industry’s leading
network infrastructure, application, customer premises equipment (CPE)
and semiconductor vendors, including Alcatel, Broadcom, Centillium,
Conexant, F-Secure, Huawei, Intellon, Motorola, NETGEAR, Texas
Instruments, Thomson, Westell, Zhone Technologies and ZTE. </p>
<p><b><span class="titlethree">Solutions</span></b><br>
Motive’s solutions are used by communcations providers to automate and
remotely manage common tasks such as activation, configuration,
upgrades and customer support across multiple services, networks and
devices. Motive’s solutions include High-Speed Data, Home Networking,
IPTV and Mobile Data Service Management.<br>
<br>
</p>
</blockquote>
They are headquartered in Austin, TX so you are giving control of your
PC to a US based company (point 3 in the agreement) or their subsidiary
in London, Tokyo, Toronto, Paris, Shanghai, Munich, Stuttgart, Hong
Kong, Zürich, or (most likely) Bangalore.<br>
<br>
The URL mentioned (pbctbc.bc.motive.com) looks similar to URLs I have
seen for third-party support software which use the customer/client
company as part of the URL for submission of information (bc=bell
canada) The agreement also says that it allows for third-party take
over of your computer. This is where it starts getting dicey: Do you
know when this happens? Do you have to permit the action? This could be
considered similar to M$ and remote assistance.<br>
<br>
As for rootkit, don't forget that most scanners consider vnc to be a
rootkit as well. M$ especially!<br>
<br>
Devils Advocate,<br>
Scott<br>
(who is just feeling contrary while still suffering from a cold)<br>
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