![]() Please also note that the computer must be authorised with the exact same Adobe ID. Please note that is you deauthorise a computer then you cannot open any ebooks that have Adobe DRM applied to them until you have reauthorised the computer again. Or occasionally ADE can give an error, and the solution for it is to deauthorise and then reauthorise the software. The main reasons for this tends to be if you have purchased a new computer, you need to deauthorise your old computer before you can authorise your new computer using the same Adobe ID. In the meantime, we'll be taking a hard look at our e-reader privacy chart.Occasionally you may need to deauthorise the Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) on your computer. If enough readers, librarians, publishers and authors speak up, perhaps this latest scandal will do the same for DRM and books. The rootkit scandal put several nails in the coffin of DRM and music. For Sony, and many others in the music industry, the price of DRM finally became too high, and it has since been largely abandoned. When the dust had cleared, Sony’s DRM cost it millions in fees and settlements, and, of course, did nothing to inhibit infringement. Sound familiar? That discovery led to a public relations meltdown for Sony, not to mention numerous lawsuits. ![]() Several years ago, music fans were shocked and dismayed to discover that copy-protection software on music from Sony artists was actually allowing Sony to monitor the fans’ listening habits, sending information home to Sony, and creating a massive security vulnerability. Whether or not Adobe actually intended to create this particular vulnerability, if your computer is collecting information about you, and then transmitting it in ways you can't control, chances are you've got a security problem.īut there may be a silver lining to all of this. As our friend Cory Doctorow has been explaining for years, DRM for books is dangerous for readers, authors and publishers alike. Third and most depressing: this flaw may have been unintentional, but we probably should have seen it coming. But if readers are using Adobe's software, it’s all too easy for folks to bypass those restrictions. (Adobe does not deny transmitting the information unencrypted.) Indeed, in 2011 EFF and a coalition of companies and public interest groups helped pass the Reader Privacy Act, which requires the government and civil litigants to demonstrate a compelling interest in obtaining reader records and show that the information contained in those records cannot be obtained by less intrusive means. Second, sending this information in plain text undermines decades of efforts by libraries and bookstores to protect the privacy of their patrons and customers. It also collects information about where you are reading that book, how long you've been reading it, and how much you've read. According to Adobe, the software only collects information about the book you are currently reading, not your entire library. Borrowing a copy of Moby Dick from your public library shouldn’t be a license to scan your cookbook collection.Īdobe claims that these reports are not quite accurate. If the independent reports are correct, Adobe may be scanning your entire electronic library. First, it appears Adobe is tracking more than many readers may realize, including information about self-published and purchased books. How big is the problem? Not completely clear, but it could be pretty big. Libraries, for example, encourage their patrons to use the software, because it helps them comply with the restrictions publishers impose on electronic lending. After all, the great “promise” of Digital Editions is that it can help publishers “securely distribute” and manage access to books. In other words, Adobe is not only tracking your reading habits, it’s making it really, really easy for others to do so as well.Īnd it’s all being done in the name of copyright enforcement. The publishing world may finally be facing its “ rootkit scandal.” Two independent reports claim that Adobe’s e-book software, “Digital Editions,” logs every document readers add to their local “library,” tracks what happens with those files, and then sends those logs back to the mother-ship, over the Internet, in the clear.
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