iTunes is Malware?

Moby writes "On the heels of the big Apple love-in that is Macworld comes some interesting but alarming news. Recently a few blogs have started to indicate that iTunes is tracking your music preferences and using that data to recommend other songs from iTMS. The article provides a good overview, with some recommendations of its own. Basically, iTunes is tracking your music and sending the data back to Apple servers. This info is then used to advertise songs that may be to your tastes. A convenient feature, perhaps, but it raises concerns over privacy."

Impossible!!!

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

This is incredulous!! The ergonomically designed iTunes interface hides nothing from the user and shows any and all pertinent information at the briefest glance. The stylishly engineered music system and efficient online purchasing system offers only the highest level of quality entertainment with none of the underhanded skullduggery that lesser companies wallow in.

Apple soars above such outrages!! You will feel His Jobnesses' Wrath!!

Amazon is malware!

[BushCheney08]

Amazon.com is a malicious website! When I click on a book, they show me other books that people have purchased with it!!!

Please

[goaty_the_flying_sho]

Oh shit! Apple knows you listen to too much Britney Spears! Time to get hysterical and post to a bunch of blogs from starbucks on your powerbook.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[Anonymous Coward]

My taste in music is my business and I don't want other people knowing that my most listened to album is Tom Dooley and Other Hits by The Kingston Trio.

Then you better stop blasting it out of your riced up Honda Civic's pathetic Optimus audio system at 3:00am you worthless piece of marmoset dung!

Re:What kind of music...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Hail To The Chief."

You might be a redneck when...

[Mrs. Grundy]

you listen to a lot Anton Webern. Seriously, it turns out that people who bought Anton Webern's Variations for Piano, Op. 27 (all three of us) also bought Jeff Foxworthy--at least according to the ministore. That little gem of demographic goodness has brightened up my day so much I don't care how what info Apple gets from my listening habits.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[eldavojohn]

The chip that CowboyNeal put in my brain goes off.

The tube that CmdrTaco put in my neck to feed me is filled with coffee.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[Hawthorne01]

Which is why when signing up for my discount card, I listed myself as a 60 year old lady with an address in a retirement center.

Makes me wonder what happens in their data centers when I make a late-night beer run... :-)

Yes it is...

[TedTschopp]

Uninstall it now, and install Windows Media player or Real player. I hear they are much better.

P.S. I also heard the sky was falling...

OMG!!! The sky is falling!!!!

[night_flyer]

"it raises concerns over privacy."

What? are you afraid it might get out that you listen to Britney Spears?

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[Politburo]

Oh, come now, you're telling me you've trusted Apple? What has Apple done to gain your trust?

Why, their motto, of course! After all with a motto like Don't be Ev... whoops.. I'll come back next article.

How ironic

[wcrowe]

I find ironic the possibility that some of those who would object to this data mining, routinely share their musical preferences with the world via nuclear-powered subwoofers at 2:00am.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[pete.com]

I don't want a computer program diagnosing me at a hospital even if it is built on solid Bayesian probability models

I know lots of doctors. You are better off with the machine diagnosing you..... better probability of recovery and machines have more personality than most.

Re:What kind of music...

[dc29A]

What kind of music do terrorists listen to??
- Illegaly downloaded music of course! It funds terrorism!

Re:Malware??

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

What is it doing that is malicious?

Spyware, sure, but not malware.

It recommended Justin Timberlake.
'Nuff said

Yeah right

[OSS_ilation]

Sounds like the author got caught purchasing Mariah Carey's Greatest Hits and an NSYNC compilation and just wanted to save some face.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[Rockenreno]

I use my ex-girlfriend's number. She tells me not to buy beer on it because it might reflect negatively on her parents somehow.

I don't listen.

Re:Amazon is malware!

[porcupine8]

You think that's bad? After I purchased a PowerPuff Girls video, they had the gall to EMAIL ME when the next one came out! It was horrible, I needed months of therapy to get over this horrible stalking.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[k4_pacific]

Yeah, I have two of those cards. For one I put "Carly Fiorina" for the name and I use it for most purchases. The other has my real name, but I only use it when I buy Condoms or sour cream.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[kat11v]

My husband is an avid hater of any sort of nonsense that invades his privacy so about two years ago when applying for a "SaveOnFoods" card (without which you cannot get the sale prices on some of the food iteams of course) he put "Darth Vader" as the name on the card.

It still gets me when they try to do the whole "Have a nice day Mr. ___" after you pay them, take a look at the name, pause, and then give up on the whole tactic altogether.

Re:Grocery store data mining

[Vinnie_333]

he doesn't want his purchases tracked

Oh, yeah. You don't what that big evil grocer to find out that you bought peanut butter AND jelly. This is the kind of inherently evil data collection that lead to GooberGrape!

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[RussR42]

But no one every told me about personal responsibility. I blame society and the government!

Re:Windows Media Player

[robertjw]

It would be interesting to re-phrase the question and replace "iTunes" with "Windows Media Player" and see what kinds of responses are generated by the Slashdot crowd.

There would be a few knee-jerk responses because Microsoft was involved and a lot of bitching about the level of Microsoft's evilness. Ultimately it wouldn't matter because both iTunes and WMP would have the right to do this based on their EULA and everyone would forget about it as soon as the next Google article posted.

Have Fun With It

[camperslo]

Think of it as having some hidden Easter [robinsfyi.com] Eggs [schmitzpress.com] or a game [eeggs.com].
Perhaps It'll come back with something interesting if you listen to things like Joe Wecker - DeCSS Song [cmu.edu] or Wierd Al Yakovic - Windows 95 Sucks

Could anyone else care about what you listen to?

If your collection is really Da BOMB, it'll include
JJ Walker - DYNOMITE!
Simon and Garfunkle BRIDGE Over Troubled Water
Moody Blues - TUESDAY AFTERNOON
The Vogues - FIVE O'CLOCK World

Re:OMG!

[m50d]

I think Apple must tell their employees to come here and say how good they are. That's the only reasonable explanation for the ridiculous amount of Apple-love on this site.

Re:Big Brother and the iTunes Company

[monkeydo]

they're entitled to assume it will not contain anything they need to know about unless their attention is drawn to it

And in your mind, calling it "README" doesn't count as drawing their attention?

Re:Privacy Risk != Malware

[the idoru]

Ever used an Internet browser? That sends data to various servers

No kidding! The porn site I just visited had an ad that informed me that my computer is emitting a unique identifier (called an "ID Address" I think) that can identify who I am to anyone on the internet. I think it was telling me the truth because it knew what town I live in! I'm OK, though, 'cause I layed down the $19.95 for their identity protection software.