Database Users

Concerned about Security - apps sending private information

After reading the article about TaintDroid (http://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...oid-apps-secretly-sharing-your-personal-data/), and how a significant portion of the apps were sending back data when not required to....I must admit, I am a bit concerned about security on my Nexus.
What are you all doing to be safe with your information on your phone? Is there a firewall that any of you are using to deny apps the ability to transmit data?
And please no responses like "don't log into anything or enter any passwords for anything on the phone" ...because then we might as well be rocking blackberries and not a phone like this with a capable browser.

"Name and shame" is the best way for an open system to eradicate this stuff

Damn alarmist journalism. Scare everybody into a corner, and then come out with a product that magically makes it all right.
Personally, I don't do anything different. I don't see why you should.

there's a firewall app that will let you block internet access to specific apps
i think it's called droidwall

Wallpapergate...
This whole issue is a joke, I agree something to monitor outgoing information would be great, I doubt however that someone who want to steal your info would sent it out unencrypted so catching this may not be easy at all..
As for this new episode of the WallPaperGate again, the info this application send is common on any platform, if you ever paid for an app on handhango or such site, the first thing they do is to ask your imei so that the app can be linked (ie DRM) to your phone… in this case the guy use imei as a cookie so that he can offer the correct screen resolution.
I would like to point out that one of the sponsor of this “studies” that target only android device is Intel who have interest into many thing including MeeGo and off course MeeGo is much safer than android…
My 2 cents…

Attention all Android fans - This is Important

We really need to rally and get Google to fix some major issues with the Android OS. If Android is going to be truly universal and be able to compete, and beat Apple, it needs to at least be able to do what it can do. Please read: http://claar.org/blog/?p=180 and call, email, post, blog, whatever you can to get Googles attention on these issues.
And thank you for your support.
P.S. Pass this url on to every android user you can.
http://claar.org/blog/?p=180
Sent from my ADR6300, not my wife's iPad...

You have a legitimate argument but those items you listed are never performed by me. =[ Sorry. Everything I need done, works. =]
[ Sent from an LG Optimus V ]

Android still has a way to go before being all things to all people. It has the potential though so i'm sure we'll see improvements in the areas where it's currently weak.
Nice write up though. I hope these issues are resolved for you soon.

Write your congressman. Attend your local PTA meeting.

Don't gey me wrong, I love my Android phone, just saying that Google is missing the boat on the Enterprise side of things. Used to have an iPod touch that worked flawlessly on our corporate intranet, can't say the same for my dinc. As the workforce continues to become more mobile, they'll be carrying iPads instead of Xooms or Galaxy tabs.
Sent from my ADR6300, not my wife's iPad.

are there really people who use android's and ipad's/iphone's for work???
o-o?
id rater use a PC or laptop. but yha.
think all the company's want to be cool?
i cant go suport this.because my android does what it needs to do.
remember. smartphones and tablets aren't pc's,so they shouldn't do the work of a pc.

ghost010 said:
are there really people who use android's and ipad's/iphone's for work???
o-o?
id rater use a PC or laptop. but yha.
think all the company's want to be cool?
i cant go suport this.because my android does what it needs to do.
remember. smartphones and tablets aren't pc's,so they shouldn't do the work of a pc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why shouldnt they? Why should they have limitations. I say the more capabilities the better!

Universally, I don't understand Googles LACK of contact and attention to it's customers. Like most people are aware that e-mailing google is a complete WASTE OF TIME. I'd love to meet someone who has yet to actually get a meaningful response from google. I understand that they are a HUGE company and can easily get overwhelmed by emails, but the complete lack of response in general is UNACCEPTABLE. Why do they act this way, ESPECIALLY to their customers? Eitherway, they should respond in some way to all emails, understandable for free products, but for PAYING customers like us Android users, should get a response.
Google is worse than Sprint when it comes to response. I don't get it or understand.

I'm an IT Director for a medium sized medical manufacturing company and I've been testing ipads as a laptop alternative for our salesforce, and I have to say, I would be absolutely pissed if I had to use an ipad(or any tablet for that matter) for work.
Don't get me wrong. They work. But do you want to do all your work on them? HELL NO.
I have a remote desktop app on my mytouch 4g and I use it every now and then when I need to fix something or get onto the server for any reason. That doesn't mean I'm going to ditch my computer because my phone is capable of doing something my laptop does. Tablets, smartphones, mobile devices in general...they should be used to supplement computers, not replace them.
And as far as google 'not listening to their customers', you obviously haven't been on any sort of development team before. Especially not one that had any sort of fast progress. I don't know if you've noticed, but chip manufacturers have released dual core mobile cpu's. So google can either work on your vpn problem and appease a small number of enterprise users(people who will actually use a vpn on their phones), or they can concentrate on optimizing their code so it will work well with the next generation of hardware. They're obviously going to concentrate their manpower(or womanpower) on development for next-gen hardware. If the support ticket exists, they'll work on it. But there are thousands of them, and people need to realize that just because it's important to you specifically, doesn't mean it's an important problem. VPN access doesn't effect the overall functionality of the os during normal use, so it's going be put on the back burner, that doesn't mean it won't be fixed.
And whoever said go to pta meetings, PTA = parent teachers association. Good luck getting heard there.
While on the subject of fixes, I'm more concerned about linked market data and being able to transfer purchases to different accounts. I.E. switching from a google apps account to a gmail account. Also, the 'master account' crap. There should be a way to change which login you use to connect to gtalk and the market without having to reset your device to factory. That just sucks.

LOL, I used to get those "wake-up" calls from the 3rd shift platform operators. I got my butt out of bed, got on my PC and fixed the problem or marked it "next day" and fixed it when I got to work.
I can't see using a phone's screen size to debug a couple hundred lines of JCL or batch COBOL program Not to mention, I was usually talking to the operator at the same time I needed to see something on the PC; very hard to do with a phone.

Can it connect to Microsoft's pptp? Yes - http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/smartphones/connect-to-a-pptp-vpn-from-your-android-phone/2145
problem 1. You can connect to a proxy (unless i'm not understanding your complaint) There's Proxy options under the settings menu.
Problem 2. I've noticed this but apparently some 3rd party browsers can do it.
Problem 3. Not sure about this one, but i connect to many different networks (public, domestic and at uni) and have never had a problem like this.
What you're saying is that you have various problems that the vast majority of people will never experience and you are wondering why Google aren't dropping everything to fix it immediately? These problems (to me at least) seem incredibly minor.

kccasey said:
Universally, I don't understand Googles LACK of contact and attention to it's customers. Like most people are aware that e-mailing google is a complete WASTE OF TIME. I'd love to meet someone who has yet to actually get a meaningful response from google. I understand that they are a HUGE company and can easily get overwhelmed by emails, but the complete lack of response in general is UNACCEPTABLE. Why do they act this way, ESPECIALLY to their customers? Eitherway, they should respond in some way to all emails, understandable for free products, but for PAYING customers like us Android users, should get a response.
Google is worse than Sprint when it comes to response. I don't get it or understand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because they already have your money, therefor they could care less. And they will continue to get your money, his money, her money etc because they make a product and provide a service that we all have come to rely on. They've got the hook set, you can't break free and they can let us dangle as long as they want.
But maybe the combination of google, samsung, and verizon has destroyed my outlook.
Samsung Fascinate
Frankenclean 2.8
EB16-ish Voodoo Kernel
Mob87's Honeycomb theme
Sent from XDA Premium App

I think many of these issues will take a long long time to see resolved.
You need to consider what motivates google RE Android. Hint: It is not paying customers.
Thing is, normal market forces are not at work in the Android space. This is
my BIGGEST issue with Android.

@andmiller
You don't think your needs are most important ones, do you? There are many, many things to do, not only these mentioned by you.
For me your "This is Important" bugs are minor. Actually I didn't know about them to this time. I care much more about NDK APIs, performance and UI improvements and this is exactly what Google does.
Also there is one good reason to focus on new APIs, standard libraries, developer tools, etc.: Google is only one who can improve them and sooner is better. They could fix bugs at any time, they could also port them to older versions of OS. But if they add new API, it will take some time for developers to use it, because new API won't be supported by most of devices. So it's much better to work on a new features first and fix minor bugs later.

BobPaul said:
I think many of these issues will take a long long time to see resolved.
You need to consider what motivates google RE Android. Hint: It is not paying customers.
Thing is, normal market forces are not at work in the Android space. This is
my BIGGEST issue with Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have got that completely backwards. Iphone is not normal market space. Each manufacturer running android os have to set themselves apart from each other, hence skinning the os. If customers demand, need it, it will get fixed or innovated.
Apple controls all, What they say goes. Example: no flash, theming....
Amazon drops their android app store on tues. Why, market forces.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

hey dude most of those issuses were fix sort of well i wouldnt say fix because google came out with a whole new O.S. most of ur issuses hav been resolved in the honeycomb os and greater but u dont need a fix u need a app that can handle what u need

> Can it connect to Microsoft's pptp? Yes - http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/sma...oid-phone/2145
No, or at least, not for several hundred people at least, some who have even provided logs of both sides of the conversation. Some bug comments are from companies, representing complaints from their customer base, so it is probably more. I could write an article that shows how to do it, too, but that doesn't mean that I've tested all combinations. If the author's VPN was not encrypted, he wouldn't have seen the problem, and--since his connection worked, and there's that encryption checkbox--he might have just assumed it worked. He might have even tried it: You can connect with encryption, you just can't stay connected for any length of time.
> problem 1. You can connect to a proxy (unless i'm not understanding your complaint) There's Proxy options under the settings menu.
I can manually set a proxy, although there are reports that this is not a standard part of android, but a value-add by the phone mfr. A third-party program could perhaps recognize which WAP I connect to and set values accordingly, but only if I want everything to go through the proxy, and not just some things. That would have worked at HP, but my ulterior motive is to proxy a specific blocked port so that I can pop my email to my wifi tab. OK, I'll admit, my actual reason isn't a compelling case for Google! ;-)
> Problem 2. I've noticed this but apparently some 3rd party browsers can do it.
I'm not surprised that some clever programmer patched around the breakage, but it needs to be solved generally. Really, this and VPN are the most important issues for me.
> Problem 3. Not sure about this one, but i connect to many different networks (public, domestic and at uni) and have never had a problem like this.
You have never had a problem like this that you know of! Most folks have been bitten by this when the run into a place with short leases, and only find out--if they do--by accident, since most places don't check for violators.

Other comments
For the person who asserted that these are fixed in the latest release, that doesn't appear to be the case, according to the bug reports.
Are there really people who use their portable device for work? Not if it is android-based! (I know, cheap shot, but--for many of us--a true statement).
I have a galaxy tab. With working VPN and ssh, I could login and do a simple database change "echo blah blah blah|mysql", restart a job, whatever. I'm not going to write a couple of thousand lines of code, but I might look at a couple of thousand lines of a log file! Instead, I have to fire up the PC, which means I have to be around the PC, and I'd rather have the freedom of mobility.

[Q] Anti-Virus, is it really needed?

Hello there chaps & chapettes(?),
I come to you today with a very real and possibly useful question. I come today to ask if there is a need for an anti-virus on smartphones at the moment and to gain an idea of the amount of HD2 users who do use an anti-virus.
So, would you say that there is any real need for an anti-virus? Are there many threats out there for us smartphone users? And do any of you have an anti-virus and if so, which is the one most recommended?
As an IT Engineer, I see many PC deaths attributed to malware of various flavours and I'd rather not see my beloved phone fall folly to these harmful programs.
Thanks for your responses (in advance),
Martin

I personally do not use one, but it depends on personal choice and what you use your phone for really.
Viruses and malware are fairly uncommon on android, but they do exist.
For example if you download a lot on your phone, or try unknown apps in market (viruses have been known to to find their way into the market) then you could maybe look into trying one.
Hope this helped
Sent from my HD2 using XDA app

IMHO, even on a PC, the anti-virus software often causes more harm than good, simply by slowing the system down considerably, especially the file system access, with its background scanning. Most of the viruses those days are stupid user oriented, you have to actually launch the virus/worm yourself for it to infect you. This kind of viruses only requires a tiny bit of common sense to avoid without using any anti-virus software. The other kind use well known network exploits - all i can say about it is "firewall yourself", there is nothing out of the ordinary in the way those viruses initially connect, a simple NAT router should protect you from those. There are also ones that infect you using some kind of browser, or other app exploit, but those are killed off at the distributing server side the moment they are discovered (anti-virus won't help you if you've stumbled upon one of those in zero days). And finally, some of those can be silent, properly coded, totally invisible, getting to you through some unknown exploits, using rootkit methods to hide etc... Those are the kind antiviruses are totally going to miss anyway.
The bottom line is - i don't see much point in using an antivirus on a PC. And you are actually asking me here if i think one should use it on an Android device ? Well, my answer is "No", unless you are a total stranger to some minimal common sense in this area.

I'll state this as someone who even leaves his wifi unlocked at home, but anyway...
My only viewpoint is that the only entry point for Malware is via Market downloads, and by that I mean downloading loads of apps from unknown names. While I know this advice will be disproved long-term, personally I would not bother unless I was silly with downloading apps from strange sources with weird permissions
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

smeddy said:
I'll state this as someone who even leaves his wifi unlocked at home...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this too, pretty much isolated from the LAN, though. I've stopped doing it after someone started torrenting on it, and i am not talking occasionally fetching stuff here and there, limiting the BW to some sane values, but heavy, 24/7, bandwidth hogging torrenting.

New android malware

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/09/new-naval-app-secretly-recreates-environments-from-your-phone/
The Naval Warfare Surface Center in Crane, Indiana today revealed a smartphone app that puts the capability of modern smartphones to observe areas in sharp relief and shows the power of malware to tap into those capabilities. The app, PlaceRaider, is capable of running in the background of any smartphone running Android 2.3. While running in the background, it takes photos at random while recording the orientation and location of the phone. Those photos get sent back to a central server, where they can be used to reconstruct a pretty good idea of where the phone has physically been.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you guys think?

I'm gonna do it to my every single one of my friends and creep on them.

At least with Android it will eventually be found and will be a fix or a way to prevent it, who knows what Apple is doing with iOS and even if the problem is founded, one would have to wait for Apple to patch a bug, but only if they choose to.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20014356-37.html
In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identities of authorized users of the electronic device. For example, a photograph of the current user can be taken, a recording of the current user's voice can be recorded, the heartbeat of the current user can be recorded, or any combination of the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match. If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The linux kernel have the iptables as firewall, if you are rooted, you can use DroidWall to manage it, not even that spying app can get any internet. Personally, I always manage which app gets internet access on my device.

eksasol said:
At least with Android it will eventually be found and will be a fix or a way to prevent it, who knows what Apple is doing with iOS and even if the problem is founded, one would have to wait for Apple to patch a bug, but only if they choose to.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20014356-37.html
The linux kernel have the iptables as firewall, if you are rooted, you can use DroidWall to manage it, not even that spying app can get any internet. Personally, I always manage which app gets internet access on my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice tip! I downloaded DroidWall and it does exactly as you say!
Thanx!

However, with DroidWall you need to enable all the system apps and services, otherwise you'll start finding things like PlayStore not working.
If using DroidWall gets confusing LBE Security Manager also have internet firewall, but it doesn't utilize the same method, DroidWall works at the kernel level and will override LBE. Although LBE is also a very essential app. It can monitor how much data each app uses as well and set the permission for each app. Although if you flash roms all the time it gets tiresome to configure after each flash, also you have to know which permission to enable for some apps to not interfere with its normal functions.

Dear hacker guy,
Good luck reconstructing the images and dimensions of my butt pocket.
-signed dgaf user
Sent from my SGH-T959

suchavibrantthang said:
Dear hacker guy,
Good luck reconstructing the images and dimensions of my butt pocket.
-signed dgaf user
Sent from my SGH-T959
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?????

Attention: this phone is a spyware device!

According to Samsung customer support and some members of this forum, this device does not have a built-in way of blocking Internet access for specific applications!
Many of those apps have permissions like "storage", "phone ID", "contacts", "calendar", "camera", "microphone", etc...
Therefore, when those applications are given Internet access they will be able to send all our data via the Internet...
That's why it would be of crucial importance and vital to have a built-in way of blocking Internet access to those apps.
For example, if an application has access to your data, to your storage or your contacts, it stands to reason that it should not have Internet access...
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Google, Samsung or any other companies should not have, simultaneously, access to our storage data, contacts, calendar, camera, microphone..., and Internet access to send out all those data and info...
Besides, most apps are proprietary... so nobody knows what info or data the app is really sending out...
(Curiously and as a side note, my son has a Huawei P10 and that device allows the user to block Internet access to specific apps).
Therefore, given that this Samsung device does not have a way to limit specific applications from reaching the Internet, the phone is a spyware device!

Niccolò Paganini said:
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its google that doesn't want to implement an internet permission, we can block apps from access to storage/location/contacts and whatnot but not the internet, blame google not samsung.

peachpuff said:
Its google that doesn't want to implement an internet permission, we can block apps from access to storage/location/contacts and whatnot but not the internet, blame google not samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, blame them both. Samsung is knowingly 'accepting' the Google 'flaw' on it's phone. So Samsung is also culpable.

Talk about an Over the Top Melodramatic 1st post!
Stay off the internet - Get rid of your Smart TV - Live in a box... SMH
Sent from my SM-G955W ??

Niccolò Paganini said:
According to Samsung customer support and some members of this forum, this device does not have a built-in way of blocking Internet access for specific applications!
Many of those apps have permissions like "storage", "phone ID", "contacts", "calendar", "camera", "microphone", etc...
Therefore, when those applications are given Internet access they will be able to send all our data via the Internet...
That's why it would be of crucial importance and vital to have a built-in way of blocking Internet access to those apps.
For example, if an application has access to your data, to your storage or your contacts, it stands to reason that it should not have Internet access...
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Google, Samsung or any other companies should not have, simultaneously, access to our storage data, contacts, calendar, camera, microphone..., and Internet access to send out all those data and info...
Besides, most apps are proprietary... so nobody knows what info or data the app is really sending out...
(Curiously and as a side note, my son has a Huawei P10 and that device allows the user to block Internet access to specific apps).
Therefore, given that this Samsung device does not have a way to limit specific applications from reaching the Internet, the phone is a spyware device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't worry about it the NSA and Google already know everything about you.

without permissions 99% of your apps won't work. want to stop tracking ?dig deep into your account, real real deep to cut off a lot of privacy issues
then when you have time, google your name

pltctytc said:
....then when you have time, google your name
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much came out for me, just a Google+, Twitter, Photobucket and my company activity...
But: I must agree with OP to some extent...at the end it is weighting between functionality vs privacy.

Gregzi said:
Not much came out for me, just a Google+, Twitter, Photobucket and my company activity...
But: I must agree with OP to some extent...at the end it is weighting between functionality vs privacy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreeing to ANY extent with the OP's RIDICULOUS and ABSURD post & a Thread Title that is Entirely Misleading and Uninformed!
While everyone is entitled to their opinion - This Thread & Particularly it's Title are perilously close to warrant being Reported to the Mods!
It's a simple process to Disable Background Data for each and every Application that you decide to disable in Settings - Apps - Permissions - Data - Background /Toggle Off.
I made reference to Smart TV's as they are constantly "listening" in order to provide functionality - Then there's Laptop cameras which could be equally used to "spy" on their users... Are we to disable the functionality offered by Ok Google - Which is also "listening" to provide the functionality that we have come to expect from our technology?
Two Tin Cans and String are the bastion of the Paranoid & Conspiracy Theorists.
Sent from my SM-G955W ??

**** this I'm going back to a Palm Pixi so the NSA can't spy on me!

What if.....
The NSA IS Google?!

Seriously? You're downloading things from F-Droid and Yalp and you're concerned with what data individual apps are sending? If you don't trust an app to have an internet connection, why on earth are you using it? If you don't trust the company behind an app to use your data appropriately, whey are you using that app? Do you shut off all data so your internet/mobile provider can't sniff out what you're doing? Tin foil is relatively cheap.

Niccolò Paganini said:
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surely this is "the only reason", surely. I'll assume you have thought through the entire process of creating a mobile phone operating system as complex as Android, and also every detail involved in creating an application ecosystem that scales to millions of user created applications access by billions of people that worldwide probably generates over a trillion dollars in overall economic revenue (including employment by business built around it, advertising money spent, etc). Surely you saw a foolproof way too easily do all of this AND follow seemingly arbitrary privacy rules? You MUST have also COMPLETELY ruled out every other innocent explanation using this model, including showing conclusively that it wouldn't cause ANRs, app crashes, or anything else. Right?
You also have data showing more than just you would revoke this permission right?
Right?

Mr. Orange 645 said:
What if.....
The NSA IS Google?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean you only just realised this NOW???!

I have to say, I'm always amazed how little people care about the spying that's being done through their phones. Saying "live in a box" or "just don't use the app" is a stupid response. You can still want to be part of society (which nowadays REQUIRES using whatsapp/facebook/google) EVEN THOUGH you're uncomfortable with the privacy implications. Someone acknowledging and being aware of this, and trying to improve upon it (or even simpler, just demanding improvements by the companies you pay a thousand dollar for a new phone) is often ridiculed as if it wouldn't matter, or people accept it as an something that is required for the systems we use. Social networks could work totally fine without being centralized, google maps doesn't actually need to send your location to google to function, and no app that i know of needs to send your usage of the phone to their company to do whatever it promises to do. Yet many apps do. It's not so much about that it is possible, the problem is that it is allowed. It shouldn't be allowed, much of the data collection should simply be outlawed. But, since hardly anyone seems to care, I don't see that coming anytime soon. I've tried to find people interested in this, but not even on reddit /r/privacy/ this seems to be a major concern.

@the_toast
There's a difference between being responsible for the amount of privacy you have and the amount of personal information that has already been made available... long before people were even aware of the amount of personal information that was already gleaned from the Products and Services that you have been using for years. To some extent trying to reign in your personal information is like closing the barn door after the horse is long gone.
The guy who originally posted this Thread is focusing his "panic" on one device and THAT is naive and Grossly Misleading!
Whether it's FB (which I don't use) or signing up for a Loyalty card - Your personal information is everywhere! Using common sense going forward is the only rational approach, but standing on an imaginary mountain top and shouting to the world that one device is "spyware" is ridiculous and deserves to be called out ?
Sent from my SM-G955W ??

Ahh, the time of the Internet where everyone knows who you are, what you're doing, what you're buying, what sites you browse, your fetishes, etc. Most importantly, here in the U.S., your IP now can sell your internet history to anyone they please, even that time you looked up 2 girls and a cup. Sorry, Charlie, your life is no longer a private one and never will be again.

MiMtnBiker said:
Ahh, the time of the Internet where everyone knows who you are, what you're doing, what you're buying, what sites you browse, your fetishes, etc. Most importantly, here in the U.S., your IP now can sell your internet history to anyone they please, even that time you looked up 2 girls and a cup. Sorry, Charlie, your life is no longer a private one and never will be again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if you Travel into the USA... Did you know THIS?
https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4494371#ampshare=http://www.cbc.ca/1.4494371
Sent from my SM-G955W ??

@shaggyskunk True, the OP is alarmist and uninformed. I was just put off by many of the answers, which basically said "why do you use Internet then". With respect to your post about searching phones - we can easily make this a scare thread (and people would be scared for good reasons). Let me continue:
- apps that want to use your microphone without apparent reason (of course also the ones WITH a good reason to use the mic) can track you through high-pitched sounds you cannot hear, which are emitted e.g. by some retailers to track you through their store.
- You talk about 1 in 13.000 people arriving in the US getting their phone/laptop looked at and potentially copied? How about knowing for 1Bn people (1 in 7 on earth) who they talk with, when they talk with them, and in which location they are whenever their phone has internet. That's Whatsapp.
@MiMtnBiker Gnn that's exactly my problem, people just accept it and believe it's never going to change. I'm not happy they know what kind of porn I'm looking at, and even less happy that they could sell the information (although I don't live in the US). If it is that way, it CAN be fixed, you CAN prohibit selling this information. Or to collect it at all. It's definitely better to know the big 5 have all my information but won't have all future information about me than to know they can continue like this forever

@the_toast
Many of the answers - including "live in a box" - "stay off the internet" were in direct response to the careless & irresponsible comments by the OP - like = like?
Not only your phone has the potential to gain access to your personal information - But your Laptop camera - Your Smart TV (that is "listening") But this technology is something that most people appreciate and expect their tech to provide them with the functionality that they want - Being aware of the capabilities of your Tech is prudent - being paranoid & frightened by it is just sad.
The issues of Privacy are extensive and if someone decides to pull on that thread - it's going to be never ending.
Common sense & being informed is the most appropriate way to go ??
Sent from my SM-G955W ??

the_toast said:
@shaggyskunk True, the OP is alarmist and uninformed. I was just put off by many of the answers, which basically said "why do you use Internet then". With respect to your post about searching phones - we can easily make this a scare thread (and people would be scared for good reasons). Let me continue:
- apps that want to use your microphone without apparent reason (of course also the ones WITH a good reason to use the mic) can track you through high-pitched sounds you cannot hear, which are emitted e.g. by some retailers to track you through their store.
- You talk about 1 in 13.000 people arriving in the US getting their phone/laptop looked at and potentially copied? How about knowing for 1Bn people (1 in 7 on earth) who they talk with, when they talk with them, and in which location they are whenever their phone has internet. That's Whatsapp.
@MiMtnBiker Gnn that's exactly my problem, people just accept it and believe it's never going to change. I'm not happy they know what kind of porn I'm looking at, and even less happy that they could sell the information (although I don't live in the US). If it is that way, it CAN be fixed, you CAN prohibit selling this information. Or to collect it at all. It's definitely better to know the big 5 have all my information but won't have all future information about me than to know they can continue like this forever
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I'm afraid the only way you are going to change it is to completely get off the grid. Many people are oblivious to the fact that they are willingly giving up their personal information when they have their noses buried in their smartphones pert near all day. What's worse is that the politicians only seem to cater to the wealthy, and since they are salivating at the idea of getting their grubby hands on your info, this will continue. Unless there is a huge uprising and people assemble in protest of this, it will not stop. Heck, I don't even think it will stop, then. Nope, money is the reason as to why this won't change and, unfortunately, you have no say in the matter. Unless, that is, you do get completely off the grid.