An extensive series on internet privacy from the "Wall Street Journal"

This series can be found here:

series

This is a very, very long series, and I still have much more to read myself. However, this is one of those rare times when I think this information should be required as part of your high-school graduation requirements! Or, for us older folks, to be provided by the federal government when you get your annual Social Security information in the mail.

Sounds like it's a good idea to use a cell phone that's ONLY a cell phone. No E-Mail, no Internet, no Camera, just phone. Combining all those other features allows people to exploit your personal data and lifestyle way too easily. It's kind of sad you can't get away from the built in GPS, but I suppose there are good reasons (and bad ones) for that to be included.

Justin Passing wrote:Sounds like it's a good idea to use a cell phone that's ONLY a cell phone. No E-Mail, no Internet, no Camera, just phone. Combining all those other features allows people to exploit your personal data and lifestyle way too easily. It's kind of sad you can't get away from the built in GPS, but I suppose there are good reasons (and bad ones) for that to be included.

I use a pre-paid cell phone which cost $10, and requires you to purchase $20/quarter of minutes to keep it active. Although it claims to have GPS, it's more likely tower triangulation. Even that is bad enough. But, other than remaining active for 911 calls, you can ostensibly shut this off from the "settings" menu of the phone.

Tower triangulation is largely unavoidable. The phone does have to find cell towers to function. But I really wonder about the GPS satellites. Lacking the ability to truly control what a phone does (which would be ideal), I'd be tempted to cobble something together to jam those signals. Should be relatively easy to do. Easier than building your own phone. Perhaps the open software community has come up with something - like a cell phone you can fully configure and control. Then again, something like that could very easily be used for illegal purposes, so such things may be a bit hidden.

It is and we have another thread on that very article somewhere...

I like your solution and it merrits a thread of its own. How do we make that system work in our favor?

I don't want to obsess or go nuts about privacy, but I don't like being watched or tracked. In some cases, circumventing the ways we get spied on may attract more attention then letting them, in which case I think it's wiser simply to "go along". Mainly, I don't want to be hassled, that's all.

As for getting the system to serve me, I figure that's a lost cause. My goals are so far from theirs at this point it's not even funny.

I've reached a point where I am no longer fighting it, trying instead to find ways to make the system serve me, on my terms. I haven't fully decided where that is going to take me, yet... and it's probably a very fluid and ongoing "target."
It feels very much on topic and related Peter...

As for getting the system to serve me, I figure that's a lost cause. My goals are so far from theirs at this point it's not even funny..

There is that word again....."goals".......being so "removed" I wonder what the real feeling is if its not funny?

I increasingly feel that efforts we make to "protect" our privacy is like trying to swim upstream in a swollen and growing river.

.....feels quite exhausting, tiring, unceasing,overpowering,battling, and very frightening too....I would much prefer to lie on my lilo....in a nice calm lake somewhere, looking up to the beautiful blue sky, warm sunshine tickling my toes....

[quote="melodiccolor"]It is and we have another thread on that very article somewhere...

I like your solution and it merrits a thread of its own. How do we make that system work in our favor?[/quote]

It does mc I think we do need another thread for this!