英语热词 | 10元修改朋友圈定位有风险

每到假期,朋友圈就会被各类定位打卡的旅游美图刷屏。可是,你不知道的是,有些打卡的定位信息其实是假的。

According to media reports, users can change the location shared in WeChat Moments with the help of a service available on some e-commerce platforms for as low as couple of yuan to dozens of yuan.
据媒体报道,用户可以在一些电商平台花几元或者几十元来修改朋友圈分享的定位信息。

An investigation by Beijing Youth Daily found that the service is still available on e-commerce platforms, but sellers have to be authorized to remotely log in the buyer's WeChat account to change the GPS location with a plug-in.
《北京青年报》调查发现,此类服务在电商平台有售,但是买家需要授权让卖家远程登录其微信账号,然后用插件修改定位信息。

  • 这里的plug-in指a piece of software that can be added to a computer system to give extra features or functions(可添加入计算机系统以实现额外功能的软件),即“插件”。网络游戏中用来作弊的“外挂程序”则叫做tag-on service,指专门针对一个或多个网络游戏,通过改变网络游戏软件的部分程序制作而成的作弊程序(cheating program)。

记者调查发现,修改朋友圈定位服务主要有三种形式:单次人工代发、软件无限次操作、硬件永久使用。

单次代发一般只需10元、20元,需要用户自己先编辑好朋友圈内容,并设置为“仅自己可见”,告诉卖家需要的地理位置,卖家会提供一个二维码(QR code),用户扫描后将允许卖家远程登录自己的微信账号(remotely log in the buyer's WeChat account),并修改定位发布朋友圈。

软件无限次操作则需要用户购买外挂软件(plug-in software),一般在100元左右。用户下载APP,按照卖家发来的教程操作,即可无限次修改朋友圈定位。

此外,用户还可以购买一款像充电头一样的硬件设备(hardware device),插在手机上就能直接改变手机自身的位置,进而可以修改手机上任何软件的定位。

WeChat staff said that using plug-in software poses privacy and property security risks. Internet security experts also warned consumers not to buy this service, given the potential safety risks.
微信团队表示,使用外挂软件有隐私和财产安全风险。互联网安全专家也发出警告,鉴于潜在的安全风险,建议消费者不要购买此类服务。

After gaining authorization through remote login, one can obtain the user's personal information and even implant trojans or viruses to the system, causing privacy leaks and loss of money, said an expert.
一位专家表示,获得远程登录授权之后,对方可获取用户的个人信息,甚至在手机系统中植入木马或病毒,导致隐私泄露及财务损失。

WeChat's public relations team said on Thursday the technical department has launched a probe into the issue. WeChat was not aware of the existence of the fake location service and have been cracking down on the use of plug-ins, the team said. As of the first half of 2019, WeChat has banned about one million accounts using plug-ins temporarily or permanently.
10月10日,微信公关回应,并不知道有此类服务售卖,一直在打击外挂行为,截止今年上半年已对百万违规账号进行临时或永久封禁处理,技术部已介入调查。

10月12日,微信表示,就媒体报道的外挂软件售卖信息,正在与淘宝沟通,要求下架相关违规服务(have such services removed from the platform),同时再次提醒用户不要使用此类外挂服务,以免带来隐私、财产安全等多种风险。

  • 信息泄露
    information leak
  • 个人隐私
    personal privacy
  • 抢票插件
    ticket-buying plug-in
  • 网红地打卡
    take the perfect Wechat Moments snap at an internet-famous site