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Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

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Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#171

Post by jfrunyon »

[dubious - discuss]

There's a few things that make this pretty unlikely. Google doesn't triage or repair the phones themselves, they contract it out just like everyone else. And the people they contract it out to almost certainly have procedures in place which are meant to ensure that neither the devices themselves nor the data on them get out.

I'm not saying it's false, but I would definitely take it with a grain of salt.

That said, before you send any devices in for repair, you should wipe them to the best of your ability. Also, you should set a secure password (PIN, pattern, etc) - even if you set your device to not lock, you can encrypt/require password on startup, which would prevent the repairperson from seeing the photos much less posting them.

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#172

Post by acheron »

oh_sigh wrote: post #168
t0mas88 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on a previous case with Apple, this guy is going to be a millionaire. So at least he has that.

Assuming any of it is true, and he isn't just LARPing based on what he read about Apple a few months ago. I'd put the odds at 50/50.

That's pretty high. The default assumption about any personal story on reddit is that it's all lies.

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#173

Post by xore »

smoldesu wrote: post #84
KineticLensman wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Today, I would consider people in general to be much more technically knowledgeable compared to people 20+ years ago Very few people know how apps actually store files on a mobile device and as people increasingly use phones / tablets instead of PCs their knowledge of PC file systems reduces. So for many people, copying photos from a phone (or cloud backup) to a computer could be quite a challenge.

Sounds like a design issue, no? If Apple implemented it, they'd call the feature "Secure Liferaft" or something equally silly, but I have no doubt in my mind that they could engineer a proper solution for it. Today's users go out of their way to hide files and folders, so why not give them a chance to do so the right way? The technology is there, all you need is a little marketing pizzazz and a 30 second ad spot with…

In fact, Google already implemented a way to hide files: it's called "secure folder" in Files and "locked folder" in Photos.

BTW IDK why there are two names for the same concept

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#174

Post by Johnny555 »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #164
Tagbert wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, the phone would not turn on prior to repair and could not be wiped.

How did the person conducting repair power it on and unlock it then? Edit: I mean how did they bypass the lock screen?

Sometimes letting the battery drain completely will clear a hung phone (which is like the old "take the battery out for 5 minutes, then try it again" trick). Or the service center knew the magic buttons to press to get it to boot. Or the battery was bad. Or one of a million other reasons that a phone can fail in a way that makes it appear dead, but a service tech knows how to get it running.

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#175

Post by weswpg »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #164
Tagbert wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, the phone would not turn on prior to repair and could not be wiped.

How did the person conducting repair power it on and unlock it then? Edit: I mean how did they bypass the lock screen?

by repairing it

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#176

Post by BiteCode_dev »

dahart wrote: post #122
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not blame, it's advice. Advice that is strongly needed, because most people think "they have nothing to hide" until they discover than: - they do - they can't

You’re right, everyone has a need for privacy, and there is almost always private info on devices people use. So why is “advice” to avoid repair and eat the costs considered a tenable solution? The “advice” would also apply if you ever logged into your bank or bought anything, if you ever read your email, if you have any secret keys or certificates for authentication of anything, if you ever visited a web site or sea…

> So why is “advice” to avoid repair and eat the costs considered a tenable solution?

It's not an "or" proposition.

You can fully push for a society where such behavior is dealt with or inexistant, because that's the right thing to do.

At the same time, you can ackownledge this life is full of terrible unfair things, and preparing for them can spare you a lof of pain.

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#177

Post by dinkelberg »

jeffbee wrote: post #159
dinkelberg wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Our results lead to three conclusions: First, built-in commands are effective, but manufacturers sometimes implement them incorrectly. [...] We tested ATA commands for sanitizing an entire SSD, [...]. We find that while most implementations of the ATA commands are correct, others contain serious bugs that can, in some cases, result in all the data remaining intact on the drive." M. Wei, L.M. Grupp, F.E. Spada, S. Sw…

Do you believe that mobile handsets are communicating with their embedded storage devices using ATA?

No, I don't know how they communicate exactly. However, I imagine between the processor and flash memory proper there sits a flash memory controller (provided by the flash memory manufacturer) that speaks some protocol akin to ATA. That way manufacturers would be able to replace flash memory A by flash memory B with relative ease, because the abstraction of the protocol allows them to ignore how that specific flash memory is implemented exactly.

Is that wrong? Does the OS on smartphones generally have direct access to the flash memory proper?

Edit: I remembered another protocol that I would guess is used in smartphones for communication with the flash memory, namely UFS (which is also utilized with SD cards).

Edit 2: Note that it is irrelevant whether the protocol used is ATA, UFS, or something different.

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#178

Post by nradov »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #109
slantyyz wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I feel like removable SD card is a tech person solution but... As an older person, I find this observation very interesting. Today, I would consider people in general to be much more technically knowledgeable compared to people 20+ years ago. And yet, 20 years ago, removable storage was quite common, and probably expected of most devices.

Do not confuse the ability to use a phone or laptop with technical knowledge. People know how to use apps, but all the technical stuff is abstracted away. I'm pretty technical (As is nearly everyone on HN), and I have no idea where my photos are stored on my Android's file system. I have no idea where the APKs are for all my installed apps, or where their saved data sits.

Photos are typically in /DCIM/Camera

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#179

Post by open1414 »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #164
Tagbert wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, the phone would not turn on prior to repair and could not be wiped.

How did the person conducting repair power it on and unlock it then? Edit: I mean how did they bypass the lock screen?

maybe no password?

Re: Pixel sent to Google for replacement. They used it to post wife's nudes online

#180

Post by nhumrich »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #164
Tagbert wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case, the phone would not turn on prior to repair and could not be wiped.

How did the person conducting repair power it on and unlock it then? Edit: I mean how did they bypass the lock screen?

They probably fixed it first
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