Re:Ethical considerations of access to the HackerOne community
by MichaelGG on Thursday May 04, 2017 @09:45PM
(#14270528)
I have no doubt it is what they're selling. But the question is if the tool does something, then the marketing message shouldn't really be relevant. If a FlexiSpy clone comes along and is less direct about spouse-spying, and plays a stronger line of "you need authorization", then it's suddenly OK?
Re:Ethical considerations of access to the HackerOne community
by sigmar on Thursday May 04, 2017 @11:45PM
(#14270980)
>the marketing message shouldn't really be relevant
my point was that it isn't just marketing, this use-case was a huge part of their thinking while designing the software and offering support to customers. [repeating my comment almost verbatim]
If a clone came along that wasn't designed so that it can be totally hidden while installed, then privacy advocates would be less angry.
Re:Ethical considerations of access to the HackerOne community
by lmm on Friday May 05, 2017 @06:59AM
(#14272500)
Many tools have legitimate and illegitimate uses. There is rarely a clear sharp line; we have to make a judgement as to whether a given tool does more harm than good, on the whole, and there are no shortcuts. IMO it's entirely right to weigh the marketing message in that balance; after all, the marketing will by design affect what kind of people buy the tool with what kind of intentions.
>I asked a FlexiSpy salesperson a simple question: If I wanted to, could I use their spyware to snoop on my wife's cellphone without her knowing? The answer each time was yes. When asked if it was legal, they responded with a canned disclaimer explaining it was necessary to get the permission of the target. But what if I didn't want my wife to know? They could help me anyway.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2017/02/22/flexi...