* Posts by Splurg The Barbarian

74 publicly visible posts • joined 2 Nov 2009

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Apple auto-opts everyone into having their photos analyzed by AI for landmarks

Splurg The Barbarian

Agreed. If someone is using local storage on any device then, no matter how safely, how securely and how well encrypted, the device/software creator has no right to one nibble of that data,nothing, zilch, zero.

After all they certainly don't like the reverse when their data is taken!!

It is unacceptable, also, that applications that are local or should be non cloud/internet enabled have data transfer from devices.

It requires legislation, making it illegal to remove ANY data from a device or application with out specific consent with a full explanation of what is being taken and why. Far too much data is taken, no matter how insignificant, not because it is needed rather just because it can be.

Your air fryer might be snitching on you to China

Splurg The Barbarian

It has gone on for far, far too long. Cars, phones, TVs, smart freezers, Windows OS, robo vacuums are just some of the items. Pretty much every single item you buy now. We are not considered owners anymore, it isn't our device, we just pay to be allowed to use it and the manufacturer feels entitled to all and every piece of data they can scrape.

None of this would be possible without breaking laws for non connected devices, yet because it is "smart" it is done with impunity. The laws need to catch up, but then again with the desire for authorities to track citizens will the right thing be done?

The main reason this has been allowed to happen and is continuing to happen is because the general public do not understand, care, think it is fine or indeed say" my life isn't interesting so what would anyone want to listen to or track me?". Until the general public care it won't stop, sadly

Now all Windows 11 users are getting adverts to 'make the Start menu great again'

Splurg The Barbarian

Bugger ye off!!

Microsoft can go swivel on that score. If there is one thing that gets my goat ( there are actually quite a few things, I'm getting to that age!!), is folk pushing ads to tell how great stuff you don't want is! Get the message guys if I want something I'll go research it and then choose the app I want, no amount of advertising is going to make me go to Windows store and download apps I don't need. Even if I did I'probably download it from the publisher website so I have a copy of the installation files and certainly not via the store!

Running Win 10 Enterprise and it will be back to Linux before I install Win 11

Updates are plenty but fans are few in Windows 11 land

Splurg The Barbarian

can stick your AI where the sun doesn't shine!

I have no intention of updating to Windows 10, having managed to get Enterprise licence for my home device, so no data being transferred to MS, I'm more than happy with my device.

Win 11 in my experience is a dreadful experience l, with a poor UI and too much insistence on trying to ram "sharing" and "collaboration" into the OS. Couldn't give a flying deck about it, I just want a conduit between me and the hardware that runs all my hardware as it should.

Also why do these companies think sticking AI into everything makes folk want their product? I have a brain and can write, my own reports, I like having photos that go slightly wrong as it is a genuine snapshot of live etc. More than happy not to have if forced on me tha knyou very much.

Worried about the impending demise of Windows 10? Google wants you to give ChromeOS Flex a try

Splurg The Barbarian

But it's Google...

Outmofnthe MS frying pan into the Google fire!

Windows 11 is awful, far too much bloat, too interest in trying be "connected" & sharing rather than just being an OS with all the feel of a child's toy than a serious OS. Unfortunately I haven't found a Linux distro that runs my audio correctly, which is a shame.

May have to look at Windows 11 Enterprise Lite install, but only if I can get a surplus licence deal if I can't find a Linux distro I'm happy with or I don't just ride it out.

Plex gives fans a privacy complex after sharing viewing habits with friends by default

Splurg The Barbarian

Why do companies think we care what anyone else is doing?

This type of thing really annoys me. Why do these companies think we care about what other people are doing? I am amazed at the number of services that do this type of thing.

I mean who sits there in a design meeting and says " You know wht this services needs? The ability to tell other folk what you are watching". The only people, in my view, to be bigger idiots are thise that nod and go "Yes!!! That's it!".

The mind truly boggles at the stupidity of it all.

Google dragged to UK watchdog over Chrome's upcoming IP address cloaking

Splurg The Barbarian

This Makes Me Feel Dirty

This makes me feel dirty. On one hand I fully support Googe here (shudder!). Why should people be tracked across websites and profiles made for marketers to exploit.

On the other there is a part of me that sees this as Google doing Google things to try and keep user.data and tracking to themselves to protect themselves a s chief trackers & profilers. You can guarantee this is not being done for our benefit but Google's.

Is it possible for them both to lose?

Mozilla calls cars from 25 automakers 'data privacy nightmares on wheels'

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Tesla Dashboards

Who owns any product these days? Your TV, headphones, fridge freezers, witeless speaker systems, personal computers, smartphones all changeable by manufacturer to a layout or UI that if it originally you wouldn't have bought it. Data collected, unreasonably so, and sent off to manufacturer. Yet for some strange reason they get very upset when someone gets hold of their data!

Splurg The Barbarian

There is a "dashboard", it is the large oversized (unnecessarily so) "tablet" that changes at Tesla's whim at update time. The point STILL STANDS as the fault could be displayed there along with any legally required warnings.

It may not be a traditional dashboard but it still is a dashboard of sorts, by just copying the position of a 1950s mini by placing it in the middle of the dahboard between the driver and passenger. Just it is digital, not analogue and can do more than show speed.

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: US conservative "fear" meme

Mercedes hhad to apologise and promise to never activate a feature in their vehicles which allowed them to disable and Mercedes anywhere in the world at any time. This wasn't for theft reasons but for any reason at all. Sure it was maybe 5 or so years ago.

Splurg The Barbarian

Modern cars collect information on..

When the car is locked/unlocked

When the doors open/closed

How many people are sitting in the car

What speed you are doing

How much pressure you place on the accelerator/brake

Where the car is

What you are interacting with in the car

Faults etc.

Share location of vehicle to other vehicles (mentioned by BMW/Audi & Volvo privacy policies)

Ask you to create profiles in the car (for YOUR convenience) so different drivers can have different radio preferences etc. when the real reason is sonthey can differentiate between different driver's data & driving style.

The information collected could be kept in the car on, say, 5 minute rolling collector for crash investigation etc.

Tesla's quoted.reasoning is laughable, if drivers need to be informed about issues or potentiap failures then there is this new fangled device, right in the driver's field of vision callled a "dashboard". What they could do is translate the fault codes and show the faults, in written English(or what ever local language) so the driver is fully informed.

Car manufacturers, like any other do NOT require data from their vehicles. The person buying the vehicle owns it, not the car company. It is high time manufacturers, potentially via law, were made to respect that. I buy a car to own, I do not pay hand over fist to be a tester for the vehicle.

FYI: BMW puts heated seats, other features behind paywall

Splurg The Barbarian

This can GTF!. BMW (quite why anyone in a RHD counntry would is beyond me. Built for LHD with pedals and steering wheel badly ofset in RHD cars) or any other manufacturer can do one. If I buy a car ( however I do it financed or not) it is mine.I buy it, I own it end of story. If they can switch it on, they can switch it on.

So modern cars can/currently do

Report current location back to manufacturer

Report speed back to manufacturer

Report all current interactions back to manufacturer

Report when doors open & close

Report location to other cars

Allow user to link to manufactuer to send a signal to car to lock/unlock

Installed with Google Assistant/Amazon Alexa

Have service appointments booked automatically because it detects a "fault"

Nag users to create profiles for using the cars so that manufacturers can collect "personaliised" profiles on their customers. Saves a fortune compared to paying wages for testers.

Amongst many other things and now.....

Enable and disable hardware/features remotely & use a "subscription" model to access this

No, just no. How many of you who have bought a new car in the lalst 4/5 years have been asked for your consent to any of this data transfer? Contravenes GDPR.

Thats the other reason they have been pushing all this "connected" car nonsence. Get people to have it, relent to it and accept it so they can get the data and then start using it to leverage "extra value" from their customers.

Doesn't help that all cars in the EU (and UK is taking ot on too) must have an embbedded SIM so the car cannot be disconnected physically from the mothership. Currently have on order w car from another manufacturer for last 10 months that a condition of the sale is all telemetry is disabled. I have a funny feeling it will be rejected when it arrives as I believe dealership have promised something that cannot be done.

Why can I not buy a car that is new, that is disconnected, can have a touchscreen but has physical buttons so I know I can switch stuff on/off with out looking, no OTA so that features don't/can't be changed from what I bought, stuff can't be added to it, no data taken off and everything fitted to a car works without have to pay extra for it until the manufacturer does a UbiSoft and disables the servers rendering it unusable.

Unless there is a backlash and it huts them in the pocket then they will all push on. I doubt it though as none of the rest of things the car manufacturers have done has upset the masses

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Heated seats?

I've had heated seats on cars with cloth seats. My parents Volvo they bought in 1982 had cloth seats and heated seats that automatically came on when the temperature dropped below a certain level, I think from 84 or so you had a manual switch. I like them, I also wear appropriate clothing for the weather. The heated seat heats you up inside the freezing cold car without requiring to use the climate control unit to heat the car & once warm switch it off. Using the CCU uses more fuel and takes heat away from the engine meaning it takes longer to get to operating temperature.

EV cars are recommended.to use heated seats & hheated steering wheel if fitted rather than the heater as it uses less power to run those meaning range won't drop more than necessary.

Splurg The Barbarian

As new Volvos come with Google Assistant and other Google software installed as standard I wouldn't be touching one with a 10 ft barge pole.

Tim Hortons collected location data constantly, without consent, report finds

Splurg The Barbarian

This is what really annoys me about mobile devices

This is what really annoys me about mobile devices. Exactly what justification does ANY company meed to know where I am, where I go, how I get there, how I use something etc, etc?

The correct answer is absolutely none!

There shouldn't be any "without permission" or "but we had permission" it just should not happen at all.

As it states in the article the app didn't collect data when it was closed, thr issue is far, far too many apps autorun, when you move from mobile data to WiFi for example, half.of them you have no idea they are running. As others have said should be away to cloose down apps so they cannot restart unless the user specifically chooses to.

Most of the mobile games are just ways for companies to collect data, most apps are just ways for companies to collect data. There is absolutely no pushback on these companies, and a general acceptance of that's just how it is from the general public. Where is the outcry?

Dear Europe, here again are the reasons why scanning devices for unlawful files is not going to fly

Splurg The Barbarian

Not true. While having a picture of a.child ie someone who "is or appears to under 18 to any reasonable person" is illlegal in the UK there are some exceptions, in that if the picture depicts someone that is in a relationship with you can be alloowed. However distribution of that would fall foul of a couple of laws.

A picture of a.16-17 year old breastfeeding & in possession of a relativve or partner would not be indecent images of a child. Its not a sexually posed image, nor is it focusing on intimate body paprts but merely the feeding of a child.

Also we did not import them from the US, we signed up to the UN convention of the rights of a child of which Article 1 states that "For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human being below the age of 18 years

unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier." The Uk signed up to this in 1990. & it cane into force in 1992.

Volvo car sales tumble amid ongoing chip shortages

Splurg The Barbarian

a non chip filled would be bliss

The 144 was iconic, although aa 244 or 245 ( not too fussy) GLT in metallic blue would be nice too.

A.non chip filled, car.would be bliss, one that could be easily repaired, not sending everything its doing & where it currently is to the manufacturer and not fillled to the brim with unnecessary, driver distracting nonsense. You never know one if those could even have physical buttons, designed of course.tonlook good, so you can switch things on or off easily without having to take your eyes of the road. I can but dream, or just hope my defender doesn't eat itself, or be barred from driving anywhere!!

How experimental was Microsoft's 'experimental banner' in File Explorer?

Splurg The Barbarian

Yes that is correct it is MY device and THEIR software. Still doesn't excuse the unreasonable, unjustifiable data grabs, forced monetising of users, pushing of adverts into MY device. Its also correct that many, many companies do NOT respect the fact that the consumer OWNS the device. See moodern cars, TVs, Watches, media players, Tablets, phones etc. Almost every single device, even ones you fully own, still only pretend to be your possession as the makers refuse to give up control over it.

Yes been using Mint as a main driver when I can for many years now.

Splurg The Barbarian

It's just typical of the arrogance of many companies these days. It is MY device, no data collection, no data should leave the device other than what is necessary ( really necessary, not additional info that has been decided by recipient of the request) to deliver or do the requested task. No adverts, if I have not asked for it should not be there. The OS is just the conduit between the meat sack in the chair and the hardware of the computer without requiring any online connection. About time OS developers realised this, everything else is bloatware. If I want a feature I can add it, download open source, or buy software, or install a feature at setup phase if I WANT it.

The push from a Windows install to hand over your life story and control to your data created in the use of your computer for ads etc is too much yet for some reason it qualifies as "legitimate interest".

MS & everyone else can stick their legitimate interest along with OS ads where the sun don't shine.

How to get banned from social media without posting a thing

Splurg The Barbarian

Not if you have a good aim and a strong stream!

Electric fastback fun: Now you can surf the web from the driving seat of your Polestar 2

Splurg The Barbarian

its not Chrome but would anyone really want Google embbedded system in their car?

At least it's not Chrome, but would any right-minded pperson really want Google OS embedded in their car?

Surely there needs to be somaethings left that Google.is creaming data off of?

So it will soon be only kit cars, old defenders and what ever classic car you can get if your still allowed to drive them that aren't scanned, tracked and analysed.

Samsung wheels out new silicon that turns cars into 5G-fuelled entertainment hubs

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: What is a car?

Not really. Certainly in the UK/EU area the sim is enbedded into the car as part of an EU mandate that cars must have one from 2017 so that they can be in the future stoped.frrom drriving above the speed limiits. Its the whole other side of this with the constant telemetry going back to the manufacturer that gets on my nerves. Half of thisnis for the consummer, the rest is to enaable data transnfer back to base.

The concerning thing to me is the public awareness of it all, so many folk think the apps that they have for unlocking/locking their car l, viewing journeys etc connect to their car is frightening, they have no idea ita.connected to manufacturer then to their car. This is all a massive money spinner//saver for the manufacturer as the data they get off the cars is huge, saves them having to pay for research amd development teams.

The likes of JLR, VAG, BMW, Volvo etc are happy to engage on social media regarding their cars but go ssilent as soon as telemetry is mentioned. Also can be guaranteed every one of them breaks GDPR by not asking for explicit consent for this, either through dealers or direct.

The firmware is a good question, the more they make these vehicles connected, the stronger the possibility for hackers. Also this thing with over the air updates, loads of folk think is great, but I buy a car based.in what it's like to drive and use, then during ownership the system changee, its.not the car I bought. Then you get, like JLR are doing, apps pushed out (in JLR's case Alexa) which are completely unwanted and unable to be uninstalled. Who owns the car the consummer of the manufacturer?

They also lie about what they take off the cars, if you do question them and get an answer, its only journeys and location so you can find where you left it or theft tracker etc, but working for a poliice force in IT, I know folk who deal with Investigations who with a warrant can get almost anything the driver has done in the car ie accelorator usage, brake usage, speed, location, interaction with other car controls etc.

Go back 15-20 years ago and the only way to do this was stalking amd physical surveillance which was illegal, but now theres a "chip & internet connection" not an eyelid is batted.

Everything a driver pretty much NEEDS can be done without all this rubbish, decent sound system, a Sat Nav, bluetooth, prroper BUTTONS so you can press one thing the switch on/change a setting without taking eyes off the road.

Sorry gone off on a rant there!!

FYI: If the latest Windows 11 really wants to use Edge, it will use Edge no matter what

Splurg The Barbarian

Pretty much away to comment on the same quote. "They’re prioritizing ads, bundleware, and service subscriptions over their users’ productivity." That is EXACTLY what MS is about. Cash paid to them to download games to start menu that you cannot remove from your application in MS store on Home & Pro, the paid for links in Edge (only copying what Google has done with Chrome for years) and now this as it allows them more acess to user data & the telemetry you can't switch off outside of Enterprise is all you need to confirm this.

MS are far from alone, but as their product is installed by default on every new non Apple device, they really need action taken against them.

Give us your biometric data to get your lunch in 5 seconds, UK schools tell children

Splurg The Barbarian

Not much of a surprise

Our council in Scotland, will not let secondary school pupils buy school dinners without a Young Scot Card.

Now prior to joining secondary school my son was given a presentation about how great the Young Scot card is and all the great discounts you can get. They weren't told that the card number was a UCRN ( Unique Citizen Reference Number) funnily enough neither were the parents, the privacy/tracking aspect was not mentioned. My son & his felloww.pupils were all 11&12 years of age. This is under the age at which an individual is considered able and competent to consent to data collection under GDPR.

The Scot Gov have already had to climb down on a UCRN linking all Gov contact, Council contact, health records and so on. This system seems to be ID card & citizen tracking by the back door by focussing on kids and telling them about freebies. Funnily enough when questioned about this and whether or not they broke GDPR etc they no further questions cancelled his Young Scot Card.

Too many parents just go "OK" without question to these schemes, much like the general population with any privacy issues full stop.

Android OS vendor variants transmit data with no opt-out

Splurg The Barbarian

Its simple, there is no legitimate interest. That should be the basis for any device, be it a car, phone, games console, watch, television etc.

The current "legitimate interest" GDPR loophole is absolute bollocks and is purely a way for organisations to effectively bypass the spirit & intentions of GDPR.

Splurg The Barbarian

Exactly. Can someone tell me exactly why my car requires to phone home? It does after all have a perfectly good way of telling me when something is wrong, its called warning lights on the dashboard!!!

Since when did we all have to be nannied and monitored by whoever makes devices we own? My device my data and no manufacturer has the right to any data from it.

The first manufacturer to go back to the principle.of "make something sell it, wave it goodbye" to only make money from the sale of the item will have me supporting it far and wide.

Which? survey finds people would actually pay the online giants not to take their data

Splurg The Barbarian

Surely we pay enough already?

Surely we pay enough to Google already? For every Android device sold Google takes a minimum of $2.50 from the manufacturer up to $40 with an average of $20 per device.

There was a bit of a drop in devices sold in 2020 but still meant 1.05 billion phones. At $2.50 that's $2.625 Billion & at the average that's $21 billion.

From that I'd argue Google makes enough money without being a stalking, privacy invader and asking for more to respect individuals.

Google experiments with user-choice-defying Android search box

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Question

Isn't that just the Google app. The widget can be removed but the Google app can not be uninstalled. You can disable it, but if you want to use a smartwatch Android Wear forces you to enable it to set the wear devices up although it can be disabled again afterwards. Same with that bloody assistant.

The Hotel California of eco systems, you can checkout but you can never leave.

Apple is about to start scanning iPhone users' devices for banned content, professor warns

Splurg The Barbarian

Yup. Worked as a Forensic Computer Analyst for a police force, anyone using the phrase "child pornography" was always corrected. The phrase was never used in the department by us.

Pornography is legal and used by people for titillation. These are "indecent images depicting the sexual abuse of children". Always feel the term pornography diminishes a little the watching, collection,creation of these images.

Splurg The Barbarian

I certainly do not support Apple, far from it. I have many, many criticisms of Apple and the "cult". But anyone believing that Apple have been given a database of indecent images depicting the sexual abuse of children needs to give their head a wobble. The authorities, certainly in the UK which I have professional experience of the processes, have a national database of known images in which the hashes are stored NOT the images. This is what it is compared to and will be flagged up.

MS do this in their cloud offerings and have done so for at least a decade. The issue for me is the fact that it appears from the statement, that this will be done on the DEVICE, to images set for upload to iCloud. Also once the precedent is set for doing this on an individual's device what is then next?

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: I just scanned my phone

No you shouldn't with regard that specific question. Unless the image matches a hash value of a known image that is stored in the US image database then it won't be flagged up under any circumstances.

Microsoft do amd have done this on their cloud storage systems for at least a decade, but isn't really shouted about.

Will the system stay at that, and whether any on device processing regardless of the fact it is images that are to be sent to iCloud are the main questions I have.

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Question

No comment on the rights or wrongs of this announcement, but in answer to your question very easily. The system from the announcement isn't using AI to scan photographs, it is comparing against a national database for f known indecent images of children. This has been created by uploading has values of.imahes.ffound by human examiners and will have been created over years. The idea behind them is it limits the amount of exposure examiners have to indecent images depicting the sexual abuse of children as they only have to deal with previously unseen images or edited versions of previously known images.

This is how it works in the UK, with the UK's image database.

Splurg The Barbarian

I would be very, VERY surprised if it is actually a database of photographs/images. It will mote than likely be a database of known hashes of offending images, which will be added to by law enforcement agencies who are examining hardware and identifying these images.

Same is done in UK with our version.

Euro watchdog will try to extract $900m from Amazon for breaking data privacy laws

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: "complaint by [..] a French privacy group"

The fact is is "a purely Luxembougish institution" is irrelevant. Luxembourg is a member of the EU and as such is included within the GDPR framework. It can investigate companies under the GDPR legislation the same as the Irish ICO. It has found Amazon guilty and has issued a fine. Actions like this under under EU laws are EU wide irrespective of whether the institution has an EU flag emblem. The organisation is an EU organisation due to being an official organisation from an EU country.

Amazon showing profits of $7.7bn could pay this without really affecting them, but at last its an amount that makes them notice.It could have been many times worse.

Microsoft releases Windows 11 Insider Preview, attempts to defend labyrinth of hardware requirements

Splurg The Barbarian

No Offline Account Support

Reading through that article and the list of minimum requirements and its not the hardware requirements that jump out, rather the fact it states Microsoft account required for Windows 11 Home.

I run Enterprise at home with it being the only version of 10 (not including Education which is basically Enterprise) that can be blocked from sending everything back to the mothership. Microsoft have been making it more and more "difficult" to refuse the online account over time and if one of these accounts is an essential part of this OS then there is no way I'd use or recommend this to others.

This is purely on point of principle as for me there should be an option for the owner of a device to not be an unpaid tester/data source or a continual income stream for MS. It would be back to Linux for me as my daily driver.

Android, iOS beam telemetry to Google, Apple even when you tell them not to – study

Splurg The Barbarian

It's this sense of entitlement that get's me

Google said....

"Modern cars regularly send basic data about vehicle components, their safety status and service schedules to car manufacturers, and mobile phones work in very similar ways," the company's spokesperson said. "This report details those communications, which help ensure that iOS or Android software is up to date, services are working as intended, and that the phone is secure and running efficiently."

A classic piece of whataboutery and entitlement. One we're speaking about phones not cars Google. And as far as I am concerned what car manufacturers do is not acceptable either! Car manufacturers take a damn sight more than that and in my view nothing should be sent back from my car full stop. The same as in a perfect world nothing would be sent back from my phone, computer, television, HiFi amp, Blu-Ray player etc.

It does need knocked on the head, unfortunately too many members of the public give it "nothing to fear, nothing to hide" and cannot see what the fuss is about.

As far as I am concerned once you have bought a product, the manufacturer loses all tie and rights to that product. My device, my data etc it is not there for a manufacturer (or OS creator) to use as a money making excercise, a way to avoid paying for test environments, or indeed global domination. Unfortunately its so ingrained in people now, they see it as normal, something that 15-20 years ago would have required covert surveillance, rifling through your possessions in secret, and any other activities that would have had a regular person convicted under current stalking laws, or at very least placing someone under fear or alarm. Its gone too far, can it ever be turned around now?

Glastonbury hippy shop Hemp in Avalon rapped for spouting 'plandemic' pseudoscience

Splurg The Barbarian

Sums up the current state of things...

"...It's strange that people will object to overwhelming evidence from the world's top health organisations, but have no qualms about lapping up pseudoscience or the spittle-flecked rantings of a bloke sitting in a truck on YouTube. "

Sums up nicely current society. Years ago, when you had to go to a research library or write a letter for information to be posted back to you, people read and check facts. Now you can access almost anything online, read up on almost any subject, fact check in a matter seconds all from the comfort of your own house, yet utter bollocks & mental gymnastics of the highest order proliferate.

By all means research, question, debate but base in facts. It's not too difficult these days.

I won't be ignored: Google to banish caller roulette with Verified Calls

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Another reason to not update a Google app

My, someone must have sat down on a pin!

"Peace and quiet" the right to not receive unsolicited calls. More than happy to accept friends, family and those I have given my number to. Unsolicited sales, marketing can go forth and multiply.

If anyone thinks this has ANYTHING to do with "won't someone think of the elderly" , then they are living in cloud cuckoo land. This has everything to do with Google making money, by accepting money to have calls flagged as acceptable so that, in your case, the "elderly" will answer and say yes to shit they don't need because it's got a "Google tick"

This is a business that wishes to track everyone, collect, analyse and store personal data, sell advertising doing similar to Phorm, which was ruled illegal, but the principals of injected adds based in tracking is now the norm. I would struggle to find anything that the Google of last 15 years or more has done that has ever been done for altruistic reasons. Everything has an angle, and that points to revenue to Google.

You only have to look at all the "promoted" searches in a Google search to see just how good they are at stopping "scammers" from taking money from unsuspecting members of the public.

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: You missed the really evil/smart part though

Unless the reason is, returning my call, then they can bugger right off!

Sorry but for me if I want something (product, service etc.) I will phone them, until then they can leave me in peace. Any company phoning me for "offers", or selling me anything immediately goes to the bottom of the list, and most likely has lost my business.

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: "if a user sees the business's name then they are more likely to actually take the call"

Only because the call is being intercepted by Google to send and compare it to their database, before sending the matched name back to your phone. As far as I was aware that's an illegal call interception.

One of many on by default "features" disabled on my phone!

Splurg The Barbarian

Another reason to not update a Google app

I have a big issue with what Google is, has been and will be doing with the phone app. This current idea follows the trend. Google has its phone app will tell you who is phoning you, say a business not stored as a contact, or alert you to possible fraud. To do this the villainous as slinger has to have the phone app send the data relating to the call ( the number), match it to what ever database they have and send it back to your phone so it can display the name. All before your phone rings. Isn't that "call interception"? Isn't that illegal?

They have waived the "shiny-shiny" at the stupid masses who have left this, on by default, feature active. Look it tells you who is phoning, it does, and what other call details are passed to Google to store, analyse and sell?

This new thing is an extension to this, and entirely unwanted. Who cares if it's a verified business, if it's unsolicited then they can do one! Just more excuses to earn money from $h1t advertising by a company that cares not one iota about privacy and the right to peace & quiet!!

Um, almost the entire Scots Wikipedia was written by someone with no idea of the language – 10,000s of articles

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Interesting

Also Norwegian for church is "Kirke", same with "bairn", "braw" for example.

"Efter" to mean after is the same in Swedish and Danish, "etter" in Norwegian.

"Flit" , as in to move house is "flytte" in Norwegian."Hoose" is "hus" Norwegian, Swedish & Danish".

There are many others, there is an awful lot of Scots with links back to Scandinavia.

Oh what a feeling: New Toyotas will upload data to AWS to help create custom insurance premiums based on driver behaviour

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: That's settled, then.

Need to add, Tesla, Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Land/Range Rover, Audi, Volkswagen amongst many others.

Pretty much every car that has an app allowing you find your car, lock its doors, see journeys etc is sending data back. Sending back accelerator use/pressure, braking speed, location etc . Sorry but if these manufacturers want to make cars that work well, then employ testers to test them, do not use the paying customer as a "free" test base.

If you went back 15 + years ago, to get that day would have evolved someone waiting outside you house, recording when and what doors were opened, following you recording your speed, route, if you indicated, when you braked etc. They would have been charged with at least a Breach of the Peace, by putting an individual into a state of "fear or alarm". It's done by computers and internet so it's all ok now!!! HTF have we got to this??

Android 11 will let users stop device-makers from killing background apps, says Google

Splurg The Barbarian

Kill all background apps

I'd much prefer an option that does this. The amount of apps that open up an run unnecessarily in Android is quite astonishing.

Allow me the option without having to root a device, to stop apps running in the background unless I give explicit consent to them doing so.

Pan-European group plans cross-border contact-tracing app – and promises GDPR compliance

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: How can location knowledge maintain privacy?

They did. Although only if you are sharing location history, although aren't location history and permissions not absolutes to Google.

How much of that was for altruistic reasons.and how much to say, look what we can do with this data for you, don't legislate, you need this type reasons.

The public by and large do not care. They have been brainwashed, by the likes of Facebook, Google, hell almost every manufacturer of a device connected to the internet that its normal.

Computer, deactivate self-destruct system requirement, says Sonos... were it on a starship in space, and not a smart-speaker slinger

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Surprised Sonos survive?

Not having to use Alexa or Nest devices sounds like a very good idea! To be fair though Sonos probably data slurp too.

Easiest way is just use dumb systems or simply add a Blutooth receiver.

I do not, however, understand why "smart speakers" require a connection back to Sonos etc. If all they are being used for is multi room with the source being from a LAN device? If it is being used to connect to Spotify etc why not just have it do it from a device using aptx Blutooth. Minimises slurp and doesn't matter what the speaker manufacturer does.

My NAD C368 amp has a BluOS adapter for internet streaming and as far as I can make out works this way (happy to proved otherwise)

Unlocking news: We decrypt those cryptic headlines about Scottish cops bypassing smartphone encryption

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: What state is the device left in at the end of all these shenanigans ?

Exactly the way it went in. Worked in cybercrime dept for 5 and a half years and in that time no phone or tablet that came in left in any state other than the same it came in.

The only way that would change is if it requires a chip off examination. Which would require a forensic examination by the qualifies examiners of the cybercrime dept. For that to be done it wouldn't be an investigation into a crime that was proportional to that type of examination, and there would more than likely be some form of other corroborating evidence that would make that type of examination necessary.

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: Fail to see what the fuss is

In that case then it has already been normalised.

I stand by the commemt.

This "kiosk" business does NOTHING AT ALL DIFFERENT to what police forces across the UK have been doing for at least 15 years. It gives the police access to NOTHING THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY GOT ACCESS TO at the moment nor what they have had access to for at least 15 years in case of normal mobile phones and less taking smartphones into account.

This IS hand-wringing and woe is me by people misunderstanding what is going on.

Police CANNOT just take your phone when asked, the same.as they cannot just walk in your house and look around. The mobile phone examinations will be EXACTLY the same it has been back in 2009 when I joined at the time my local plods cybercrime dept.

All that is changing is the fact that rather than waiting months for an examination, unless it jumps the queue, it will be triaged at a kiosk. At the kiosk no data can be extracted and stored. In the case of witnesses' or complainers' devices the PIN/passcode will have been provided, as it allways has been. In the case of accused it sometimes is, sometimes its bypassed as it has been for years.

The phones are only taken from accused if it is felt that it is likely to contain evidence, ie stalking, domestic abuse cases, rape and sexual assualt, grooming, drug dealing missing persons etc, where it is suspected to have been used during an RTC. Any examination that was negative is not kept, only the positive are. Only the relevant data is extracted ie call data, texts or messaging. If its not required for the case its not extracted or looked through, the cybercrime departments simply do not have time.

I had issues with a few things we were asked if we could do, which we refused and I believe they still do. But a cannot start an argument with this on what is makey up guff, as everything that folk are complaining about that could happen is exactly what happens and has been happening for years.

The sad comments about me and SNP is a bit much. I am no fan of what has been done to Police Scotland and the kool-aid swallowed by the media and masses regarding 1000 extra officer amongst others.

Splurg The Barbarian

Re: What if..

You would either personally or via solicitor put in a request for damages to the police. Actually dealt with one for a laptop I examined. Thankfully in that case it was fully photographed & everything documented. When it was looked into the device had been "fiddled" with subsequently with different hard drives etc and could be proved.

In your case if the phone did not work, and you had not been found guilty nor had an order confiscating your productions due to the type of case, then it would be treated the same as going through the wrong address' front door. If valid some form of settlement would be agreed.

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