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What does happen if I turn off location/gps? I guess that location has to be quite imprecise.
Related? NSA Warns iPhone and Android Users–Disable Location Tracking https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42713536 Hackers Claim Breach of Location Data Giant, Threaten to Leak Data https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42627336
It’s funny how in recent headlines the NSA & FBI have been saying to use secure messaging app. Yet the FBI is infamous for claiming the need for back doors into these encrypted apps. What are we to think of the opposing views? Are they really being benevolent for the citizens, or do they no longer need the back door, or do they have a back door whether intentional or not?
Were they ever _not_ benevolent to US citizens as a whole, even if misguided? There may be last-ditch attempts to extend benevolence to US citizens as a takeover looms. If leaks from the Office of Personnel Management are to be believed, then right now US government is in the process of a soft coup, being dismantled along lines of political loyalty. I expect those working in intelligence and law enforcement who support democracy see the writing on the wall and will act sooner or later.
Reliable end to end encryption is an important tool for citizens of a nation that may need to organise in a hurry. We might see new Edward Snowden type revelations of programmes, naming key people or giving clear advice not to trust certain US based entities or services. Civil servants may act professionally as non-politically as they can, but in the end, if only to protect their jobs, they're going to come down on the side of democracy.
What does happen if I turn off location/gps? I guess that location has to be quite imprecise.
With GPS off, location can triangulated from cell tower usage to within 3/4 of a square mile (smaller uncertainty in urban areas where cell towers are closer together). I'd heard before that some data brokers do this, but in this article the writer mentions reverse DNS lookup on IP addresses, which they mention is less precise (ZIP-code level).
Related? NSA Warns iPhone and Android Users–Disable Location Tracking https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42713536 Hackers Claim Breach of Location Data Giant, Threaten to Leak Data https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42627336
It’s funny how in recent headlines the NSA & FBI have been saying to use secure messaging app. Yet the FBI is infamous for claiming the need for back doors into these encrypted apps. What are we to think of the opposing views? Are they really being benevolent for the citizens, or do they no longer need the back door, or do they have a back door whether intentional or not?
They're not homogenous organizations. Not sure about the FBI, but AFAIK the NSA has always been in an awkward spot of being split between defensive and offensive missions. It wouldn't be particularly surprising to have one arm going "you should all use encrypted messaging, it's the most secure" while the other arm is frantically trying to break or backdoor said encrypted messaging.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is called Level 3 data, and any merchant can choose to provide it for a reduction in the transaction fees they pay. Here's a small comment thread from a few months back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41213632
Is there any documentation on this to read further? I.e. what the different levels contain and how much on average is the cost reduction for the merchant.
The cost reduction is very small, it’s applied to interchange fees. I’ve been directly responsible for implementing this functionality on payment gateways for multiple processors because it helps reduce fraud holds as well.
A while ago a co worker told me "why would you care about your privacy? all my data is already out there anyway and what can even be done with it anyway". What would be the ideal response to such an absurd comment? At the time I found it hard to answer because she surprised me with that opinion. Edit to note: the explanation should be compatible with a professional context. I don't want to scare my co workers or appe…
There are a few examples I use when I hear such ignorant statements: 1. Not caring about privacy cuz you’ve got nothing to hide is like saying you don’t care about freedom of speech cuz you’ve got nothing to say. 2. If you don’t care about privacy, why don’t you poop with an open door, for everyone to observe?
A different argument that appeals to some is that you might not have something to hide, but what about the people who do? For the greater good of society, whistleblowers are needed to expose malfeasance by the corrupt and it's going to make it much harder for any of them to come forwards if their reward is literally exile to Russia. If you're in support of a slow slide into dystopia, go ahead and argue against all privacy. Whether a given situation rises to that level is an different but adjacent topic, but appealing to something some people can believe in, such as not letting the rich and powerful get away with being utterly corrupt in their dealings is a way to find common ground, with some. not everyone cares about that though, but it's an additional argument for privacy.
Is WiFi access point geolocation by SSID or MAC address? Do mobile OS's require additional permissions for apps to get either of these data points?
iOS definitely requires Precise location permission allowed for the app to see your WiFi name / ssid and other WiFi around you
Screen brightness, boot time, memory, and network operator could probably fingerprint any device all by itself.
A while ago a co worker told me "why would you care about your privacy? all my data is already out there anyway and what can even be done with it anyway". What would be the ideal response to such an absurd comment? At the time I found it hard to answer because she surprised me with that opinion. Edit to note: the explanation should be compatible with a professional context. I don't want to scare my co workers or appe…
There are a few examples I use when I hear such ignorant statements: 1. Not caring about privacy cuz you’ve got nothing to hide is like saying you don’t care about freedom of speech cuz you’ve got nothing to say. 2. If you don’t care about privacy, why don’t you poop with an open door, for everyone to observe?