Last Updated on December 4, 2019 by Christopher G Mendla
itunes hiding personal data
It appears that at least your name and email address get embedded in itunes files you download from Apples iTunes Plus.
Suggestions
– Make sure your kids know not to share the files they download
– Don’t leave files on machines you don’t have control over – i.e. – at work
– Make sure all music files are deleted if you sell or donate an old computer (You should really use an application to completely destroy all data or physically destroy the hard drive)
Questions
– How long will it be before some poor soul gets a hundred thousand dollar lawsuit against them because their songs were ‘in the wild’ but the reason was that their ipod, pc or cds were stolen or their PCs hacked.?
– Will these music files be the next target of hackers and malware?
Thoughts
Corporations in the entertainment industry are really taking some liberties with our privacy. Remember the Sony Rootkit debacle a little while back? Play a Sony CD and have a rootkit installed on your system.(a rootkit is one of the most dangerous types of malware) If it weren’t for one individual finding the rootkit, millions more machines would have been infected. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Sony_BMG_CD_copy_protection_scandal
Makes you really wonder about Hollywood….
Personal data found hidden in iTunes tracks-Business-Industry Sectors-Media-TimesOnline: “Fresh privacy fears have been sparked after it emerged that Apple has embedded personal information into music files bought from its iTunes online music store.
Technology websites examining iTunes products discovered that personal data, including the name and e-mail addresses of purchasers, are embedded into the AAC files that Apple uses to distribute music tracks. ”