Smartphone Hardening non-root Guide 2.0 (for normal people)

TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml · edit-2 4 years ago

Smartphone Hardening non-root Guide 2.0 (for normal people)

cmxns@lemmy.ml · edit-2 4 years ago

There’s nothing about Apple selling data to third-parties. Moreover, they are clearly saying in they privacy policy that they don’t sell it. So, again, do you have any sources on that?

Any company from Five Eyes are potential NSA partners. Companies from other countries may be partners as well. See Crypto AG from Switzerland. If you don’t trust Apple that much then why do you trust other vendors? How can you be sure that, for example, Sony or LG does not ship backdoored phones to US or India or other countries? Most of the Android phones are with Qualcomm chips too. So, I don’t see how iPhones are less secure. You can have more privacy with something like GrapheneOS but definitely not more security.

You can use fake Apple ID for App Store, you don’t need a credit card for it.

TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml · 4 years ago

You probably missed the 3rd link from bottom about selling data there. Not sure if you are intentionally overlooking it. Here, take it: https://hongkongfp.com/2017/06/08/china-uncovers-massive-underground-network-apple-employees-selling-customers-personal-data/

Also this recent one: https://www.thewrap.com/apple-lawsuit-user-data-itunes/

How can you be sure that, for example, Sony or LG does not ship backdoored phones to US or India or other countries?

Bold claim. I wonder if there is someone else who blabbered a sentence similar to this… “backdoors in transit”? Until it is proven, I will just declare it to be FUD garbage.

You can use fake Apple ID for App Store, you don’t need a credit card for it.

And you still end up making an Apple account with plenty of your data going to Apple servers. You cannot avoid making an Apple account, which is the whole gist of it. On Android, you need not make a Google account, or root/jailbreak phone to install 3rd party FOSS app store like F-Droid.

cmxns@lemmy.ml · 4 years ago

Yeah, I missed these two links, thanks. So, the first one talks about unauthorised access from some employees. I don’t see how this proves that Apple sells personal data.

From the second link:

For example, any person or entity could rent a list with the names and addresses of all unmarried, college-educated women over the age of 70 with a household income of over $80,000 who purchased country music from Apple via its iTunes Store mobile application.

I’ve tried to find a way to rent such a list and didn’t found how can I achieve this. Moreover, you can’t even get names nor addresses via Search Ads targeting. Given that this article is almost 1.5 years old and there was no more info about that lawsuit it’s either a fake or someone tried to get some easy money.
So, we’re back to the question.

Bold claim. I wonder if there is someone else who blabbered a sentence similar to this… “backdoors in transit”? Until it is proven, I will just declare it to be FUD garbage.

Its not a claim. I’m asking why you don’t trust Apple but trust other vendors? Why they deserve your trust? Why other people should trust them more than Apple? That was the question.

And you still end up making an Apple account with plenty of your data going to Apple servers.

Yes, and that’s why I said you can get more privacy with something like GrapheneOS. But you won’t get more security by switching away from iPhone.

TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml · 4 years ago

If you are trading verifiable open privacy off for security that is totally proprietary and unknown (and unreliable as seen with Apple T1/T2 chips), it is same as claiming you have a great accuracy rate with blindfold shooting.

The claim was not fake, Apple just happens to have too much money and power.

Also, Apple works with NSA (and that data goes to 14 Eyes via NSA). Some other entities happen to have no relations with 14 Eyes or NSA.

As we know, Google AI is used to murder people in foreign countries via US military drones: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-project-maven-drone-warfare-artificial-intelligence

Also, we know Facebook, Apple, Google and other US companies are very friendly in giving and taking data: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/03/technology/facebook-device-partners-users-friends-data.html

As such, giving data to NSA or 14 Eyes in any manner can put people at high risk of safety and real-life security. In the end, this proprietary Apple security is a facade and marketing ploy.

cmxns@lemmy.ml · 4 years ago

Are you intentionally evading questions related to profs for Apple selling user data? You still didn’t provide any sources nor you said anything about trust in other vendors.

I can’t care less about Google or Facebook as well as I don’t care about US military. This thread is about Apple and how it handles personal data.

TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml · edit-2 4 years ago

Are you intentionally evading questions related to profs for Apple selling user data?

Are you intentionally acting ignorant towards the evidence I already gave for Apple spying and selling user data?

Guess what, your tiny comment train is not the thread. The thread is about the guide I made, and it seems to contain facts that others are not criticising except you.

cmxns@lemmy.ml · 4 years ago

Are you intentionally acting ignorant towards the evidence I already gave for Apple spying and selling user data?

Sorry for the questions, but did you read the “evidences” you provided? Could you please point me? Maybe I’m blind or something but I yet to see evidences for Apple selling my data.

Guess what, your tiny comment train is not the thread. The thread is about the guide I made, and it seems to contain facts that others are not criticising except you.

Apparently, I’m not the only one: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24091709

TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml · edit-2 4 years ago

You are coming off as agressive. Kindly request you to be a gentleman even if we have disagreements. The evidences are surely something you may have missed.

Apple employees were selling data in China, which you can read. For the iTunes lawsuit, it was found that iTunes does collect personal data on you, but I will give you the leeway and benefit of doubt.

How about Siri recording conversations, and continuing to record them 9 months after they promised they would not do it? https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/20/apple_siri_transcriptions/

You can watch The Hated One’s video on Apple as well, discussing the Epsilon values on differential privacy fake claims: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=shxTTon5lfs

AHH HACKERNEWS definitely credible people. Comments and opinions are all over the place among those people. None of those even have an opinion they are clear about.

One of the first things this article lists is enabling Huawei screen capture and record. This is overall an unserious guide

So this user seems to ignore the fact that these Huawei packages have no internet permissions, and that they do not have any suspicious things in manifest either, but “demonise Huawei, Western social validation +100”.

It suggests installing many closed source, Advertising-ridden apps from the play store.

I wonder which app I wrote about is “ad-infested”. The only non FOSS app is App Ops which does not have any ads and it seems to do a fine job. I even instructed to turn wifi and cell data off for it. It has not been reported to, or misuses the ADB authorisation given to it, and is a baseless accusation on the app and/or my recommendation.

iPhone does not allow you to have privacy due to its blackbox nature

This is a stupid argument. My mobile banking app isn’t open source either but I’m pretty sure it’s reasonably private.

So this user wanted to negate my argument, yet they are “pretty sure it’s reasonably private”. How vague is “reasonably” here? How much is “pretty sure” sure? Do they live in la la land fantasy?

A bunch of app suggestions for reading reddit and watching youtube is terrible security advice and borderline dangerous.

User should probably explain where did I tell users that the guide is only suitable for “reading reddit and watching youtube”. Their “security” claims are weird, as an unlocked bootloader and root are far bigger risks to contain compared to a locked bootloader phone with my guide basically telling to install a firewall with HOSTS rules and DNS, bunch of FOSS apps, an image metadata cleaner, a work profile based app sandboxer, and crippling hidden app permissions via using system APIs via ADB.

I have noticed a lot of these privacy folks do not understand the meaning of and throw around the word “hardening” like it is a rocket science project that only musicians in a football team would research upon to understand. I need to make a post on this word for folks now, it is so scary and getting out of hand.

cmxns@lemmy.ml · 4 years ago

You are coming off as agressive. Kindly request you to be a gentleman even if we have disagreements.

To be honest, I don’t see where I was aggressive in my comments. All I was doing is asking questions and arguing about your choice of words in the article.

Apple employees were selling data in China, which you can read.

There’s a difference between Apple and an Apple’s employee who’s got an unauthorised access to data.

For the iTunes lawsuit, it was found that iTunes does collect personal data on you, but I will give you the leeway and benefit of doubt.

Yes, I’m 100% sure that this lawsuit is bullshit because:

This is not the first time someone claims something like this.
There’s no proof that Apple sells iTunes data.
There’s a common sense that says me this is bullshit.

You can tell me I was wrong after the court will rule that Apple was selling user data. But I doubt this will happen. As you said, “Until it is proven, I will just declare it to be FUD garbage.”

How about Siri recording conversations, and continuing to record them 9 months after they promised they would not do it.

Yep, they collecting user’s recording and only recently allowed you to opt-out. Still, they didn’t sell it.

You can watch The Hated One’s video on Apple as well, discussing the Epsilon values on differential privacy fake claims.

To watch a YouTuber discussing differential privacy? Yeah, sure. Right after he will show me his PhD degree in math.

I see you went crazy on HN’s comments but my point was not to insult you but instead to address your comment:

The thread is about the guide I made, and it seems to contain facts that others are not criticising except you.

The whole point of this discussion for me was simply to ask you to be more careful with accusations in the article. There’re no proofs on Apple’s selling user data and I would be highly surprises they do this after all their effort in making their devices, software and SDKs more privacy-aware.

Instead of throwing such a strong claims you could instead say something like “placing your trust in companies and giving away your personal info is not a good idea if you’re privacy conscious person” or something. But you just grabbed few links with headlines like “YO YO Apple selling your data, no shit” without even reading them. I suppose, to give more weight to your article and for hype? This makes really hard to take the rest of the guide seriously.