8 ms·

Mostly unrelated, but I think activation lock and similar schemes should have an expiry date, like 2-3 years. It will drastically reduce the amount of senseless

Mostly unrelated, but I think activation lock and similar schemes should have an expiry date, like 2-3 years. It will drastically reduce the amount of senseless e-waste that are perfectly working computers someone just didn't bother to log out of.

c0pium 3y ago
If it’s a corporate MacBook that’s not a concern.
- WWLink 3y ago
  It should be. Corporations are probably the biggest producers of ewaste there is.
  - c0pium 3y ago
    It’s not a concern because corporate linked MacBooks can be easily unlocked by the corporation regardless of if the assigned user is available or logged in.
    - chongli 3y ago
      Sure, but lots of corporations will have all their old devices shredded rather than unlock and sell them.
      - majewsky 3y ago
        Including Apple! They were found in 2017 to force their recyclers to shred old iPhones and Macbooks to ensure that the parts cannot be reused. https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphon...
- FireBeyond 3y ago
  On one level it’s not because if you hand me a DEP/MDM MacBook, even T2/ Apple Silicon, it can be completely bypassed in under three minutes with no issues.
qingcharles 3y ago
Last year someone who owned a bar gave me a whole box of iPhones, lots of very new ones that had been left behind and never collected. Out of about two dozen phones only one was recoverable (iPhone 7), all the others were ewaste.
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  Can't they be sold for parts on eBay?
  - qingcharles 3y ago
    As I understand it only some of the parts can be reused (the case?) as the parts now have ID in them that has to match the rest of the device. You can't replace the screen in an iPhone without a call to Apple to update the ID numbers.
    - talldatethrow 3y ago
      Jesus. Are even the batteries like that? Ive replaced the battery on my pixel 4xl with a $19 Amazon new from China copy.
      - chongli 3y ago
        This is all part of the program to fight theft. If the parts were freely usable then people would be stealing devices and fencing them to chop shops.
talldatethrow 3y ago
I worked at car dealerships before, and the number of iPads thrown away eventually because no one can log into them after a while is atleast 10+ that I've personally seen. Basically about 33% of them after a year.
the_black_hand 3y ago
ewaste is problem but bricking them is the only strong security deterent. Many criminals would be happy to steal a brand new iphone and resell it after 3 years.
- Eisenstein 3y ago
  I don't think you have thought this through. Organized crime gets phones from thieves that go around in (for instance) concerts and pick pocket and then sell the phones which then get sent to a location where they are reset/parted out and resold. Would they be willing to pay money to the thieves just to sit on a hoard of phones for 3 years and then sell them at suitably discounted prices? I'd wager that is doubtful. Non-organized crime is generally opportunistic. Would the opportunistic criminal know of this reset date, and if they did would they be willing to wait 3 years to fence the phone? I'd wager that is doubtful.
  - chongli 3y ago
    then sell the phones which then get sent to a location where they are reset/parted out and resold You can’t do that with an activation locked iPhone. The user can remotely brick the device using Find My. The parts can’t be removed and reused either because they all have IDs in them which are locked to the device. A stolen iPhone is nothing more than scrap metal and glass.
    - Eisenstein 3y ago
      Quick search for recent news popped this up: "The officers advised Chistancho that his bag violated the event rules and proceeded to remove it from his possession. Upon inspecting the bag, officers found a smaller black bag inside, which, when opened, revealed a metallic inner lining consistent with a Faraday bag – a device commonly used to block phone signals. To their surprise, the Faraday bag contained a total of 12 stolen iPhones of various models. One of the victims of the thefts was able to positively identify one of the recovered phones as stolen from him." * https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/two-phone-thieves-nabbed-red-handed-at-rolling-loud-music-festival-in-miami/ https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/two-phone-thieves-nab... If they can't use them for anything, what would they want with 12 iPhones? > The user can remotely brick the device using Find My. I guess that's what the faraday bag is for.

c0pium 3y ago

If it’s a corporate MacBook that’s not a concern.

WWLink 3y ago
It should be. Corporations are probably the biggest producers of ewaste there is.
- c0pium 3y ago
  It’s not a concern because corporate linked MacBooks can be easily unlocked by the corporation regardless of if the assigned user is available or logged in.
  - chongli 3y ago
    Sure, but lots of corporations will have all their old devices shredded rather than unlock and sell them.
    - majewsky 3y ago
      Including Apple! They were found in 2017 to force their recyclers to shred old iPhones and Macbooks to ensure that the parts cannot be reused. https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphon...
FireBeyond 3y ago
On one level it’s not because if you hand me a DEP/MDM MacBook, even T2/ Apple Silicon, it can be completely bypassed in under three minutes with no issues.

qingcharles 3y ago

Last year someone who owned a bar gave me a whole box of iPhones, lots of very new ones that had been left behind and never collected. Out of about two dozen phones only one was recoverable (iPhone 7), all the others were ewaste.

talldatethrow 3y ago
Can't they be sold for parts on eBay?
- qingcharles 3y ago
  As I understand it only some of the parts can be reused (the case?) as the parts now have ID in them that has to match the rest of the device. You can't replace the screen in an iPhone without a call to Apple to update the ID numbers.
  - talldatethrow 3y ago
    Jesus. Are even the batteries like that? Ive replaced the battery on my pixel 4xl with a $19 Amazon new from China copy.
    - chongli 3y ago
      This is all part of the program to fight theft. If the parts were freely usable then people would be stealing devices and fencing them to chop shops.

talldatethrow 3y ago

I worked at car dealerships before, and the number of iPads thrown away eventually because no one can log into them after a while is atleast 10+ that I've personally seen. Basically about 33% of them after a year.

the_black_hand 3y ago

ewaste is problem but bricking them is the only strong security deterent. Many criminals would be happy to steal a brand new iphone and resell it after 3 years.

Eisenstein 3y ago
I don't think you have thought this through. Organized crime gets phones from thieves that go around in (for instance) concerts and pick pocket and then sell the phones which then get sent to a location where they are reset/parted out and resold. Would they be willing to pay money to the thieves just to sit on a hoard of phones for 3 years and then sell them at suitably discounted prices? I'd wager that is doubtful. Non-organized crime is generally opportunistic. Would the opportunistic criminal know of this reset date, and if they did would they be willing to wait 3 years to fence the phone? I'd wager that is doubtful.
- chongli 3y ago
  then sell the phones which then get sent to a location where they are reset/parted out and resold You can’t do that with an activation locked iPhone. The user can remotely brick the device using Find My. The parts can’t be removed and reused either because they all have IDs in them which are locked to the device. A stolen iPhone is nothing more than scrap metal and glass.
  - Eisenstein 3y ago
    Quick search for recent news popped this up: "The officers advised Chistancho that his bag violated the event rules and proceeded to remove it from his possession. Upon inspecting the bag, officers found a smaller black bag inside, which, when opened, revealed a metallic inner lining consistent with a Faraday bag – a device commonly used to block phone signals. To their surprise, the Faraday bag contained a total of 12 stolen iPhones of various models. One of the victims of the thefts was able to positively identify one of the recovered phones as stolen from him." * https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/two-phone-thieves-nabbed-red-handed-at-rolling-loud-music-festival-in-miami/ https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/two-phone-thieves-nab... If they can't use them for anything, what would they want with 12 iPhones? > The user can remotely brick the device using Find My. I guess that's what the faraday bag is for.