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NY AG Says Android, Windows Phones Will Have "Kill Switch"
"It's for your own good, remember." As Bloomberg reports, based on a study showing the "stunning effectiveness of kill switches," Google and Microsoft have agreed to NY AG Schneidermann's calls that such 'security measures' be incorporated in all new Android and Windows phones (following Apple's inclusion in September). With Android phones making up 80.2% of global shipments this year, "control" will be pleased...
Google and Microsoft will incorporate a “kill switch” into the next versions of their smartphone operating systems as evidence mounts that such security measures may be deterring theft, the New York attorney general’s office said.
Mobile phone technology companies have faced pressure from public officials during the past year to add mechanisms to allow smartphone owners to disable the devices if they are lost or stolen, limiting their resale potential.
More than 30 percent of robberies in major cities involve mobile phones, with some instances of theft also including violence, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Following Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s release of a kill switch in September, thefts of iPhones in some cities “plummeted,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who helped start a law enforcement coalition aimed at addressing the thefts.
The Secure Our Smartphones Initiative group said in a report today that robberies involving Apple products in New York dropped 19 percent in the first five months of 2014 compared with the same period last year. In San Francisco and London, robberies involving Apple products dropped 38 percent and 24 percent, respectively, according to Schneiderman’s office.
“The statistics released today illustrate the stunning effectiveness of kill switches and the commitments of Google and Microsoft are giant steps toward consumer safety,” Schneiderman said in a statement.
We are sure this is well intentioned... but worry of the unintended consequences (hackers able to entirely kill phones) and of course the libertarian perspective where 'control' is given to TPTB... how many more police violence cellphone clips? Turkey killed Twitter, why not kill all phones for a weekend?
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root it and never 'update' it.
Never buy it, learn to function without it........
even better.
Theater. They can kill the land lines too, and they've been tapping into those since the '60's if not before.
operator? Is that you?
Oh, hi there.
A lot of young people think the answer is to try to outsmart the government spying, rather than replacing the government.
Most likely, the young ppl aren't aware that they can replace .Gov
If theft were the real reason for a kill switch, then why not use the GPS in all smart phones to track down the thieves and arrest them?
Because that would be RACIST.........
It would also be work and the union won't stand for that.
Rescinded...Already flushed out the statists.
Want a driver's license in Texas? You must submit to having all 10 0f your finger prints scanned. It's for your protection.
Want a driver's license in Kalifornia? No proof of citizenship or other documentation needed because that would be R A C I S T!
I'm a little confused here. When I don't pay my phone bill, doesn't the phone company stop me from making calls? Can't the gubmint already simply walk into a phone exchange, (okay if you insist - they may need to wave a piece of paper around or point a gun at somebody) and "turn off" any phone they like?
There's already an app called Prey that can do that (except the arresting of course).
https://preyproject.com/
Ask a young person, high schooler to 20 something, who we fought in 1776. Ask them when was the next US fought war after that and who we fought in it. Ask them what 'branches of government' mean and to name them.
And then ask their Boomer parents these same things.
'Education' and the 'teachers' have done a helluva job in producing ignorant people who can be easily manipulated.
I asked a 'things-go-boomer' and they confirmed the FISA court was under the executive branch. Nothing to see here from the boom'er demographic.
You mean like sabotaging the government by putting idiots in control? Ah! That's why they voted for big-O.
Actually, the opposite of that. It's the illusion that anyone we elect from the options given to us are in control of anything.
They feed the voters bait. Here fishy fishy...come play with Uncle Sam. Just give me your address, social, and I'll hand you a jury summons so you can serve your .gov
So it wasn't Bush's fault?
Do you mean the CIA head/former president dad, or the belt buckle wearing ass puppet spawn that worked for him?
Maybe Sun and Moon was referring to the Dunham clan (Barry's maternal family), all of whom worked for the CIA?
http://archive.lewrockwell.com/orig11/madsen1.1.1.html
http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2013/09/obama-and-the-cia-f...
if you can't see past the false red/blue dichotomy, then you are a bigger part of the problem than the whores in DC.
If you cannot see that the dichotomy is both real and false then it is you who is blind. There are many well intentioned people on both sides who are ignorant of how both parties have owners in the shadows. They are the ones who must be awoken as they will be the most disappointed with the truth and have the potential to unleash hell on earth against TPTB. They are not the real enemy. They are just people caught in the matrix.
"There are many well intentioned people on both sides who are ignorant of how both parties have owners in the shadows..."
Let me answer with the words of Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson:
"...
… but worse:
It’s not just duplicity or two-facedness – he’s stupid!
And frankly, I’m not sure that in our senate and in our house of representatives there are more than a handful not stupid people.
That scares me more than they being all criminals…"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oweSwcPLbk
Maybe we can "build that" ;-)
Replace? I look forward to it's inevitable demise, and to replacing it with...nothing.
Carrier Pigeons? Go long...
Slight OT.. but do you ever get the loud ass warnings on your phone like an Amber Alert or a NOAA alert? I am not sure at all why mine and other people get those warnings on their cellphones. It's a little more odd that people don't really care
You can turn that off, or at least my phone allows me to.
Most of my loud ass warnings are from mexican food...
Even better, dumb phones. Old school GSMs work just fine -- if you need a cell at all.
There are various gadgets like MP3 players with the other "smart" functions that don't need to be connected to function, if you need those features as well.
I have seen the future, and it's offline computing.
Here's another one. Have you noticed how many cameras - up to and including DSLRs - are "WiFi enabled"?
It's just SO convenient....
But in most cases the WiFi feature can be switched off. Or at least according to the instructions and menu systems on the device.
My GMRS and 2meter HTs have neither GPS or OS, and I will communicate when the kill switch is thrown (but that doesn't mean they can't drop a strike on them thar transmissions).
I'm beginning to think Ted Kaczynski was correct.
Ted Kaczynski was correct, he just chose the wrong targets to send bombs to.
Just beginning, huh? Well, that's good.
I said that awhile back and was lambasted. He was though.
Have you guys ever heard this song? Old school but educational.
Naked Eyes-Voices
same title, but more fitting is this:
Voices in my head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq53JYNAYpk
it's well worth a listen.
Rockwell - Somebody's watching me
Another great tune Seek. Thanks.
a modern version of "Eyes in the Sky":
Tell em' the truth and they call you a traitor
Talk to em' honestly and they call you a hater
I am the eye in the sky
looking at you,
I can read your mind
I am the maker of rules dealing with fools,
I can cheat you blind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hTRb-OQdKU
How about something with the "voices" theme from the 1980's?
Russ Ballard-Voices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftcyFZxnTro
Well played
What they will eventually seek is an internet kill switch. What they want is an information kill switch. They want a bunch of uninformed idiots running around. What they will get is a bunch of well armed citizens fighting them. And when that happens you better own gold.
Is that planned for this century or the next one? Just curious.
"They want a bunch of uninformed idiots running around."
LOL They got what they wanted..
"There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now in control of the transmission."
Outer Limits Intro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CtjhWhw2I8
If it's really about theft deterrence, why does the government get to control it? Why can't I just activate it myself?
Shut up and don't ask any sensible questions.
From what I understand, there are apps available to do just that. I personally have an app called the .357 magnum that protects all of my shit just fine without government intrusion.......
357? Is that an advanced math app?
Nah, he's just counting out loud from 1 to 10.
I've had that functionality in my phone for over 4 years, so it's not like the technology doesn't exist.
keep asking questions like that and you'll find yourself being reeducated at a remote location not of your choosing.
The State is an expert at theft.
Someday soon the government will require a kill switch to be installed in every infant immediately after birth. Not to mention a GPS tracker with satellite uplink, and a webcam installed in the forehead, etc. Google glasses for the masses!
Resistance is futile.
The Harkonnen had a heart valve installed on all their slaves.
...and even themselves.
So will the authorities have the ability to "kill" your phone - whenever they like as well?
and if that fails, they can just kill you. neither would bother them in the least.
Yes. They are putting kill switches in automobiles as too. Why do you suppose that is.....??
I wonder how long before master installs a kill switch in us. Very efficient way to dampen proletariat bad behaviour.
Yes. And don't forget CDMA phones already have an emergency callback function built in, so they can lock your phone with a properly formed inbound call so that you can communicate with them, and only them, until they release it.
What they're describing lets them simply disable the phone permanently. Via a central authority... oh no, no room for abuse there at all!
The wisdom of the Amish is becoming more obvious every day.
The Amish are hypocritcal assholes. They drive trucks, use power tools, wear sneakers and eat shit food from the WaWa just like the dreaded "english". Only the woman who are treated like dogs are actually forced to live like it's 1880.
and precisely what tribe is it that spawned such a humorless cunt as yourself?
Looks like the're getting the last laugh on the rest of us...
"Hitchin' up the buggy, churnin' lots of butter
Raised a barn on Monday, soon I'll raise another
Think you're really righteous? Think you're pure in heart?
Well, I know I'm a million times as humble as thou art"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg&feature=kp
I think theres going to be a sensor, say enough words on the bad list and it bricks your phone.
So you're saying 1984 will take the form of smartphone screens? Scary.
We'll call it....a censor sensor!
why not assemble all the smart phones with explosives by default? works quite well with cars, especially if one is investigative journalist.
Please, do us all a favor and kill these infernal devices, maybe then we can all go back to being human instead of thumb driven robots who forgot how to laugh and now say the letters "LOL" out-loud instead of actually laughing.
I think the human race needs an EMP re-boot honestly, we could use a few decades of hunter gatherer status to filter out the bad genes that have built up.
Gasp imagine a world where you actually had to get up off your chair and do something instead of pushing a button and having food delivered to you 0_0 I think it might be great.
No one is stopping you from moving to your Unabomber cabin in the woods and living by yourself off the grid. But instead you spew your faux Luddite bullshit ON THE FUCKING INTERNET! If you don't care, then don't fucking care - no one stops you from living like a caveman. But I suspect you want to make everyone else live like you think they ought to, don't you? And that makes you no better than our current masters.
Hey...don't knock the Unibomber.
Wow you are Mr. Uptight aren't you?
Try reading the adjoining story about water shortages. Excerpt: "We have filled the North Pacific Ocean with 100 million tons of plastic, and this is starting to have a very serious affect on the marine food chain. Ultimately, this could mean a lot less food available from the Pacific Ocean for humans."
We need a reset. It's the only way to stop this. We can't stop it on our own (picture Dr. Strangelove trying to control his own arm). We're addicted. So most of will continue using the tools of the modern age until they are taken away from us.
"We have filled the North Pacific Ocean with 100 million tons of plastic"
First the water in plastic and now the plastic in water...
Do you consider yourself one of our masters? Enjoy what you have, and try not to be too harsh about those who do not agree with your life stile.
it just fences her/him in.
Lighten up Francis
This is my take on evolution. Sentience emerged out of reactive Darwinian evolution because it was the greatest of survival tools. Once a sufficiently sentient animal turned up evolution begins to leave the reactive Darwinian stage and enters the proactive planned evolutionary stage. Technology is the inevitabled result of our sentient selves. We simply have no choice but to embrace us modifying ourselves and our environment because, for better or worse, it has to happen like how we have to breath (at least for now, breath that is).
This situation does not come into conflict with the concept of spirituality. The Father imbibes the sentient biological machine with a Presence (call it the ghost within the machine) at His discretion and this allows the personality inhabiting the machine to exist eternally, long after the machine is gone. Most people instinctively feel this even though they cannot fathom it.
As for our future, we are creators, creating ourselves and the surrounding environment from materials we have been given guided by logical sentience (math, physics, chemistry and other sciences) and supposedly by that somewhat mysterious spiritual moral compass that allows us to discern right from wrong and good from bad. Clearly we have progressed (exponentially) when it comes to the mechanical output of sentience, we almost have no choice in that matter. The problem is that morally we are probably regressing. This is akin to giving a toddler a loaded firearm to use as a toy.
Elitists might endevour to enslave us, but we allow it. Both are at fault. The law of tooth and claw is still alive in our animal selves and manifests itself through the sentient battle for social dominance. If we do not somehow evolve morally we can never be civilized, and if we do not civilize soon, we will blow our brains out. Also soon enough one or more of our biological (genetic engineering), mechanical (artifical intelligence, merly created by sentient rather than reactive evolution), or biomechanical (merge the other two) near future sentient entities might show their disgust for us and render us a temporary transient species, that is those of us that don't up our morality game and enhance our sentient capability by design. Don't get too attached to this human form, we are going to have a lot more to deal with than races, sexes and sexual orientation; we are going to have to deal with a huge diversity of very strange sentient creatures, many made by us, then more made by them, all managing the resource pool, so all can survive and thrive. Thats where we have to go or we will die. So whip out that smart phone and get with the program cause like it or not there is no turning back; win, lose or draw we are mandated to figure this thing out.
Having said all this I still personally prefer a more nature oriented stress free outdoor life.
Most of the smart devices in my home auto-update without even asking me whether I agree to it. Each patch can either contain unwanted features, act as programmable kill switch, or be a hack from some entity posing as an update authority. Not having to worry about updates is a benefit. The loss of control is a negative.
Soon cars will be like that. And people will love it! They'll demand it, as like in case with phones it'll provide a small convenience and a great sense of security.
Most modern conveniences require sacrifice. It's an irreversible trend. Being integrated into the network offers you membership perks. Being hostitle to the network will get you expelled and punished.
With the internet and all of the technologies it enables and encompasses, we are progressing towards an organic unity, where individuality ceases to exist - where our roles resemble those of cells within a body. Where you gain protection from elements through mere "membership", but also risk retaliation, if the organism brands you as an infection.
It's an interesting social dynamic. Where does it leave us? Well that depends... depends on where in the body we end up being. If we leave higher functions to our cancer cells (the banks and the govenrments), then we are screwed. If we take control away from them, then the future is rosy.
Yes, the tech can be used against us. But it can just as well be used against "them". The playing field is more even than it ever was. Before we had no access whatsoever. We had none of our own media. We had no tools to oppose the overwhelming technological superiority of law enforcement and the army. Nowdays we can do to them what they do to us, and in my book it's worth some sacrifice.
... additionally, peopel are up in arms against drone use. Guess what - a drone can be built on a hobby budget by anyone. What they do to you, you can do to them. You have all of the same technology and to me that is a beautiful thing.
You may want to give some more thoutht to what you just posted. Or pehaps you you are not as young as I am thinking, and in that case, I do not want to post what I am really thinking.
you have posted nothing so far.
"people will love it! They'll demand it, as like in case with phones it'll provide a small convenience and a great sense of security..."
Sense of security to whom? The people have no choice in the matter. The decision has been/is being made for the people by elites under the guise "we know what's best for you", much better than you do (because we're so smart or something like that). LOL
Translation: Accept/comply with our controls or we will have to turn your toys off if you can not behave yourselves.
If the cars had kill switches (some of them already do), car theft would be significantly lower. My relative's car was stolen this January. The police found it a week later drowned in a lake. Complete writeoff. Does she regret not having the option of registering unauthorized movement of the car and stopping it dead in its tracks? I bet she does.
If kill switches were mandated, like the pressure sensors (and they will be), then car theft would be significantly lower. If the feature is presented as a no-charge anti-theft device, people will swallow it hook line and sinker. Will the police and hackers use it illegitimately? I bet they will! It will be a convenicen that comes with an inconvenience.
Tire sensors already are being used by data mining firms. They emit a weak radio signal with a unique ID that can be picked up by long range antennas. Then your movement can be followed. Do people complain? Nope. All they care about is that the car will tell them if there's a flat, possibly saving lives. Convenience at the cost of privacy.
Most smart features of modern tech are like that.
Having kill switches installed on vehicles for law enforcement will do nothing to decrease car theft. If this were true then the kill switch would be available to solely to the rightful owner of the vehicle. Tire sensors that transmit data have absolutely nothing to do saving lives.
This is control.
Lojack has been available since the 1980s and already meets this need for an effective antitheft device. Non transmitting tire pressure sensors have been available since the late 1980s and already solved the "safety issue".
People will not "swallow it hook line and sinker" nor will they complain about any of this. They were never asked for their consent. They were told after the fact.
Besides, 98% of the people are "too busy" watching the Kardashians, George Clooney, and the world cup as the citizens of Brazil are getting scammed out of about $10 billion (that is sorely needed for healthcare/schooling/transportation) to build the stadiums etc.
Bread and circus...
Just listen to these "Google glasses" wearers! They barely sound human! Who the fuck are these monotone wankers? LISTEN TO THE WAY THEY EXPRESS THEMSELVES!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClvI9fZaz6M
The coined term for these people is "glassholes".
Seems to me that Microsoft, Apple and Google owe us an 80% discount on all phones if they are going to insist on both ultimate control and the ability to monitor us at all times.
They are not selling us something that is ours. They are enslaving us to something that is theirs and making us pay them as if it is ours.
That is the most upsetting thing, actually. I recall Dr. Pepper ran a promotional campaign many years ago, where they were going to send everyone who dared to ask a mini can of soda for free. All you had to do was fill out a form containing personal information. There was a social media campaign, viral marketing for the event and perople felt pretty good surrendering personal data for 25c worth of pop.
Similarly, people are willing to pay outrageous prices today for what are essentially sophisticated spying devices. You pay them to get spied on instead of other way around.
Amazon fire is yet another step towards an ever-present omni-tracker. The 3D gimmick is actually nothing more than an eye tracking software that requires the camera to be active even when you're not using it.
Facebook now has a funciton where they can keep your microphone running, evesdropping on all the noises. And the fact they ask doesn't mean they have to. Most devices can be enabled for monitoring. Law enforcement's been taking advantage of this for ages. My brother worked at an engineering firm dealing with cell phones and he confirmed that they could be activated silently, even while being turned off (that was before the smartphone era). Modern devices can spy and do spy. You phone watches you, your computer watches you, your car tracks you. Everything has either a black box, or a wireless interface and you can do little about it.
Be informed and know what's at stake. It's exactly like 1984. If there's a telescreen's present, you just have to assume that someone might be watching.
This tech, however, works both ways. They can watch you and you can watch them. Don't say or post anything you might regret and wait for them to slip up. Wait for another Nuland to utter "Fuck the EU" and be ready to broadcast it to the world.
A while ago someone asked me for my cell number.
I replied that I'll have a cell number the day I find myself in one, and not before.
Took a few seconds to register.
To those that say "root it" and not upgrade, consider the emergency messaging system. Any newer smartphone now has four categories...
Imminent Extreme Alert
Imminent Severe Alert
AMBER Alerts
Presidential Alerts
Of the four, guess which one is not optional. Right. My phone is rooted. I suspect if the kill switch becomes mandatory, not only will King Obama have the ability to send every cell phone owner a message, but he can brick your phone if he so chooses.
Value of pre-2014 phones just skyrocketed.
The Kill Switch is necessary for all devices. When they're ready to crash the markets and pull out their ill gotten gains they need a way to stop the Sheeple from selling too.
For stifling dissent, there's a kill switch
For everything else, there's MasterCard.
Next: kill switch in cars. It's only for your safety.
i think you meant to say kill switch implants in your brain.
Even worse...
Let them try to shut this down "remotely".
http://tinyurl.com/m765qd3
Nice, did you buy it Mr. Parker?
I love hot rods that look like you borrowed granny's Sunday ride.
They are certainly on the cards.
The police will claim it will reduce innocent deaths caused by them chasing car thieves and other assorted criminals where pedestrians get mowed down.
can you hear me now?
Windows phones? Wow, they really wanted to get those last eight people, didn't they?
Blackberry was taken down because the NSA couldn't tap the phones. End of story. Berry ping service is still available and still very much private.
same with nokia, the last mobile and os maker outside us control. somehow a microsoft employee became ceo, switched the whole platform to windows, and micrisoft bought at a massively discounted value.
magic
"We are sure this is well intentioned..."
It depends on WHO is funding this outfit and WHO it has links to:
"The Secure Our Smartphones Initiative group said..."
Well, I've never really got into cell phones but relented last year and bought an oldy worldy plain text PAYG Nokia 101. UK price at the time: UKP 11. I paid cash (no personal details given to retailer) and top it up with cash (no personal details given to retailer). I only carry it for emergency purposes away from home. It's switched off 99% of the time. If TPTB want to kill my cell, they'll have a big job finding out what the number is.
Kill switches will only kill more people.
why do jews love being nazis
yep can't have recordings of civil rights violations.
You are not your stupid smartphone. It is sad and pathetic that people place so much faith in and cling so fiercely to a disposable piece of trash they really have no control over. It is like watching bums fighting over who owns the Brooklyn bridge.