malware-mobiles.html proprietary.html

[Diff Report]

Modified:

    malware-mobiles.html
    proprietary.html

diff -rNU2 malware-mobiles.html malware-mobiles.html
--- malware-mobiles.html        2021-02-01 05:02:09.344258067 +0000
+++ malware-mobiles.html        2021-02-02 05:03:51.299399059 +0000
@@ -86,5 +86,21 @@
 <h3 id="phone-communications">Cell-phone communications</h3>
 
+<p>This section describes one other malicious characteristic of mobile
+phones, location tracking which is caused by the underlying radio system
+rather than by the specific software in them.</p>
+
 <ul class="blurbs">
+  <li id="M202101130">
+    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-01</small>'
+    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
+    <p>The authorities in Venice track the <a
+    
href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-control-room-tourism/index.html";>
+    movements of all tourists</a> using their portable phones.  The article
+    says that <em>at present</em> the system is configured to report only
+    aggregated information.  But that could be changed.  What will that
+    system do 10 years from now?  What will a similar system in another
+    country do?  Those are the questions this raises.</p>
+  </li>
+
   <li id="M201502100">
     <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2015-02</small>'
@@ -100,37 +116,4 @@
     these location data for months or years.</p>
   </li>
-
-  <li id="M201311120.1">
-    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2013-11</small>'
-    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
-    <p id="universal-back-door-phone-modem">
-    Almost every phone's communication processor has
-    a universal back door which is <a
-    
href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/remotely_eavesd_1.html";>
-    often used to make a phone transmit all conversations it hears</a>.</p>
-
-    <p>The back door <a class="not-a-duplicate"
-    
href="http://www.osnews.com/story/27416/The_second_operating_system_hiding_in_every_mobile_phone";>
-    may take the form of bugs that have gone 20 years unfixed</a>.
-    The choice to leave the security holes in place is morally
-    equivalent to writing a back door.</p>
-
-    <p>The back door is in the &ldquo;modem processor&rdquo;, whose
-    job is to communicate with the radio network.  In most phones,
-    the modem processor controls the microphone.  In most phones it
-    has the power to rewrite the software for the main processor
-    too.</p>
-
-    <p>A few phone models are specially designed so that the modem
-    processor does not control the microphone, and so that it can't
-    change the software in the main processor.  They still have the
-    back door, but at least it is unable to turn the phone unto a
-    listening device.</p>
-
-    <p>The universal back door is apparently also used to make phones <a
-    
href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/07/22/nsa_can_reportedly_track_cellphones_even_when_they_re_turned_off.html";>
-    transmit even when they are turned off</a>.  This means their movements
-    are tracked, and may also make the listening feature work.</p>
-  </li>
 </ul>
 </div>
@@ -173,7 +156,32 @@
 <h3 id="back-doors">Back Doors</h3>
 
-    <p>See above for the <a href="#universal-back-door-phone-modem">general 
universal back
-    door</a> in essentially all mobile phones, which permits converting
-    them into full-time listening devices.</p>
+    <p id="universal-back-door-phone-modem">
+    Almost every phone's communication processor has
+    a universal back door which is <a
+    
href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/remotely_eavesd_1.html";>
+    often used to make a phone transmit all conversations it hears</a>.</p>
+
+    <p>The back door <a class="not-a-duplicate"
+    
href="http://www.osnews.com/story/27416/The_second_operating_system_hiding_in_every_mobile_phone";>
+    may take the form of bugs that have gone 20 years unfixed</a>.
+    The choice to leave the security holes in place is morally
+    equivalent to writing a back door.</p>
+
+    <p>The back door is in the &ldquo;modem processor&rdquo;, whose
+    job is to communicate with the radio network.  In most phones,
+    the modem processor controls the microphone.  In most phones it
+    has the power to rewrite the software for the main processor
+    too.</p>
+
+    <p>A few phone models are specially designed so that the modem
+    processor does not control the microphone, and so that it can't
+    change the software in the main processor.  They still have the
+    back door, but at least it is unable to turn the phone unto a
+    listening device.</p>
+
+    <p>The universal back door is apparently also used to make phones <a
+    
href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/07/22/nsa_can_reportedly_track_cellphones_even_when_they_re_turned_off.html";>
+    transmit even when they are turned off</a>.  This means their movements
+    are tracked, and may also make the listening feature work.</p>
 
 <ul class="blurbs">
@@ -1519,5 +1527,5 @@
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2021/01/31 17:19:33 $
+$Date: 2021/02/01 10:54:23 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
diff -rNU2 proprietary.html proprietary.html
--- proprietary.html    2021-02-01 05:02:09.372258067 +0000
+++ proprietary.html    2021-02-02 05:03:51.327399059 +0000
@@ -78,4 +78,10 @@
 functionalities.</p>
 
+<p>In this section, we also list <a
+href="/proprietary/malware-mobiles.html#phone-communications">one
+other malicious characteristic of mobile phones, location tracking</a>
+which is caused by the underlying radio system rather than by the
+specific software in them.</p>
+
 <p>Power corrupts; the proprietary program's developer is tempted to
 design the program to mistreat its users.  (Software whose functioning
@@ -181,4 +187,16 @@
 
 <ul class="blurbs">
+  <li id="M202101130">
+    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-01</small>'
+    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
+    <p>The authorities in Venice track the <a
+    
href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-control-room-tourism/index.html";>
+    movements of all tourists</a> using their portable phones.  The article
+    says that <em>at present</em> the system is configured to report only
+    aggregated information.  But that could be changed.  What will that
+    system do 10 years from now?  What will a similar system in another
+    country do?  Those are the questions this raises.</p>
+  </li>
+
   <li id="M202101110">
     <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-01</small>'
@@ -235,15 +253,4 @@
     well</a>.</p>
   </li>
-
-  <li id="M202101040">
-    <!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-01</small>'
-    --><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
-    <p>The personal finance management software &ldquo;Quicken&rdquo; <a
-    href="https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-discontinuation-policy";>
-    has a discontinuation policy, a.k.a. planned obsolescence</a>, which is
-    an injustice to users. A free (as in freedom) program would let users
-    control the software. But when you use a proprietary software,
-    you won't be in control.</p>
-  </li>
 </ul>
 
@@ -308,5 +315,5 @@
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2021/01/20 08:34:00 $
+$Date: 2021/02/01 10:54:24 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>