Do you have an iPhone or HTC or smartphone? ...you might want to watch this

[Spirithorse]

Well, this is my first thread.

Found the following video today in my inbox, it's from the ECETI newsletter I'm subscribed to. Jaw-dropping info that I'd like to share it with you.

...glad I don't have an iPhone...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T17XQI_AYNo&feature=player_embedded

[kersley]

Hi Spirithorse.
Thanks for the thread, very interesting... what about other phones? HTC, SAMSUNG etc etc. does this apply?
Thanks

[Ilie Pandia]

I've looked at this on my HTC phone and I don't seem to have that application installed... I am in Europe, Romania.

That being said I am very disturbed by this and especially by the practice of Phone Branding!!

What happens is that HTC delivers the phones and the reseller installs all sorts of custom third party software in the phone imagine, so you cannot remove it! While that may be OK for phones locked on a specific carrier, I don't find it fair if I buy the phone fully unlocked to use as I please!

This really forces you to hack your phone and install custom images. (I don't recommend doing this unless you know very well what you are doing, as you open yourself to plenty other problems).

Ah while at it, if you are not sure if your location is being tracked by your smart phone, it most likely is! Do spend some time to setup the privacy settings for every application that you use.

PS: This seems to be a statement from HTC (http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/1/2603544/htc-says-it-doesnt-receive-data-from-carrier-iq-investigating-ways-to)

Relevant searches to investigate yourselves: Htc IQagent, Carrier IQ, HTC CIQ, remove htc iqagent

Thanks OP for this thread!

[Spirithorse]

Hi Spirithorse.
Thanks for the thread, very interesting... what about other phones? HTC, SAMSUNG etc etc. does this apply?
Thanks

I'm not an expert on technical issues, unfortunately. It seams to be the new generation of larger so-called multimedia/smartphones rather than the ordinary mobile phones which are mainly used for texts and calls. Of course tracking (GPS) and wiretapping is basically possible with all of them, - just not that sophisticated.

Here is another video related to this topic:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM0YWRYaB_c&feature=related

[Ilie Pandia]

I've updated the title a bit to give a warning for everybody with a smart phone not just iPhones.

¤=[Post Update]=¤


Hi Spirithorse.
Thanks for the thread, very interesting... what about other phones? HTC, SAMSUNG etc etc. does this apply?
Thanks

To answer this question you'll have to Google and research "Carrier IQ" as it links to your phone. For example: Carrier IQ Samsung, Carrier IQ iPhone and so on.

(Since Carrier IQ does not seem to be related to HTC, this suggests that other smart phones may be affected)

[TargeT]

IMO carrying a phone of anytype is basicaly like signing a concent form to be tracked & have your movement recorded; might as well consider what ever you say infront of it recorded as well...


From Forbes magazine, of all places. Maybe a few more are waking up?



Posted by Forbes

Remember that Carrrier IQ software installed on 140 million smartphones that tracks every keystroke you make? Smartphone users were told that it was only being used for diagnostic information, but what exactly does this mean?

And if it’s only being used for diagnostic information, why is the FBI denying a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request for records of how that agency has used data from the software for law enforcement purposes?

Most importantly, if data from our smartphones is being used by the FBI without our knowledge, is this just the next frontier in domestic spying programs?....

An enterprising advocate for openness in government has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the FBI for all information the agency uses related to Carrier IQ, the company under fire for monitoring user activity on smartphones—and his request was flatly denied.

The FBI claims data gathered by Carrier IQ software is exempt from disclosure laws because it is located in an investigative file that was “compiled for law enforcement purposes” and “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.” http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?36728-Is-the-FBI-Using-Carrier-IQ-for-Domestic-Surveillance

[Mark Aldebaran]

The iPhone only has a limited implementation of Carrier IQ and it can easily be turned off: Settings/About/Diagnostics & Usage, and then Don't Send.

> Of course tracking (GPS) and wiretapping is basically possible with all of them, - just not that sophisticated.
Simple phones and even some smartphones do not have GPS.
All phones can be located by triangulation from cellphone towers although this is less accurate than GPS.
Most countries worldwide have cellphone surveillance legally built into the system so (unlike landlines) no warrant is required.

[RMorgan]

That´s one of the reasons I use this phone:

http://tech.lifegoesstrong.com/sites/default/files/gallery/photos/johns_phone_snow__de_meest_eenvoudige_witte_mobiele_telefoon.jpg

It does what a phone is supposed to do. Make and receive calls. It´s doesn´t text, it doesn´t have internet. The battery lasts forever. ;)

For me, this is the smartest phone ever!

Cheers,

Raf.

[TargeT]

That´s one of the reasons I use this phone:

http://tech.lifegoesstrong.com/sites/default/files/gallery/photos/johns_phone_snow__de_meest_eenvoudige_witte_mobiele_telefoon.jpg

It does what a phone is supposed to do. Make and receive calls. It´s doesn´t text, it doesn´t have internet. The battery lasts forever. ;)

For me, this is the smartest phone ever!

Cheers,

Raf.

your still tracked (location) via the cell towers your phone connects to & if they record signal strength as well they can triangulate you fairly accurately (unfortunately) plus who's to say what extra "cookies" are running on that bad boy....

[RMorgan]

your still tracked (location) via the cell towers your phone connects to & if they record signal strength as well they can triangulate you fairly accurately (unfortunately) plus who's to say what extra "cookies" are running on that bad boy....

Yes, of course. There´s no run away from being triangulated if you have a cell-phone indeed. The firmware seems to me to be pretty simple and it doesn´t have the hardware to stablish any kind of external connection (wi-fi, bluetooth, 3g, etc...).

However, I don´t use this phone because of privacy. I use it to avoid unnecessary distractions during my day, like text messages, emails, games, funny apps, social networks, etc...

Cheers,

Raf

[Zillah]

I recently started a thread (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?36180-Alternative-to-Gmail&p=371864#post371864)about using GMAIL and expressed my concerns, the thread blew up a little, ending on this note: if you are connected to a computer, a phone or even carry your passport - you can and will be tracked... Privacy on the internet is virtually impossible. Once you connect to the internet via wire or wireless, your privacy is gone.

Now, for me I was hoping for quite a different answer, and after allowing it to marinate a bit I realized that this whole tracking thing is a part of the catch 22 of technology and the internet - where its both our freedom and our demise...

Let's be smart and use it to our advantage while we can, try to swallow the fear - and perhaps in time come up with software that can block much of the technology that is being developed to be used against us -- bring on the old school hackers --- HACK FOR FREEDOM.

<3

[mosquito]

I have a Samsung wave, but I have a policy of not using it for the internet and also not using the GPS (I know where I am for f*ck's sake !) I've only occasionally used it to access Samsung's online application store, but not very often.
Then on Sunday, something weird happened - I noticed it was responding very slowly, and generally misbehaving, I thought it could be something to do with the battery, and didn't get too worried. I went out for a walk and the phone was in its' pouch, locked. I wanted to check the time and when I unlocked it, there was an application running which can only be started with about 6 swipes/keystrokes (seeing as it was locked and in its' pouch, I have no idea how this happened), I tried to stop it, then saw a notification from Samsung that there were 8 application updates available. This message can ONLY be displayed if the phone has been in contact with the Samsung online application, which to my knowledge it hadn't since August ! Curious, I looged onto the application store, and these updates were downloaded. Thereafter a little BADA (Samsung's own software) logo appeared on one of my menus, and it seems to have no function. Since then, the phone's been behaving normally again.

Conclusion. Either my phone initiated a session with Samsung Apps WITHOUT any intervention from me, OR the session was initiated from the Samsung end, and this could only have happened if the Samsung application had my phone number, which it could only have obtained in a previous session, initiated by me.
I'm inclined to believe the latter is more likely, and also a lot less sinister.

[baddbob]

“Who here has an iPhone? Who here has a Blackberry? Who here uses Gmail? Well you are all screwed,” WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange told a press conference in London announcing the new project. “The reality is intelligence contractors are selling right now, to countries across the world, mass surveillance systems for all of those products."

Some of the newly released information details how governments are able to secretly intercept phone calls and take over victims’ computers. Cell phone owners, it turns out, can be tracked even when the devices are not activated. But it gets worse.

“In the last ten years systems for indiscriminate, mass surveillance have become the norm,” WikiLeaks said in a statement about the revelations posted online. “Intelligence companies such as VASTech secretly sell equipment to permanently record the phone calls of entire nations. Others record the location of every mobile phone in a city, down to 50 meters. Systems to infect every Facebook user, or smart-phone owner of an entire population group are on the intelligence market.”


http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/government-corruption/mass-surveillance-and-control.html

[DeDukshyn]

still pretty happy without a cell ... it can be done! lol. But I'm seriously thinking of getting one for my teen, just for emergencies.

[TargeT]

still pretty happy without a cell ... it can be done! lol. But I'm seriously thinking of getting one for my teen, just for emergencies.

its a Tool like any other... mine (iphone 4s) is invaluable; but I don't let it own me.. its always on silent / no vibrate.. I only use it when I want to ;)

[Ishtar]

Great information! Thanks, Spirithorse.

[TheSwede]

Are there any other countries then USA that have the application installed? No one in Sweden seem to have the software installed on their devices.

[Ilie Pandia]

Are there any other countries then USA that have the application installed? No one in Sweden seem to have the software installed on their devices.

According to HTC only some carriers "require" this application to be installed. The carrier I use does not seem to require this (they use other piece of software I don't know about). But the idea is, if you identify the carrier, you will know there this "Carrier IQ" is used.

[TheSwede]

Are there any other countries then USA that have the application installed? No one in Sweden seem to have the software installed on their devices.

According to HTC only some carriers "require" this application to be installed. The carrier I use does not seem to require this (they use other piece of software I don't know about). But the idea is, if you identify the carrier, you will know there this "Carrier IQ" is used.

OK, thanks for the info. I don't think a provider in Sweden have the balls to put that software in due to heavy privacy laws. I tried look it up on forums and cant find a swede that have detected the application. But I did find what you said, its the service providers that deploy it...