WebRTC Discussion

[TractorGear]

I'll describe what I think I know thus far. I've just discovered that there is some kind of service or function called "WebRTC" that will deliver a computer User's real IP Address despite their efforts at hiding it. At this point I'm calling it malware, because it performs exactly like malware and thus far I can find no positive purpose for it's existence, other than vague and ambiguous generalities like "it makes things better" and "improves gronkgockulating performance" and other meaningless mish-mash dribble-drabble intended to distract and satisfy substandard minds into accepting the existence of malware on their computers whose only purpose is to defeat any attempt at maintaining anonymity and privacy, in order to provide Google, Microsoft, the NSA, the North Korean government, the communist Chinese government and other intelligence gathering entities the ability to record everything everyone does everywhere online, for the purpose of future coercion, manipulation and blackmail.

Also, I've made a cursory search of the text "WebRTC" in titles-only and to the best of my knowledge there are no other threads on this forum with WebRTC as the primary topic. I'm posting this on this forum because in the short time that I've been here I've realized that the quality of expertise here is better than any of the computer-specific forums that I've been on and/or am aware of. It is my hope to find others that are hopefully even more informed about the existence of this malware as a necessary 1st step towards defeating it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebRTC

Normally in these types of situations I would not "flip-out", but after a couple of days research, I've learned that a plugin/browser extension written for Chrome WebRTC, specifically designed to disable WebRTC's ability to hand over a computer user's IP Address has somehow been disabled by Google. When it was first published, it disabled WebRTC, and now it doesn't. Google is blamed for the fact that the browser extension is now broken. I interpret this as a highly and overtly hostile act by an already highly suspect multinational corporation (Google, found to have illegally sold narcotics, but no one went to prison), on the same order of magnitude as Sony's rootkit.

Things I'm interested in:

1) Is there any legitimate reason for this functionalities' existence? Can there possibly be an argument that the benefits outweigh the obvious negatives? Or is it really just an overt means to subvert the anonymity and privacy of Chinese and American dissidents against the surveillance state.

2) What is the technological "source" for this malware? Is it part of the operating system, part of Google, javascript, some kind of combination?

3) What is the best way to defeat this malware? Is it enough to uninstall Chrome? Everything "Google"? Etc...

4) Other thoughts and questions of intelligent people that care about these things.

[diif]

Re: WebRTC Discussion

Do you browse with a vpn ? Your ip is known otherwise.
This was a recent vulnerability (not malware) that was discovered.
Took less than 30 seconds to change one line in Firefox.
Do you run ghostery in your browser, you are tracked across the www by trackers running on webpages. There are none on badcaps though I should add. (Thanks TC)

Read here about webRTC, instructions on how to disable and there is a link to test if is enabled/disabled
https://www.privateinternetaccess.co...sing-private-i.

[delaware74b]

Re: WebRTC Discussion

Firefox 36.0.1 had it enabled by default (media.peerconnection.enabled), which I promptly disabled.

However, Pale Moon 25.3.0 didn't even have it in the about:config file. I added new booleen media.peerconnection.enabled and set it to false.

[mariushm]

Re: WebRTC Discussion

When you access a website, your computer needs to connect to that server that hosts he website, so the server will have your IP address, therefore the website will know your IP address.
You can access a simple website like http://ping.eu to see what IP a web server detects.

Now, if you have several computers in the house behind a router, the server hosting the website can not normally identify the address of the particular computer, it will only see the router's address.

So if you're a normal user that simply browses websites and so on, WebRTC or not, it makes no difference because a remote website can know your IP address.

The problem with WebRTC was that due to a bug, when a user used VPN to access a server or website or whatever, the other server could determine your actual IP address.

For example, let's say you're in US but want to access a website in Europe to see some football match using live streaming, which is normally blocked to non-EU viewers. So, you could use a French VPN to connect to the website with the live stream and normally the European website will identify you as French and only see the VPN's French IP.
But if the website used WebRTC, your US ip address could be still detected due to some bug.


1) Is there any legitimate reason for this functionalities' existence? Can there possibly be an argument that the benefits outweigh the obvious negatives? Or is it really just an overt means to subvert the anonymity and privacy of Chinese and American dissidents against the surveillance state.


Yes. Encrypted, secure, peer to peer communication between users without requiring to download applications or pay for minutes. No need to download Skype or Yahoo Messenger to talk to someone in another part of the world.
Don't see what the negatives.

2) What is the technological "source" for this malware? Is it part of the operating system, part of Google, javascript, some kind of combination?


it's not malware, WebRTC is just a standard (a set of definitions, protocols, things that must be respected by browsers to allow interaction between people's browsers) which brings something useful to users (real time communication between users)

3) What is the best way to defeat this malware? Is it enough to uninstall Chrome? Everything "Google"? Etc...

It's not malware.

[TractorGear]

Re: WebRTC Discussion

The problem with WebRTC was that due to a bug, when a user used VPN to access a server or website or whatever, the other server could determine your actual IP address.

It is malware. The belief that it is not is pollyanna propaganda. It hands over information despite delibarate efforts by the Computer User to prevent the information transfer. It cannot be turned off. Efforts to prevent it's functionality have been thwarted by Google. The only way to prevent it from betraying your anonymity and privacy is to completely remove anything related to Google. Not even Internet Explorer has this malware infection hard-wired and embedded to it. The idea that it is required to perform any function at all is a lie, and is only believed by the most naive people, or overt Statists with an agenda.

Whatever functionality is provided, it was never needed before WebRTC's existence, and now it is being forced upon people as if it were absolutely necessary to perform everything.

Also, I question your characterization calling it a "bug". I find no reports of an accidental, inadvertent "bug" with this malware; instead I find reports that efforts to disable it have been bypassed by Google. I think calling it a "bug" is wishful thinking, i.e. you wish we lived in a universe where Google, and all the various government agencies were not engaged in a deliberate and concerted effort to deny the computer using public the ability to control their own information. You are welcome to your own delusions, but you cause harm to less-informed, and less-assertive other people by explaining a dangerous and highly offensive reality as some kind of benign accident.

That's not an indicator of a "bug", that's evidence of a conspiracy.

[diif]

Re: WebRTC Discussion

I don't think you are understanding what this is.
Malware by definition is malicious software. If you go here http://www.webrtc.org/ it explains what webrtc is. It has been found that when a client communicates with a STUN server it gives away the real ip of the client not the vpn ip.
This and 15 years of the IT business say it's not propaganda, it's a bug.
As explained above changing one line in the about:config file of Firefox was enough for a fix.
Don't like what Google do, even though you're tracked across the www by trackers, uninstall it.
Go and read about Heartbleed and Shellshock you will see bugs that have been around for a long while suddenly being discovered. WebRTC is like that.
In other security news all of the 4 browsers were compromised at pwn2own last week.

[stj]

Re: WebRTC Discussion

in times of war, people involved in espionage can be executed.

[stj]

Re: WebRTC Discussion

hell, who needs a war! - do the bastards anyway.
Voltare once wrote that the most dangerous enemy is the enemy within.
IE: traitors & spies.