Sears Distributes Spyware to its Customers

If you were told by Sears that they’d pay you $10  to install a program that tracks your “online browsing,” would you do it? Lots of people did, but that was a mistake.

According to the FTC’s administrative complaint, while Sears told consumers the software would only track their “online browsing,” the software also monitored their online secure sessions — including sessions on third parties’ Web sites. That meant everything from online bank statements to drug prescription records to the sender, recipient, subject and size fields of Web-based e-mails.

The software also tracked some computer activities that were not related to the Internet, according to the FTC.

Under the proposed settlement, Sears would agree to “stop collecting data from the consumers who downloaded the software and to destroy all data it had previously collected,” the FTC said in a release June 4. “In addition, if Sears advertises or disseminates any tracking software in the future, it must clearly and prominently disclose the types of data the software will monitor, record or transmit. This disclosure must be made prior to installation and separate from any user license agreement” and customers must be told if “any of the data will be used by a third party.”

Come on, Sears and K-Mart, play it nice.  Don’t get yourself shut down by the government.

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