DannyB 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Law Enforcement Has Been Using OnStar, SiriusXM, To Eavesdrop, Track Car Locations For More Than 15 Years

    DannyB ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2017 @ 01:58pm

    Re: Re:

    Another problem with IoT is the T will usually outlast the component doing the I. That is, your smart toaster will toast long after the computer part of it breaks, is obsolete, or unsupported.

    Similarly, your fridge will probably last 20 years, but the "smart" part of it will be obsolete, or unsupported in 3 to 5 years.

    Ditto smart TVs.

  • On the post: Law Enforcement Has Been Using OnStar, SiriusXM, To Eavesdrop, Track Car Locations For More Than 15 Years

    DannyB ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2017 @ 01:55pm

    Re: Re: The Button

    I see I misread you. Yes, it is possible to create problems with a recording that asks Alexa to purchase something. And that could be a problem.

    But I was talking about a privacy issue, like with OnStar. If OnStar has big brother listening for the past 15 years, then OnStar should have a "privacy button" feature that signals big brother of something interesting.

  • On the post: Law Enforcement Has Been Using OnStar, SiriusXM, To Eavesdrop, Track Car Locations For More Than 15 Years

    DannyB ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2017 @ 01:52pm

    Re:

    You are correct. If the emergency button is pressed, they should ask what's the emergency.

    If the privacy button is pressed, this should signal them to silently listen in.

  • On the post: Law Enforcement Has Been Using OnStar, SiriusXM, To Eavesdrop, Track Car Locations For More Than 15 Years

    DannyB ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2017 @ 01:50pm

    Re: Re: The Button

    I agree, it doesn't need the button. But the button is labelled such that consumers will press it when they are talking about something private, which can signal Amazon, or OnStar that what follows is going to be especially interesting. So the button is a useful feature. (For big brother.)

  • On the post: Law Enforcement Has Been Using OnStar, SiriusXM, To Eavesdrop, Track Car Locations For More Than 15 Years

    DannyB ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2017 @ 11:35am

    The Button

    The Amazon Echo at least has a button you can press which alerts Amazon that you're about to discuss something really interesting.

    Does OnStar have such a button?

  • On the post: FTC Sues D-Link For Pretending To Give A Damn About Hardware Security

    DannyB ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2017 @ 07:02am

    Re:

    It is more than marketing. What you're saying is that a toaster manufacturer will drop the marketing label: "won't burn your house down!", but will continue to make toasters that burn your house down.

    The "won't burn your house down!" is not a feature. Not any more than "Secure". It is something that should be a base expectation for the product to even be saleable or fit for purpose.

  • On the post: FTC Sues D-Link For Pretending To Give A Damn About Hardware Security

    DannyB ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2017 @ 06:59am

    Make companies fincially liable for damages

    If I buy a toaster, I expect that it will not burn my house down.

    If I buy a router or webcam, I expect that it will not get hacked and participate in a botnet that causes damage to others.

    The company making products with these defects should be financially liable for the damages their products cause. Yes, really. If you've ever looked at the hoops you have to jump through for PCI compliance for a web site to accept credit cards, you know that there is much more that can be done for security. No default credentials. No special manufacturer back doors. Everything locked down. No unnecessary open ports. Signed firmware. Require pressing a physical button on the device in order to perform any admin activity. (OMG! do you know how much an extra button would cost!)

    If companies had liability for security problems, they would suddenly have an incentive to invest in security. Even work together. Maybe industry standard best practices. Maybe even a common secure base distribution that everyone builds upon. Imagine incentivizing the shareholders of companies to require working together on security rather than ignoring it as a corner that can be cut.

  • On the post: Cell Phone Hacking Company Hacked; 900 GB Of Logins, Log Files, And Forensic Evidence Taken

    DannyB ( profile ), 13 Jan, 2017 @ 01:17pm

    Re: Re: Re: Modified veraion

    I always find it amusing that the people who believe or claim to believe in personal responsibility don't believe in corporate responsibility.

    Yet: corporations are people too!

    So why wouldn't personal responsibility == corporate responsibility?

  • On the post: Cell Phone Hacking Company Hacked; 900 GB Of Logins, Log Files, And Forensic Evidence Taken

    DannyB ( profile ), 13 Jan, 2017 @ 01:13pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    I will build a casino wing onto the capital building once I move in.
    Hey, I've seen a lot of casinos.
    This is the best, classiest casino you're ever going to see.
    Everyone who's ever come near one of my Trump casinos has said that they loved it.
    This casino will restore dignity and respect to the political process.
    Trust me, I know my casinos.
    And if some people don't want the casino, then we'll make it even bigger.
    And we'll make them pay for it.
    Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. Classy beautiful stuff.
    And I'll build a clown circus wing on to the white house.
    I can use it to give speeches from the center ring. People will just love it.
    It will be a historical addition unlike anything the founders could have imagined.
    Trust me.

  • On the post: It's Official: Sixteen Government Agencies Now Have Access To Unminimized Domestic NSA Collections

    DannyB ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2017 @ 12:40pm

    Re:

    But populations don't love tyranny. At least I don't seem to recall any that did.

  • On the post: It's Official: Sixteen Government Agencies Now Have Access To Unminimized Domestic NSA Collections

    DannyB ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2017 @ 12:39pm

    Re: Oh man....

    Being nutty enough to be anti FCC doesn't confer any special insight.

    This has been discussed on TechDirt before. Back when the Snowden revelations broke. I think most people on TD saw this coming. Who do you think here didn't see this coming? That is, government collected data gradually gets used for more and more purposes than which it was originally collected for.

    Today that data must be collected to fight terrorism! Tomorrow to fight jaywalking! Next year to fight thought crime!

    But what happens when a tyrant gets hold that much personal information? Someone who has demonstrated they will take a fight to an extremely petty level to hurt an ex wife or political enemy. How far would such a person go to ruin the lives of individuals who happen to disagree with the dear leader?

  • On the post: Court Documents Appear To Confirm The FBI Is Using Best Buy Techs To Perform Warrantless Searches For It

    DannyB ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2017 @ 11:31am

    Re: Re: But wait...

    It might be difficult to disprove a customer claim that the malware planted the illicit files discovered on the computer.

  • On the post: Court Documents Appear To Confirm The FBI Is Using Best Buy Techs To Perform Warrantless Searches For It

    DannyB ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2017 @ 11:14am

    Re:

    It was once hard to believe.

    Today it's not so difficult to believe.

    Some police departments seem to recognize that they have or had a problem. Others are in denial.

    In some cases, the problem is at the individual officer level, while the supervisors know better. They tell the lower ranking officer "of course he can video tape in this public place".

  • On the post: Court Documents Appear To Confirm The FBI Is Using Best Buy Techs To Perform Warrantless Searches For It

    DannyB ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2017 @ 11:09am

    Re:

    I have avoided Best Buy since at least the early 2000's.

    The first bad stories I heard were on Slashdot. For example some guy trying to return a video card that was misrepresented what it did, there was a disagreement about a technical term used in marketing, or some such. He was arrested. I don't remember details, except that from then on I didn't go to Best Buy.

    Stories continued to surface. This one I remember had photographic evidence. Best Buy was trying to sell their set up and "optimization" service. You buy this big expensive TV, but if you want it to look good, you need to hire our geeks to set it up for you. How Best Buy promoted it was to show two identical tvs, but one was tuned to an SD channel and the other tuned to the corresponding HD channel. But they insisted that the quality improvement was due to how they set it up.

    I'm sure these could be instances of bad behavior at individual stores.

    However I once went to a nearby store to look at some specific product. I was bombarded by sales droids trying to sell me something else. And pretty high pressure as if they had some mandatory quota or a "survivor" type competition on who would remain employed. It did not improve my opinion of Best Buy.

    I understand that they have corrected a lot of these problems. But I still don't go there.

  • On the post: FCC Report Clearly Says AT&T & Verizon Are Violating Net Neutrality — And Nobody Is Going To Do A Damn Thing About It

    DannyB ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2017 @ 12:30pm

    This "free data" isn't free

    Just because you can get all this "zero rated" content without paying for bandwidth doesn't mean it is free.

    I'll use Netflix as the example.

    In order for Netflix to get zero-rated, it has to make a smoke filled, back room deal with AT&T. So now Netflix is paying AT&T to be zero-rated. Netflix is passing that cost on to its customers. All its customers. Even those customers not on AT&T.

    What if Netflix makes a different corrupt back room deal with Verizon to be zero-rated on Verizon's network? Now Netflix's customers on AT&T are subsidizing the Verizon customers who use Netflix. And vice versa. But which corrupt back room deal was the better deal? Will Netflix start charging different subscription rates based on which local ISP services your home? Probably one day, yes.

    Do you still think all that zero-rated content is free?

    It should be simple. I pay for the bandwidth I use. AT&T should charge me enough to build and operate its network. If I'm using Netflix, it is I, not Netflix that is using that bandwidth. Charge me for that bandwidth I'm using. It doesn't matter whether I'm watching Netflix or HBO or Starz or Hulu or anything else.

    There shouldn't be zero rating. Give me a data plan that allows me to use Netflix, at a price that allows you to build and operate your network. No shady back room deals needed.

  • On the post: It's Official: Sixteen Government Agencies Now Have Access To Unminimized Domestic NSA Collections

    DannyB ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2017 @ 10:49am

    Just as predicted on TechDirt

    Once they have all this data, it is inevitable that eventually it will get used for more purposes than which it was originally collected.

  • On the post: Donald Trump Learns Why It's Important Not To 'Open Up' Libel Laws, As Suit Against Him Is Tossed

    DannyB ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2017 @ 10:35am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    It strikes me as a case of independent invention.
    >
    > it seems clear that the email we know today didn't
    > come from Shiva's work
    >
    > I don't see how he's lied.


    An initial misstatement may not be a lie. Continued repeating of untrue information, in the face of facts to the contrary, with a purpose to gain fame and/or fortune, becomes a willful lie.

    Example

    When I first said the earth is flat, it was not a lie, because I was misinformed.

    Now that I have all the facts, I will continue to assert that the earth is flat. Am I telling a lie? Oh, and I can be hired to assist anyone promoting the flat earth view.

  • On the post: Donald Trump Learns Why It's Important Not To 'Open Up' Libel Laws, As Suit Against Him Is Tossed

    DannyB ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2017 @ 10:27am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    One could replace 'lie' with softer words "untruth", "misspoke", "incorrect", etc. Some words could suggest unknowingly stating something that is untrue. However, when someone has a stubborn insistence of repeating something untrue in the face of facts, it morphs into willful deception.

  • On the post: Donald Trump Learns Why It's Important Not To 'Open Up' Libel Laws, As Suit Against Him Is Tossed

    DannyB ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2017 @ 10:21am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Mike's silence only tells me he's worried about it.

    Mike's silence tells me that he (a) has a good lawyer, and (b) is mature enough to have impulse control, which you appear to lack.

  • On the post: Donald Trump Learns Why It's Important Not To 'Open Up' Libel Laws, As Suit Against Him Is Tossed

    DannyB ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2017 @ 10:18am

    Re:

    If a computer game can trick children into learning, could such a deception be the basis of a lawsuit?

    If this were to happen to a child who held the office of POTUS, could the lawsuit also ask to be made whole for damages ensuing from such learning?

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