What is scarier than Autodesk? – A Lot!
By choosing to be involved in the CIP (Customer Involvement Program), then you are choosing to have Autodesk collects some random information from you. They use this information to learn about your PC configuration and what type of machine you are using.
According to one of the official Autodesk blog on DWF, Autodesk “is not evil”. Read more about the info they collect and what they do with it on this post [1].
Okay – I agree that Autodesk is not evil. I don’t think they are trying to get any secrets from you. They are not going to snoop around where they are not invited. By getting on the CIP you are not opening up your machine to anything they want to grab. If they violate the trust that we have in them, they will do more damage than just some random collection of data could possibly do.
Are there some out there that think Autodesk is second cousin to “The Evil Empire”? Sure, but hopefully they are few and far between.
So here are a few things that scare me more than Autodesk taking a few K bytes off my machine…
1. After a great meal out, I give my credit card to some waiter that I do not know. They disappear for 5 to 10 minutes in the back of the restaurant and then return with my card. I have no idea what they have done with my card, or if they have written down my info.
2. I just purchased a used car. I had to give the dealer my social security number, drivers license, address and phone number. I don’t know them, how they store this info, how they destroy this info when they are done or who else might work there that is not as honest as I am.
3. The barber who cuts my hair stands behind me with very sharp objects. At any time they could loose it and stab me or cut my juggler vain. Kind of scary – huh?
4. I purchase things on the internet all the time. I provide my credit card info. I have no idea who is on the other end of my transaction. Amazon has my data. What are they doing with it? They tempt me with books and music ads that fit my purchasing style. So they have gathered and stored my buying habits.
5. Miscellaneous scary stuff… I buy movie tickets online. I pay my bills online. I use software that automatically updates via the net. I am connected to the internet just about all the time. Sniffers, snooping software, adware, spyware, it is all out there.
I practice safe surfing, but still… my info is out there.
Scary stuff – a lot scarier that Autodesk…