Microsoft makes spy tools for Big Brother

Microsoft has developed a spy device that plugs into a computer’s USB port and then sucks out all the passwords and decrypts them. That along with histories and caches and all the other things that might implicate you in anything the government does not like. Yeah, Microsoft, Windows, and Security are three worlds that never went together too well. Other than yet another reason to despise Microsoft, this raises some very interesting issues. Remember when the Justice Department had Microsoft dead-to-rights on antitrust and non-competitive behavior? Remember how Microsoft was proved in court to have licensed Java from Sun and then in blatant violation of the license and the very intent of the Java program—they “improved” the Microsoft version so it would only work with Microsoft browsers? Remember how everyone was thinking that the Justice Department might just break Microsoft up the way Judge Greene broke up AT&T years before?

Well, you might also remember Microsoft walked out of that plea-bargain with a slap on the wrist and wagging finger as opposed to prison time for everyone above the level of group leader. We all wondered what Microsoft did in order to skate. Back then Microsoft was developing he evil Palladium system for Digital Rights Management and general computer snooping and making sure us peons had no real control over our machines and that we didn’t have ownership of anything, software, or media. I postulated that Microsoft showed Justice all the great spying-big-brother-snoop-snitch crap it was working on and said: “Wouldn’t you Feds like access to every computer in the world while sitting on your fat overpaid government butt?” And the Feds saw that this would be great to collect taxes and bust Mafiosi and dope dealers. And they always bring out child porn issue when it is time for us to surrender yet more of our civil rights to the great overlords in Washington DC. So they made the deal—the Justice department lets Microsoft off easy and Microsoft makes sure everything they do can deliver us to a Big Brother fascist police stare. A marriage made in heaven.

Well this spy gizmo is the other shoe dropping; Microsoft, having made sure that their operating systems and applications are unsecured was really a feature—yeah, they meant to do that. This way they can let the government spy on us without those pesky warrants and stuff that area so time consuming and inconvenient. Between the phone company and Carnivore and Microsoft and this gizmo I hope you see that your rights are being sold down the river so a bunch of corporate pigs can keep engaging in monopolistic behavior. And sure—the government keeps telling us how this is all for our own good. As long as we don’t get uppity or anything. I wonder if Microsoft has implemented the feature on this new spy gismo that installs some child porn on anyone’s computer that is too critical of the government or Microsoft? Welcome to our Brave New World; hail the emperor and his viziers.