EAPC TechnologyTheft11102024

Introduction

When browsing a YouTube video on modifying a Windows 10 installation to make it have Windows Vista UI, Li Ao noticed that a GitHub project that contains some Chinese elements are used in the task. Further investigation suggested that this project uses stolen technology.

Details

On the GitHub repository Maplespe/DWMBlurGlass, the README.md file indicates that the author conducted reverse engineering of the Windows component dwm.exe with rough language. The contents also suggests that the author of the repository was very happy to see that the software is being used by an increasing number of people, although there is no actual constructive efforts on technical analysis of Microsoft products, after a roughly check on the source code. Further confirmation on heavy use of uneducated Chinese suggests that only simple use of programming languages which implements a more simplified user interface, with possibly less constrictive but more fruitless modifications to the original code, was made by the author of this repository.

A project claimed itself the upstream, found on GitHub at ALTaleX531/OpenGlass, has more sophisticated design and professionalized English language usage. Li Ao believes that it's of no reason to falsely claim the former project its downstream in the latter project.

Uneducated Chinese is used on this concerned project. More specifically, unscientific Chinese terms heavily used by Chinese IT employers that are uneducated on technical or civil subjects, are found being used by this project, for example, claiming the Microsoft Windows software a "system," and making use "win7" as a form of formal product name of Windows 7. No indications of Zhihuese usage were found.

Ethics Concerns

Li Ao has concluded that technology should not be used to create problems that are not necessary. In order to eliminate the negative influence of uneducated fashions of incorrect Chinese language usage, he suggests that to using the original, upstream project, if any.

Additionally, Chinese spyware vendors may modify the source code of programs without the knowledge of developers, resulting in added security vulnerability to potential computers that runs them on. Virus scan is encouraged before employing these software products into production use.