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Author Topic: they know what you are doing  (Read 273982 times)

Offline Ellirium113

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #510 on: September 19, 2014, 02:03:49 pm »
It really doesn't matter because anything going to or being sent from the phone WILL still be intercepted so aside from the ORIGIONAL factory default program they will STILL know everything other than maybe notes to yourself that never leave the device.

Offline burntheships

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #511 on: September 19, 2014, 02:17:07 pm »
I don't believe for a second that the US has stood down from spying on its allies. ::)

I dont believe it either  ;D

anything going to or being sent from the phone WILL still be intercepted so aside from the ORIGIONAL factory default program they will STILL know everything other than maybe notes to yourself that never leave the device.

Yes, true enough ( I was being slightly sarcastic in my thanks to Apple)
Its not really much in our favor; not unless the device was needed for evidence
of some kind..... is NSA snooping intercept considered admissable? I suppose in police matters, yes?









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Offline zorgon

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #512 on: September 19, 2014, 03:36:05 pm »
So the NSA is snooping on us...

We needed Edward Snowden to tell us that in 2014. Now its all over facebook, people shouting out in indignation....

... and yet  not ONE has stopped posting or sharing personal info

 ::)

And meanwhile we at Pegasus have been saying that for YEARS  even posted detailed info on the listening posts Echelon, NSA data sites NSA super computers, MUOS posts (cell phone intercept stations)

Heck Walt Handlesman even made a cartoon back in 2003 and that was when they were tapping phone line

[youtube]3knYQaK1yDc[/youtube]

("s" removed from the "https" in the video link)
« Last Edit: September 19, 2014, 04:21:37 pm by zorgon »

Offline Ellirium113

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #513 on: September 27, 2014, 10:32:06 am »
The world embraces new spying toy... Iphone 6.

iPhone? It's a spyphone: Apple devices can record your every movement


Quote
It is tracking your every move – recording the exact time you left for work, where you bought your coffee and where you like to shop.

But this isn’t a futuristic spy drone or some sinister Big Brother state – it’s the iPhone sitting in your pocket.

Hidden in Apple phones is a function which logs every journey. The iPhones are then able to analyse the data to figure out where you live and work, basing decisions on the frequency and timing of trips.

The function – called the Frequent Locations feature – was quietly introduced to iPhones a year ago. But since access to the programme is buried beneath five layers of settings menus, few people know it exists.

Apple claims the data never leaves your phone without your permission, and that it was only designed to improve mapping services.

But Professor Noel Sharkey, one of Britain’s leading computing experts, described Apple’s ability to track people as ‘terrifying’. ‘This is shocking,’ he said. ‘Every place you go, where you shop, where you have a drink – it is all recorded. This is a divorce lawyer’s dream. But what horrifies me is that it is so secret. Why did we not know about this?’

Smartphones have had the ability to track their owners’ movements since they were first installed with GPS chips and mapping functions.

But this feature, which is automatically installed on any iPhone with the iOS 7 or an iOS 8 operating system, is the first to display the movements clearly on a map. The phone records the date of every one of your journeys, your time of arrival and departure and how many times you have been to each address.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2771566/iPhone-It-s-spyphone-Apple-devices-record-movement.html

sky otter

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #514 on: September 27, 2014, 10:47:29 am »

ha ha .. and from this article.. another reason to have one....can anyone say SETUP  :(



http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/27/technology/iphone-locks-out-the-nsa-signaling-a-post-snowden-era-.html?_r=0



Signaling Post-Snowden Era, New iPhone Locks Out N.S.A.


By DAVID E. SANGER and BRIAN X. CHENSEPT. 26, 2014

WASHINGTON — Devoted customers of Apple products these days worry about whether the new iPhone 6 will bend in their jean pockets. The National Security Agency and the nation’s law enforcement agencies have a different concern: that the smartphone is the first of a post-Snowden generation of equipment that will disrupt their investigative abilities.

The phone encrypts emails, photos and contacts based on a complex mathematical algorithm that uses a code created by, and unique to, the phone’s user — and that Apple says it will not possess.

The result, the company is essentially saying, is that if Apple is sent a court order demanding that the contents of an iPhone 6 be provided to intelligence agencies or law enforcement, it will turn over gibberish, along with a note saying that to decode the phone’s emails, contacts and photos, investigators will have to break the code or get the code from the phone’s owner.

Breaking the code, according to an Apple technical guide, could take “more than 5 1/2 years to try all combinations of a six-character alphanumeric passcode with lowercase letters and numbers.” (Computer security experts question that figure, because Apple does not fully realize how quickly the N.S.A. supercomputers can crack codes.)

Already the new phone has led to an eruption from the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey. At a news conference on Thursday devoted largely to combating terror threats from the Islamic State, Mr. Comey said, “What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to hold themselves beyond the law.”

He cited kidnapping cases, in which exploiting the contents of a seized phone could lead to finding a victim, and predicted there would be moments when parents would come to him “with tears in their eyes, look at me and say, ‘What do you mean you can’t’ ” decode the contents of a phone.

“The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened — even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order — to me does not make any sense.”



Apple declined to comment. But officials inside the intelligence agencies, while letting the F.B.I. make the public protests, say they fear the company’s move is the first of several new technologies that are clearly designed to defeat not only the N.S.A., but also any court orders to turn over information to intelligence agencies. They liken Apple’s move to the early days of Swiss banking, when secret accounts were set up precisely to allow national laws to be evaded.

“Terrorists will figure this out,” along with savvy criminals and paranoid dictators, one senior official predicted, and keep their data just on the iPhone 6. Another said, “It’s like taking out an ad that says, ‘Here’s how to avoid surveillance — even legal surveillance.’ ”

The move raises a critical issue, the intelligence officials say: Who decides what kind of data the government can access? Until now, those decisions have largely been a matter for Congress, which passed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act in 1994, requiring telecommunications companies to build into their systems an ability to carry out a wiretap order if presented with one. But despite intense debate about whether the law should be expanded to cover email and other content, it has not been updated, and it does not cover content contained in a smartphone.


At Apple and Google, company executives say the United States government brought these changes on itself. The revelations by the former N.S.A. contractor Edward J. Snowden not only killed recent efforts to expand the law, but also made nations around the world suspicious that every piece of American hardware and software — from phones to servers made by Cisco Systems — have “back doors” for American intelligence and law enforcement.

Surviving in the global marketplace — especially in places like China, Brazil and Germany — depends on convincing consumers that their data is secure.

Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has emphasized that Apple’s core business is to sell devices to people. That distinguishes Apple from companies that make a profit from collecting and selling users’ personal data to advertisers, he has said.

This month, just before releasing the iPhone 6 and iOS 8, Apple took steps to underscore its commitment to customer privacy, publishing a revised privacy policy on its website.

The policy described the encryption method used in iOS 8 as so deep that Apple could no longer comply with government warrants asking for customer information to be extracted from devices. “Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode, and therefore cannot access this data,” the company said.

Under the new encryption method, only entering the passcode can decrypt the device. (Hypothetically, Apple could create a tool to hack into the device, but legally the company is not required to do that.)
Jonathan Zdziarski, a security researcher who has taught forensics courses to law enforcement agencies on collecting data from iPhones, said to think of the encryption system as a series of lockers. In the older version of iOS, there was always at least one locker that was unlocked, which Apple could enter to grab certain files like photos, call history and notes, in response to a legal warrant.

“Now what they’re saying is, ‘We stopped using that locker,’ ” Mr. Zdziarski said. “We’re using a locker that actually has a combination on it, and if you don’t know the combination, then you can’t get inside. Unless you take a sledgehammer to the locker, there’s no way we get to the files.”

The new security in iOS 8 protects information stored on the device itself, but not data stored on iCloud, Apple’s cloud service. So Apple will still be able to obtain some customer information stored on iCloud in response to government requests.

Google has also started giving its users more control over their privacy. Phones using Google’s Android operating system have had encryption for three years. It is not the default setting, however, so to encrypt their phones, users have to go into their settings, turn it on, and wait an hour or more for the data to be scrambled.

That is set to change with the next version of Android, set for release in October. It will have encryption as the default, “so you won’t even have to think about turning it on,” Google said in a statement.


A Google spokesman declined to comment on Mr. Comey’s suggestions that stronger encryption could hinder law enforcement investigations.

Mr. Zdziarski said that concerns about Apple’s new encryption to hinder law enforcement seemed overblown. He said there were still plenty of ways for the police to get customer data for investigations. In the example of a kidnapping victim, the police can still request information on call records and geolocation information from phone carriers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

“Eliminating the iPhone as one source I don’t think is going to wreck a lot of cases,” he said. “There is such a mountain of other evidence from call logs, email logs, iCloud, Gmail logs. They’re tapping the whole Internet.”

 


David E. Sanger reported from Washington, and Brian X. Chen from San Francisco. Conor Dougherty contributed reporting from San Francisco.

A version of this article appears in print on September 27, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Signaling Post-Snowden Era, New iPhone Locks Out N.S.A..







also
 http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?topic=7406.0;topicseen
« Last Edit: September 27, 2014, 12:20:48 pm by sky otter »

sky otter

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #515 on: October 04, 2014, 02:06:22 pm »


 another non surprise...sigh





 
 
Cops Gave Parents Child Safety Software That Can Be Used For Spying
 

 Posted:  10/02/2014 1:29 pm EDT    Updated:  10/03/2014 4:59 pm EDT

Gerry Smith Become a fan
Gerald.Smith@huffingtonpost.com
 

Law enforcement agencies across the country have given away computer software to families that puts them at risk of spying, according to a new report.

The software, known as ComputerCop, is marketed by police departments as a way for parents to protect their children from online predators. But the software also contains a keylogger, or a feature that can record every keyboard stroke.

Keyloggers are often used by hackers to spy on victims and steal sensitive information. The feature could “expose its users to the same predators, identity thieves, and bullies that police claim the software protects against,” according to a report released Wednesday by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

 ComputerCop allows parents to have those recorded online chats emailed to them. The emails, however, are sent through third-party servers without encryption, the EFF found. EFF researcher Dave Maass called the lack of encryption "troubling" because it make it possible for a bad actor to snoop on conversations if the child's computer is connected to a public Wi-Fi network.

Maass said the software, if misused, also poses privacy risks for adults.

“Law enforcement agencies are passing around what amounts to a spying tool that could easily be abused by people who want to snoop on spouses, roommates, or coworkers,” Maass said in his report.

In an interview, Stephen DelGiorno, the president and founder of New York-based ComputerCop Corp., which has sold the software for over a decade, acknowledged that some versions contained a feature that captures keystrokes.

But DelGiorno said the software warns users that the keylogger is present and the feature is only turned on when a user types words related to sex, drugs or gangs. He said the software was designed for parents to monitor their children online.

"We're not trying to be a spy tool," he told HuffPost. "That was absolutely not our intention.”

The EFF said it identified 245 law enforcement agencies in more than 35 states that have distributed the software to families.
 The software comes on a CD.

The National Association of Police Organizations, a nationwide coalition of police units, did not respond to a request for comment about the EFF's findings. But at least one law enforcement agency has responded to the report.

The San Diego District Attorney’s Office, which distributed the software to families, issued an alert Wednesday, saying parents can avoid "potential privacy issues" with ComputerCop by turning off the keystroke-logging feature by clicking on the icon that says "Chat/Email" and not agreeing to the terms of service.

Maass recommended that parents who are concerned about their children’s online privacy should install "HTTPS Everywhere," a plug-in made by the foundation that connects a web browser to secure versions of websites by default.


 
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/02/police-give-away-software_n_5920784.html?utm_hp_ref=technology




More:
Computercop,   Spyware,   Online Privacy,   Internet Security,   Keylogger,   Electronic Frontier Foundation,   Computercop Safety,   Kids Safety Online,   Child Safety Software,   Computercop Spying,   Kids Online,   Digital Connections


sky otter

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #516 on: October 07, 2014, 01:15:59 pm »


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/07/twitter-transparency_n_5947216.html
 
 
Twitter Sues For Right To Disclose Details Of Government Surveillance Requests
 

 Posted:  10/07/2014 2:32 pm EDT    Updated:  1 hour ago
Gerry Smith Become a fan
Gerald.Smith@huffingtonpost.com





Twitter filed suit against the FBI and the Justice Department on Tuesday, seeking the ability to released more detailed information on government surveillance of Twitter users.

“We’ve tried to achieve the level of transparency our users deserve without litigation, but to no avail,” Twitter said in a blog post announcing the lawsuit, filed in federal court.

Like other major tech companies, Twitter releases reports disclosing how many government requests it receives for account information on its users. But the reports are vague because Twitter is prohibited by law from disclosing details on the types of surveillance requests it receives from the U.S. government.

Twitter is asking a judge for permission to publish its full transparency report and claims that restrictions on its ability to speak about government surveillance requests are unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

“It’s our belief that we are entitled under the First Amendment to respond to our users’ concerns and to the statements of U.S. government officials by providing information about the scope of U.S. government surveillance – including what types of legal process have not been received," Twitter said in its blog. "We should be free to do this in a meaningful way, rather than in broad, inexact ranges."

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
 
   

More:
Twitter Transparency,   Twitter Lawsuit,   Transparency Reports,   Twitter Sues DOJ

Offline Pimander

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #517 on: October 07, 2014, 03:46:33 pm »
Why don't Twitter just reveal the details of Government requestsif they want to be open?  Come on Twitter, don't be scared.

Offline Wrabbit2000

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #518 on: October 07, 2014, 04:26:22 pm »
Why don't Twitter just reveal the details of Government requestsif they want to be open?  Come on Twitter, don't be scared.

If I'm not mistaken, other companies tried that with various levels of effort to varying degrees of fail.

I believe the general message was that the company could see it end one of three ways. Giving in and doing what they were told. The end of their company, if it's a smaller one, or simply a 'regime change' to see those opposed replaced after being thrown to the street.

I really hope the Courts show some courage because I think the 1st Amendment issue here is pretty clear on the face of it, and without much need for endless litigation for it. Can Twitter speak about what it sees as abuses by Uncle Sam.... Well? Since Corps are seen as people, twitter has the rights of one. That INCLUDES the full and unrestrained right of free speech or redress of grievances, to use some of the technical terms. Go Twitter!

Here is hoping it's a short trip through the courts. It ought to be.

space otter

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #519 on: December 26, 2014, 08:51:16 pm »

NSA Fesses Up To Improper Surveillance Of U.S. Citizens
 

 The Huffington Post    |  By  Igor Bobic   
  Posted:  12/26/2014 12:35 pm EST    Updated:  12/26/2014 12:59 pm EST


While you were drinking eggnog on Christmas Eve, the National Security Agency released hundreds of pages of heavily redacted documents detailing instances of improper surveillance on U.S. citizens in the last 12 years.

The batch of documents,
https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/declass/IntelligenceOversightBoard.shtml
 stretching from the fourth quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of 2013, was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. While some of the information was already publicly known, the reports shed more light on instances in which NSA employees either intentionally or unintentionally violated the law and collected the private data of American citizens.

"These materials show, over a sustained period of time, the depth and rigor of NSA’s commitment to compliance," read a statement on the NSA's website. "By emphasizing accountability across all levels of the enterprise, and transparently reporting errors and violations to outside oversight authorities, NSA protects privacy and civil liberties while safeguarding the nation and our allies."

The reports include instances in which analysts conducted unauthorized surveillance on U.S.

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-24/spy-agency-to-release-reports-documenting-surveillance-errors.html?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article

organizations with the mistaken belief they were authorized to do so; instances in which analysts willfully ignored restrictions on surveillance; and even instances in which analysts intentionally abused the system to gather data on spouses or love interests. Such cases apparently occurred enough to have earned the name LOVEINT.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/25/nsa-romance_n_3813949.html


In one instance, an analyst who surveilled her own spouse was merely "advised to cease her actvities." In another, an analyst "mistakenly requested" surveillance “

http://traffic.pubexchange.com/a/3200bd6f-1bfa-430f-bb01-9a2c8e0c1984/c2a5c03d-d0a1-46cf-baa8-6f2e734aeb24/http%3A//mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-24/spy-agency-to-release-reports-documenting-surveillance-errors.html

of his own personal identifier instead of the selector associated with a foreign intelligence target." But the NSA maintained that employees who conducted improper surveillance were adequately held to account.

"Results returned from improper queries may be deleted, and the analyst who submitted the query may be subject to additional training or administrative action as appropriate," the agency said.

The USA Freedom Act, which would have ended the NSA's controversial domestic call tracking program, died in the Senate earlier this year despite support from an unlikely alliance that included Facebook, the ACLU and the National Rifle Association.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/26/nsa-spying-report_n_6382572.html

« Last Edit: December 26, 2014, 08:59:05 pm by space otter »

Offline zorgon

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #520 on: December 26, 2014, 09:04:14 pm »
The USA Freedom Act, which would have ended the NSA's controversial domestic call tracking program, died in the Senate earlier this year despite support from an unlikely alliance that included Facebook, the ACLU and the National Rifle Association.

So in effect  we are SCREWED

 ::)

space otter

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #521 on: December 31, 2014, 11:06:28 pm »



So in effect  we are SCREWED

sure looks that way..this next one is what we can expect in the way of privacy..NONE



http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30623611

29 December 2014 Last updated at 07:43 ET

.Politician's fingerprint 'cloned from photos' by hacker
 By Zoe Kleinman
 
Technology reporter, BBC News

picture details at link


 
Jan Krissler Mr Krissler provided details of his technique at a convention in Hamburg
A member of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) hacker network claims to have cloned a thumbprint of a German politician by using commercial software and images taken at a news conference.

Jan Krissler says he replicated the fingerprint of defence minister Ursula von der Leyen using pictures taken with a "standard photo camera".

Mr Krissler had no physical print from Ms von der Leyen.

Fingerprint biometrics are already considered insecure, experts say.

Mr Krissler, also known as Starbug, was speaking at a convention for members of the CCC, a 31-year-old network that claims to be "Europe's largest association" of hackers.

'Wear gloves'
 
He told the audience he had obtained a close-up of a photo of Ms von der Leyen's thumb and had also used other pictures taken at different angles during a press event that the minister had spoken at in October.

German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen's fingerprint was cloned just from photos, the hacker claims
Mr Krissler has suggested that "politicians will presumably wear gloves when talking in public" after hearing about his research.

Fingerprint identification is used as a security measure on both Apple and Samsung devices, and was used to identify voters at polling stations in Brazil's presidential election this year, but it is not considered to be particularly secure, experts say.

Living biometrics
 
"Biometrics that rely on static information like face recognition or fingerprints - it's not trivial to forge them but most people have accepted that they are not a great form of security because they can be faked," says cybersecurity expert Prof Alan Woodward from Surrey University.

"People are starting to look for things where the biometric is alive - vein recognition in fingers, gait [body motion] analysis - they are also biometrics but they are chosen because the person has to be in possession of them and exhibiting them in real life."


Simon Gompertz tried out Barclays' finger scanner when it launched

In September this year Barclays bank introduced finger vein recognition for business customers, and the technique is also used at cash machines in Japan and Poland.

Electronics firm Hitachi manufactures a device that reads the unique pattern of veins inside a finger. It only works if the finger is attached to a living person.

Trials in the intensive care unit at Southampton General Hospital in 2013 indicated that vein patterns are not affected by changes to blood pressure.


space otter

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #522 on: December 31, 2014, 11:11:13 pm »



So in effect  we are SCREWED


well maybe not.. this might be of some help..but I don't hold out much hope for the majority of us






http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/31/nsa-documents-anonymous-online_n_6401066.html



Leaked NSA Documents Reveal How To Hide From The NSA
 


 The Huffington Post    |  By  Damon Beres   
 Posted:  12/31/2014 2:26 pm EST    Updated:  2 hours ago

If you want a truly anonymous life, then maybe it's time you learned about Tor, CSpace and ZRTP.

These three technologies could help people hide their activities from the National Security Agency, according to NSA documents newly obtained from the archive of former contractor Edward Snowden by the German magazine Der Spiegel.

The combination of Tor, CSpace and ZRTP (plus another anonymizing technology for good measure) results in levels of protection that the NSA deems "catastrophic" -- meaning the organization has "near-total loss/lack of insight to target communications," according to Der Spiegel.






"Although the documents are around two years old, experts consider it unlikely the agency's digital spies have made much progress in cracking these technologies," Spiegel's staff wrote.

In comparison, accessing somebody's Facebook messages is considered a "minor" task for the agency. Similarly, virtual private networks (or VPNs), which are widely used by companies, are easily accessed by the NSA, according to Der Spiegel's report, as are so-called "HTTPS" connections.

So, what are these services and what do you actually have to do to use them?

Tor is basically a network that offers an easy way for people to mask their location when communicating online. Anyone can download Tor's web browser -- it's available on Mac, Windows, Linux, and smartphones. It's not foolproof: When using Tor, you're advised to sacrifice the convenience of browser plugins, torrent downloads, and websites that don't use "HTTPS encryption" if you truly want to stay off the grid.

And that's just if you want to mask your online habits -- messaging and phone calls require more steps still, meaning you also have to add CSpace and ZRTP if you want to hide those from the NSA, according to Der Spiegel.

CSpace is a program that lets people text chat and transfer files, while ZRTP is a form of encryption that protects mobile phone calls and texting -- it's used in apps like RedPhone and Signal.

If that all sounds a bit daunting, anonymous living may not be for you. There are plenty of ways to stay relatively private online. But true anonymity is harder to achieve, and so coveted that some people will pay $629 for a special phone that purports to keep a user's information more secure.

As noted, the Snowden documents are a couple of years old; it's possible the NSA has found ways around these tools by now. But for the privacy-conscious, they are certain to work better than a tinfoil hat.



Offline zorgon

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #523 on: January 01, 2015, 06:59:41 pm »
I found a better way :P

Just invite them in... it will catch them off guard :D

space otter

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Re: they know what you are doing
« Reply #524 on: January 12, 2015, 08:06:01 am »

guess we should all know sign language by now .....but ...
I'm sure they will be reading out thoughts next   :(
What..they alredy are.     :o  ..bummer.    ::).



Eavesdrop on Conversations Using a Bag of Chips with MIT’s ‘Visual Microphone’
By Jason Dorrier
ON Aug 13, 2014
MIT’s ‘visual microphone’ is the kind of tool you’d expect Q to develop for James Bond, or to be used by nefarious government snoops listening in on Jason Bourne. It’s like these things except for one crucial thing—this is the real deal.

Describing their work in a paper, researchers led by MIT engineering graduate student, Abe Davis, say they’ve learned to recover entire conversations and music by simply videoing and analyzing the vibrations of a bag of chips or a plant’s leaves.

The researchers use a high-speed camera to record items—a candy wrapper, a chip bag, or a plant—as they almost invisibly vibrate to voices in conversation or music or any other sound. Then, using an algorithm based on prior research, they analyze the motions of each item to reconstruct the sounds behind each vibration.

The result? Whatever you say next to that random bag of chips lying on the kitchen table can and will be held against you in a court of law. (Hypothetically.)

The technique is accurate to a tiny fraction of a pixel and can reconstruct sound based on how the edges of those pixels change in color due to sound vibration. It works equally well in the same room or at a distance through soundproof glass.

The results are impressive (check out the video below). The researchers use their algorithm to digitally reassemble the notes and words of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” with surprising fidelity, and later, the Queen song “Under Pressure” with enough detail to identify it using the mobile music recognition app, Shazam.



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKXOucXB4a8[/youtube]






While the visual microphone is cool, it has limitations.

The group was able to make it work at a distance of about 15 feet, but they haven’t tested longer distances. And not all materials are created equal. Plastic bags, foam cups, and foil were best. Water and plants came next. The worst materials, bricks for example, were heavy and only poorly conveyed local vibrations.

Also, the camera matters. The best results were obtained from high-speed cameras capable of recording 2,000 to 6,000 frames per second (fps)—not the highest frame rate out there, but orders of magnitude higher than your typical smartphone.

Even so, the researchers were also able to reproduce intelligible sound using a special technique that exploits the way many standard cameras record video.

Your smartphone, for example, uses a rolling shutter. Instead of recording a frame all at once, it records it line by line, moving from side to side. This isn’t ideal for image quality, but the distortions it produces infer motion the MIT team's algorithm can read.

The result is more noisy than the sounds reconstructed using a high-speed camera. But theoretically, it lays the groundwork for reconstructing audio information, from a conversation to a song, using no more than a smartphone camera.

Primed by the news cycle, the mind is almost magnetically drawn to surveillance and privacy issues. And of course the technology could be used for both good and evil by law enforcement, intelligence agencies, or criminal organizations.

However, though the MIT method is passive, the result isn’t necessarily so different from current techniques. Surveillance organizations can already point a laser at an item in a room and infer sounds based on how the light scatters or how its phase changes.

And beyond surveillance and intelligence, Davis thinks it will prove useful as a way to visually analyze the composition of materials or the acoustics of a concert hall. And of course, the most amazing applications are the ones we can't imagine.

None of this would be remotely possible without modern computing. The world is full of information encoded in the unseen. We've extended our vision across the spectrum, from atoms to remote galaxies. Now, technology is enabling us to see sound.

What other hidden information will we one day mine with a few clever algorithms?

Image Credit: MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)/YouTube




yikes.. edit to add the link

http://singularityhub.com/2014/08/13/eavesdrop-on-conversations-using-a-bag-of-chips-with-mits-visual-microphone/
« Last Edit: January 12, 2015, 08:09:55 am by space otter »

 


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