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> rent the user’s Internet connection out to strangers. Harm to the user: none^ > spoof themselves as mobile phones clicking ads on AI-generated websites as p
by perpetuallunch 3mo ago
> rent the user’s Internet connection out to strangers.
Harm to the user: none^
> spoof themselves as mobile phones clicking ads on AI-generated websites as part of a sprawling operation that seeks to defraud online merchants and advertising networks
Harm to the user: none^
Cost to the dodgy service provides: none
Government action to prevent continued dodgy services: none^
This is why internet securityg doomers have a hard time selling their story. Changing behaviour has an upfront, immediate, cost. Not changing it doesn't.
^close enough
- charonn0 3mo ago>> rent the user’s Internet connection out to strangers. > Harm to the user: none^ Well, they are losing some of their bandwidth. They might not notice, but something which is rightfully theirs is being taken without consent.
- perpetuallunch 3mo agoIf they don't notice, and they're on an unlimited data plan, or the usage is such that it doesn't result in exceeding their data cap, what argument is there that harm occurred?
- charonn0 3mo agoI'm talking about bandwidth; connection speed. The streaming stick in the article turns off its proxying feature while the user is actually streaming because the proxying feature consumes enough bandwidth to degrade streaming quality. In other words, whenever the proxying feature is active every other device sharing the connection will suffer degraded performance. Even if the user never notices, they're still worse off. They're still paying for bandwidth that someone else is using for profit. Money is flowing out of the user's pocket and into the pocket of the proxy operator. That makes the proxy operator a thief who is stealing from the user, and without even the Robin Hood-esque cover of defrauding ad networks.