What modern things do you hate/dislike?
- Thread starter Telecolor 3007
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DesertRatt
All Bark, No Bite!
Something I've noticed is that with each new IOS update (which must be in the hundreds by now), the "SETTINGS" menu becomes more unwieldy.
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iPhone running the latest version of iOS contains an estimated 1,200 to 1,500+ individual settings, switches, and options tucked away in the primary Settings application."
Now, I'm sorry, but I'm calling total BS on all that crap. 1500 settings to plow through? ANd by what "name" or "keyword" is the setting I'm looking for? And if you haven't notices, Apple loves INVENTING new words to call things. Do you all know what "focus" means? It's has become insane trying to make all the "right settings."
My Subaru WRX is going on 10 years old and 167K miles. Wouldn't hesitate to drive cross country in it. Nothing replaced other than normal wear items.
Cars in general are far superior to the ones that made the names for manufacturers. Had an '01 Jeep Liberty that went 17 years/217K miles. And it didn't lead an easy life. Only thing that broke was the front differential and it wasn't the Jeep's fault. I broke it rock crawling. Had to replace the alternator after a particularly muddy weekend when it got clogged with silt after this deep water crossing.
DesertRatt
All Bark, No Bite!
Something the public should know is that the world's car companies have all changed their operating strategy in a VERY important way. They no longer view the "sale" of the car as their ultimate goal. They, like the tech bros, have a new strategy to "capture customers for the LIFESPAN of the car." To this end, they have designed in countless proprietary software and hardware features that prevent independent repair, or even self repair. They have built-in telematics communications to harvest data they can sell. They are designing cars that will last ONLY the duration of the warranty, then they want the car to be junked and put out of service. YOu won't be buying any new cars that can run 250,000 miles - they simply won't make them like that anymore.
0b11011001
Active Member
I have to differ with WRT MB. While I dislike the C and E class, I love the AMG coupes and the G 63 wagen.
Copanel
Well-Known Member
My 1984 diesel Mercedes has over 700,000 km on the clock and isn't even halfway through its lifespan; three years ago, I replaced the suspension arm bushings—the worn ones were the originals, and they weren't even making any noise. I maintain my cars myself and know exactly how well-built they were. I wouldn't give a dime for cars newer than 25 years old.My Subaru WRX is going on 10 years old and 167K miles. Wouldn't hesitate to drive cross country in it. Nothing replaced other than normal wear items.
Cars in general are far superior to the ones that made the names for manufacturers. Had an '01 Jeep Liberty that went 17 years/217K miles. And it didn't lead an easy life. Only thing that broke was the front differential and it wasn't the Jeep's fault. I broke it rock crawling. Had to replace the alternator after a particularly muddy weekend when it got clogged with silt after this deep water crossing.
No harm done. I have only had my first cup of coffee this AM.
I don’t respond to email or texts that are soliciting for sensitive information. But some people do, and even give out sensitive information over the phone, to a complete stranger.
I don't want to distract the thread on this topic, so it's fine if this post still doesn't clear it up, but I'll make one comment just to try to address the misunderstanding. This is something that happens to you by a scammer, there is nothing you can do to prevent it (except shut off text previews, both when the phone is locked and unlocked). You aren't conducting business in a public place -- but the scammer is.
If you are sitting anywhere in public (or under hidden security cameras) and using your phone to read the news, or browse AK, any scammer who knows your email address can discreetly sit next to you in a coffee shop (or stand behind you in line), and can start logging into one of your accounts on their own phone, using your email as username. They don't know the password, so they click "password reset" or "text code to log in" (increasing common and extremely insecure). The scammer knows exactly when the security code text will come in, because they control it, so they can pick a time when you are distracted or have set your phone on the table (usually you can see the code pop up even when the phone is locked). You won't even know they are looking at your screen, and when the security code text comes in on your phone, you'll be so distracted trying to figure out why the hell you got a security text, that the scammer will have logged in to your account and walked off before you can figure anything out.
I think this kind of hack is generally called "shoulder surfing". Hopefully that clears it up, but I'll leave it at that if not.
0b11011001
Active Member
I am well aware of shoulder surfing, and my notifications are not enabled for text messages or emails.
I also do not sit that close to anyone. If someone sat next to me, I would get up and move. And I only sit with my back to the wall, so I can watch the entrance. I don’t like surprises.
I generally love everything about Costco -- but this is actually the case for large appliances in their stores. Everything in the store has a price -- but for some reason refrigerators, dishwashers, don't have a price and you have to use a QR code. This is compounded by the fact that phone internet is usually either deathly slow or doesn't work at all inside the store (don't know if the building kills the signal or they intentionally weaken it). I'm genuinely interested in buying both a fridge and dishwaster, but I can never see what the price is. Drives me nuts. Love everything else about costco though.
I think I stated it in a prior post, but QR codes are the most insecure tech ever created. Any hacker can take a picture of a public QR code, print a dupllicate of it that poins you to a clone website (looks the same as the official one, but it steals your credit card info when you enter it). Parking lots are a frequent target for this (exhibit a: Man charged in alleged parking QR code scam in Manhattan).
Nobody (hopefully) would click on an unknown link from an unknown sender in an email, but that's potentially what you are doing when you use a public printed QR code.
While I appreciate the uh...explanation, I've been in infosec for a long time. I don't generally get involved in discussions like this here, but it's your lucky day!
And the thought that things should be some way, well, good luck with that.
You're solely responsible for your own information security. Don't expect the service providers or the phones to do it for you.
I can infer that from your username (I have a heavy UNIX background dating decades back). I’m guessing @0b11011001 has a tech background also based on the binary username. My post about the risk is not for the 1% of us who are techies, it is for the 99% who aren’t. The banks objectively should not send “security codes” that are trivially easy to trigger and see by anyone. The banks can’t fix 99% of phone settings being prone to that attack - they CAN (trivially easily) add extra text before the code so it can’t be seen, and they don’t do that. That’s the modern thing I hate (subject of thread) - and it’s objectively bad for the 99% — it doesn’t matter much that it doesn’t affect the techies, it affects the 99% that aren’t. The required solution to prevent (suppressing text preview) it is pretty inconvenient for most people.
Honestly, the entity that generates the security code is unambiguously the one that has the responsibility to make it secure for the 99% real world case, so I cant understand comments saying it’s a user a user problem.
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0b11011001
Active Member
Riddle me this, how many people sit in a public place, surrounded by strangers and conduct business of a sensitive nature?
Most of the 99% you mention are old people who hate typing on a phone, and so are not likely to be doing such in public. They will wait till they get home and carry out this sort of business on their computer, “with a real keyboard”.
I think the likelihood of your scenario of people getting scammed is minor compared to how most of these 99% are scammed, which is through a phone call or scam mail.
I worked in law enforcement and the number of people in this 99% is huge. They are usually reacting out of greed or fear, depending on how the scammer is presenting the con to them.
Getting back to your last question, the phone belongs to the user, it is up to the user to use the phone in a way that is most secure. This goes way beyond text notifications. Most apps when installing them, ask do you want to receive notifications, so they are not just automatically sending out these codes for all to see.
spicer
Lunatic Member
Old or not, I agree. It is just good practice. I might stream video on the phone but if an app is required I don't need it. So far a desktop computer is less prone to needing an app. Windows keeps offering cloud storage, all the convenience... convenience, ultimately, whose the convenience for. So far 'cloud' storage is an option, one I do not engage.
spicer
Lunatic Member
I don't have a credit card either, they used to send one every now and then, always cut them up, haven't received one for years. I have a debt card linked to an isolated account with a measured amount of money in it for online or point of sale transactions to limit exposure to a breach. I've never had any problems except once and the bank quickly covered it, they know, can see I do not have or use online banking, ever. It wasn't my device, something in between, most likely a gas station, about the only place I use the card except for an occasional on line purchase.
DesertRatt
All Bark, No Bite!
I learned about another SPY/SCAM technique this morning. When typical PICTURES are posted on the Internet - social media, etc - a SPY can use a program to retrieve the COMPLETE EXIF data embedded in the pic, and it will reveal time, GPS coordinates, etc, etc. But, that's just the beginning. The pic can be examined by AI, to get info from even very small reflections from glass or chrome, and in extreme examination, even from EYEBALLS!
So, this is the trendline: CRIME is being given a massive advantage and boost from all technological fronts, while all western nations' Justice Departments remain defenseless and worse yet, unsympathetic to the public damages born especially by the vulnerable segments of society like elderly, the very young, poorly educated. While criminals can freely operate on a global basis from any hiding hole they choose, law enforcement is constrained by jurisdiction, and cost of pursuit.
Just as war has now become ASYMMETRIC, so has crime. A scam crime netting $500 can be committed over and over and over by one guy in Ballugastan, and the cost of any law enforcement operation would easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Ergo, no enforcement is attempted.
0b11011001
Active Member
There are other uses for credit cards besides living on credit. We have two cards we use. One gets all the gas purchases and the other gets the grocery and miscellaneous purchases. We do this to get the cash back each month, and it is worth it.
We also pay off those cards each month.
I really want to drop the subject to not detract from the thread -- but given the confusion, I'll comment again. Just when I think I'm you, you pull me back in
.I think I confused matters by calling it a "scam" (agree most "scams" are elaborate interactive voice and text schemes) -- the correct word is to "hack" into your accounts.
The vulnerability has to do with 2-factor authentication. It doesn't matter if you never conduct business in a public place. It doesn't matter if you don't bank on your phone. It doesn't matter if you don't run apps in public. It doesn't even matter if you keep your phone in your pocket the whole time, because you're likely to pull it out when you hear a text come in. There is nothing whatsoever you can do behaviorally on your phone to prevent it, other than suppressing text previews and popups (which many find a huge inconvenience to disable).
This is how it works: A hacker who knows your email (but not any of your passwords) goes the login page of one of your accounts using the browser on their phone while they are near you in some public place. They know your email address, but they can't get in because they don't know your password. So they click "forgot my password" or "log in with security code" (increasingly common), and then choose "send security code to my phone" instead of send code to your email. This causes the website to send a (typically) 6-digit security code to the phone number registered on your account (your mobile phone) to validate that it is you that is trying to log in. Of course it isn't you trying to log in, it's the hacker, but the hacker will be able to read the code popup on your phone because they control exactly when the text comes in. They can just stand behind you in line and see over your shoulder, or wait until you're distracted talking to somebody, or wait until you put your phone down on the counter while you place your order, etc. As mentioned, you can even have your phone in your pocket, but you hear the text and pull the phone out while they walk behind you and read it. It's not hard to see the code when the hacker controls exactly when it comes in. They enter the code into the website, which allows them to create a new password, and now they can hack away in that account.
Many banks now require usernames rather than emails, so that helps prevent it from being used on bank accounts, but not services like Venmo, Paypal, etc -- but the security codes are not secure the way they are currently sent for most systems.
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Quite an interesting track!
I rarely carry cash. I use plastic for almost everything, including buying things for work. I make one easy payment to one entity each month and get an itemized activity list. I can label my expenditures and my accountant is happy with the system.
I don’t sweat ‘big brother.’ If you have a cell phone, they know exactly where you are anyway. If you come here to tell people how you don’t use technology, they know where you are anyway. If you’ve had your blood drawn, the nanochips aren’t in the vaccines any more, they are coating the needle itself. Even getting your blood drawn inserts the nanochips. The chips are even in meds and supplements these days.
Currency has electronic reading strips and tracking devices inside, so if you carry or hoard hard cash, the government knows exactly where and exactly how much.
If you get robbed and they take your cash, you’re screwed. If you’re robbed and they take your credit card, you just call the credit card company and cancel everything. Nothing lost.
I rarely carry cash. I use plastic for almost everything, including buying things for work. I make one easy payment to one entity each month and get an itemized activity list. I can label my expenditures and my accountant is happy with the system.
I don’t sweat ‘big brother.’ If you have a cell phone, they know exactly where you are anyway. If you come here to tell people how you don’t use technology, they know where you are anyway. If you’ve had your blood drawn, the nanochips aren’t in the vaccines any more, they are coating the needle itself. Even getting your blood drawn inserts the nanochips. The chips are even in meds and supplements these days.
Currency has electronic reading strips and tracking devices inside, so if you carry or hoard hard cash, the government knows exactly where and exactly how much.
If you get robbed and they take your cash, you’re screwed. If you’re robbed and they take your credit card, you just call the credit card company and cancel everything. Nothing lost.