AntiPhormLite confounds BT's spyware by simulating random browsing
If you're pissed off that BT and other ISPs are using software like Phorm to track your browsing habits, you could try out AntiPhormLite, an app that generates a never-ending string of spyware radar-chaff, running a second browser that continuously, plausibly browses the web, screwing up your profile and confounding the snoops. They've posted the full source for audit as well.
LinkAntiPhormLite runs independently and silently in the background of your PC. It connects to the web and intelligently simulates natural surfing behavior across thousands of customizable topics. This creates a background noise of false information disguising and inverting your own interests. We believe our technology is indistinguishable from that of a typical user engaging the internet. To support this claim we have introduced a preview mode that works with any of your preferred browsers, and together with a detailed reporting system and a host of custom options each AntiPhormLite will appear unique.
We encourage you to use AntiPhormLite. It's free. Share it with everyone you know. If enough of us use AntiPhorm, profiling and data mining could become a profit loss industry. This beta release will continue to be developed with your input, ideas and support, so please get involved. We value your feedback. For detailed information on the software visit our software and faq pages.
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Sounds like a pretty sweet idea. I just wonder how much system resources it takes up. (No, I haven't read the article yet, so don't yell at me). I'm interested. Not that I have anything to hide, mind you *ahem*. Just always looking for new ways to mess with the man.
I was wondering the exact same thing. For now I have Comcast though. Vigilance!
This also makes me happy. Now if people will just run it. . .
How about one that's mac friendly?
I can't see it using much in the way of system resources. After all, it doesn't need to actually cache or render any of the data that is received. It just has to make the requests and let the actual info fall into a black hole.
Hmm, I'm going to look into getting this running in Linux, if possible. My school apparently records all the traffic going out, so this should sufficiently confuse them.
With the right mix of chaff, encryption, and anonymizing proxies, ISPs (and the NSA) will rue the day they ever questioned net neutrality and the sanctity of private communications.
Waiting for a mac version. Then getting it.
The problem is that the government isn't tracking what people do to build profiles, it's tracking what people do to see if we visit certain sites, express certain opinions, and so on. It only has to catch you doing one thing, not accurately analyze everything you're up to. The only way a program like this would work is if it generated hundreds of profiles expressing many divergent opinions and interests online, so that it becomes impossible to identify which one is real. And even then, it's only useful if a large enough number of people use it that the government doesn't simply tag everyone that looks like they're using the program. Encryption and proxies are the solution. Chaff is next to useless.
I'm assuming everyone knows that Phorm offers an opt-out page somewhere on http://www.webwise.com/
Would people be interested in full visibility of the data that was stored - being able to view, remove, suppress and possibly add and update that information? If the stored data were able to be fully accessed and used by the person browsing in useful ways - content recommendations, syncing up tags with delicious, etc. - would that make a difference?
Also hoping for a Mac version... :o)
&Dierken
Only if it was also opt-in and not used for marketing research.
Also, let me correct my earlier post. Chaff is useless as far as privacy goes, but it could be useful in the short term if your only goal is to screw with marketers.
Dierken, the problem is that while Phorm offers an opt-out, most people affected by its snooping won't even realise that they've opted in when the opt-in is buried in the T&C's of your ISP's latest bumf. For that reason, chaff sounds like a great way to obfuscate everyone's habits and make monetizing your breadcrumb trail a losing proposition. I'd like to see chaff added to every user's regular browsing suite right alongside anti-virus and anti-spyware.
Plus, of course, Phorm is a secretive and closed organisation. I don't actually *trust* them to opt me out. How many other opt-outs have you opted for that have had no effect?
Chaff would help a GREAT deal along with encryption, especially encrypted chaff as well. Ensures that not only do you have an unreadable signal, but the signal is also inside a lot of noise.
Could help a lot with disguising torrenting, etc.
File this under "things I learnt while reading Little Brother".
As great as this software sounds, won't it be dangerous for people who only have a limited amount of monthly bandwidth?
i have a t-mobile usb modem for mobile broadband in the uk (can't get a wire at home at the moment). they've got some traffic shaping going on or something as the quality of bittorrent downloading or yousendit uploading (i collaborate on music over the net so it's not all piracy) varies greatly but if i'm doing some basic browsing the connection speeds are higher. i'm guessing that the traffic shaping can't deal with the less isp friendly activity so well if it's clouded by regular web surfing. at the moment i get round this by having the basic google search page auto refresh every 5 secs and it seems to help. something like AntiPhormLite might be better though. any thoughts anyone?
oh, and after a mac solution too.
@AndyGates:
"Buried in the chaff" is not opt-in, that's opt-out.
All fine and dandy, until the AntiPhormLite bot develops a penchant for kiddie porn pages and bomb making sites and the FBI/local enforcement agency swing through your window...
I'll create my own pseudo plausible chaff trail thankyouverymuch..
Jim
Full visibility is a nice start, but what we really need here is to beat them at their own game: this data obviously has financial value to them, and it wouldn't exist without me, so it should be my "intellectual property".
If they want it, they pay me. And they have to outbid anybody else who wants it.
From a very long distance down their interminable and scary FAQs:
If you regularly delete your cookies and want to ensure that Webwise is permanently switched off, simply add "www.webwise.net" to the Blocked Cookies settings in your browser.
There you have it.