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antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

antdude

Premium Member

12 surprising ways personal technology betrays your privacy

»www.computerworld.com/ar ··· acy.html OR »deslide.clusterfake.net/ ··· all=true (one/1 ugly web page).

"It's not just your boss or the government that's spying on you, it's also the devices and technologies you embrace.

Our great privacy fears tend to be centered around others invading our privacy, whether it's Google reading email, the boss monitoring your computer use, or the NSA eavesdropping on phone calls.

The problem is, we don't think about the very technologies we voluntarily embrace and what kind of snooping they do, and they do a lot of tracking. Some of it can and is used for benign or helpful reasons, but that can be turned against you very fast.

Here are 12 ways your personal technology is betraying your privacy..."

It is almost three/3 months old.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20

Premium Member

Click for full size
I don't see an article there?

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

1 edit

dandelion to antdude

MVM

to antdude
One I had to allow per noscript i.e. computerworld.com, the other link may require java, not sure since my security programs allowed me to view and yes.. it is fairly ugly.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

1 edit

Mele20 to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude
It's NOT Proxo as I bypassed it. I also tried on IE 11 Edge Mode on Win 10 Preview and also in compatibility mode. NO article to be seen anywhere.

If Java is needed, I should have been asked and I wasn't.

The second link turns into the first link. There is no second link ...at least not on IE 11 in Edge Mode.

I'm getting tired of about 50% of websites linked to from dslr not working for me on any browser on two different OSes. I remember several years ago reading computerworld with no problems but that was on XP Pro and websites were no forsaking desktops back then for display only on cell phones.

Hmm...are cookies required there? IE didn't ask me about cookies and I don't think Fx did either. Easy to check on Fx....harder on IE.

Edit: Fx 34.0.5 did not ask for a cookie at computerworld site.
Expand your moderator at work
19579823 (banned)
An Awesome Dude
join:2003-08-04

19579823 (banned) to Mele20

Member

to Mele20

quote:
"It's not just your boss or the government that's spying on you, it's also the devices and technologies you embrace.
Most people do not care........ They have been so brainwahsed and compromised to be willing pigeons for the elite!!!!!

THEY PUT ALL OF US @ RISK!!!!!!!! (The sheep do)
Expand your moderator at work

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

1 recommendation

sivran to antdude

Premium Member

to antdude

Re: 12 surprising ways personal technology betrays your privacy

Some of the display options--such as the one antdude used--on deslided don't seem to grab the text.

Here's text only version: »deslide.clusterfake.net/ ··· acy.html



Nothing surprising here--to any of us anyway. A couple things I'd never heard of, like the "Secret" app.
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

2 recommendations

dave to 19579823

Premium Member

to 19579823

Re: ‏

Then disconnect from the network and never come here again.

Because if you think I'm going to stop using a GPS (you did read the article, didn't you?) just because you think my use puts you at risk, you're a complete fool, and the only way for you to live with your irrational expectations is to go away.

StuartMW
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06

StuartMW

Premium Member

said by dave:

Because if you think I'm going to stop using a GPS (you did read the article, didn't you?)...

I haven't read it but did it say using GPS is a privacy risk?

I'm soooo sick of people who just cannot understand the difference between GPS receivers (that I use) and smartphones etc that have GPS and report that data over the phone network.

There is nothing inherent in GPS that is a security/privacy risk. There is a risk for users that use devices that send the data somewhere (phones, tablets, On*Star etc).
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

dave

Premium Member

Article says that a Garmin GPS receiver keeps a certain amount of history as to where you've been, and therefore anyone who gets hold of your receiver can find out where you've been.

Obviously, this only poses any risk at all to 19579823 See Profile if you've been visiting him. Much of the article is of this nature, but the dude has to come out with his knee-jerk nonsense about 'brainwashed sheep' putting him at risk.

StuartMW
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06

StuartMW

Premium Member

said by dave:

Article says that a Garmin GPS receiver keeps a certain amount of history as to where you've been...

Ahh. They have a track/trip log. What a shocker!!!! In some models you can turn it off/on in others you can't but you can erase it.

It is said that "ignorance is bliss". Not nowadays
19579823 (banned)
An Awesome Dude
join:2003-08-04

1 recommendation

19579823 (banned) to dave

Member

to dave
quote:
Because if you think I'm going to stop using a GPS (you did read the article, didn't you?) just because you think my use puts you at risk, you're a complete fool, and the only way for you to live with your irrational expectations is to go away.
Dave im sorry I dont want to offend ya buddy.... I MEAN ME FOR EXAMPLE!!!!

I DO NOT HAVE A SMART PHONE,I AM NOT ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA GARBAGE SITE (Facebook,etc) and I dont like being around ppl WHO HAVE THESE SPY PHONES WITH CAMERAS IN THIER CARS,ETC..... Or ppl who invite me to FACEBOOK,LINKEDIN,ETC.... I DO NOT WANT MY NAME OR EMAIL ADDRESSES EXPOSED TO THAT INTRUSIVE GARBAGE!!!!!!!

PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK DO NOT CARE ABOUT ANY PRIVACY.. EVEN OTHER PEOPLES... THATS HOW BRAINWASHED THEY ARE!! (They are so under control by the elite its scary)



I VALUE MY PRIVACY 1000% AND I DONT LIKE SHEEP PUTTING MY PRIVACY AT RISK!!

carpetshark3
Premium Member
join:2004-02-12
Idledale, CO

carpetshark3 to StuartMW

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to StuartMW
Some smartphones do realize that use GPS only means GPS only. I have sites I can't connect to unless I have the phone's network location on also. (I've checked out of curiosity) The only 2 types of apps that I have that use GPS only are astronomy and weather. If the app has my location pinpointed exactly (astronomy, and NWS) they are using pure GPS. If location is slightly off, then they want both, and they aren't getting it. Since I have used astronomy apps where there is absolutely no phone service at all, the GPS has to be a receiver to work with the app which also works without phone service. I gotta know where to point my telescope under clear dark skies!

BTW- some sites also want Google's location services, and that is a no-no. I don't even have Google maps/location on the phone. I print out driving directions from the PC and send them to the phone, or print out turn by turn. I hate AI talking at me and it's far faster to memorize line by line.
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

6 recommendations

dave to 19579823

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to 19579823
If you don't wish to offend, then you should ease off on the name-calling of anyone who does not share your viewpoint. How can calling anyone 'brainwashed' or 'sheep' not be construed as offensive?

You even manage to offend when ostensibly apologizing for causing offence. I happen to have an iPhone - therefore I consider myself a member of the class that you frequently rail about. I also have a LinkedIn account - so I'm probably brainwashed on that basis, too.

You can make your own choices and you may legitimately complain about other people who give information about you to strangers. But to go from there to posting insults about all people with smartphones, or all people with Facebook accounts, gets a little tedious.

StuartMW
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06

StuartMW to carpetshark3

Premium Member

to carpetshark3
said by carpetshark3:

Some smartphones do realize that use GPS only means GPS only.

Some smartphone apps will let you use the built-in GPS without reporting your position but as you said many won't.

Again nothing to do with GPS itself. That is a function of any given app.

Smartphones couple a GPS receiver to a transceiver (phone) with the OS/Apps(s) in between. I use GPS receivers which can't send anything anywhere because they don't have the capability (the hardware isn't there).

PS: Some GPS receiver manufacturers have PC/Mac software that will phone home data collected by their receivers if you accept their license agreement etc. That is easily defeated and is therefore a non-issue. On the other hand some users willingly upload all their GPS data to Facebook and/or other sites.
19579823 (banned)
An Awesome Dude
join:2003-08-04

19579823 (banned) to dave

Member

to dave
Yes maybe it does and im sorry......... I guess im just over reactive about it...
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned)

Member

said by 19579823:

Yes maybe it does and im sorry......... I guess im just over reactive about it...

I agree with you and don't have any devices or accounts like you. Don't worry about the thin skinned sensitive types out there. But to appease some in here just state that MOST or MANY Facebook etc. are sheep and brainwashed.

camper
just visiting this planet
Premium Member
join:2010-03-21
Bethel, CT

3 recommendations

camper to Mele20

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to Mele20

Re: 12 surprising ways personal technology betrays your privacy

said by Mele20:

I don't see an article there?

 
I stopped viewing those "12 ways..." or "10 things you need to do...", etc., etc., types of articles, as they appear to be designed more to increase page hits than convey information.

If the information is so important to know, put it on a single scrollable page that doesn't require active [and possibly exploitable] content to view.
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

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dave to peterboro

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to peterboro

Re: ‏

Fine, but can we discuss the actual article? Only one of thirteen 'risks' mentions Facebook, and its point is that if I know what you 'like' on Facebook, it helps me build up a useful profile of you.
said by article :
Researchers at Cambridge’s Psychometrics Centre and Microsoft Research Cambridge analyzed a dataset of over 58,000 U.S. Facebook volunteers. Models were 88% accurate in determining male sexuality, 95% accurate in distinguishing African-Americans from whites and 85% accurate differentiating Republican from Democrat. Christians and Muslims were correctly identified in 82% of cases, relationship status and substance abuse were predicted 65% and 73%.
None of this is specific to Facebook. This very site has a 'like' feature (it's called 'recommend') so the same logic is presumably applicable here. Even if there were no such feature, one can presumably do a similar profiling job by looking at what sorts of postings you reply to.

But who needs advanced data crunching in the service of psychometrics? We already know that 19579823 See Profile is male, white, has republican leanings, and is probably single. With lesser certainty we can guess he's heterosexual and has no substance abuse problems.

None of this is of real interest to me: I call it out because (1) I'm tired of the Pavlovian reaction that is elicited by the mere mention of the word 'Facebook', and it would be nice if we could actually discuss it without the usual vomit of capital letters and exclamation marks, and (2) if you don't read the damn article then you're going to look a little silly when it turns out the 'risk' is that it will expose information that you have already exposed.

In case you're wondering, I have no Facebook account.
scelli (banned)
Four More Years!
join:1999-08-07
FLOT/FEBA

1 edit

scelli (banned)

Member

said by dave:

and it would be nice if we could actually discuss it without the usual vomit of capital letters and exclamation marks...

Everything from your previous postings in this thread (particularly the part I've chosen to highlight above) regarding Dude111's behavior on these boards has been broached before, and especially by myself throughout the last few years.

I for one am tired of the hollow mea culpa offered up every time by him or his apologists when someone responds back to his diatribes using what can only be deemed as common sense. Enough already! As I've stated before: the shtick has gotten old and it's about time the curtain was brought down on that tired act.

(Edited for clarification)
scelli

1 recommendation

scelli (banned) to peterboro

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to peterboro
said by peterboro:

Don't worry about the thin skinned sensitive types out there.

This has nothing to do with your highly subjective opinion on whether some here are the so-called "thin skinned sensitive type", so get off that little tangent.

It has everything to do with posters behaving as mature individuals on a highly-frequented adult Internet forum, and not like some petulant 12-year old who throws a hissy-fit every time he or she reads something they disagree with.
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

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dave to antdude

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to antdude

Re: 12 surprising ways personal technology betrays your privacy

Back to the actual article. Here's my summary, with commentary.

1. It's possible to activate the camera on an Android phone without the user knowing. Not necessarily intrinsic to the form - a software bug, ought to be fixed.

2. Factory resets on phones do not wipe personal data. Hardly surprising, but worth a reminder. "Secure wipe" program needed, unclear to me whether that can be provided as an add-on.

3. Metadata allows you to be identified even though the metadata may contain no personal information. Duh. We knew that was just official evasion in any case.

4. Browser history is available to third parties. Yup.

5. You can be profiled by what you 'like'. Already discussed.

6. A GPS has info about where you have been and anyone touching the GPS can find it. Yup.

7. Some online app that professes to keep secrets secret has vulnerabilities. Hardly surprising, though worth a public service announcement.

8. Chicago has lampposts with WiFi capability to count phones. This one is alarmed at what-might-happen, so there's little there to comment on now.

9. Google Maps on Android records where you've been. Should be opt-in rather than opt-out IMO. I should check my own use of Google Maps, though I suspect I am ok since I do not have any Google accounts (it's optional to use Maps).

10. Smart TVs require draconian consent or they turn into ordinary TVs with no 'smart' features. The lesson here is to read the Ts and Cs before you buy, I suppose.

11. Smart meters can be read without crypto and therefore can imply when you're not at home. Bad fail on the design of smart meters, but there may be little you can do about it except complain.

12. Twitter/Instagram geotag everything: privacy fail. But it was used to locate a Russian soldier who was 'definitely not in the Ukraine' and thus expose Putin's lies, so it's not all bad.

StuartMW
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06

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StuartMW

Premium Member

Thanks for the summary dave See Profile. That actually brings up a more general point.

I generally prefer that users quote some part of an article of interest and then provide a link so others can read it (or not). That said sites like the one cited are often security/privacy risks in their own right.

I also see a lot of "security" sites that don't work properly if tracking (esp. Google) is blocked. Oh the irony...

Not sure what to do about it just an observation.

PS: I often view such sites through a proxy (e.g. Ixquick Proxy) but that often makes pages hard to read.
TheMG
Premium Member
join:2007-09-04
Canada

TheMG to antdude

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to antdude
None of these are what I would call "surprising".

camper
just visiting this planet
Premium Member
join:2010-03-21
Bethel, CT

camper to dave

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to dave
said by dave:

10. Smart TVs require draconian consent or they turn into ordinary TVs with no 'smart' features. The lesson here is to read the Ts and Cs before you buy, I suppose.

 
It's not enough to check the T&C before you buy.

LG, I believe, updated the software in their TVs that were already in peoples' homes, i.e., after the sale, to enable intrusive tracking, logging and phoning home of what was watched and the sources it was being watched from.

Bill_MI
Bill In Michigan
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join:2001-01-03
Royal Oak, MI

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MVM

to antdude
Nothing new at all, just a compilation the masses have been ignoring for a long time. A totalitarianistic state like no other in history grows and grows. When people wake up it will be too late (probably already is).

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

sivran

Premium Member

Everyone tells me the state is either totalitarian, incompetent, or both.

In my experience, the middle option rings the most true.

Blackbird
Built for Speed
Premium Member
join:2005-01-14
Fort Wayne, IN

Blackbird to dave

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to dave
said by dave:

... 11. Smart meters can be read without crypto and therefore can imply when you're not at home. Bad fail on the design of smart meters, but there may be little you can do about it except complain. ...

However, in the case of most Rottweiler owners, smart meters don't tell if the dog's home. (I make allowance for those rare Rottweilers who may be knowledgeable in operating electrical appliances.) Using the logic occasionally evinced in these forums, the take-home message would be that if you're on a smart meter, a Rottweiler can be considered a useful, if not necessary, security device.

StuartMW
Premium Member
join:2000-08-06

StuartMW

Premium Member

Your meter readers must just love you

. o O ("Hello? Yeah my dog just ate another one...")