263
LinkedIn Is Illegally Searching Your Computer (browsergate.eu)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
45 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Microsoft is running one of the largest corporate espionage operations in modern history. Every time any of LinkedIn’s one billion users visits linkedin.com, hidden code searches their computer for installed software, collects the results, and transmits them to LinkedIn’s servers and to third-party companies including an American-Israeli cybersecurity firm.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47613981

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 2 points 6 months ago (9 children)

If the site doesn't know the window width of can't react to mobile or desktop users automatically or scale elements/ change to best for your display.

You need mouse input for hovering effects as well

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
    •
  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago (7 children)

    That can all be done 100% client side. The server does not need this information.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
    •
  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    If you can do it client side, you can send it to a server...

    The difference is intent.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    you can send it to a server

    Yes, because web browsers, under current web architecture, allow this.

    This is entirely my point.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    How would they prevent it? If they allow your app to read a value client side, it can do whatever it wants with it, including sending it.

    If your app needs to present different behavior based on user settings, it needs to read it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    They allow this because they are being developed to allow this.

    Browsers that don't allow this in a Web-like system without such functionality (like Gemini) can be written in two days or a week if you don't hurry.

    Or at least take as long as Mosaic or Arena took to become usable.

    Enormous resources are being invested into continued development of a platform where users provide valuable feedback.

    By the way, ML is long past the point where that data could even be interpreted ambiguously. Those who have the data know exactly who you are and probably some useful traits of what you are thinking the moment you are typing a comment at any big website.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago*

    Ah I read as the Brower doesn't need that data. I'd say it needs width (maybe height) but that's it

    But this info talked about in OP is done via client sending the data to a server not the server getting it all the time

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 0 points 6 months ago

    False. Browsers can announce themselves as desktop or mobile, or even advertise pre-determined fake window and screen sizes for this purpose (in Firefox it's called "letterboxed" in the hidden settings). There is no need for a server to have any of this information anyway - either the design of the webpage should be responsive by default, or the server can send specifically whichever files for styles the browser specifically asks for, perhaps falling back to a "all.css" or something.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent