Please turn off your cell phones.

besides saving the battery charge....


http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6140191.html

FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool
By Declan McCullagh, and Anne Broache, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News: December 1, 2006, 2:20 PM PT

The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone's microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

The technique is called a "roving bug," and was approved by top U.S. Department of Justice officials for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques such as tailing a suspect or wiretapping him.

turned off. If a very private conversation must be held, the batteries must be removed.

Back in the bad old days of the Cold War, a couple of American reporters were staying in a hotel in Moscow. On a lark, one of the reporters made a comment to the effect that the Russians were sorely lacking in an understanding of how to operate a hotel, to wit, the lack of a proper number of clothes hangers in the closet.

Shortly after that, they left the room to cover some event nearby. Upon their return to the room, they found both beds covered in a mound of wire clothes hangers.


The moral of the story:

Sometimes eavesdropping can be a good thing. :evilgrin: :sarcasm:

who couldn't resist drawing a moustache on the portrait of Chairman Mao.

Needless to say, they found the bug.

The one in your laptop can be controlled as well.

Many men carry their cell phones in their pocket. In addition to remote activation, there that pesky microwave radiation near, well, the family jewels.

So why not a metallic mesh bag the covers the phone with a Gaussian shield. Oh, sure you won't be able to get incoming calls while the phone's in the bag, but at least you could safely carry the phone.

Unless the gaussian shield is grounded, it may just re-radiate.I did some work on the subject. Even metal aircraft re-radiate quite well, even when touching the ground because they sit on insulating tires.

I guess you could put taps on your shoes.......

I call my cell phone from my home phone: Rings just fine

I wrap the same phone in aluminum foil and place it on a rubber mouse pad: Dead as a door nail.

but that's an excellent way to test an idea.

"Surreptitious activation of built-in microphones by the FBI has been done before. A 2003 lawsuit revealed that the FBI was able to surreptitiously turn on the built-in microphones in automotive systems like General Motors' OnStar to snoop on passengers' conversations.

When FBI agents remotely activated the system and were listening in, passengers in the vehicle could not tell that their conversations were being monitored." :scared:

My Saturn (a '97) has no such thing. And as much as I love it, I won't be getting a newer one until I can get it without OnStar.

OK...so Officer Fred wants to listen into me talking to my wife about the local girl scout cookie sale or my kids about whose the best guitarist...or to hear Air America or Wisconsin Public Radio come flying out of my speakers? They can knock themselves out. Wanna know I'm going through the Wendys drive thru? That's all good, too.

Since I keep my phone closed up and in my pocket, I hope they've developed technology that takes the muffles out...and then be sure they have a steady signal since my calls constantly drop out. If they're gonna spy on my mundane life, knock themselves out.

A poster here recently threw some numbers around of the volume of domestic hardwire calls...your old very tappable phone...and that number approached somewhere in the 10 billion calls a year area...and I would imagine that's just a fraction of the calls on cellphones, not to mention billions of emails and I haven't even gotten into message boards and instant messengers. And whose gonna sit and listen to all this stuff? Read all this GIGO? And this is being done by the gang that can't shoot straight?

:crazy:

Useful in scaring the shit out of someone when you can tell them what they are saying and doing every second of their lives, in order to stifle behaviors.

Useful in opposition research in political campaigns.

Useful in unlawful political and corporate surveillance in order to obtain an unfair advantage.

Useful in destroying the ability of a free press to have confidential conversations.

Useful in harming the ability of the political party not in power being able to have private strategy discussions.

Useful in blackmail.

Useful in helping to render privacy protections in the Constitution 'quaint'.


Just because all you do in your car is sell cookies and eat fast food doesn't mean that is the case for everyone.

As far as the muffled effect on the phone in your pocket, I have recieved countless phone calls from accidental calls from friends and I can hear every word, and yes, there is software that assists in removing background noise.

Sorry you don't value your privacy, but there is very good reason to.

If you think you've had privacy in the past and this is shaking you out of your bubble, that's a good thing.

I agree it's wrong for the government to have yet another means to pry into private lives and can use this technology to harass political opponents. But it's also probably is already in the hands of far more dangerous types...private companies and individuals who can already mine for every call you make and surely is well up to speed on this type of spying...if it's gotten to CNET, it's probably been around for a while. That would have me a lot more concerned and to develop laws and means to quickly shut down on this information trade that is a lot more targeted and specific than anything some snoop in the Pentagon or CIA is gonna want or need.

If the government wants to make your life miserable, the IRS has all the investigative tools it needs to do the job. The DOJ can tap your regular phone, get your ISP to forward emails and instant messages all without warrants. These violations have to be addressed and quickly.

Sorry...I'm not looking for every red under my bed. It's one more intrusions added to a list...I wish this would be one of the few violations...but I'm far more concerned with the spying Corporate America does on us and that no one speaks about.

:thumbsup:

nt

and then scanning them by computer for matching words? The same as they do for e-mails.

Seems like it was the targets of those letters that got the FBI's attention despite plenty of public postings that could easily have been read by Officer Fred or anyone else and viewed as a threat. Imagine what he was sending via email or instant messages. The NSA software sure didn't scan well for the red flags there.

We had a discussion when the NSA wiretapping scandal broke about how this intrusion in our lives really means. Yes, if the government wants to go after you, this is just another arrow in their quiver...combined with tax info, police records, business records and other things. Your Social Security number is a greater threat than your phone number.

Cheers...

millions of calls in real time--electronically.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/8/14724/28476/

Would you like me to show you around the camp?


If you need something, I can get it for you.

"almost antique" cell phone which actually has a GREEN screen vulnerable to this kind of surveillance too?

I was planning on trading my phone in for a newer model, but might decided to keep the one I have depending on the answer.

then call yourself to see if it rings.