SomeGadgetGuy, 3 days ago

It really is hilarious, because if Google had just done what Apple did (opting people in and releasing a horribly easy product to abuse location and privacy) all these tech "journalists" would definitely be crying foul.

But Google built in more safeguards and uses a stricter opt-in policy, and now all these hacks are crying about how two weeks in, it's not as good as the Apple's three year old network.

And of course these hacks are also giving Apple a pass on all the past privacy problems and how Apple delayed the Google network for an additional year shoring up security on the iPhone.

Apple's treatment of consumer data, and the dark patterns employed to opt out, should be a much bigger deal.

But that requires actual journalism, and you don't make as much money if you're not confirming your audience's bias.

SomeGadgetGuy, 3 days ago

And if you're only contribution to this criticism is an insufferable:

"Well Akshully AirTags wur teh MOIST secure becuz enkripshun!"

Then you're just a mockable slob who doesn't understand anything about security. Especially if you think the biggest threat or harm of the AirTag was:

"What if someone directly attacks the most secure part of Apple's data centers to crack open their entire location network, and sifts through all that data to discover my exact location!?!?!"

If you're really that obtuse, allow me to explain that you're being a massive douche nozzle.

Security researchers weren't concerned about AirTag encryption. We were concerned about someone sticking a tag to a car and tracking people without their knowledge.

Which happened.

SomeGadgetGuy, 3 days ago

From the recent security study on Apple WiFi and BT policies, all their data is dumped into a big bucket that can be accessed relatively easily.

You only need to call a few APIs to get enough location data from Apple devices to track populations of people, potentially down to individuals if they're using hotspots.

https://www.cs.umd.edu/~dml/papers/wifi-surveillance-sp24.pdf

It's good an AirTag can't just tell someone who its owner is, but that's FAR from the only potential threat.

SomeGadgetGuy, 5 days ago

@ProPublica
If I don't properly disclose my sponsorships or whether a company sent me a device to review, per FTC guidelines I can be fined up to $50,000 per transgression.
I'm just a schmuck with a medium sized YouTube channel.

Must be nice to be a judge... Must be really fucking nice...

SomeGadgetGuy, 5 days ago

I think I have a good feeling on what the response might be here on Mastodon, but with Microsoft pledging to improve security, and making Recall opt-in, will this change your perception of Windows 11?
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/microsoft-addresses-windows-recall-backlash-promises-to-fix-security-issues-and-make-it-opt-in

#tech #technews #microsoft #ai #windows #windows11 #copilot #pc #geek #security #privacy #recall

SomeGadgetGuy, 5 days ago

@cynblogger I kinda feel a LOT of the big tech brands have become what you're describing. I'm just old enough to remember ALL the various permutations of Microsoft dating back to DOS 3.