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These cheap phones come at a price -- your privacy


Alpha1

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Yeah, what privacy? The first phone listed in the article, Blu R1 HD is the phone I have. Best $60 phone I ever owned. If the Chinese are interested to know what apps I use or where I am in Mexico, have at it. If they gave me an email address I would be happy to check in once or twice a day.

(Now waving in case they have hacked the camera on my laptop).

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Used the BLU up in Canada the last couple of weeks. Excellent phone: fast, clear, excellent Android interface, up to date, and so inexpensive. Will get another BLU but with a better camera. Might be a worry about doing online sign-ins, if that's part of the problem here.

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18 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

Used the BLU up in Canada the last couple of weeks. Excellent phone: fast, clear, excellent Android interface, up to date, and so inexpensive. Will get another BLU but with a better camera. Might be a worry about doing online sign-ins, if that's part of the problem here.

Just expressing my willingness to cooperate for a phone that good for that cheap, LOL.

Agree the camera could be better. 8.5

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4 hours ago, suegarn said:

Sorry, Alpha1, but you're the only one that seems to be worried about this very much!

 

Well, No, suegarn, I have issues with this.

Would you be agreeable to have some one monitor your everyday activities? Would you, Suegarn, be willing to have someone monitor your movements? Your conversations, your life?

 

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8 hours ago, mexjerry said:

Well, No, suegarn, I have issues with this.

Would you be agreeable to have some one monitor your everyday activities? Would you, Suegarn, be willing to have someone monitor your movements? Your conversations, your life?

 

Wow! I thought it was just phone calls. Do you have other information to share?

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Black Hat is a conference, a gathering of security experts, not a company. Interestingly, there was no mention in the article about my only concern: does the command channel (the route between the phone and the server) which allows an app to make commands without you, provide enough access to also see your online banking and other connections that require passwords.

The rest of it is fairly moot for most of us, because as it has been pointed out here, almost every free app collects all kinds of data on your phone, and you have to give permission to do so when installing the app (just like most online email sites). This is great for the location apps, like Waze for traffic, GPS for finding locations, and one app that tells you where your connected friends are at this exact moment (so you can never say "I had a Dr. appointment" when the truth is you were drinking with your friends).

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13 hours ago, mexjerry said:

Well, No, suegarn, I have issues with this.

Would you be agreeable to have some one monitor your everyday activities? Would you, Suegarn, be willing to have someone monitor your movements? Your conversations, your life?

 

That already happens in most places.  There are cameras everywhere....street corners, doorways of buildings, personal cellphone cameras taking pictures when you aren't aware, etc.  When we embraced technology, we basically gave up our right to privacy.

If you're doing something that you would be embarrassed for others to see, then don't do it!

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No, more like when we embraced capture technology; interestingly, each time we invent new technology, we also invent the opposite. EG: inventing the car invented the auto accident. Unfortunately, I do things all the time that embarrass my own self in my own house, so forget trying to avoid it...

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Isn't it about time that we can all agree that "privacy" no longer exists? 

Just think, we now live in a climate where major news comes to us through Twitter.  Or, as the old Star Trek Borg used to intone:  "Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimillated".:huh::lol:

 

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59 minutes ago, gringal said:

Isn't it about time that we can all agree that "privacy" no longer exists? 

Just think, we now live in a climate where major news comes to us through Twitter.  Or, as the old Star Trek Borg used to intone:  "Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimillated".:huh::lol:

 

I agree that "privacy" is difficult to obtain for the tech we use, however, having the hardware embedded with the spyware is different than having the option to use or not use the app.

Having access to the command and control channel -- a communications route between your device and a server -- allowed Adups to execute commands as if it's the user, meaning it could also install apps, take screenshots, record the screen, make calls and wipe devices without needing permission.  - article listed above.

Here is a very interesting link that helps mitigate some of the totally unwanted results of using our phones, i.e. camera and microphone monitoring use without our knowledge.

Privacy and smartphone apps: What data your phone may be giving away (CBC Marketplace)

 

 

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