JohnRich 4 #1 March 16, 2004 News from the London Telegraph:'Snooping' protest as firms track workers' mobiles"Rapidly growing numbers of workers are having their movements monitored by their bosses through signals from their mobile phones. "An estimated 40,000 employees are registered to new services which allow managers to pinpoint their locations at the click of a computer mouse. The figure is growing at a rate of around 20 per cent per month. "Several British companies began offering what the industry calls location-based tracking last year. Subscribers can pull up a map on a computer screen showing the location of chosen mobile phones..." Full Story Here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osuskydiver 0 #2 March 16, 2004 So turn your phone off. right? By the time you read this you have already read it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrunkMonkey 0 #3 March 16, 2004 "In other news, English truck drivers are pissed that they cannot jack around on company time anymore...Film at 11." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slug 1 #4 March 16, 2004 Quote So turn your phone off. right? Not good enough. Do you carry a company pen? It might be bugged. Drive a company car? you guessed it. Carry a company I.D. Card , They know where that card goes. Company doctor? The shot they gave you contained a micro chip. "They know" We'r doomed We're all Doomed R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,064 #5 March 16, 2004 Hmm. Do you suggest new government rules that will regulate what sort of cellphone you can carry to deal with this problem? Or would it be wiser for people to simply decide on their own if they want to carry a company cellphone that can track them? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #6 March 16, 2004 Quote Hmm. Do you suggest new government rules that will regulate what sort of cellphone you can carry to deal with this problem? Or would it be wiser for people to simply decide on their own if they want to carry a company cellphone that can track them? Depends, are they given a choice? Are they even told that they're being tracked? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,064 #7 March 16, 2004 >Depends, are they given a choice? I don't think it matters much, personally. If your job is to carry a cellphone, then your job is to carry a cellphone. The security guards around here have to carry electronic tags that record their movement so they know they hit all the security stations. If you don't want a job where you have to carry a cellphone or a tag - get a job where you don't have to carry such things. >Are they even told that they're being tracked? Hmm. I was never explicitly told that my badge allows me to be tracked, but I'd be a fool to think there's no electronic record of which door I opened with it. Similarly, if I was given a company phone that worked off a non-standard radio site, I'd expect it had the ability to track me. I agree though that if your location is to be used to penalize you in terms of raises, employment etc then you should be told that it can track you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osuskydiver 0 #8 March 16, 2004 Quote Quote So turn your phone off. right? Not good enough. Do you carry a company pen? It might be bugged. Drive a company car? you guessed it. Carry a company I.D. Card , They know where that card goes. Company doctor? The shot they gave you contained a micro chip. "They know" We'r doomed We're all Doomed R.I.P. OH CRAP! HOW DO WE FIX THIS By the time you read this you have already read it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #9 March 16, 2004 Quote Similarly, if I was given a company phone that worked off a non-standard radio site, I'd expect it had the ability to track me. Ok, Bill, but everyone's not as geeky as you or me. Some people actually are handed a cell phone, and could care less what frequency it's using or what type of radio site it communicates with. They actually think the purpose of the thing is to talk to people. A door badge, is obviously, used to grant and deny access to locations. A phone is obviously for talking to people, not for tracking your movements. Personally, I disable 911 locator on my phone and I won't use ezpass. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hookitt 1 #10 March 16, 2004 Personally, I disable 911 locator on my phone and I won't use ezpass How, and what is ezpass? I'd like to be found if I'm smashed up under a tower somewhere but under normal circumstances I don't see the point to keep it active.My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bbarnhouse 0 #11 March 16, 2004 Quote Is your Boss Tracking you through your Cell Phone? OH how I hope so! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #12 March 16, 2004 I wear a tin foil hat and live in a lead lined apartment so the government can't read my brain waves. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clownburner 0 #13 March 17, 2004 Quote Personally, I disable 911 locator on my phone and I won't use ezpass. And how 'disabled' do you think that is, exactly? You don't think it can be turned on remotely, or that they couldn't triangulate your approximate position just from cellular data?7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,064 #14 March 17, 2004 >And how 'disabled' do you think that is, exactly? As an exercise a while back we talked about what it would take to load a virus into a cellphone. Wouldn't be hard at all. And what could you do with that virus? You could track someone 24/7, store everything they say, and then transmit it back whenever the phone was plugged in for charging (which is both a time when it's generally not being used and a time when you don't notice it's using a lot of power.) And if you think the government _doesn't_ do this in its war on terror/drugs/crime . . . >or that they couldn't triangulate your approximate position just from cellular data? Hard to do with any accuracy at all. It was the first thing we tried when the E911 requirements came out because it seems simple, but it's not. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,064 #15 March 17, 2004 >Ok, Bill, but everyone's not as geeky as you or me. Right. Like I said, I think people should be told if their phone will be used for tracking them for purposes of penalizing them if they are out of their work area, out drinking during lunch etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaaska 0 #16 March 17, 2004 Quote > >or that they couldn't triangulate your approximate position just from cellular data? Hard to do with any accuracy at all. It was the first thing we tried when the E911 requirements came out because it seems simple, but it's not. It of course depends on where you are. If you're downtown or some other high populated area (thus with more base stations) the accuracy is better than in rural areas - I know the 112 (911 of Finland) uses it. You can also opt for a service where you give permission for your friend/family to know where you are (SMS: where's jaaska - and the reply message tells it down to street number). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripple 0 #17 March 17, 2004 Quote You can also opt for a service where you give permission for your friend/family to know where you are (SMS: where's jaaska - and the reply message tells it down to street number).What a fantastic idea! Why on earth don't we have that (UK)? All those kids that get abducted.....Next Mood Swing: 6 minutes Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaaska 0 #18 March 17, 2004 Quote What a fantastic idea! Why on earth don't we have that (UK)? All those kids that get abducted..... When operators introduced this service, there was a short news clip about a 9 year old boy who is diabetic - the parents used to call him many times a day to check if he was ok. (which of course annoyed the young lad). He was very happy about the new service - this way his parents could see whether he was at his friends place or somewhere where he might be alone (a park etc. -> thus knowing whether they should make a check up call or not) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #19 March 17, 2004 My new Nextel i730 has a built in GPS reciever. I tested it last night and its accurate to about 30 feet. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #20 March 17, 2004 "All those kids that get abducted..... " Little buggers for the little buggers...-------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #21 March 17, 2004 Quote Quote > >or that they couldn't triangulate your approximate position just from cellular data? Hard to do with any accuracy at all. It was the first thing we tried when the E911 requirements came out because it seems simple, but it's not. It of course depends on where you are. If you're downtown or some other high populated area (thus with more base stations) the accuracy is better than in rural areas - I know the 112 (911 of Finland) uses it. You can also opt for a service where you give permission for your friend/family to know where you are (SMS: where's jaaska - and the reply message tells it down to street number). Also, Alitalia has a service where you can pre-check-in using your GSM phone on your way to the airport and the Telecom Italia Mobile network will check your rought position from the cell data. Its been in operation for about 4 years now.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee03 0 #22 March 17, 2004 No, because I don't have a cell phone. Even if I did have one, it wouldn't be happening, because I don't have a boss either.-------- To put your life in danger from time to time ... breeds a saneness in dealing with day-to-day trivialities. --Nevil Shute, Slide Rule Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #23 March 17, 2004 Quote No, because I don't have a cell phone. Even if I did have one, it wouldn't be happening, because I don't have a boss either. That's cheating! Everyone should have some authority figure tracking them in their daily movements. How do we know we can trust you to run around loose like that without any oversight? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,064 #24 March 17, 2004 >If you're downtown or some other high populated area (thus with > more base stations) the accuracy is better than in rural areas . . . We have found that the opposite is true due to multipath. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
