I previously reported that all of the iPhone games written by Storm8, which includes Vampires Live, were stealing your iPhone cell number without your prior and explicit permission. This was Spyware. Period. I’m happy to report that they have fixed the issue and it’s time to take a look at Pinchmedia which provides the developer tools to obtain metrics for Storm8 and numerous other developers.
As I suspected: Storm8 admits that their very popular free game titled Vampires Live is currently stealing your cell number. No specific consent. No notice. Play the game and they phone home with your iPhone cell number. This is Spyware. This is Idenity Theft. This violates my Privacy. This sucks! They say it’s a “Bug” which they plan to correct but that’s far from the end of this tragic story which has dramatic implications for every owner of an iPhone.
A few weeks ago I purchased an iPhone 3GS 32 MB smart phone. Although I’ve been a Treo user since they were invented, it was time to change. Although the battery life is totally unacceptable and requires an external battery (I use the outstanding mophie juice pack air), imagine my surprise while reading the News that a number of sites have alleged that some applications for the iPhone which Apple distributes, contain Spyware.
Your teen kids use MySpace. Over 70 million “kids” use MySpace. Over 26 million uniques per day hit this site. It’s the largest magnet in the world for every kind of teen abuse you could imagine including but not limited to Spyware, identity theft, spam, and porn of all flavors. It’s going to get even worse so take careful notes when you read this entry.
While I’m overjoyed to see this Spyware Affiliate, hacker, cracker, BotNet slime bag, and criminal go to federal prison, I’m going to examine the enablers. Jeanson James Ancheta admitted generating for himself and an unindicted coconspirator more than $107,000 in advertising affiliate proceeds by silently downloading Spyware/Adware to more than 400,000 infected computers that he controlled. Ancheta was also ordered to pay approximately $15,000 in restitution to the Weapons Division of the United States Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake and the Defense Information Systems Agency. He also forfeited to the government more than $60,000 in cash, a BMW automobile and computer equipment.
Your insightful emails warrant another entry on this issue. Featuring additional Spyware “conspirators” named John Robert Martinson and Spy Wiper, Spy Deleter, Odysseus Marketing and its principal, Walter Rines, plus a litany of additional characters. All of which reads like a “Mafia Conspiracy” because in many respects, that’s exactly what it is. Finally, my thoughts on serious JAIL sentences for these Spyware players.
This case was originally filed in Oct. of 2004. Finally, we have a resolution to the issue. We will trace Sanford Wallace’s own comments while the case was pending and provide guidance for you.
Learn additional facts not published anywhere else about Dale Begg-Smith and his Spyware distribution. Including my very own emails, his IP data, and much more. This entry is a follow up to my original post which you should read first.
You can run but you can’t hide. If you fail to answer reporters questions in a candid and detailed manner, lots of folks will poke around and discover your checkered past. You may have won an Olympic Gold Medal, Mr. Dale Begg-Smith who runs/ran AdsCPM, but your checkered past is back to haunt you. February 20, 2006 – Don’t miss my follow up article to this entry.
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