4 ms·

I would like to see them cover Bluetooth and 802.11-based tracking. Most people I've talked to are unaware that their wifi device periodically sends out probe r

I would like to see them cover Bluetooth and 802.11-based tracking. Most people I've talked to are unaware that their wifi device periodically sends out probe requests containing its unique MAC address (some more frequently than others, in my testing), which can be used to correlate your location and build a profile. It's not even difficult, I set up a Raspberry Pi to do it and graphed the arrival and departure times of individual workers in my office. There are businesses putting tracking across a constellation of retail partners, then selling the partners information about what other stores their customers visited. And yes, I'm aware that iOS 8 is supposed to randomize your MAC address to guard against this (cynically I'd say it helps them push iBeacons) but as of September 2014, it wasn't really working as you'd expect: http://www.imore.com/closer-look-ios-8s-mac-randomization http://www.imore.com/closer-look-ios-8s-mac-randomization

liotier 11y ago
I recommend the Wi-Fi Privacy Police, a.k.a Pry-Fi : https://github.com/BramBonne/privacypolice https://github.com/BramBonne/privacypolice
cconcepts 11y ago
Do you have any info on the raspberry pi graphing arrival/departure times?
- flashman 11y ago
  We mostly followed http://mw2013.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/3817/ http://mw2013.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/3817/ which relies on https://github.com/IMAmuseum/visitorflow https://github.com/IMAmuseum/visitorflow. I don't remember a great deal about it as it was a prototype that never got turned into anything else.
  - cconcepts 11y ago
    Wow, great information, thanks very much.
mike-cardwell 11y ago
Did your employees know you were tracking them in this manner? Seems pretty creepy to me...
- bumbledraven 11y ago
  OP didn't say they were his employees.
  - mike-cardwell 11y ago
    Colleagues then. Makes no difference. I wonder if his employer minded him tracking them?
    - bumbledraven 11y ago
      First of all, OP can already track other people in the office by observing when they come and go. What's the moral difference between that and checking to see whether they also emit some electronic signal when present? Second, it's common for workplaces to have cameras and doors with badge access that track this sort of thing already. So it's not like he would be doing anything creepy even if he were the employer.
      - mike-cardwell 11y ago
        Irrelevant. It's all about expectations. If people know that they're being tracked in this manner and they're happy with it, then fine. It becomes creepy when they're being tracked by a colleague without them knowing about it. In the same way that hiding a GPS monitoring device on your partners car without them knowing would be creepy. Hence my question: Do his colleagues know he is doing this? [edit] I know I am being "tracked" by colleagues when they are physically present and can see me enter the room. I also know I am being tracked by my employer when I use my swipe card to enter the office building. What I assume is not happening is that any of my other colleagues have electronic devices collecting my arrival/departure times for whatever purpose, regardless of their presence. What if he started hiding microphones in the office? Is that ok? After all, if you say something out loud in the office, people can already use their ears to track it...
imglorp 11y ago
Don't forget EZ-Pass. There are readers on various major roads around here, not in a toll capacity. I think they're used by state DOT to assess traffic flow. Eg: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/27/e-zpass-privacy-invasion/ http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/27/e-zpass-privacy-invasion/ and: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/09/12/e-zpasses-get-read-all-over-new-york-not-just-at-toll-booths/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/09/12/e-zpasses...
- slxh 11y ago
  Don't forget the RFID tags in your car wheels (TPMS and probably tires): http://www.computerworld.com/article/2519983/data-privacy/tire-pressure-monitor-systems-could-reveal-driver-location.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2519983/data-privacy/ti...
  - nitrogen 11y ago
    Tire serial numbers are registered with the DOT, too, AFAIK.
- geophile 11y ago
  The first article says that you don't have to use EZPass if you are concerned about privacy, and the eventual automation of speeding tickets. That won't be true forever. I've run into some tolls that are EZPass ONLY. Some of them read your license plate and send you a bill if you don't have EZPass. And here in Massachusetts, on the Mass Pike, if you don't use EZPass, you will be penalized when you get your bill for road usage. The justification is that scanning your plate and then finding your address costs the government more money.
  - justizin 11y ago
    > That won't be true forever. I've run into some tolls that are EZPass ONLY. Some of them read your license plate and send you a bill if you don't have EZPass. This is true as of recently for the Golden Gate Bridge as well. :/

liotier 11y ago

I recommend the Wi-Fi Privacy Police, a.k.a Pry-Fi : https://github.com/BramBonne/privacypolice https://github.com/BramBonne/privacypolice

cconcepts 11y ago

Do you have any info on the raspberry pi graphing arrival/departure times?

flashman 11y ago
We mostly followed http://mw2013.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/3817/ http://mw2013.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/3817/ which relies on https://github.com/IMAmuseum/visitorflow https://github.com/IMAmuseum/visitorflow. I don't remember a great deal about it as it was a prototype that never got turned into anything else.
- cconcepts 11y ago
  Wow, great information, thanks very much.

mike-cardwell 11y ago

Did your employees know you were tracking them in this manner? Seems pretty creepy to me...

bumbledraven 11y ago
OP didn't say they were his employees.
- mike-cardwell 11y ago
  Colleagues then. Makes no difference. I wonder if his employer minded him tracking them?
  - bumbledraven 11y ago
    First of all, OP can already track other people in the office by observing when they come and go. What's the moral difference between that and checking to see whether they also emit some electronic signal when present? Second, it's common for workplaces to have cameras and doors with badge access that track this sort of thing already. So it's not like he would be doing anything creepy even if he were the employer.
    - mike-cardwell 11y ago
      Irrelevant. It's all about expectations. If people know that they're being tracked in this manner and they're happy with it, then fine. It becomes creepy when they're being tracked by a colleague without them knowing about it. In the same way that hiding a GPS monitoring device on your partners car without them knowing would be creepy. Hence my question: Do his colleagues know he is doing this? [edit] I know I am being "tracked" by colleagues when they are physically present and can see me enter the room. I also know I am being tracked by my employer when I use my swipe card to enter the office building. What I assume is not happening is that any of my other colleagues have electronic devices collecting my arrival/departure times for whatever purpose, regardless of their presence. What if he started hiding microphones in the office? Is that ok? After all, if you say something out loud in the office, people can already use their ears to track it...

imglorp 11y ago

Don't forget EZ-Pass. There are readers on various major roads around here, not in a toll capacity. I think they're used by state DOT to assess traffic flow. Eg: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/27/e-zpass-privacy-invasion/ http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/27/e-zpass-privacy-invasion/ and: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/09/12/e-zpasses-get-read-all-over-new-york-not-just-at-toll-booths/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/09/12/e-zpasses...

slxh 11y ago
Don't forget the RFID tags in your car wheels (TPMS and probably tires): http://www.computerworld.com/article/2519983/data-privacy/tire-pressure-monitor-systems-could-reveal-driver-location.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2519983/data-privacy/ti...
- nitrogen 11y ago
  Tire serial numbers are registered with the DOT, too, AFAIK.
geophile 11y ago
The first article says that you don't have to use EZPass if you are concerned about privacy, and the eventual automation of speeding tickets. That won't be true forever. I've run into some tolls that are EZPass ONLY. Some of them read your license plate and send you a bill if you don't have EZPass. And here in Massachusetts, on the Mass Pike, if you don't use EZPass, you will be penalized when you get your bill for road usage. The justification is that scanning your plate and then finding your address costs the government more money.
- justizin 11y ago
  > That won't be true forever. I've run into some tolls that are EZPass ONLY. Some of them read your license plate and send you a bill if you don't have EZPass. This is true as of recently for the Golden Gate Bridge as well. :/