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Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

gizmodo.com

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Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#361

Post by newaccount74 »

Gigachad wrote: post #253
up6w6 wrote: post #168

Or you can load your own firmware to any other embedded device with Bluetooth and also make it totally undetectable from iPhones by changing keys frequently and making it appear like multiple different AirTags. https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack/

I think the cat was out of the bag in a way on this one. Apple put in a good effort to stop abuse but the technology is in people hands now.

Apple massively restricted Tile by requiring the user to accept multiple scary GPS warnings. By requiring users to opt in (multiple times) they made sure that users are aware of what the app + trackers do, at the cost of making Tiles network less useful.

Of course, now that they have their own trackers, all Apple users are not only automatically opted into the Airtag network, they also made it almost impossible to opt out!

Talk about double standards.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#362

Post by BiteCode_dev »

pmoriarty wrote: post #237
rolobio wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think banning objects goes about as well as banning drugs did.

The technology itself is unstoppable. At most widespread use of it could be delayed until something smaller and even harder to detect is invented.

The technology of guns has been very well stopped for common use in France. Just just have to have a licence to own one, with a training, etc.

Most people don't own a gun.

I never heard, unlike in the valley where colleagues told me exactly that, that you have to be careful to not road rage because you don't know if the other guy is not an idiot packing.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#363

Post by hda111 »

newaccount74 wrote: post #361
Gigachad wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the cat was out of the bag in a way on this one. Apple put in a good effort to stop abuse but the technology is in people hands now.

Apple massively restricted Tile by requiring the user to accept multiple scary GPS warnings. By requiring users to opt in (multiple times) they made sure that users are aware of what the app + trackers do, at the cost of making Tiles network less useful. Of course, now that they have their own trackers, all Apple users are not only automatically opted into the Airtag network, they also made it almost impossible to op…

I don’t agree on double standards. Did you take the cryptographic implementation of both systems into consideration?

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#364

Post by lm28469 »

asdff wrote: post #343
RIMR wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that without the beep, these devices are no different than your standard GPS tracker that you could use to track someone without their consent. So it beeps so indemnify Apple from that use case. And for good reason. These devices are already getting popular with abusive spouses. It's worth planning for the worst case scenarios for these things, because they are real.

Apple already sells a silent gps tracker: the iPhone. Realistically a piece of duct tape is all you need to put an iPhone under a car, then you can track it with Find My. This way would be better than using an airtag, since it wouldn't beep and I think it also wouldn't send a notification, but it gives you the same resolution (albeit shorter battery life).

> Realistically a piece of duct tape is all you

Realistically you have to be much more determined to buy an additional phone and another sim card + pay for the data vs simply using an airtag. If you're already that determined just buy a proper gps tracker.

You'd also have to find a way to recharge the iphone constantly, problem that you wouldn't have with an airtag. An airtag is much easier to hide too (bags, clothes, ...)

The fact that you can already track someone relatively easily doesn't mean that introducing a new small/cheap/easy to use tracking device is a good thing

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#365

Post by lm28469 »

pkulak wrote: post #183

I've got a tag on my bike and it's pretty dumb that it starts beeping at the thief if it ever gets stolen. Why do we have to gimp everything to make it difficult to use them to break the law? Isn't enforcement of laws how we're supposed to make people not break the law?

> I've got a tag on my bike and it's pretty dumb that it starts beeping at the thief if it ever gets stolen.

It's not designed to be used like that

> Why do we have to gimp everything to make it difficult to use them to break the law?

Same reason you can't buy 1000kg of fertiliser at walmart, we don't wait for people to commit crime to do something.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#366

Post by tootahe45 »

CryptoPunk wrote: post #329
willcipriano wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a place for a generic open protocol. To have a real internet of things we need some kind of DNS but for objects.

Yep, this could be managed by a blockchain-based app, once blockchains are sufficiently scalable of course.

> Yep, this could be managed by a blockchain

no.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#367

Post by mensetmanusman »

RIMR wrote: post #219
pkulak wrote: post #183

I've got a tag on my bike and it's pretty dumb that it starts beeping at the thief if it ever gets stolen. Why do we have to gimp everything to make it difficult to use them to break the law? Isn't enforcement of laws how we're supposed to make people not break the law?

The problem is that without the beep, these devices are no different than your standard GPS tracker that you could use to track someone without their consent. So it beeps so indemnify Apple from that use case. And for good reason. These devices are already getting popular with abusive spouses. It's worth planning for the worst case scenarios for these things, because they are real.

Vinyl tape disables the beep, so it is kind of pointless.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#368

Post by watwut »

asdff wrote: post #343
RIMR wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that without the beep, these devices are no different than your standard GPS tracker that you could use to track someone without their consent. So it beeps so indemnify Apple from that use case. And for good reason. These devices are already getting popular with abusive spouses. It's worth planning for the worst case scenarios for these things, because they are real.

Apple already sells a silent gps tracker: the iPhone. Realistically a piece of duct tape is all you need to put an iPhone under a car, then you can track it with Find My. This way would be better than using an airtag, since it wouldn't beep and I think it also wouldn't send a notification, but it gives you the same resolution (albeit shorter battery life).

Realistically, it is pretty expensive and the batteries will run out soon.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#369

Post by thies226j »

pietrovismara wrote: post #337
Gigachad wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The tech is simple enough that many others have released it already and it provides a lot of benefit to the world. I'm glad they put consideration in to how it could be abused and think the world is net better off with airtags.

The tech existed already and it was cheaper. Airtags just ripped off existing technology without substantially improving it, while causing a privacy/security nightmare that none of the other devices ever caused. But hey if you want to spend 80$ for something that was already available 2 years ago for 40$ you go ahead.

Without improving it? The findmy-network is the improvement that makes these devices actually worth something, compared to the small number of devices in the tile network. How is this a privacy/security nightmare, when you literally get audible notifications and notifications on your phone when you are being tracked.

And how do you come up with these random price estimates, AirTags are available for under 40 and not for 80 usd. My god you’re full of yourself.

Re: Silenced AirTags with disabled speakers are popping up for sale online

#370

Post by kbos87 »

rootusrootus wrote: post #195
kbos87 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The unfortunate truth is that police have better things to spend their time on. Heck, I had a nighttime home invasion/$4k+ of goods stolen in Boston 9 months ago and as far as I can tell the police couldn’t even be bothered to get their hands on the security camera footage from a neighboring convenience store after I told them there were cameras outside.

That's definitely over the line. Theft of a laptop or bicycle is one thing, but home invasion is a violent crime, and should justify a far more significant amount of attention.

There was an initial flurry of officers and detectives right off the bat but it felt like theater and there hasn’t been any follow up that I haven’t initiated myself.
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