As I read it, they had a function to grab various bits of data from a specific machine that was linked to a specific cracker. Did it misfire and started to pilfer data from other unrelated machines?
Edit - for the record, the original post title was somehing like "Flightsimlabs attempts to explain their password-stealing DRM malware".
I'm shocked that the company admitted to doing this.
That's all it was. They are in a lot of trouble, potentially, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I am hoping that charges will be pressed, because this is not the first time developers have "booby trapped" pirated software, but it could be the last if justice is served.
I don't think so. I'd guess a lawyer would've told them to get rid of the feature, delete all collected passwords, never use any of it in the future and most importantly, don't admit to anything. It's rare that a lawyer advises you to admit to a crime. Before they admitted to it no one even knew if they ever used the collected data.
I still find it interesting how many people don’t realize that generosity could be a valuable part of your product. That growing the industry as a whole may be more important than getting back at people who weren’t going to buy your product anyhow.
It would be ironic if a bunch of pirates sued a software developer and won.
Just to be clear, nobody should let it go. Everyone needs to be taught right from wrong in their lives. Publishing malware is always wrong.