101–110 of 118 posts
Googlers of hacker news: stop allowing this.
Only "desirable" phones can set rules about what the carrier can and cannot do. Today, thats the iPhone only.
Unless customers will leave the network if it does not stock a particular model of phone, then the network can insist the phone manufacturer install crapware, and until the manufacturer agrees, that model won't be sold.
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Verizon is very big in my town, but I pay $35/month for less-than-wonderful Virgin Mobile. Can't get a signal in the office but it's not worth +$85/month more to me.
Perhaps you can convince your employer to cover/expense your cell phone, as it is necessary for you to perform your job. If they disagree, completely stop using a personal cell phone, and then watch how fast they provide you with one.
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It will work, right now it only supports a few phones (Nexus 9 WiFi, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P) with the Pixel and Pixel XL on the way. I don't have a supported phone currently so I haven't been able to test it out but any phone that is capable of connecting to Verizon's network hardware wise should be able to connect using any OS that implements the necessary protocols. The Pixel and Pixel XL use nano SIM cards to connect…
That document doesnt have the word baseband on it. I'm guessing they dont do anything about it?
I don't think we will ever solve that problem without more support for projects like CopperheadOS and ReplicantOS. They are struggling to even maintain and improve just a couple devices.
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"There are no secure smartphones" 374 points, 441 days ago, 118 comments. Note the discussion about baseband. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10905643
Is the blackphone not secure? I ask this out of genuine ignorance https://www.silentcircle.com/products-and-solutions/devices/
At first the lady was perturbed that I called, but after calmly explaining to her what was at stake, she actually seemed to agree with me it was a problem. I pray she gets to keep her job, considering she agreed with me on a recorded line.
The takeaway from her is that Verizon does not plan on soiling Google Pixel devices due to their deal with Google to keep the ecosystem clean and allow Google alone to push software updates to the Pixel line. I'm praying this is the real story and I won't come to learn my phone has been infected with spyware.
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I actually feel like I'm getting something in return for letting Google index my personal data. I also trust Google far, far more than any ISP (wired or wireless) that I have used.
I also have faith that Google won't accidentally expose my data to the entire internet - or at least, they'll only fall to vulnerabilities that affect everyone. Verizon's ethics aside, I have no real trust in their competence to keep data to themselves. I've dealt with their website, I've read the stories of people getting their accounts hijacked because Verizon can't handle verification right, and all the rest. I do…
Google seems to do a better job protecting their network and defending user security.
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Well, if you buy an unlocked phone, then it won't happen to you either. That's why I bought the Pixel from the Google Store and not through a carrier.
Are you sure? It seems like Android 6.0 and up has features to allow carriers to deploy code to devices with their SIM cards: https://source.android.com/devices/tech/config/carrier.html I am honestly unsure of the limits on this feature.
Between the Google play store, Android's general insecurity, and now cell carriers actively pushing spyware, what alternatives exist? And please don't say iOS. It's closed source, which means we really don't know what's going on under the hood. We may trust it today, but one secret court order + an overnight update is all we need to lose everything with iOS. Apple execs may not even be made aware of such an update if…
Take something like that - but use a RasPi Zero W - add on a better touchscreen (plenty of options there).
The Arduino version used a 3G module - but if you are willing to fork out the money, you can find 4G modules out there (they aren't cheap, though).
Then all you have to do as the code magic, a 3d printed case, etc...
You'll still need a cell service provider, of course - no real way to get around that, unless you wanted to set up some kind of wifi auto-hacking system to scrounge off of insecure (and other free) wifi nodes (coverage would be spotty, of course).
Between the Google play store, Android's general insecurity, and now cell carriers actively pushing spyware, what alternatives exist? And please don't say iOS. It's closed source, which means we really don't know what's going on under the hood. We may trust it today, but one secret court order + an overnight update is all we need to lose everything with iOS. Apple execs may not even be made aware of such an update if…
"And please don't say iOS. It's closed source, which means we really don't know what's going on under the hood. We may trust it today, but one secret court order + an overnight update is all we need to lose everything with iOS. Apple execs may not even be made aware of such an update if the order was delivered to the engineers directly." So Android is "open source" even though most of what makes Android Android to mo…
Android will run ( and performs all the expected smartphone functions ) using only open-source.
iOS won't boot using only open-source.
I'm not a fan of Android in general but reluctantly continue using it with that distinction as consolation.
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I also have faith that Google won't accidentally expose my data to the entire internet - or at least, they'll only fall to vulnerabilities that affect everyone. Verizon's ethics aside, I have no real trust in their competence to keep data to themselves. I've dealt with their website, I've read the stories of people getting their accounts hijacked because Verizon can't handle verification right, and all the rest. I do…
That, and the telcos have a history of being very helpful to the government. I'm thinking about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A . Google seems to do a better job protecting their network and defending user security.