Extension Pack in VirtualBox, is there a privacy risk? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by Dsklnsadog@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Hello, I try to keep my Debian laptop as private as possible, but for work, I need to use Windows software, so I run a VirtualBox with Windows 11. My PC runs smoothly without any issues, but I need to access my specific hardware USB ports, and it doesn't recognize them. I read that I need to install the Extension Pack, so I downloaded it, but before installing it, I get a warning message that seems to suggest I'm accepting some risk to my computer. I don't really understand this stuff, so I wanted to ask the following:

Is there any security or privacy risk associated with the VirtualBox Extension Pack?

Is there any other way to access my USB-C devices without installing it? (I've already tried selecting USB 2.0 and 3.0, but the list shows "no device available").

Thank you very much to whoever responds.

PS: Also I found this on the Internet: "The user agreement VirtualBox extension pack states of sharing a user’s data to the US govt. including the hardware information and so on. Does it make sense even if I use Tails/Whonix for anonymity?" :-/

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[-] Flyswat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 years ago

At the company I work at we needed to use USB 3.0 devices for which you need the extension pack (Windows hosts, Ubuntu VM).

For commercial use you need a licence to use the extension pack, so I don't know how Oracle knew of the abuse of some employees but our company received a communication reminding about the licence rule.

[-] ares35@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

the thing must phone home to check license status, and they were able to match your systems to the same entity via ip or network or something. but with a minimum buy of 100, i'd tell 'em to fuck off if the total seats using the pack was less than that, regardless of commercial/personal use status.

this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023

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