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Edward Snowden Won't Use An iPhone – Here’s Why

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

Cell phones are tracking devices that make phone calls.

 

– Jacob Appelbaum

The above line is one of my favorite quotes describing the current world we inhabit. A succinct description of modern civilization; a place where global connectivity has never been greater, but neither has warrantless surveillance.

With that in mind, here’s what Snowden had to say about the iPhone. From Yahoo:

The lawyer for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden says that his client never uses an iPhone because of fears about its security, Sputnik News reports.

 

Anatoly Kucherena spoke to news agency RIA Novosti and explained that Snowden is wary of the iPhone because of his knowledge of the NSA’s surveillance tactics.

 

“Edward never uses an iPhone, he’s got a simple phone,” the lawyer said. “The iPhone has special software that can activate itself without the owner having to press a button and gather information about him, that’s why on security grounds he refused to have this phone.”

 

Just something to keep in mind.

 

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Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:47 | 5711886 Silky Johnson
Silky Johnson's picture

LOL, knowing what he claims to know, he uses a phone!!??!

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:51 | 5711906 nuubee
nuubee's picture

Don't be ridiculous, the phone is a last resort for when his google hangouts aren't working.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:10 | 5712006 BaBaBouy
BaBaBouy's picture

PROUDLY NEVER Bought An appLE Product In My Life...

They Are Still Selling 16gb Memory Products For $400+ ???

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ALL ABOUT TODAY, In A Whirld Where Bulk 64gb Chips Cost $3.98 ???

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:10 | 5712024 MillionDollarBonus_
MillionDollarBonus_'s picture

 

The 21st century has seen a shocking rise in cyberterrorism targeted at governments, corporations and innocent citizens. The internet is an unregulated playground, where hackers can do as they please and intolerant cyber-bullies and trolls can torment their victims without fear of repercussions. Our politicians are mostly of the older generations, and they do not truly understand the internet and its dangers to society. We need a new generation of cyber-police, sourced from the best most upstanding technologists of generation X. This group of young men and women should be tasked with designing and enforcing a bullet proof regulatory framework that monitors internet traffic and reports all malicious activity directly to law enforcement. We will then be able to enjoy the good parts of the internet, like reading the news, watching movies, online shopping and emails, without having to worry about the cyber-criminals that currently run free in the virtual wild west that is today's internet.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:14 | 5712055 TheReplacement
TheReplacement's picture

No vote.  Too long winded.  You are slipping MDB.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:31 | 5712169 weburke
weburke's picture

 imagine if particles  from  the  sky  give  your  lungs  a unique  identifier. or  your  baby inoc  contains id.  someday  perhaps

 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:41 | 5712189 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

They damn sure turn you into an antenna for the EMF smog being forced on us. You're not just breathing it, you're absorbing through you skin.

Best to try & mitigate it daily with open cell walled chlorella, blue green agae, lemon, etc.

HT to Miffed!

21st century cigarettes...

Only you don't get a choice.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:05 | 5712385 remain calm
remain calm's picture

Cell phones are tracking devices that make phone calls.

– Jacob Appelbaum

.... To make phone calls and to watch porn( that's why they made the bigger screens)

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:30 | 5712548 BaBaBouy
BaBaBouy's picture

.... To make phone calls and to watch porn .... AND To Watch You Watching Porn...

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:31 | 5712884 Infnordz
Infnordz's picture

.... and if you are a stupid and horny person, also watching you making selfie porn for others...

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 00:53 | 5714619 A Nanny Moose
A Nanny Moose's picture

Grandma...what big eyes you have.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:33 | 5712193 RealityCheque
RealityCheque's picture

It's not really him: the "_" at the end of his name confirms he is just a pale imitation of the worlds greatest troll.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:13 | 5712446 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

It is really him. The _ is how his name ended for the last several years.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:33 | 5712571 Sokhmate
Sokhmate's picture

I'd like to submit that MDB was not a troll, but an /s^infinity master (causing reader to telewarp into parallel miniverse)

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:32 | 5712894 Greenskeeper_Carl
Greenskeeper_Carl's picture

has anyone ever seen MDB and tyler durden in that same room at the same time? just sayin...

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 00:46 | 5714600 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

One of these days I'm gonna catch up to that polkeroo, I tells ya.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:20 | 5712096 Implied Violins
Implied Violins's picture

Don't you write for the Onion?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:22 | 5712115 JRobby
JRobby's picture

Blade Runner is retired

Sonja Henie's out

I have no answers

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:31 | 5712560 Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder's picture

But here's what happens in your wild west analogy....

The town hires a sheriff to protect people from the bandts...

But then the local bureaucrats get hired as well.. soon no chickens allowed in your backyard, you get arrested for letting your child walk to school, poptarts are considered weapons.

Then the HOAs develop in the local suburbia and you are not allowed to hang clothes outside to dry or have gardens.

Oh and someone has to pay for all this so taxes go up and you get hit with HOA fees.

You now live in an over regulated world in which you are not free and everyone tells you how to live and what to think and what you are allowed to know or read or see....

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 18:25 | 5713124 1Inthebeginning
1Inthebeginning's picture

i prefer the internet to be free range.  power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  that much power in the hands of a few bureaucrats would be unwise.

 

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 04:39 | 5714913 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

So, what do you do when Law enforcement officers ARE the cyber-criminals?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:14 | 5712067 me again
me again's picture

Me meither; and plus 13 for alerting people to the scam; I'm sometimes stupid, but I try to avoid at least the most obvious scams.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:54 | 5712686 Nobody For President
Nobody For President's picture

BaBaBouy, got that right about Apple overpriced iCrap - I started minis with a Laser 128 Apple II Clone, but switched to IBM compatible in 1984 or 85 when I needed a hard drive, and price comparisions made it a no-brainer.

Besides, I'm too dumb for a smart phone, I'll be damned if I want a phone smarter than me.  - I got a no app, no internet god damned phone (got a camera with it though).

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:18 | 5712081 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

These days, all you need to do when you wake up is grab your phone and it tells you if you woke up in the right bed.

You don’t even need to look outside anymore to know with a 50% probability if it’s snowing! 

It’s almost unbelieveable how we did that a decade ago...

I’ve got over 100 apps preinstalled on my phone I’ve never even opened! How cool is that!

And all I need to do for that service is simply recharging my phone 4 times a day! 

And only once if I don’t use it all day!

And the weight! Next to nothing! It’s even lighter than that spare accu I carry with me for when the bbattery drops in 5 seconds from 50% to 2%!

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:03 | 5712392 11b40
11b40's picture

You need to trade up :)

 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:04 | 5712393 11b40
11b40's picture

You need to trade up :)

 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:45 | 5712949 Greenskeeper_Carl
Greenskeeper_Carl's picture

this article is useless without specifics. Is this meant to say that a samsung that uses the Android OS(or any other phone) safer somehow? I want to hear how exactly iphones are worse(yes, I have an iphone). I am NOT defending the iphone, im not an apple fanboy, i just like the way iOS works better than android, and I just don't believe that(short of buying a 3k cryptophone type device) there is a 'safe' or 'secure' mas produced cell phone that these people can't hack and listen into or manipulate at will. Anyone have anything to add to this?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:50 | 5712677 Thecomingcollapse
Thecomingcollapse's picture

My favorite App is Redphone just for these purposes.  Doesn't help with the tracking bit, but it damn sure pisses them off when they can't listen or record your calls

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:53 | 5711926 giovanni_f
giovanni_f's picture

SJ - yet another of those "39 week"-trolls. S.T.F.U.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:00 | 5711958 DIgnified
DIgnified's picture

I have to ask about the '39 weeks' thing.  What is that?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:04 | 5711989 DetectiveStern
DetectiveStern's picture

Silky has been a member for 39 weeks. Not sure of the relevence though.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:26 | 5712523 General Decline
General Decline's picture

To some people, the number of weeks one has been commenting here is very important. Even more so than the message itself. Strange phenomenon.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:41 | 5712623 ChevronSky
ChevronSky's picture

Always found that curious as well.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:57 | 5712999 83_vf_1100_c
83_vf_1100_c's picture

Just for the record, what is the requisite number of weeks one must be a registered member before being taken seriously? Do I get credits if I am a long time respected member on another forum? How about if my wife is hot? I can supply pics, it will be up to you to decide if she is really hot or just a pic off the web. :-)  I'm mostly here for the comments and probably post twice a week and now I have wasted one of my posts with this drivel.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 19:18 | 5713373 TrueWho
TrueWho's picture

Dagnabit! I've only been a member for 30 weeks! Well, it'll be 31 weeks tomorrow. Oh well, don't take what I have to say seriously for another 8 weeks.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:05 | 5711996 worbsid
worbsid's picture

It means the troll has been here for less than a year and doesn't know shinola.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:20 | 5712094 cigarEngineer
cigarEngineer's picture

Knowing what Snowden knows, i'm surprised you guys don't delete old accounts regularly to interrupt the files the FBI is gathering about your writings.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:26 | 5712152 seek
seek's picture

Most of us are on "the list" already, so no big deal as long as we're not openly advocating felony behavior in a very specific way.

They go by IP address, not account name, and extremely trivial natural language analysis will connect usernames even if you change both username and IP address.

The only way to be off the radar is to not post at all and read the site via proxy, or simply not be on the net at all.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:32 | 5712186 pods
pods's picture

And where is the fun in that?

Did Fonzy say no when they bet him he couldn't jump that shark?

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

When the going gets tough?.............................

 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 18:53 | 5713284 Luckhasit
Luckhasit's picture

Yea I was gonna say.  They already have a cot with our names on it at those FEMA camps.

Hehe.  At least I know I won't get worked over as much as Knuckles.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:05 | 5711992 Silky Johnson
Silky Johnson's picture

Your mother is a troll and your father is a whore. And for a lot longer that 39 weeks.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:14 | 5712065 TheReplacement
TheReplacement's picture

Well I guess you told him.  No doubt he has utterly shrivelled up into a raisin of nothingness.  Again, great argument.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:33 | 5712198 Max Steel
Max Steel's picture

You're a tranny cunt .

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:25 | 5712519 aardvarkk
aardvarkk's picture

I'm seriously enjoying this thread.

Thu, 01/29/2015 - 09:53 | 5719388 giovanni_f
giovanni_f's picture

Clarification: About that 39 weeks (give or take some weeks) ago an invasion of pro-war, pro-NSA, anti-Russian trolls started to make their presence felt on ZH (and more so on RT for that matter).

Another ZH guy actually came up with this observation which made me curious and look into the matter a bit. My impression so far is that he was spot on. SJ perfectly fulfills the criteria of a paid troll, inlcuding its birth time.

Apart from that the duration of membership is completely irrelevant - but for most of ZH readers that has been selfevident anyway.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:25 | 5712141 JRobby
JRobby's picture

I don't blame him. He would not want to be droned without a trial or other "due process"

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:49 | 5711890 Magnix
Magnix's picture

Ohhh, I was going to buy cheap used iPhone 4 for my kids until I read this....going to reconsider.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:52 | 5711922 Conman
Conman's picture

Your kids are fine. The government already knows where to find them. Snowden on the other hand may have a greater need to hide from certain GPS guided munitions.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:59 | 5711960 Magnix
Magnix's picture

Really? My daughter 15 ran away and we called the police and its been 2 weeks. They havent found shit! Thats the reason why I was going to get my kids a iphone so we can track where they are located.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:02 | 5711979 thatthingcanfly
thatthingcanfly's picture

That got heavy really quickly.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:25 | 5712138 Romney Wordsworth
Romney Wordsworth's picture

L.A. ~ They always end up in L.A.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:11 | 5712033 Conman
Conman's picture

Well get her on the phone asking about E - T - F 's in a russian accent. She will get picked up real quick by the FBI courtesy of the NSA.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:18 | 5712092 TheReplacement
TheReplacement's picture

Why would they bother using the tech to help you?  It is there to control you.

On the otherhand maybe she isn't stupid and ditched the phone.  Did you think of that magic technology dad?  Don't worry.  Soon there will be an app for that and you won't have to think for yourself.  In fact, there won't be any need for you... at all. 

Now about all those coffins the CDC is storing in Georgia...

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:29 | 5712167 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

@Magnix

Until you've been kissed by radiation illness, you won't get it. The IPhone is the WORST!

As far as kids...if you want to sterilize them...

 WiFi, Bluetooth, Cordless phones, Cell phones, your microwave oven, measure the same with an RF analyser. DECT 6.0 are like having a cell tower in your house..

You might be interested in this...Microwave expert Barrie Trower...& this is only the tip of the iceberg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgqkV3GqpiQ

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:49 | 5711900 JustObserving
JustObserving's picture

No one has ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the America people.

The iPhone is further proof of that maxim.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:52 | 5711927 nuubee
nuubee's picture

I finally figured out why I'm poor.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:18 | 5712084 me again
me again's picture

lol. observing rather well.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:29 | 5712106 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

It starts when they’re babies..

http://www.worldwideinterweb.com/media/k2/items/cache/0f38c78674a3ae9e96...

But at least, looking good is still important for the average American...

http://www.worldwideinterweb.com/images/blogphotos/Funny/Dumbest%20Produ...

And if you where thinking... WHERE IS HE GOING TO PUT THAT REMOTE!?!?

they invented something for that to...

http://www.worldwideinterweb.com/images/blogphotos/Funny/Dumbest%20Produ...

At least they know how to hunt for their food...

https://coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/this-is-not-going-to-en...

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 04:59 | 5714941 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

Hmm, that mountain lion in the background looks a bit peckish! :>D

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:51 | 5711911 analyzer_66
analyzer_66's picture

old news

survelliance state lives on

the best phones are the kind you can take the battery out of, to shut it down completely

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:54 | 5711928 pods
pods's picture

I like to whisper "Black Briar" when I am talking every now and again. Just to keep them busy.

pods

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:07 | 5712004 Toronto Kid
Toronto Kid's picture

The correct name is 'Project Echelon'. It has been operational since 1998 (way before 2001).

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:23 | 5712129 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Shhh...shhhh.."the code word is Black Briar.". Now pretend lime everything is normal while we get down to...wait? WHAT?! You're a normal person???

 

MY COVER IS BLOWN! RUN AWAY!

 

I mean seriously the purpose of the surveillance is to have a View to a Kill..nothing more, nothing less either.

 

If the Chris Kyle movie were spot on it would have the Predator Drone providing over sight of the operation.

 

We are ALL "Under Surveillance".... but who exactly is doing the watching and for what purpose is a whole 'nother thing entirely.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:27 | 5712160 forwardho
forwardho's picture

The problem is not what they hear/store now.

The problem comes when they change the time frame of: Your words can and will be used against you.

The internet is forever, your protected rights... well, not so much.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:40 | 5712211 Toronto Kid
Toronto Kid's picture

Project E was up and running in 1998.
It typically takes 5 to 10 years to get a project like this off the ground and running, so that puts the timeline back to 1988-1993.
It takes another 5 to 10 years to turn an idea into something that gets support and funding.
Theoretically, it was the late seventies when someone thought "what if we could ..." That is what bends my mind.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:46 | 5712647 ChevronSky
ChevronSky's picture

We Echelon'd some folks

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 05:00 | 5714946 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

Shh!  No one is to know about C.Y.C.L.O.P.S.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:12 | 5712039 salvadordaly
salvadordaly's picture

Throw those buzz words into every conversation that you can If everyone did it, it would give them plenty of data to keep them overwelmed.

-Sent from my NSA tracked for no reasonable or articulable suspicion iPhone-

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:15 | 5712069 pods
pods's picture

Seriously, it is not that difficult for a mechanic to change a tire.

About time we opened that bottle of bubbly eh?

Are you going to watch the SuperBowl?

My guinea pig loves carrots.

Best Buy is having a sale on Saturday, you better be there.

pods

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:23 | 5712134 forwardho
forwardho's picture

Go old school.

Go one time pads!

 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:21 | 5712104 me again
me again's picture

LOL. Maybe if everyone started whispering conspiracy anti-government shit at once and kept it up all day; their heads would explode.

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 05:06 | 5714951 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

"Is the thought of  a Unicorn a 'real' thought?"

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:52 | 5712312 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

I'm inspired. I think I'll get a list of conspiracy & alleged codeword phrases. Pop it into text-to-speech. Save & loop playback of mp3. Phone goes right beside the speaker. All day.

This is a fun game. I think we should all play!

1st prize is a black bag (over your head)! It's probably not Gucci.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:21 | 5712122 Implied Violins
Implied Violins's picture

I put mine in a thick metal box when I have it off.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 18:08 | 5713047 Leraconteur
Leraconteur's picture

That is best.

Take your device and text yourself something, whilst it is near your PC or a stereo that picks up on the pings.

OK, now POWER IT OFF and listen as your phone calls to base telling them your phone was turned off whilst at this location, and when it turns on same thing.

In the box, or just inside some aluminium foil lining a pouch. That works for rfid credit cards and other id, too.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 23:14 | 5714307 SubjectivObject
SubjectivObject's picture

Lets keep our collective eyes and ears peeled for any hint that the shielding technique can be breached.

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 05:07 | 5714953 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

Sigh, Physics is not yer strong suit, is it?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:51 | 5711916 pods
pods's picture

The problem is that many, if not most, would be giddy if they thought they had that level of importance on this planet.

"They like me, they really like me!"

pods

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:55 | 5711935 kliguy38
kliguy38's picture

yeah........we had a name for them growing up.......  creaps or pervs

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:54 | 5711929 WTFUD
WTFUD's picture

Seems people are more stupid than i give them credit for.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:53 | 5711930 Barnaby
Barnaby's picture

Fears of The Strawman don't equate to data.

In the 90s a lot of us said "wouldn't it be great to have TNG communicators where we tap our chests and shit happens?"

This is just the realization of that. And every time my Glass ploings in my ear I remember my .mil training: hide in plain sight.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:55 | 5711932 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

The best phone is the kind that hangs on a wall with a cord.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:02 | 5711975 Barnaby
Barnaby's picture

Crap. You know they can see what "high-volt" appliances you run in your hoam via the power system? They've been watching us since the fucking telegraph.

Low-volt is, as you might guess from my assertion above, less of a challenge. Copper is as copper does. Worse yet, fibre.

Allow them into your house and you have a choice: play pretend, or be a patsy.

Conversely, don't allow them into your house and you're an anomaly to be watched.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:44 | 5712274 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

Spoken from the hi-tech heavy wearing GOOG glass.

hahahahaha

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:41 | 5712930 Barnaby
Barnaby's picture

Way to miss the point entirely. Let them eat static, but if you feed them nothing they will become aware of you.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:54 | 5711933 ZippyBananaPants
ZippyBananaPants's picture

So basically, put the iphone in the other room before you wax your carrot in front of your computer!

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:58 | 5711952 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

I'm not ashamed of the size of my cock.  I point all camera devices on me while I do it in the hopes someone is monitoring me. 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:01 | 5711963 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

Thank god for the zoom feature huh? makes it look bigger than it really is.

 

So you got that going for ya...

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:07 | 5712002 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

Fisheye attachments work better.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:12 | 5712048 pods
pods's picture

POV FTW!

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:28 | 5712172 Itchy and Scratchy
Itchy and Scratchy's picture

Is chicken choking a indictable offense?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 23:21 | 5714330 SubjectivObject
SubjectivObject's picture

In the Court of Puplic Opinion, yes.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:16 | 5712462 11b40
11b40's picture

Oh, shit!  That's not illegal, is it?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:56 | 5711943 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

EVERY 'smart' phone is hacked, and every APP that you install is collecting private data from your phone and your Internet usage.  I gave up smart phones and went to a basic phone.  I'm saving money and I am not sharing myself with the world.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:10 | 5712036 pods
pods's picture

Well, every app TRIES to do this.  

My Blackberry tells me what stuff each app wants access to.  Granted, there could be some hidden code, but their OS has been cleared by some high level BYOD places (DoD). I don't use my phone for anything I would want secret anyways, but it seems BB10 is pretty open about keeping you in control of your phone.

Most Blackberry apps run very low key.  They are quick and slick because they just do what they are supposed to do, and only accessing stuff that is needed. (location for maps, etc)
As for Android apps, it seems every app wants access to about everything you have on your phone. And with Android, you have to dig deep to even manually give permissions.

iPhone, well, I assume that OS wants to know your innermost thoughts before you do, in order to sway you to buy whatever they are pimping.

pods

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:57 | 5711945 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

Pretty sure all modern cell phones have this "time saving and user enhancing experience" programmed in.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:00 | 5711965 Hurdy Gurdy Man
Hurdy Gurdy Man's picture

Mac laptops are the same: Have you ever tried to Skype someone with even a refrigerator running a room away? They can hear it. This microphone built in picks up EVERYTHING in the room - it is not maximized for someone sitting close to a laptop and to filter out other noises, but to get every sound within 100 feet - but when you stand up and walk around it instantly is not good for conversation - it wants every sound and will take it all, at cost to a normal conversation.  

 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:10 | 5712020 gcjohns1971
gcjohns1971's picture

Apple assembles hardware and writes complementary software...but all their hardware is Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS).

So, most other computers will be EXACTLY the same....because the microphone is ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:00 | 5711966 Larry Dallas
Larry Dallas's picture

All that Puurno people look at. Yikes!

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:04 | 5711982 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

iSurveillance

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:04 | 5711983 kowalli
kowalli's picture

Thank god i still use black-white old phone.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:05 | 5711985 gcjohns1971
gcjohns1971's picture

Bad news for Snowden.

EVERY PHONE suffers from this weakness.

ANY cell phone can have its microphone activated remotely with a signal from the tower (or someone spoofing the tower).

So... You are safe with a POTS (Plain-Old-Telephone-Service) phone, right?

Er, no.

With a POTS phone you can do the same thing, except the signal comes from one of the 4 wires connected to it (just send a current in that wire).

Doesn't anyone take HighSchool electronics anymore?

 

This is why all the old 'Secure' phones put a hard interrupt switch in line with the speaker in the form of a 'Push-to-talk' button.   They could activate the wire to make your phone into a bug, but they couldn't press the push-to-talk-button for you to complete the bug.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:24 | 5712119 silentsock
silentsock's picture

Just FYI: POTS only uses two wires, unless it's a multiple-line phone.

(usually the red and green wires in older cables - or blue and blue/white for CAT3/5 cables)

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:26 | 5712150 me again
me again's picture

Ahh, you're going to spoil his dream; he thought he actually knew something. Oh, and you're right , of course.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 23:35 | 5712293 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

PSN gone by 2020. FCC already gave RBOC's the go ahead.

You'll have voip or have an antenna placed on your house if no infrastructure in place.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:46 | 5712276 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

I still have one of those phones. No: you can't do this. There's no wiring in the thing to turn on the microphone from a signal on the phone line before it's even connected.

Never was designed that way.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:52 | 5712308 p00k1e
p00k1e's picture

gcjohns1971 is a disinformation agent, clearly.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 19:37 | 5713445 TrueWho
TrueWho's picture

"So... You are safe with a POTS (Plain-Old-Telephone-Service) phone, right?

Er, no.

With a POTS phone you can do the same thing, except the signal comes from one of the 4 wires connected to it (just send a current in that wire).

Doesn't anyone take HighSchool electronics anymore?"

False. When a POTS phone is "on the hook" the signal going to the handset is broken. No way around that without someone breaking into your home and physically altering your phone.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 19:40 | 5713455 gregga777
gregga777's picture

Before the days of the alphabet agencies, the President created one, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, the G-man, to tackle organized crime during prohibition.

As the ZH motto says, "On a long enough time frame, the survival rate for everyone approaches zero." But, the closest we may approach eternity is to enact legislation, it's especially insidious if it's to respond to an emergency. Prohibition ended in 1933. The FBI is still here 82 years later.

The Federal excise tax on rubber, used in motor vehicle tires, began in 1918, during the height of US involvement in WW I, and amazingly repealed in 1926. But, it was reintroduced during the Great Depression due to drastically reduced Federal revenues, increased during WW II, continued on through the Korean War, kept on by necessity during the building of the Interstate Highway Transportation System, and was finally due to expire in 2011. I haven't bought tires lately but I'd wager it's still applicable.

Similarly so it is with spying. The FBI continued spying on us through POTS well into at least the latter part of the 1960's. The alphabet agencies proliferated during WW II. Their numbers exploded and their budgets grew to unimaginable amounts. But, there were just too few foreign enemies to keep them all interested and gainfully employed.

Having worked for many years in the Aerospace industry I learned that it's mostly a truism that Confidential, Secret and Top Secret information is so classified to keep "We, The People…" in the dark. It was highly classified that US B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Do you think it was Top Secret to the Cambodians? It was also highly classified that US Marines were conducting major ground operations, trying to interdict the Ho Chi Minh trail, in a neighboring country to South Vietnam. From whom was that Secret information being denied?

The alphabet agencies began spying on us during the days of POTS and microwave relay towers. Their antennae would intercept the Bell telephone systems microwaves, strip out each individual channel, and then record the conversations while in real-time computers were searching for keywords. Soon the ever growing list of individual words saw the addition of concatenated words, then multi word phrases, etc., growing like tipsy. This effort was a large driver, not the only one to be sure, behind the race to build more powerful and faster computers with more sophisticated software.

For most ZH readers the spying on the United States governments' most dangerous enemies, namely 'We, The People of the United State's…' , began long before you were born. That's mainly why most of them were created despite their protests to the contrary. The elites are terrified at the prospects of TEOTWAWKI combined with 300 million American's, at least half of whom own the 250 million legally owned private firearms in Amerca.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:08 | 5712019 davidalan1
davidalan1's picture

"blue horseshoe loves anicott steel"

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:11 | 5712032 tuttisaluti
tuttisaluti's picture

The problem is, you can't take the battery out. 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:13 | 5712058 rejected
rejected's picture

The "I" on these devices are directed at the owners.

Idiot.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:20 | 5712093 roadhazard
roadhazard's picture

I use a Trac phone and can't get a signal half the time. So it's got that going for it.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:25 | 5712142 Lmo Mutton
Lmo Mutton's picture

The carpet is plush.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:33 | 5712159 freakscene
freakscene's picture

This is sort of silly.

His Russian Comrades are likely monitoring every conversation he has in that bastion of liberty - no matter what type of phone he uses.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:42 | 5712250 jtg
jtg's picture

But the Russian government isn't trying to kill him.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:18 | 5712478 11b40
11b40's picture

yet.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:08 | 5712760 Quantum Nucleonics
Quantum Nucleonics's picture

No, they have their own kill list.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:08 | 5712761 Quantum Nucleonics
Quantum Nucleonics's picture

No, they have their own kill list.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:39 | 5712181 Katastrofenhausse
Katastrofenhausse's picture

Not sure why no one linked the ZH piece on the intelligence spyware DROPOUT JEEP from a Jacob Applebaum lecture. A little over a year old but still useful information

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-30/how-nsa-hacks-your-iphone-prese...

 

Definitely enough to keep me from buying any new iShit.

 

I frequently stick my phone in a Black Hole Faraday Bag when I'm not using it

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_wireless?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=ED...

 

VOIP telephone services such as Vonage automatically transcribe voicemails into text and send you an alert. If routine commercial VIOP services have this kinda technology what do you suppose someone with a few Cray supercomputers and a massive data center could do?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:43 | 5712265 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

CRAY? This isn't 1985.

These days you can cluster up a few errant PS3's and out-do a Cray for a fraction of the cost.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:18 | 5712474 Katastrofenhausse
Katastrofenhausse's picture

Guess you should call up Sandia and Oak Ridge National Labs and tell them how to get 1.75 petaflops on the cheap

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray#Cray_Inc.:_2000_to_present

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 00:48 | 5714595 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

They already know: that's why more and more people aren't using Crays and are instead using Beowulf clusters on ps3's. When Sony changed it so you can't install Linux a lot of people went ape-shit including parts of the US military that had learned to rely on this much cheaper cluster super-computing.

You add as many as you need to get the right speed, so it's very scalable, you don't have to rent time on a Cray you don't even own so now you've got long-term cost-benefits and you can control the heat/cooling situation much better.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:36 | 5712210 me or you
me or you's picture

- Android and WIndows phones all have backdoors built-in too.

- Gmail & Microsoft scans all you emails.

- Cynogenmod is better option on phone because you can ditch Play Store for Amazon Market.

- A great alternative to any US email provider is "unseen" an Iceland base company very secure and private.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:42 | 5712255 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

Basic flip-phone, that's what I use.

When there's an open-source ubuntu phone I'll consider it though I really need nothing more than a flip phone.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:48 | 5712289 me or you
me or you's picture

Try Oneplus One is run on cynogenmod and is very secure and customizable.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:49 | 5712292 Katastrofenhausse
Katastrofenhausse's picture

I put CyanogenMod on my current Android phone, it's great. If anyone thinks switching an OS on a phone or tablet is difficult, there's a shit-ton of how to videos on YouTube, just search under your phone model and "CyanogenMod" to see what's involved.

Also the site PRISM Break has some good security information https://prism-break.org/en/

Here's their section on CyanogenMod - https://prism-break.org/en/projects/cyanogenmod/

 

Yes there could be hardware backdoors on anything but using the OEM OS is just handing over your data on a silver platter

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:57 | 5712339 me or you
me or you's picture

Great! I see you're happy with the change with just did...It's important that you share this with your friends, families and let them know that is not that complicate it.  Spreading the message is the key to have a more secure society.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 22:01 | 5714080 dreadnaught
dreadnaught's picture

crawl out from under your rock-LE have gone to court to FORCE APPLE and ANDROID to build back doors into their phones

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:45 | 5712277 me or you
me or you's picture

I have the OnePlus One and I don't have any service from Google I use Amazon Market and let me tell you this phone is secure and great.

* I'd rather let the Chinese or Russian to spying one than the evil US government.

==== Phones that do not have US government backdoor built-in ======

- Blackberry

- Yotaphone

- OnePlus One

- Blackphone

- ZTE

- Xiaomi

- Huawei

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:57 | 5712291 p00k1e
p00k1e's picture

The very computers you are typing on are potential spying devices.

Just for "Kik", buy some explosives from Jack Ma then make a few anonymous online threats against your favorite politicians.  See what happens. 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:00 | 5712362 me or you
me or you's picture

Or simply write a email (gmail) and type the word "bomb" couple of times to see who will be knocking at your door the next day.

 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 15:56 | 5712337 CHX
CHX's picture

Doves carrying small letters... just watch for them dove intercepter drones... Hmm. 

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:39 | 5712609 Itchy and Scratchy
Itchy and Scratchy's picture

Time for 5 billion people to take selfies everytime they wipe their butts & pick 'der dingleberries!

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:12 | 5712774 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

You mean you people still use cell phones?  If it ain't got a wire attached to it, I ain't usin' it

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:13 | 5712784 The Shape
The Shape's picture

I don't even have a dumb phone. Does that make me a smart guy?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:20 | 5712832 GreatUncle
GreatUncle's picture

For the NSA / GCHQ spooks.

Put the phone in a metal box because the worst thing for a person who needs to know everything is to have the ability removed. Take it out some times too, they can rub their hands, then put it back Argh!.

Torment.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:58 | 5712996 RadioactiveRant
RadioactiveRant's picture

I have a data counter app on my iPhone, always before midnight I put it on Airplane mode (to block all connections, I dont wanna be disturbed), when I wake up its always used 250-350mb of wifi data before I put it back on normal mode.

If you want privacy, the dilemma is do you go for an Apple/(Google)Android smart phone and encrypt everything, knowing it probably has keyboard logging, or do you go for the unencrypted £10/$15 Nokia?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 18:02 | 5713022 Itchy and Scratchy
Itchy and Scratchy's picture

Ask any kid under 25 about having no privacy & being tracked, monitored, & analyzed and they'll say that's kewl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 19:35 | 5713434 Clowns on Acid
Clowns on Acid's picture

It's all kewl until they get punched in th face.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 18:39 | 5713223 gregga777
gregga777's picture

Put the device into an appropriately sized, completely copper shielded enclosure, taking great care to seal along seams especially around the opening for the door, and ground it to an earth ground. It will never receive nor transmit as long as it's so enclosed and grounded. You may buy very thin, adhesive-backed copper foil at shops that sell beads and jewelry making supplies or try Rio Grande's online catalog. But, that's not my main observation.

I'm sure all of us have watched multiple movies and television shows, "24" starring Kiefer Sutherland being an exemplary example, where an American alphabet agency full of of good gals and guys computer wizards having unprecedented access to all digital information in order to support the good gals and guys in the field—the spies. There have been decades and decades full of this genre of films and TV series, with what I am quite sure is not only the implicit and explicit permission of the alphabet agencies, but most importantly at their behest.

The internal spies wanted us to become accustomed to domestic spies protecting us from "bad guys" who intend great harm to us. I have known of their general activities since the mid-1970's and people far, far more paranoid than I.

What surprised me was that anyone could be surprised that, say the NSA is spying on everyone, especially after watching years of "24".

J. Edgar Hoover kept Secret files on anyone of political, military, public or business importance during his 40-some years as head of the FBI. He was widely feared and is rumored to have used blackmail to get what he wanted. His files were allegedly destroyed by his longtime office assistant at his death. But, his Secret files are nothing in comparison to what LPOTUS (Lying-most President Of The United States) has access to use against his opponents. I'm sure he'd rise from the grave if he could get his hands on those NSA files.

Now, I want you to think about all that LPOTUS has been able to get away with during his two terms in office:

1. Shredding the Constitution with no action from Congress in opposition;

2. Executive Memoranda making law without court challenges or Congressional opposition;

3. Firing of many General's he may perceive as being loyal to the Constitution not to him personally;

4. Firing of General David Petraeus, newly appointed director of Central Intelligence—just how did those emails actually get leaked?;

5. Death of the journalist in California in automobile wreck at a speed exceeding 100 mph;

6. Congressional leadership announcing that they won't use their Constitutional tool of impeachment against LPOTUS—why would they do that with two full years left in LPOTUS' second term? That is assuming he does not decide to run for a third term. Or, maybe he will declare Martial Law and anoint himself President for Life? Who can know considering his actions so far?;

7. LPOTUS has still not produced a birth certificate (a birth certificate has the baby's footprints that may be used years later for identification);

8. LPOTUS took two years to produce a highly suspicious certificate of live birth (having been born overseas to American parents I closely guard both my birth certificate and my Department Of State, Foreign Service Of The United States, 'Report of Birth' Form FS-240 (Rev. 1-3-54) 'Child Born Abroad Of American Parent Or Parents'. I needed them both when I volunteered to become a US Marine during the Vietnam War and when I needed a special background investigation to obtain a Top Secret security clearance working on 'Black' programs in the aerospace industry. My 'Report Of Birth' has more information on it, about my parents and their marriage, than it has about me.)

9. There is a copy of an Indonesian form on the Internet that dates to the time when LPOTUS' mother was married to Lolo Soetoro and they all lived in Indonesia. The form shows his name as: Barry Soetoro; citizenship: Indonesian. Also, he went to a madrasah in Indonesia. Muslims do not allow Christian children to attend classes in a madrasah. The United States allows dual citizenships, but having his friends in the MSM keeping it secret from the electorate is pretty dirty business. Indonesia does not allow dual citizenships. Barry Soetoro never publicly renounced his Indonesian citizenship. Barry Soetoro never publicly renounced his Muslim religion

10. LPOTUS being a "closet" Muslim would explain many things such as: his complete abandonment of Iraq, his refusal to take any meaningful action against ISIS, his apparent hatred of Israel, his desire to normalize relations with Iran—the sponsor of such warm and fuzzy and cuddly groups like Hamas who have fired thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza, giving LPOTUS ample grounds to excoriate Israel if they retaliate—and the Castro brothers—whom rank with the likes of Mao, Stalin and Hitler, when compared on a per-capita measure, the tortured convolutions of language used by the LPOTUS administration to admit that we are at war with Islamic extremists. Remember that the Koran allows a Muslim to lie with impunity to infidels. That's us. The United States of America. We are the Infidels as far as Muslims are concerned.

11. Getting Obamacare through Congress without anyone in the House or Senate having an the opportunity to read it! Not to mention that since it didn't originate in Congress it's Unconstitutional. I could go on and on and on…ad nauseum.

12. Could LPOTUS be angling to be first Caliph of the new Caliphate?

I, for one, will not underestimate him. Never believe anything he says because he is a psychopathic liar. The only sure guide is to watch what he actually does. Never underestimate your opponent. It could be a "terminal" mistake.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 21:56 | 5714045 dreadnaught
dreadnaught's picture

Tyler-you need to update your database----of late, LE is complaining because the iPhone and the Android are the only 2 phones that cannot be hacked or "searched" by them-or are you another of these anti Apple fossils?

Since Snowden has been out of the country-he may not know this yet...

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 03:39 | 5714841 RadioactiveRant
RadioactiveRant's picture

If you wanted your enemies to keep using those platforms you'd say they were impenetrable. Why else would you shout about a weakness?

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 04:19 | 5714882 Againstthelie
Againstthelie's picture

Truth is sheeple do not care about their total surveillance.

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