The Smartphone That Spies, and Other Surprises

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."

Comments

same old story

[Tom]

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.

Re:same old story

[symbolic]

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.

Getting tired of this...

[S77IM]

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

Re:Getting tired of this...

[zero_out]

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.

I have an idea ...

[Compaqt]

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.

Re:I have an idea ...

[SillyNickName4me]

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.

Re:grok? really?

[mcgrew]

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").