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I love that there are 3 hardware kill switches, and that turning all 3 off "additionally disable[s] IMU+compass & GNSS, ambient light and proximity sensors." Th

I love that there are 3 hardware kill switches, and that turning all 3 off "additionally disable[s] IMU+compass & GNSS, ambient light and proximity sensors." There are so many ways in which clever hackers have teased out information from thin streams of always-on sensor data. It would also be kind of cool if they added physical LED lights reflecting hardware activity, normally covered by some physical blinder that you could remove if you're curious--for example, a light indicating WIFI traffic, one for each sensor, etc.

stinos 7y ago
I wonder if these are pure hardware switches, like in distinct on/off positions where the off position is wired directly to the sensor's power or similar, or more like buttons with software behind them which then does whatever action (and hence can be changed)?
- berbec 7y ago
  They say hardware kill switches. 0: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/
cal5k 7y ago
Exactly. I absolutely detest the fact that my carrier can remotely activate my phone's baseband processor to conduct surveillance. Without a hardware kill switch there's basically no way to prevent this other than, perhaps, using a faraday bag.
- RandomBacon 7y ago
  And if they really wanted to, your phone could record the audio, GPS, etc and then transmit once it's out of the faraday bag.
  - ISL 7y ago
    To be pedantic, a sufficient Faraday cage will block GPS (but not audio, acceleration, etc...)
    - RandomBacon 7y ago
      Perfectly acceptable; my mistake. Thanks!
      - t4rewg 7y ago
        @RandomBacon, what mistake? It's clear you were saying, a spy app can record all the audio, gps location etc in a file, and then when the phone regains cell signal, the spy app can send out the recorded audio, gps location etc.
        taylorfinley 7y ago
        Not the stochastic swine, but their mistake was saying GPS signals would be logged while inside a Faraday bag. GPS signals are RF, thus blocked by any proper Faraday cage.
        jandrese 7y ago
        Faraday bags don't block a full spectrum. In fact they tend to be rated only for specific frequencies. GPS and GSM/CMDA/LTE are different enough that you should never assume a bag that is designed to block one will also get the other. Same with WiFi, AM/FM, Shortwave, WWVB, etc...
        deleted 7y ago
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        deleted 7y ago
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stinos 7y ago

I wonder if these are pure hardware switches, like in distinct on/off positions where the off position is wired directly to the sensor's power or similar, or more like buttons with software behind them which then does whatever action (and hence can be changed)?

berbec 7y ago
They say hardware kill switches. 0: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/

cal5k 7y ago

Exactly. I absolutely detest the fact that my carrier can remotely activate my phone's baseband processor to conduct surveillance. Without a hardware kill switch there's basically no way to prevent this other than, perhaps, using a faraday bag.

RandomBacon 7y ago
And if they really wanted to, your phone could record the audio, GPS, etc and then transmit once it's out of the faraday bag.
- ISL 7y ago
  To be pedantic, a sufficient Faraday cage will block GPS (but not audio, acceleration, etc...)
  - RandomBacon 7y ago
    Perfectly acceptable; my mistake. Thanks!
    - t4rewg 7y ago
      @RandomBacon, what mistake? It's clear you were saying, a spy app can record all the audio, gps location etc in a file, and then when the phone regains cell signal, the spy app can send out the recorded audio, gps location etc.
      - taylorfinley 7y ago
        Not the stochastic swine, but their mistake was saying GPS signals would be logged while inside a Faraday bag. GPS signals are RF, thus blocked by any proper Faraday cage.
        jandrese 7y ago
        Faraday bags don't block a full spectrum. In fact they tend to be rated only for specific frequencies. GPS and GSM/CMDA/LTE are different enough that you should never assume a bag that is designed to block one will also get the other. Same with WiFi, AM/FM, Shortwave, WWVB, etc...
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]