We really are being spied on!!!

[JimR]

That doesn't work. You know how you can bring up the WiFi screen on your phone and see the list of wifi routers in range (btw those are just the ones broadcasting their SSID. There are of course a ton that aren't broadcasting their id), well Google and Apple have the world's largest database of those devices along with their locations. Each device, including your phone, has a unique MAC address (think of social security number). Doesn't matter if your location is turned off, if you can "see" those routers, then they can "see" you. They use triangulation to locate your phone to within 6 feet of where it actually is. Then upload your location to the Google/Apple databases.

Once 5g is up your triangulated location will be accurate to unches.

It's brilliant really, incredibly accurate. Why so? Because it's crowd sourced.

I have a Tracfone. No internet service unless I log onto the wifi.

 

[5030]

That’s why I won’t have Alexa junk, ring junk, etc in my home. No way, no how

I never do Farcebook either. Never been on it and don't ever plan to. Only use the cell phone to make and answer calls. No text, no apps, nothing.

 

[California]

I never do Farcebook either. Never been on it and don't ever plan to.

But your friends, church members, etc do use Facebook. If anyone has flagged your name along with a photo of you, I think facial recognition means you can be forever identified by name in any Facebook photo subsequently. You're in Facebook whether you want that or not. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[California]

Capability 8 years ago ...

Study shows how easy it is to determine someone's identity with cell phone data

(Phys.org) —While most people know that using a cell phone means that the phone's location is being recorded, a new study has revealed just how little information is required to determine an individual's personal identity. By analyzing 15 months of cell phone mobility data from 1.5 million...

phys.org

... only four spatio-temporal points are all that's needed to uniquely identify 95% of the individuals.

 

[Scar0B2150]

Win 10 is one of the worst offenders IMO. Just read the EULA. You can not disable all their trackers, only minimize some of what they track. And even at the lowest level they still track your hours at the computer, sign-on name and times, IP addresses, MAC addresses, ISP used, OS used, what apps are installed, the apps you use; how long, and how often.
If you read the info they collect by "default settings", you will be freaked out! Up to and in some cases including what you type. They don't NEED this info to make windows "better". I'd not be surprised if they sell this info for great profit.

Running a port scan I found office apps creating an internet connection every time I opened one. They also created an account automatically that grants access to your PC, to them. See "credential manager". It will be there. Delete it, open an office app, and bang! its back(unless your internet is disabled.). Search the net about this and you will find MS is no help, and will not answer why this is happening, or for what purpose. They pretend they don't know...
This is just the tip of the MS iceberg. Try looking at the crazy amount of scheduled tasks that run every day! Tons of them are specifically for data collection. It takes hours to remove them, then an "update" comes out and you are back to square one.
No one has deep enough pockets to fight MS over their data collection policy...
They say if you don't like it, use another OS.
Don't get me started on I.E, edge, or cortana. Shoot even FireFox is now collecting more data then they ever have.

Unfortunately, this is the reality of the electronic era. The more you use electronic devices, the more info is collected about you.

 

[MoKelly]

But your friends, church members, etc do use Facebook. If anyone has flagged your name along with a photo of you, I think facial recognition means you can be forever identified by name in any Facebook photo subsequently. You're in Facebook whether you want that or not. Can anyone confirm this?

I’m pretty sure you cannot flag (or tag) someone on Facebook unless they have set up an account.

MoKelly

 

[Bullwinkle123]

For those of you who have accounts, like a Facebook account, and "never use it", don't think you're not being tracked. Facebook affiliates have browser tracking web page bugs everywhere. And unless you've "sandboxed" your browser, and perhaps more, they can figure out that the facebook account you logged into last May is associated with your browsing of affiliate sites X, Y, and Z the rest of the year even if you don't log in to facebook.

Your browser carries identifying information, a digital footprint if you will. Then there's IP address and other information.

Anyway, a useful tidbit if you want to thwart services (at least a bit) from tracking your broader behavior is to use multiple browser profiles.

You can do this with firefox by launching with "firefox -P", and you will be presented with a dialog that lets you create or choose a profile. So, for example, you create one profile for facebook. You only use facebook in _that_ profile, _and nothing else_ in that profile. All cookies or sneakier bits that facebook stores in or gathers from that firefox profile is boxed into that profile.

I still use google, because weaning myself from decades of use of it is problematic. So I have a profile called "Google Spy". That's the only place I use any google services that require a login to google.

I can't say how effective this is in the grand scheme of things, but it's a useful step. When I'm in a non-google profile, there's never any sign it knows me, and that's good. Of course if I'm not using my VPN they could figure it out from my IP address, or other clues.

Unfortunately there's still digital footprint stuff available with different browser profiles. Browser sessions in all firefox profiles are still including headers that identify things about my operating system, for instance, which could provide clues.

Anyway, just raising awareness of a tool to be used. You'll still be spied on, but it's a half measure that can be useful for some shielding.

 

[ultrarunner]

Win 7 keeps saying it's not genuine after saying may not be.

The first 3 years no issue followed by may be and now not genuine.

This is on an Enterprise Computer used remotely and occasionally.

IT said bring it in... lots of employee company laptops and Desktop developed issues being off 6 or more months in 2020 due to Covid closures.

Clock feature also off by 14 minutes and requires administrator to change time...

My Apple//e has never had a single issue even with 1200 baud modem dail-up ;--)

 

[MoKelly]

Maybe this whole spying issue can turn in our favor.

Today, I get an email from Amazon saying “women shoes are now on sale”!

Hummm.

I ask my wife “have you been shopping for shoes”?

She says “I don’t think so”.

Hummmm.

I ask again. She says, “well, kind of. I looked at Tennis Warehouse for fun yesterday. But I’m not buying anything”.

She never asked how I knew. But I’m getting a little more respect today.

MoKelly

 

[Industrial Toys]

I find it maybe a bit naive, when people think they can choose privacy in "settings".

Call me Paranoid, but I still think people with VPN are the ones being focused on. What a wonderful system to tell BIG BROTHER who is doing something they would like to hide.