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Living without a SIM card

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Re: Living without a SIM card

#121

Post by andrewaylett »

xkemp wrote: post #110
lottin wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He will be judged for his actions - becoming a burden to other people by choice

This thread is insane... How did we go from someone borrowing others' phone on occasion to these ideas of Social Darwinism? At this rate, someone is going to suggest euthanasia within two more comments tops. For most people, lending their phone won't even incur marginal costs considering the trend towards flat rates. If you find yourself being annoyed by such situations, note that these feelings are bound to make you…

I find it hard to take people entirely seriously when in order for them to live their pseudo-ascetic lifestyle, they require other people around who haven't taken that step.

The OP is claiming the way he uses his tech gives him a cost saving and encouraging people to follow suit, when if everyone did that then he wouldn't be able to do the things he does any more. So it's not a sustainable lifestyle, because it leeches off the idea that most people aren't doing it.

Re: Living without a SIM card

#122

Post by dangus »

To me, the price paid to a cellular provider is actually preferable to relying on other people's WiFi networks.

Using someone else's WiFi isn't a security advantage, it's the opposite. You're bumming off of someone's network and not even paying them - so who knows what their motivations might be. Who knows if the network that the SSID claims to be is actually that network.

Is Starbucks Free WiFi actually run by Starbucks or is it a malicious router placed in the same vicinity? I don't actually know until I connect.

I would suggest the alternative of using a pay-as-you-go plan on a SIM card, something that doesn't cost a lot with low usage. If you want to be more disconnected you can simply turn on airplane mode. In almost any country in the world you can pay less than $10/month to maintain a phone line and SIM card.

Re: Living without a SIM card

#124

Post by [deleted] »

deugtniet wrote: post #5
neilkakkar wrote: post #3

Not trolling: How does your life feel different knowing your data is not being stored in some database? Losing out on all those conveniences sounds miserable to me.

It's called peace of mind. Some people worry about their privacy being violated. Without the sim, there is less tracking, so less to worry about.

[deleted]

Re: Living without a SIM card

#125

Post by Causality1 »

>The feeling of moving around without your whereabouts being constantly beamed into a database can feel quite liberating.

Hate to break it to you buddy but you're still being tracked and your database updates every time you connect to wifi. Frankly you're being tracked much more precisely than I am with my GPS and wifi turned off.

Re: Living without a SIM card

#126

Post by ferzul »

Ayesh wrote: post #76
kome wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived SIM free basically all my adult life, but I had to buy a SIM last September, because a new European banking regulation that requires 2FA. SMS 2FA is a joke tho.

> SMS 2FA is a joke tho. Yes, everyone knows. But it's better than nothing.

Or these shitty fake 2fa photo tan things they have here in Germany.

Something you have (your phone, with saved passwords) and something you have (your wife's phone, or just a device to take a photo of your screen to show it back to your actual phone) isn't 2fa.

But it makes it so painfully difficult to do anything that a valid step for security, like quickly contacting the bank to say “my phone is untrustworthy” via another device, becomes unreasonable, difficult and unlikely.

(But in general, trying to do anything in Germany is a painful experience. The business culture here seems to be, “if it's beneficial to the customer, it's a cost centre to us so please remove it”.)

Re: Living without a SIM card

#127

Post by sandworm101 »

dangus wrote: post #122

To me, the price paid to a cellular provider is actually preferable to relying on other people's WiFi networks. Using someone else's WiFi isn't a security advantage, it's the opposite. You're bumming off of someone's network and not even paying them - so who knows what their motivations might be. Who knows if the network that the SSID claims to be is actually that network. Is Starbucks Free WiFi actually run by Starb…

>> Is Starbucks Free WiFi actually run by Starbucks or is it a malicious router placed in the same vicinity?

Both. The Starbuck Free WiFi is also a malicious router. All routers should be seen as malicious. That threat model is why we have secure websites. That's why VPNs are always a good idea, or Tor if you are really worried. But even then, those routers too must be deemed untrustworthy. At no point should one ever trust middlemen, be them routers or used car salesmen.

Re: Living without a SIM card

#128

Post by [deleted] »

nicky0 wrote: post #86
microtonal wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get a SIM without a data plan? You can still call or SMS people, get SMS 2FA when required, but you can't use social media apps. I cut my phone use by removing most social media apps. I have also disabled notifications for most remaining apps, except for Facetime and iMessage (since I use them for high signal/noise ratio communication with friends an family).

The problem for me is carrying around a phone with apps on it. So I have a SIM with a dumbphone but no smartphone. People can call and send me messages. Frequently I leave that at home too. I do have an iPod touch though which i use for podcasts, as a camera, and for a few specific things like a banking app. But no messaging, social media or distraction-type things are allowed on there.

[deleted]

Re: Living without a SIM card

#129

Post by chewz »

I envy the OP. Unfortunately since September 2019 living without SIM card became (practically) illegal in EU.

> most online payments above €30 to go through an extra level of verification such as entering a code received via a text message. [2]

Most banks unwisely chosen SMS as Strong Customer Authentication providing little choice to customers.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/payment-services-psd-2-directi...

[2] https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/psd2

Re: Living without a SIM card

#130

Post by [deleted] »

sandworm101 wrote: post #127
dangus wrote: post #122

To me, the price paid to a cellular provider is actually preferable to relying on other people's WiFi networks. Using someone else's WiFi isn't a security advantage, it's the opposite. You're bumming off of someone's network and not even paying them - so who knows what their motivations might be. Who knows if the network that the SSID claims to be is actually that network. Is Starbucks Free WiFi actually run by Starb…

>> Is Starbucks Free WiFi actually run by Starbucks or is it a malicious router placed in the same vicinity? Both. The Starbuck Free WiFi is also a malicious router. All routers should be seen as malicious. That threat model is why we have secure websites. That's why VPNs are always a good idea, or Tor if you are really worried. But even then, those routers too must be deemed untrustworthy. At no point should one eve…

[deleted]
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