peruytu

I just tried and its simply amazing! I can't believe something like this free... but then again, like any other great thing that first comes out free will eventually be charged for.

Anyways, i'm wondering, how safe is orb.com? I mean, as far as others getting your info through open and wired networks is pretty safe i'm sure, but what about the company itself? How do we know the people of orb.com aren't keeping all the info that's going through their servers? Isn't that how it works, that it first must go through from your computer through their servers down to your mobile device? How do we know for sure all our private videos and pictures arent being stored in their servers?

I don't know if this issue has been addressed yet and if it has, I haven't seen it, and if it hasnt, it should be brought up because this can be really dangerous.

jpmarth

The best way to determine if they are keeping an eye on what you transfer is to read the terms and conditions very carefully. They do have a right to make sure you are not transferring illegal information. Though it is always best to read the fine print before transferring something confidential.

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ironhelix

did you guys ever go in your task list,

and list all of orb services,

theres like 6 or more services running.

you should run a port scanner and see

how many ports are used.

i havent done my homewerk on them,

im only weary that one of those services

maybe a proxy, that would allowed other

to surf under your ip, but i dont have facts to back me up.

often things that are too good to be true, arent.


maybe if im bored ill reinstall it this weekend

and lists my findings

OddbOd

Although I agree that it pays to be cautious this is bordering on paranoia. The stream itself is not routed through Orb's server it is sent over a direct connection made by the media server installed on your PC as part of the Orb software package. The only information that passes through the server is the name and metadata for each file so that the HTML pages can be generated.

While it is quite conceivable that Orb may be collecting information on users viewing/listening habits (filenames, time listened, etc.) you have to keep in mind that you are sending them that information they are not requesting it. It is illegal for anybody to access your PC without explicit permission as this is covered by antihacking and privacy laws in most countries.

Caddychunk

That's a great original question as I've had the same concerns. I think oddbod has a pretty good reply, but I still wonder about ORB. I mean, how can such a great service be free? I still use it daily and really like it.

FishTacoBob

Did you see who their partners are? Audible.com, Creative, Netgear, and Sprint! I think they have enough money backing them to provide a free service.

Rishad

well ya.. I had concerns about it too. collecting information is not always illegal.. think about doubleclick.com etc. and Orb runs so many connections.. I'm constantly having to allow access with zone alarm.

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benjibob

Originally Posted by akheron

well ya.. I had concerns about it too. collecting information is not always illegal.. think about doubleclick.com etc. and Orb runs so many connections.. I'm constantly having to allow access with zone alarm.

I was wondering the same as I tend to trust no one. I found the following on the ORB forum website. You can read it and believe it, or not. But it does say you do not have to go through their servers. Which is good. It doesn't answer some of the other concerns mentioned above though.

Interesting to note though that they are "partners" with Haupage TV.

http://forums.orb.com/community/view...e8317 53e918b

You are correct in that the HTTP requests go through our servers, and there is not much we could do about it (short of requiring our users to host their own web servers for that purpose).

As for the streaming of audio, live TV, recorded TV, and video, you do not have to go through Orb servers. If you have a router with UPnP capability (most routers of these past 18 to 24 months do), you can enable that feature on your router and Orb will automatically detect it, enable DirectStream (Orb tray icon | Configuration | Advanced) on your Orb system, and from that moment on, send the streams directly from your home PC to the device you use to access your Orb media, thus bypassing Orb servers. You can actually verify that by looking at the streamed file's URL in your media player's file properties: you should then see your Orb PC IP address as the source (not Orb stream server).

stargate51

Originally Posted by peruytu

I just tried and its simply amazing! I can't believe something like this free... but then again, like any other great thing that first comes out free will eventually be charged for. Anyways, i'm wondering, how safe is orb.com? I mean, as far as others getting your info through open and wired networks is pretty safe i'm sure, but what about the company itself? How do we know the people of orb.com aren't keeping all the info that's going through their servers? Isn't that how it works, that it first must go through from your computer through their servers down to your mobile device? How do we know for sure all our private videos and pictures arent being stored in their servers? I don't know if this issue has been addressed yet and if it has, I haven't seen it, and if it hasnt, it should be brought up because this can be really dangerous.

If you want the best tv anywhere you go get the best ( THE SLINGBOX)(Go to slingmedia.com)

james_7_07

Originally Posted by peruytu

I just tried and its simply amazing! I can't believe something like this free... but then again, like any other great thing that first comes out free will eventually be charged for. Anyways, i'm wondering, how safe is orb.com? I mean, as far as others getting your info through open and wired networks is pretty safe i'm sure, but what about the company itself? How do we know the people of orb.com aren't keeping all the info that's going through their servers? Isn't that how it works, that it first must go through from your computer through their servers down to your mobile device? How do we know for sure all our private videos and pictures arent being stored in their servers? I don't know if this issue has been addressed yet and if it has, I haven't seen it, and if it hasnt, it should be brought up because this can be really dangerous.

I have been trying to get on orb.com.....it won't let me create a new user. how do I get on?

Gigi

Originally Posted by james_7_07

I have been trying to get on orb.com.....it won't let me create a new user. how do I get on?

You registered here?

https://mycast.orb.com/orb/html/createUser.html

Have you already installed it?

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james_7_07

Originally Posted by Gigi

You registered here? https://mycast.orb.com/orb/html/createUser.html Have you already installed it?

Thanks for that info?

aaubreyy

yeah, useful info