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The Smartphone That Spies, and Other Surprises

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-see-what-you-did-there dept.

GMGruman writes "As smartphones become ubiquitous accessories, unexpected consequences can result. In this blog post, InfoWorld's Galen Gruman looks at some of the unintended consequences of mobile technology's ubiquity, in which very useful technology can also raise issues. For example, the US Army has put out a training video to tell troops how to disable the location detection on iPhones and Androids so they can't be tracked when on deployment. That's just one example of the behavior and awareness that most people haven't yet grokked. Others involve cameras, microphones, and USB drives."

16 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. any chance by Presto+Vivace · · Score: 2

    someone will put out a phone with built in privacy?

    1. Re:any chance by thewils · · Score: 2

      For sure, but then only "terrorists" would want one.

      --
      Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
    2. Re:any chance by boristdog · · Score: 2

      For sure, but then only "terrorists" would want one.

      A good excuse for the government to put a secret tracking device in all "untrackable" phones.

  2. same old story by Tom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It really is the same old story again.

    When the first iPhone was launched, one of the showcase apps was something where you could see where all your friends are. The first iPhone didn't have GPS, so it was WiFi and GSM triangulation and not very accurate, but my first thought was "do I want that?".

    Shouldn't it have a toggle - a hardware one even, just like the mute one - where I can decide whether I want my location shared or not? It should be quick and easy to toggle between those states. I would be off most of the time, other people would be on most of the time, but everyone has reasons, times or places they don't want to be located.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    1. Re:same old story by drcheap · · Score: 2

      Well you can have a fairly quick and accessible toggle via SBSettings if you jailbreak an iPhone. Users of some other phones aren't so lucky.

      I agree that there needs to be a quick and easy way to toggle it, but at the same time you are going to need a few of those toggles, not just location but things like wifi, 3g, etc. But wait, that's going to get confusing/annoying to be constantly flipping toggles on the side of your phone (or even in software). That will actually detract from the device useability, and people will think negatively about it. Just look at laptops that have a hardware wi-fi radio toggle...in my experiences about 90% of people who have them do not use them, and of those at least half probably don't even know what the switch does.

      The truth is people (read: general public, read: where the $$ comes from) don't care enough about the security, or at least don't weigh it higher than the inconvenience factor of having it. For this reason, the device and/or OS manufacturers don't spend R&D as well as production costs on it because that would increase the retail price. In otherwords it doesn't make business sense to the creator of the tool to make a better tool, so why bother?

      Another problem with toggles like this is that they only have two states...ON/OFF. Well what if I want to be able to use "location services" to find myself on teh googlemap, but I don't want my coordinates stamped into my EXIF data? Nope, sorry, all or nothing Mr. Consumer, sucks to be you.

    2. Re:same old story by symbolic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree- There is a lot of room for improvement. For example, in the Android realm, when you download a new app, it tells you which permissions it wants - if you click the OK button, you've granted all those permissions. This is backward. It ought to be that you tell an app which of the requested permissions you'll allow. Second, there is no firewall on Android devices, unless you decide to root your tablet or phone. This should be standard. Finally, it's missing some other key tools that make for a more secure environment - for one, more control over things like Javascript.

    3. Re:same old story by Tynin · · Score: 2

      Hi, I'm not up for going to deep on this one, but here is the /. article that says the FBI has these kinds of toys. You might have to dig hard to find the phone make/model... not sure.

  3. Getting tired of this... by S77IM · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Am I the only one who thinks that when I buy a piece of hardware it should be mine to control, and that the company that built it should not be allowed to control it via software? For example, I want full and explicit control over whether programs can read my location -- like, a physical switch or something. Or the stories about how the FBI can remotely activate your phone's mic and listen to your conversations. That's kind of crap.

    Then this article comes along and... they want to give my boss control over my phone? Sorry, but that sucks too.

      -- S77IM

    --
    Student: Is it true that the foundation of the universe is paradox?
    Master: Well, yes and no.
    1. Re:Getting tired of this... by vlueboy · · Score: 2

      The day we as users found connectivity convenient to "locate" things on the web... corporations and governments realized the same thing, where s/locate things/locate YOU/. We allowed ourselves to be put in a game where we all want to play, and the price is that we must allow 2-ways tracking --otherwise our products never see the light of day.
      That the tracking leans heavily against us, even the paying customers is what the public is just discovering with Facebook (paid apps), governments versus Wikileaks and digital cellphone services.

    2. Re:Getting tired of this... by zero_out · · Score: 3, Informative

      Didn't you know, you don't BUY a piece of hardware? You LICENSE it. That means you have the right to use it only how they say you can use it. That allows Microsoft to brick your XBox if you mod it, Sony to remove features (Other OS), Apple to dictate which networks you can use your iPhone on, etc., etc.

  4. I have an idea ... by Compaqt · · Score: 5, Funny

    says a General:

    Let's give every soldier a smartphone.

    Oh, and, to insure 100% privacy and OPSEC, let's have our Chinese suppliers build a "do not track" button into the device, which we'll tell the troops to activate when going out on a mission.

    --
    I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
    1. Re:I have an idea ... by John+Hasler · · Score: 2

      This is not about any army issue equipment. That's all made in the USA and the soldiers are trained in its use. It's about the soldiers' own personal phones.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    2. Re:I have an idea ... by SillyNickName4me · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Which doesn't at all change the point the parent is making... you don't have many options to verify that that button actually does what it claims to do, whereas it is a pretty well known fact among those who ever digged into the technology for a little bit, that a cellphone can be located to within a couple hundred meters, smartphone or not, location services or not.

      If the military wants to make sure soldiers aren't trackable during deployment, forbidding cellphones alltogether is the only option.

    3. Re:I have an idea ... by geekoid · · Score: 2

      only if you are using civilian towers. The military can, and has, put up their own 'towers' There not really towers since they can be redeployed easily.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  5. grok? really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    As much as I love Heinlein, using the term grok just doesn't work. It doesn't make you look cool. It doesn't make you look well read. It just doesn't work.

    1. Re:grok? really? by mcgrew · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Using it makes you look fucking ancient

      I'm not the submitter, but I am fucking ancient! Now GOML!

      IMO anybody who cringes at "grok" has no right to call himself a nerd. It's one of OUR words; normal people have no clue what "grok" is.

      Grok" was in fashion a LONG time ago

      Anybody who gives a shit about fashion has no right to call himself a nerd, either. And saying "it was in fashion a long time ago", well, "understand" was "in fashion" a lot longer (and "grok" means more than just "understand").

      --
      Free Martian Whores!