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An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

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371–380 of 508 posts

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#371
post #279

> Every AirTag has a unique serial number, and paired AirTags are associated with an Apple ID. Apple can provide the paired account details in response to a subpoena or valid request from law enforcement. We have successfully partnered with them on cases where information we provided has been used to trace an AirTag back to the perpetrator, who was then apprehended and charged. This makes me wonder, could Apple go fu…

If I understood correctly, this still doesn't protect you against custom Airtags using embedded boards[1]. You could just use any serial number you want and maybe even incriminate other people by using the serial number of their authentic Airtag? [1] https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack/

If they can link serial numbers to appleids it would imply that they could block non-apple devices? Unless the Apple serial numbers are also randomly generated or something? (Might check the apple docs later)

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#372
post #326
post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are actually selling AirTags with the speakers already disabled, this is a massive hole they're consistently overlooking.

Addressed head-on in the press release: > Display alert with sound: When AirTag automatically emits a sound to alert anyone nearby of its presence and is detected moving with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, we will also display an alert on your device that you can then take action on, like playing a sound or using Precision Finding, if available. This will help in cases where the AirTag may be in a location where i…

Did you miss the part where the parent was referring to people who don't have iOS devices?

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#373
post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like sibling post mentioned, you don't seem to be the target audience. I know a lot of people, friends and family, who constantly leave stuff behind, in restaurants, other people's places, on the train, in shops, you name it. 99% of the time, no one's gonna steal it, but trying to figure out where the hell you left something, if you do leave stuff behind often, becomes increasingly difficult. With something like an A…

How expensive is your umbrella? Just curious.

Some things have value beyond what you pay at the till.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#375

Android users are still vulnerable, and these announcements do nothing to reduce that. All a stalker needs to do, is remove the speaker. To detect a rogue AirTag, an Android owner needs to: 1) know AirTags exist (many obviously don't) 2) go out of their way to install Apple's Android AirTag scanner app (only 100k-500k worldwide have done so according to Google Play stats) 3) manually open the scanner app and scan, si…

For Android there is also the free alternative to Apples Android AirTag called "AirGuard"[0]. It was out way sooner than Apples application and seems to be far more advanced than it (i.e. has the features you claimed the apple android air tag application was lacking).

[0]: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#376
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Police in the UK does not follow up on requests to retrieve iPhones from FindMyPhone because the GPS tracking isn't exact enough to find the correct appartment. So for stolen items, it is also useless.

> So for stolen items, it is also useless. It's not. I've recovered my phone after it was stolen by simply showing up to the house it wandered off to the next morning. I've done this a number of times for friends (perhaps not really the brightest idea in retrospect) and you'd be surprised at how many folks simply apologize and hand it over when confronted. If they refuse, at least you tried. Plenty of folks will take…

Where do you live? Seems crazy to me to know that many people with stolen phones- and I’m in London!

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#377
post #87
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The “an AirTag is traveling with you” alerts haven’t been defeated as far as I can tell. Perhaps not, but they're meaningless to the >50% of the population that doesn't have a modern enough iPhone as their daily carry phone. Having moved back to a flip phone, I literally have no way to identify if such a tag is being used against me.

And 100% of the population has no way to monitor if a GPS tracker has been planted.

GPS trackers are a lot pricier and often bulkier though, somewhat limiting the probability of it to be used by the average stalker. Barrier to entry is significantly higher.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#378
post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$50-ish — but that's not the point. I value my belongings because I spend great deal of time researching and finding products that I love using day in day out (unlike most people who constantly curse at stuff they have). I also modify things I buy to fine tune it to my needs. So even a $50 umbrella is more like $1000 in terms of time I've spent on it and I have no intention of doing it again. This particular umbrella…

The notion of an umbrella lasting 20 years boggles my mind. I've never had one last more than 2–3 years and I don't use them much. I've looked for premium umbrellas before but every time I find one that isn't ridiculously priced, there's always a contingent of reviewers who insist that it fell apart in heavy wind or frequent use. Normally I buy $10 umbrellas from Australia's big hardware store chain. They aren't grea…

Like for many products there is an entire segment of the market that most people never even know exists. E.g. premium umbrellas that are made to last against wind and wear. I have this one, has so far lasted close to 10 years.

https://www.senz.com/

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#379
post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your car has a smart key, it can be over $100 to replace and another $100 to have a dealer or locksmith re-program it. Edit, more things that are expensive: - if you live in an apartment with nfc entry, they might charge an arm and a leg to replace it, even if the actual device is only a few dollars - IDK how much it costs to replace an apartment mailbox key, but I've been warned that if you lose one they need to…

> if you live in an apartment with nfc entry, they might charge an arm and a leg to replace it, even if the actual device is only a few dollars That's just theft — plain and simple. The only half valid argument I've heard is to discourage carelessness leading to loss of the key and weakening of the building security. But that's moot in places where the garage gate is broken and left open half the year (my current pla…

At first I thought you bought the proxmark with the purpose of dating. Also, how does the proxmark work? Does it store the signal of a card key or something like that?
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