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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by baseball55 on December 7, 2014, at 19:40:12
For several weeks now, I've been going to a 12-step meeting in a neighboring town - call it town A - about a 10 minute drive from my home. Tonight, about 15 minutes before I usually leave for the meeting, I got a message on my i-phone informing me that, in current traffic, it would take 11 minutes to drive to town A.
This completely creeped me out. My i-phone is monitoring my activities!
Posted by obsidian on December 8, 2014, at 0:20:36
In reply to big brother, posted by baseball55 on December 7, 2014, at 19:40:12
It freaked me out too. I've woken up on a couple of mornings with the thing telling me how long it would take to get to work. It's wrong though, takes longer, doesn't seem to appreciate rush hour, but yeah.... Weird
Posted by alexandra_k on December 8, 2014, at 0:42:12
In reply to Re: big brother, posted by obsidian on December 8, 2014, at 0:20:36
I don't like it.
It is like how phones got smaller and smaller and smaller until... They got too small, really. And so then they started getting a bit bigger.
Devices are getting more and more and more and more automated. And I'm looking forward to the point where we get to retain a bit more control over our devices.
There are a bunch of things on my phone. Craplets, I like to call them. Taking up space. Running a bunch of background processes. Making my phone run slower for the things I care about. They seem to want to update about 2x per week. I need to continually give them permissions to access all of my information and pass it onto whoever they feel like in order the device to be updated / to be functional at all. I feel like... I paid a bunch of money for a government tracking device.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm pretty darned sure nobody gives a sh*t about what I'm up to.
But if somebody decided to give a sh*t... It is incredible to me...
What is most incredible of all is how once upon a time people used to be fearful of the govenment implanting barcodes against a persons will and so on... Now people are lining up for the priveledge of owning such a device.
I really... Don't like it at al.l.
Posted by alexandra_k on December 8, 2014, at 0:52:05
In reply to Re: big brother, posted by alexandra_k on December 8, 2014, at 0:42:12
how do you guys feel about it?
i mean... do you feel violated that it is tracking / predicting your movements? do you feel spammed that it gives you it's opinion without your asking (would it make a difference if it was right?)
Posted by rjlockhart37 on December 8, 2014, at 1:19:47
In reply to Re: big brother, posted by alexandra_k on December 8, 2014, at 0:52:05
it's the digital age.....therea re alot of privacy violations that go on all the time, the goverment can pull up a file on you, this is scary.....i smoke, yes i do lol but i went to marlboro.com just looking at more tabacco, joined, it ran a background check on me, where i lived, where i worked, i mean not showing me, but it said all my mailing addresses from the past.....i just started and thought goodness.....the cyberage is coming to a point where everyone is electronically idenified....just like in movies, scan something and they pull up all your information, where you work, where you live, where you go.....it's scary but really it's what this generation is going to become....
back in the past it was vary difficult to keep a record of how they do now, pulling up info, computer databases are what changed everything.....and then added more computer monitering systems
gotta know, that sometimes privacy is not all pricacy....
r
Posted by pontormo on December 9, 2014, at 1:40:49
In reply to big brother, posted by baseball55 on December 7, 2014, at 19:40:12
Is there some way you can manage the privacy settings on your iphone to limit whatever monitoring is being done, or figure out which app is doing it, and get rid of the app?
Maybe it's google maps or something like that, if you've signed in and ask for directions or consulted it for traffic on routes to the meeting, at a certain time every week.
The privacy section of my iphone has pages that show which apps have asked for private information-- and you could also check that to see if there's anything you could change about some particular app's access to your location services, etc.
I personally find this kind of thing extremely intrusive and improper and do as much as I can to limit my apps' access to various information. Which doesn't mean that they don't have lots of ways of getting it-- but at least I try to set my computer etc up so as to do as much as I can to keep their hands off it.
I do this on the computer, the iphone, and ipad-- all the electronic media I use. Browsers and many websites have privacy settings-- so I always look for them, too.
I never for example give them access to my photos or post photos online-- or share purchases on social media --or sign up for access to websites using facebook information, etc, etc, etc.
I'm hoping eventually there will be legislation giving people greater control of their information. But of course-- that may never happen.
Meanwhile, we're somewhat defenseless-- but there are a few precautions you can take.
Posted by alexandra_k on December 9, 2014, at 4:01:44
In reply to Re: big brother, posted by pontormo on December 9, 2014, at 1:40:49
hey.
i've found that you have to give apps like 'trip advisor' access to ALL your information -- or else your phone will not update the app.
which means... your phone CONSISTENTLY asks to update the app....
the phone wants to give apps like 'calculator' permission to use information from your contacts, your photos, etc etc etc in order to stay updates. and such 'cr*ps' (that i never ever ever use) need to be updated at least 2x per week, it seems... they need to update (with permissions to share as they see fit) every single piece of information that could possibly be stored on my phone...
or it will stop working.
that's the way of future... seems to me. you won't give your calculator permission to share your i-tunes... you don't get to access your email. fair's fair, after all...
Posted by alexandra_k on December 9, 2014, at 4:05:24
In reply to Re: big brother, posted by alexandra_k on December 9, 2014, at 4:01:44
cr*ps.
sorry, 'cr*ps'. that's what i call them. all the 'apps' that are 'cr*ps'. that don't do anything that i want them to do. that are worthless pieces of sh*t that are junking up my system... taht are making my computer/ phone run slower because that is what they are designed to do. so many updates... all they do is take up space... all they do is crap things up. make things run crappier. more crappily. make things run slower. make things work less better. to try and persuade me to fork out more money for somethign that will supposedly work better and faster... and really... the only thing wrong with what i've got is all the cr*ps cr*pp*ng it up.
Posted by baseball55 on December 9, 2014, at 20:50:20
In reply to Re: big brother, posted by pontormo on December 9, 2014, at 1:40:49
Thanks. My daughter (our children are way more savvy than we - or me - are) says to turn off the GPS.
This is the end of the thread.
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