Hmmm.... I can see how open source app can exist on githib and in your iTunes if you have Developer Account. But can you be sure it is 100% open source once it went through the AppStore gates? I am just asking.
US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
21–30 of 98 posts
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#22So they're spying on the children playing Angry Birds in the name of preventing terrorism. I bet the data they're gathering has saved a lot of lives. This is just one more strike into the already well-beaten dead horse of an argument that the NSA is spying in the name of preventing terrorism. I will spell it out: the goal of the NSA surveillance is omniscience in the name of preserving the power of the state. They ha…
What about leaking bookmarks from Al-Quran app?
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#23Hmmm.... I can see how open source app can exist on githib and in your iTunes if you have Developer Account. But can you be sure it is 100% open source once it went through the AppStore gates? I am just asking.
Can you be sure about that for any binary you did not compile yourself? And if being more paranoid: can you be sure about that for any binary you did not compile yourself using compiler you compiled yourself?
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't be alarmed citizen. They only 'know' about your movements if they actually look at them. Until then, they don't 'know' anything as long as it sits in their archives untouched.
For now. Just wait until sophisticated AI is developed...
yeh, time to use simple nokia phones again.
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#25The only solution is to move to a phone OS that is 100%, completely, open. I.e. Not even apps developers are allowed to ship blobs - its All-Source-Code, All-The-Time. I know, its a highly unlikely scenario, but I can't help but feel in the midst of this human rights disaster, Open Source can come to the rescue.
That's not enough. Take the Google maps example, for instance. I bet the NSA could grab the same data from an open-source map app that used OpenStreetMap data. They can infer your location based upon the set of map tile URLs that your phone is loading over the network. No need for any code weaknesses in the app. Open source is not your saviour here!
many OSM apps provide offline vector data. works without data connection and also leaks less information - the most you can infer from those downloads is that people are interested in mapping data of a certain area.
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#26(Copied from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7132790)
If you're using Android, I'd highly recommend using a combination of XPrivacy [1] and Android Firewall [2] (iptables frontend).
To make your life easier, disallow everything from accessing the net in Android Firewall. Then, for those apps which you've allowed net access, further tweak what they're allowed to access in XPrivacy. As a rule, turn off account info, clipboard, location, contacts, and storage.
Not perfect, but a decent solution.
[1] https://github.com/M66B/XPrivacy
[2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jtschohl.a...
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#27Hmmm.... I can see how open source app can exist on githib and in your iTunes if you have Developer Account. But can you be sure it is 100% open source once it went through the AppStore gates? I am just asking.
Can you be sure about that for any binary you did not compile yourself? And if being more paranoid: can you be sure about that for any binary you did not compile yourself using compiler you compiled yourself?
That is exactly my point. Thank you for understanding.
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#28(Copied from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7132790 ) If you're using Android, I'd highly recommend using a combination of XPrivacy [1] and Android Firewall [2] (iptables frontend). To make your life easier, disallow everything from accessing the net in Android Firewall. Then, for those apps which you've allowed net access, further tweak what they're allowed to access in XPrivacy. As a rule, turn off account in…
Better yet, only use Android as a game console / YouTube viewer with no personal info or real Google ID. Web browsing only through Firefox that can use some privacy addons.
Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#29One slide from a May 2010 NSA presentation on getting data from smartphones – breathlessly titled "Golden Nugget!" – sets out the agency's "perfect scenario": "Target uploading photo to a social media site taken with a mobile device. What can we get?" To me, this is quite telling. The NSA is not considering what data they need to achieve their mission, and then trying to find that data. Instead, they're just looking…
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Re: US and UK spy agencies scoop up private data from 'leaky' phone apps
#30Ridiculous,seems like they are taking data and storing it and waiting to get subpoenas to look into and analyze the data later. Welcome to the new world order where your every movement is known.
Don't be alarmed citizen. They only 'know' about your movements if they actually look at them. Until then, they don't 'know' anything as long as it sits in their archives untouched.
Just be very careful not to do anything that might give them reason to "know" about you. Such as holding impermissible political views or knowing too much about computers, to pick two random examples.