Live data from Hacker News

Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

youtube.com

31–40 of 117 posts

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#31
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize this makes me sound black-pilled, but mobile platforms (Apple included) are so user-hostile with regard to privacy I’m not even sure the battle is worth fighting. IMO it’s better to just hold your nose, limit what you use your phone for as much as you can, and do everything important/sensitive on a computer that you have root access on.

God I wish I did anything interesting enough to merit that level of concern.

I suppose that’s the other side of this. There’s a kind of privacy-as-ideology black hole that I’ve seen people get sucked into, even if in actuality they have nothing and do nothing actually illegal/immoral/sensitive.

Taking the time to install a custom ROM, run only FOSS apps, or find workarounds for needed apps, etc only to spend 90% of your time watching YouTube just doesn’t seem like a gain.

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#32
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God I wish I did anything interesting enough to merit that level of concern.

People are always unconcerned until their data leaks, then it turns out that the stuff they considered uninteresting was actually something they'd rather have kept private.

At that point I think my challenge is to not have anything you’d rather be private on a platform you don’t actually have control over, or why have it on a phone in the first place.

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#33
post #27
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You prefer totally non-transparent cloud scanning that allows for ad hoc, warrantless, untraceable, personally-targeted scans from anyone who can threaten a big company? I saw client-side scanning as much more transparent and limited. Yes, there could be abuses, but there is not a single possible abuse worse than what is already happening every day with cloud-side scanning.

I don't want any of my data scanned which is why I don't tend to store it in the cloud. If Apple rolled out client side scanning what's to prevent them from extending it to all data on the device, regardless of whether it's synced to iCloud?

Apple has made it clear that they won't move forward with client side scanning after feedback from researchers and customers. Instead, they added optional E2EE for iCloud. It's not perfect yet but significantly better than most other cloud providers.

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#34
post #28

Is this an attempt at some anti-theft tech? Ie. prevent phones that have been stolen, either from the supply chain, or from end consumers, from being used. If so - apple and most other manufacturers do the same. But they normally do so only very soon after the theft.

No. This is just because phones in Mercadolibre, or other Fayuca places are cheaper and better models than the overpriced ones they sell in Samsung's own "official " store. I'll replace my phone this year. And was looking to buy a samsung s23 ultra. But all my phones are multi sim. Samsung mexico doesn't sell multi sim. But the gray market ones so sell multisim and a 512gb original s23 is $250 USD cheaper than the on…

Is the pricing difference stem from market discrimination on the part of Samsung or tax avoidance on the part of Mercadolibre?

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#35

Samsung and the other manufacturers shot themselves in the foot so hard on this one. When this news trickles down to the average Mexican (ie someone not in the tech industry), the message they will get won't be "don't buy grey market phones, buy official phones", it will be "don't by Samsung, ZTE, etc, they will lock your phone".

I see a lot of ZTE phones in the stores here in Cancún. I’ve not seen that brand before coming here. Some of them are pretty cheap even. I thought about buying one so that I could leave my iPhone in the hotel room some days and only carry a cheap phone when I am outside walking in some parts of the city. We are leaving Cancún soon, so now there is not so much point in doing that anyways. But I was thinking that I cou…

ZTE is not connected to Samsung. There were some budget ZTE phones sold in the USA about 10 years ago. I believe ZTE was banned by the US government, along with Huawei for doing shady things.

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#36

Frankly, I can't imagine a reason not to buy an iPhone instead of whatever Android device happens to be around besides ideological differences. The customer experience is so vastly superior to these bloatware filled, borderline spyware Samsung/Xiamoi/OnePlus devices.

I realize this makes me sound black-pilled, but mobile platforms (Apple included) are so user-hostile with regard to privacy I’m not even sure the battle is worth fighting. IMO it’s better to just hold your nose, limit what you use your phone for as much as you can, and do everything important/sensitive on a computer that you have root access on.

can you expand on "user-hostile with regard to privacy"? I genuinely thought Apple is a lot more private than Samsung

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#38
post #3

That's messed up. I have generally preferred Samsung products,too. 10-15 years ago, when I had a lot more free time, I used to put CyanogenMod on my phones and play around with that. Are there any good open source mobile OS around these days?

I'm currently running GrapheneOS on a Pixel. Been using for a few months and no complaints.

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#39
post #3

That's messed up. I have generally preferred Samsung products,too. 10-15 years ago, when I had a lot more free time, I used to put CyanogenMod on my phones and play around with that. Are there any good open source mobile OS around these days?

GrapheneOS, but it only supports recent Pixel devices: https://grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices

CalyxOs is also an alternative.

Re: Samsung disables customer phones remotely, holds data hostage [video]

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize this makes me sound black-pilled, but mobile platforms (Apple included) are so user-hostile with regard to privacy I’m not even sure the battle is worth fighting. IMO it’s better to just hold your nose, limit what you use your phone for as much as you can, and do everything important/sensitive on a computer that you have root access on.

can you expand on "user-hostile with regard to privacy"? I genuinely thought Apple is a lot more private than Samsung

In some ways yes, in others, no.

I enjoyed this discussion on Apple’s less-than-stellar privacy situation. Sources are in the video description.

https://vid.puffyan.us/watch?v=nQ9LR8homt4

Post reply on HN