1. Maestrodog's Avatar
    Sprint said today that it is on 94 percent of all their phones, in the firmware, and irremovable...

    ...I think you could delete their certificates and still be cool on telephony and data, just not, for example, Sprint TV. I'm not sophisticated enough to be sure, and am hoping a power user or someone else can confirm. I'm disgusted enough by this entire debacle, including RIM--who should be asserting a leadership position on behalf of their customers against Sprint--to delete the things myself and if my phone doesn't work, march down to Verizon, who have always repulsed me, and buy whatever they've got cheap. I'm also deleting all third party applications and will under zero circumstances add anything Android to my Playbook when and if that becomes a possibility on a released operating system. I've been warning about this crap for years. You wanna play Angry Birds, go ahead, I don't think it's fun and it harvests your entire address book. All those bogus calls on your phone? Where do you think they got your number? You buy the app, then they sell all your info. The mafia would be proud.

    Time for a new dawn in security. To **** with anyone who isn't 100 percent with us.
    12-02-11 05:47 PM
  2. Blacklac's Avatar
    Sprint said today that it is on 94 percent of all their phones, in the firmware, and irremovable...
    Seems like that contradicts when RIM says is possible with their OS. Doesn't it?
    12-02-11 05:53 PM
  3. Maestrodog's Avatar
    RIM's statement was worded carefully. They could claim that they didn't load it, and didn't authorize it to be loaded by a carrier. Thus, a carrier loads it pre-sale all by their lonesome and RIM is technically scot-free.

    That's why I want RIM to take a leadership position and force Sprint and other carriers to rectify the situation.

    If I were RIM, I'd be livid. This undercuts everything about their brand. Essentially my entire reason for being with them is so I can control applications from harvesting my data.

    No one has sued RIM yet. Carrier IQ and Sprint et al are the ones being sued and being questioned by Senator Franken and Congressman Markey. Two outstanding representatives. I'm no Democrat, but no surprise the constitution-raping GOP has no members taking any lead or putting any pressure on these swine. Something to remember this election year.
    Last edited by Maestrodog; 12-02-11 at 06:00 PM.
    12-02-11 05:57 PM
  4. Blacklac's Avatar
    Well, I just mean, if RIM didn't put it there, it can be removed, cant it? Can a carrier bake a 3rd party App into the OS?
    12-02-11 06:06 PM
  5. Blacklac's Avatar
    12-02-11 06:10 PM
  6. Maestrodog's Avatar
    Well, I just mean, if RIM didn't put it there, it can be removed, cant it? Can a carrier bake a 3rd party App into the OS?
    According to the Sprint statement I saw, it cannot be removed, it's firmware. I know tons more about Windows than I do about phones, so I can't provide better detail than this. Clearly RIM would NEVER have made their statement if they did it, so given that Sprint uses it so widely, it is clear that they have a way of implementing it that is extremely difficult to detect and that, it appears, cannot be removed.

    I'd propose that If the pushback is intense enough or if Congress or the lawsuits prevail, they will have to recall the phones and retrofit or replace them. Then again, this story is accelerating at a phenomenal pace for a mobile phone techie story and the companies are crapping bricks over it. Maybe they're all pulling a Herman Cain and will be outed in due course.

    Wish I knew the technical workings on the carrier side better, but I'm still hopeful that a certificate or service book removal might stop this thing without limiting core functionality. We might not be able to remove the code, but if we can stuff a sock in its mouth, we'll be well on the way to winning.

    Needless to say, everyone should choose a carrier that has not deployed this technology next time they get a new phone, if not sooner. Consumers must fight this type of predatory and sneaky behavior the one and only way they can--by withholding the almighty dollar. If people start bailing on Sprint etc., all of a darn sudden they won't need Carrier IQ to "fine tune their service."

    That, I can promise you with perfect certainty.


    Update:

    An EPIC rep on Thom Hartmann's show confirms the thing can't be detected and you can't tell what it is and is not transmitting:

    Last edited by Maestrodog; 12-03-11 at 11:38 AM.
    12-02-11 06:40 PM
  7. berryaddictnoza's Avatar
    Needless to say, everyone should choose a carrier that has not deployed this technology next time they get a new phone, if not sooner. Consumers must fight this type of predatory and sneaky behavior the one and only way they can--by withholding the almighty dollar. If people start bailing on Sprint etc., all of a darn sudden they won't need Carrier IQ to "fine tune their service."
    I'm with you bro!
    12-03-11 11:54 AM
  8. tmelon's Avatar
    With all of this publicity it will be gone soon.
    12-03-11 11:13 PM
  9. blackberry-unlocking710's Avatar
    With all of this publicity it will be gone soon.
    I hope so... but who knows what other things they will put there.


    And to the OP, if it sends information then it uses data.
    12-04-11 05:44 AM
  10. Maestrodog's Avatar
    SPRINT BAILS ON CARRIER IQ! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

    This "little innocent diagnostic tool" of which Crackberry proclaimed Carrier IQ had "Come clean" about this week apparently is not so innocent in Sprint's mind:

    Sprint disabling Carrier IQ from phones | Security - CNET News...

    So much for Carrier IQ being "integral" to Sprint's service just two Fridays ago.... and these clowns call us paranoid for never believing a word they say. They don't need Carrier IQ and we knew it.

    Also note the piece the other day where the FBI refused to discuss their use of Carrier IQ:

    FBI: Carrier IQ files used for "law enforcement purposes" | Muckrock

    EFF said earlier this week that keystrokes and other vital information were likely available to third parties via Carrier IQ. This piece is also excellent:

    mobile - What risk does Carrier IQ pose, exactly? - IT Security - Stack Exchange

    Whether Carrier IQ was malicious in intent or not, their code was unacceptable, risky, secret, and had absolutely no place on our phones. Shame on Carrier IQ AND shame on the carriers.

    The very best experts say that mobile security is about to become a major battleground for malware and privacy violation. All Hail Trevor Eckhart for unmasking this menace and all hail The People, EFF, Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Ed Markey for forcing this wreckless parasite back into its hole.

    I hope this site is more on top of stories like this in the future. Lets never back down an inch on the sanctity of our electronic freedoms, security and privacy.
    Last edited by Maestrodog; 12-16-11 at 06:25 PM.
    12-16-11 05:54 PM
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