Also, can I stop feeling crazy because, partially for this kind of reason, I haven't wanted the new MacBook with the built-in camera?
You can always put a piece of tape over the eye.
I don't think the camera works if it's not pointing at you or if you cover it.
can I stop feeling crazy
Probably a bit premature.
I always take the battery out of my phone whenever I'm not making a call. Doesn't everybody?
I take the batteries out of other people's phones whenever the opportunity presents itself.
6 -- extends battery life a good deal. But inconvenient, alas!
7 is also a decent strategy for longer battery life.
6: Ah! That's why we keep losing the signal. Thx.
I've mentioned before that I believe a Constitutional amendment to protect privacy would be a really great thing.
a Constitutional amendment to protect privacy
Theoretically, they already do.
I bet they get suspicious when a bill for $4800 of airtime arrives in the mail.
I like penumbras and emanations; other people seem to need it spelled out.
11: Except that it can be seen as a tacit admission that the Constitution doesn't actually protect privacy. Which, in my view, it does.
15: The advantage is making the Republicans stand up and vote against a right to privacy every session of Congress. And it's certainly more sensible than the perennial flag-burning crap.
16: Except that the GOP will argue that it's a vote against sodomy in every home. Or man-on-dog sex (I like to call that the Rick Santorum Memorial Constitutional Argument). Or whatever.
I can just imagine Justice Scalia in the subsequent oral argument:
"Do you reasonably expect us to believe that a majority of members of Congress would have voted for the failed Privacy Amendment if they believed it be redundant?"
useless. How can *I* start listening in on other people's mobilemicrophones?
17: Then again, designing a constitutional amendment with Justice Scalia in mind is kind of a joke anyway, so maybe I'm full of shit.
6. seriousy? You don't want/need incoming calls?
I think the present state of constitutional play is, there's a constitutional right of privacy and there's the Ninth Amendment (quit disparaging my rights!). So it would be wise to strengthen that jurisprudence until and unless the Court forces us to do otherwise. But I'm not a lawyer, or a legal historian, or a prognosticator of note. So, FWIW IMHO in extra-high capitals.
16: Except that the GOP will argue that it's a vote against sodomy in every home. Or man-on-dog sex (I like to call that the Rick Santorum Memorial Constitutional Argument). Or whatever.
Except that the average person would think this argument is insane. I'm all for Republicans arguing on behalf of a government just small enough to fit inside our bedrooms. Let them make that case to the American people.
17a: All we'd have to do is explain to people what "sodomy" meant, and then ask them if they really want to vote for the anti-blow-job party.
Even the crazy homophobe in the first Bruno clip (in this post) used the "I don't care what you do in your own home" line.
26 -- I didn't get the impression he was feeling that, though.
2: I've got a vague recollection of a news story about the cops using someone's "OnStar" system in their car to get audio and GPS info. I'd think the same would be possible from most current cellphones and any computer with an internet connection, mike, camera, and root-kit installed.
It's not clear to me why one should be worried about this. I figure it's already pretty easy for the authorities to bug me if they really want to. Given the inexpensive nature of tiny surveillance equipement, the only real way to stop "the man" from infringing on your privacy is to make the punishment for doing so severe. Going from N to N+1 ways to listen in on my conversations doesn't really change much when N is large.
Hmm, I've heard of this before but I don't think it's very plausible that this actually happens. Ever put your cellphone down next to the monitor or an unshielded speaker, and noticed that the monitor's image occasionally distorts, or the speaker produces a hiccuping sound? What you've got there is a pretty damn powerful microwave transmitter. It's not sending data all the time; you would know if it did. I suppose it's vaguely possible that it's compressing all the sound it picks up into a little tiny wad of data and sends that back in the guise of a normal ping, but not very plausible at all.
However, it is plausible, and likely, that the phone is constantly sending your location back to the mothership.
It's not sending data all the time; you would know if it did. I suppose it's vaguely possible that it's compressing all the sound it picks up into a little tiny wad of data and sends that back in the guise of a normal ping, but not very plausible at all.
Presumably, if the powers that be went through the trouble to reconfigure your phone, they could also have it transmit at much lower intesities. But I agree, it hardly seems likely.
29: Bah. You might as well say that since we're all going to die anyway, there's no point in taking antibiotics when you've got an infection.
32: I don't mean to trivialize infringements of privacy. I'm sorry if my post came across like that.
I think a more apt analogy would be:
Since there are so many dangerous species of bacteria out there, obsessing about a new strain of Streptococcus is pointless. Better to work on strengthening your immune system.
Oh, okay. If by "worry" you mean "obsess over to the exclusion of other issues that are as important or more so" then fine. I interpreted "worry" to mean "care about."
There's nothing to worry about. The court told them not to do it and since they're all honorable, we're safe.
http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-5109435.html
As anyone with familiarity with tradecraft knows, when not using your cell phone you remove the battery.
Just a matter of time before people with things to hide figure this out. Of course, criminals are dumb.
In college, we did this once to a guy who was a real suck-up to our professor. Then we used it as a transmitter and we made him think he was getting messages from God in his Bluetooth headseat.
Then we put a VW bug in his dorm room. It was a real gas.
36: It works on Prison Break and 24, but you have to take out the batteries, or Jack Bauer gets you!
36: Of course, criminals are dumb .
Not to mention CIA agents .
Bruce Schneier is a stand-up guy, but there's this incredible invention that he should look into that makes the whole remote-activation possibility moot. It's called a sock drawer.
slolernr: The MacBook wouldn't be a problem because you can close the lid. The iMac, which has the same arrangement of the camera just above the screen, is the real problem; you'd want to move it out of your bedroom.
37: You did that too? I wish pranksters these days showed that kind of real genius.
40 - Mr. X: are you Mrs. X's husband? Or is your handle a coincidence? If you have no idea to what I'm referring, you aren't.
"jackolan2000@yahoo.com" would be an odd email addy for the Mr X you're thinking of. Can't you check ips anyway?
I wasn't thinking of the Mrs. X with rosy toes but a commenter by the same name. The IP address gives me nothin'.
2: Maybe it's worse than you thought.
I had a little fun with this at work.
http://blogs.business2.com/softgadgets/2006/12/hifi_paranoia_w.html#more
I'm sorry I didn't give a via, but it seemed a little inappropriate, somehow. . . .