EFF Raises Questions on Privacy Leaks in Ubuntu
"The EFF is warning users of Ubuntu's latest release that the open-source operating system sends their search queries to third parties, including Amazon, by default, and that some of their search results may be viewable by other users on the same network"
"Technically, when you search for something in Dash, your computer makes a secure HTTPS connection to productsearch.ubuntu.com, sending along your search query and your IP address. If it returns Amazon products to display, your computer then insecurely loads the product images from Amazon's server over HTTP. This means that a passive eavesdropper, such as someone sharing a wireless network with you, will be able to get a good idea of what you're searching for on your own computer based on Amazon product images,"
"We are not telling Amazon what you are searching for. Your anonymity is preserved because we handle the query on your behalf. Don’t trust us? Erm, we have root. You do trust us with your data already. You trust us not to screw up on your machine with every update," Shuttleworth wrote.
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"The EFF is warning users of Ubuntu's latest release that the open-source operating system sends their search queries to third parties, including Amazon, by default, and that some of their search results may be viewable by other users on the same network"
"Technically, when you search for something in Dash, your computer makes a secure HTTPS connection to productsearch.ubuntu.com, sending along your search query and your IP address. If it returns Amazon products to display, your computer then insecurely loads the product images from Amazon's server over HTTP. This means that a passive eavesdropper, such as someone sharing a wireless network with you, will be able to get a good idea of what you're searching for on your own computer based on Amazon product images,"
"We are not telling Amazon what you are searching for. Your anonymity is preserved because we handle the query on your behalf. Don’t trust us? Erm, we have root. You do trust us with your data already. You trust us not to screw up on your machine with every update," Shuttleworth wrote.
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