Aaron's Accused of Keylogging, Webcam Captures

[exfileme]

A lawsuit filed today against rent-to-own chain Aaron's claims its computers are storing keystrokes, taking videos and capturing desktop screens.

Aaron's Accused of Keylogging, Webcam Captures : Read more

 

[NuclearShadow]

While if these claims are indeed true then they certainly deserve to be punished for this. Its a shame however when dealing with any business it never amounts to criminal charges and actual prosecution yet if a individual was found doing this same crime they would be facing such.
Oh well.

On the other hand I do question the logic behind renting a PC or laptop.
I certainly wouldn't want to have to return anything that no doubt contains more than enough to do major harm. I am certain if I worked at such a place I could easily steal important personal/banking info when the item is returned and likely even steal identities entirely in some cases.
If I can do it then certainly others can too so no way in hell would I chance such.

 

[hoofhearted]

Doesn't Aaron have the right to do this , since it is their property and they are "renting" it?

If not, then does that mean employers do not have the right to monitor employees computers?

 

[jojesa]

[citation][nom]hoofhearted[/nom]Doesn't Aaron have the right to do this , since it is their property and they are "renting" it?If not, then does that mean employers do not have the right to monitor employees computers?[/citation]
So if you rent an apartment, does that gives the landlord the right to have a hidden camera inside since it is his property?

The point of installing that type of tracking hardware/software into devices is to disable the rented equipment if not paid on time or stolen.

 

[jahmekan]

Does your land lord have a right to spy in the house he is renting you? Aarons are scum bags for doing this and yes, poor people or people with bad credit rent a host of things we take for granted. The prices are high, but they provide a service. If someone stop paying for an item, then make it a criminal case and get them locked up. I hope they lose their shirt and pants in court. Disgusting. BTW: for their sake I hope they didn't snap a picture of a kid in the buff!

 

[Guest]

that's different...employers have the right to monitor employees computers because it is use for work. And u r not suppose to use it to hold any non work related to work. But these rent to own is not for work, its for personal use and should not have any kind of monitoring.

 

[waylander]

[citation][nom]jojesa[/nom]So if you rent an apartment, does that gives the landlord the right to have a hidden camera inside since it is his property?The point of installing that type of tracking hardware/software into devices is to disable the rented equipment if not paid on time or stolen.[/citation]

No they don't, when you rent or lease something, that property is legally yours until the rent or lease time ends or you breach the rental/lease contract.

As with the examples of an apartment, a car would be similar. When you rent a car, do you think the rental company has a right to know what you do as long as you don't damage it?

As for work computers, that is the property of the company AT ALL TIMES and the employees work on them AT WORK. At no time does the company rent the computer to the employee.

 

[Guest]

@hoofhearted... those are 100% completely different issues.

Aaron's is not employing the renter, Aaron's cannot be held liable for what the renter does with the computer, and the use is not accessing any of Aaron's networks, or using those networks to access systems on the internet. An employee/employer relationship is a different story, the employer is leagally responcible for what the employee does with on their equipment and and on their network. About 99% of employees sign an acceptible use policy which outlines what they may do on equipment as well as any monitoring policies that are in place.

Aaron's would have to have the legal language in their contract to even stand a chance in court... and if they do, it won't help them if they are violating State or Federal Law (Laws have priority over contract terms).

Also Renting is a strange situation based on which laws apply to the rentee and renter... in most cases the rentee is paying for ownership right to the item which means they actually own it unless the contract is broken or otherwise voided. If a payment is missed, that is grounds to break the contract and ownership rights go back to the renter, Aaron's in this case.

Aaron's is screwed if they did not disclose this in their contract... or if any of the provisions violate State or Federal Law.

 

[hellwig]

As others have mentioned, renting is different from simply using a device that belongs to someone else. If nothing else, there are legally binding contracts that are signed, and I doubt those contracts include a provision about being able to use the computer to spy on you. Besides, what happens in a rent-to-own situation as was the case here? These people paid-off the computer and owned it, but Aaron's still had the capability to spy on them, and used that capability.

A company that gives computers to a employee usually does so with the express purpose that the computer is to be used to perform the duties of employment only. Therefore, the company may block ports, install monitoring software, etc.. all to ensure that the computer is being used under the terms agreed to by the employee.

However, all Aaron's has to do is say they were monitoring activity to ensure that the renter's weren't using it to download kiddie porn, and the courts will probably side with Aaron's. I remember stories about rental agencies monitoring the movements of rental cars, not that they thought these cars had been stolen, but simply so that they could fine the renters for violating speed limits (the contract states the renter will abide by certain rules). Here's a link: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1040-268747.html It's about 10-years old. I find it sad that the article talks about the need to create new privacy laws before the incoming wave of cell phones and GPS devices hits, and that those laws never came about (if the recent complaints against Apple, Microsoft, and Google tracking cell phones are any indication).

 

[jkflipflop98]

[citation][nom]jojesa[/nom]So if you rent an apartment, does that gives the landlord the right to have a hidden camera inside since it is his property?[/citation]

He does if he put it in the fine print of the rental agreement and you signed it anyways.

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

Will this stop people from paying %500 above value at Aarons? No.

 

[zkevwlu]

How much do these guys charge? I went to their website to check out some of their products and not one computer has a price tag on it... just an add to cart button. They were some pretty god awful computers too, some no more than $400 in value by my estimate.

 

[bison88]

[citation][nom]hoofhearted[/nom]Doesn't Aaron have the right to do this , since it is their property and they are "renting" it?If not, then does that mean employers do not have the right to monitor employees computers?[/citation]


Umm, hell no. There are many examples others have already given. The difference is major when you think about it.

A) Aaron is doing a rent-to-own just like a home or vehicle, basically YOU are the owner of that property until you can no longer make payments. The seller isn't entitled to that property unless your end is not kept via the contract you sign for just about any of these multi-payment purchases.

B) Employeers have a right to monitor employees machines because you WORK for the corporation on THEIR systems. Basically you are giving up your rights similar to how a soldier gives up his constitutional rights to a degree when they enlist. You sign a decree that gives them the legal ability to monitor your activities at any given time to enforce work ethic and integrity since businesses can consider anything unrelated to wasting their time and money, which lawyers could then use terms like fraud, etc.

If this was a buddy who was renting a computer to another person he'd STILL be required to have some sort of legal agreement ACKNOWLEDGED by the other party that the machine has abilities built in to allow monitoring and unfiltered access to the machine at any time the renter decides. This isn't two friends and that's only what a smart person would do. Just a couple of days ago someone wanted to do this on a forum I frequent and given the Supreme Courts new ruling this would justify as hacking.

 

[nicodemus_mm]

I've serviced many Arron's PC's in my region. I do warranty repair for multiple OEM's. The parts I receive for the repairs come from the OEM and have no special components. Many of the repairs I do are at the customer's residence, not the store, so Arron's would not be able to modify the hardware without having the customer bring it back in. In any case their local people wouldn't be able to handle that anyway. I've also been able to closely analyze the drives of many Arron's customer PC's. If they use monitoring software in this area it is very covert. Also, OEM's routinely have customers reload the OS from disk as a troubleshooting measure so that would kill most monitoring software. I suspect this is only a single area, maybe a few unscrupulous store managers... not the whole chain.

~ Nicodemus

 

[Guest]

I work for Aaron's and have been for almost 4 years. I'm a Product Tech. and we do not monitor any of our customers computers or laptops. Our computers come to the store factory sealed from our distribution centers. Now, as for our customers owning the computers as the lease them, they don't, it's still Aaron's property until the customer pays it off ie: 12,18 or 24 months.

 

[JD13]

In a similar case not too long ago; some of the car rental agency got in trouble for not disclosing that it had GPS tracking in their cars. They tried to add surcharges for going over the speed limit.

 

[notwhatyathink003]

As a former aaron's employee, I can state that yes Aarons does indeed use this software, PC Rental Agent. The software is on a usb drive or cd and is loaded once the pc is unboxed. Though I must say, I never, or anyone I knew used the software to take pictures or record customers. The software resides in the background and if a customer doesn't pay their bill, the pc becomes unuseble until they pay. This is the main reason customers have to sign a "do not alter the software" clause during their closing. I've heard of others snapping pics with it using the webcam but not keystrokes.

 

[spectrewind]

[citation][nom]notwhatyathink003[/nom]As a former aaron's employee, I can state that yes Aarons does indeed use this software, PC Rental Agent. The software is on a usb drive or cd and is loaded once the pc is unboxed. Though I must say, I never, or anyone I knew used the software to take pictures or record customers. The software resides in the background and if a customer doesn't pay their bill, the pc becomes unuseble until they pay. This is the main reason customers have to sign a "do not alter the software" clause during their closing. I've heard of others snapping pics with it using the webcam but not keystrokes.[/citation]


Wow... A "do not alter" clause, I think, would be a deal breaker for many people I know. If I buy it, I WILL ALTER IT.

 

[michaelahess]

@spectrewind

Yeah, like people that buy from rent a centers are gonna be smart enough to actually read....you're a funny guy!

 

[JonnyDough]

Companies can monitor anything you do online publicly, and anything you do on their own network. Which is why you should never do private banking/etc on your company network, although people all over the world do just that. I'm leery because I work for an elite branch of the government and I am pretty sure everything I do is monitored, even when I am using the net on my own cell phone.

 

[aaron88_7]

Well this article certainly got my attention! ha

 

[eddieroolz]

This is a disgusting revelation. No one should ever have their privacy invaded in this systematic manner...this is worse than tracking your location done by Google and Apple.

 

[guruofchem]

Calling these people scumbags is an insult to bags filled with scum...

 

[sirmorluk]

What I thought "rent to own" business were all ethical upstanding businesses? The question I have to ask is how do they exist anyway? Are that that many people willing to be taken advantage of just so they can have a new shiney in their home?
These places are as criminal as Payday loan offices.

 

[dark_lord69]

That is why when you get a new computer...
FORMAT C:

If you're not allowed to do that then it's not really your computer and you shouldn't buy it.