http://www.storyleak.com/wi-fi-trashcans-tracking-your-smartphone-data/

Perhaps unsurprisingly (given the source) that’s a lot of bollocks. 😀

In the past we’ve seen politicians revealing that various electronics like your television and computer can spy on you at any time using special built-in hardware,

Yes it all bollocks

They’re getting rid of them apparently

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/12/city-london-corporation-spy-bins

Turn the wifi off on your phone if it bothers you that much?

Couple of those bins outside Cannon St Station, look neat IMO.

But unless I’m in a free WiFi location, mines owrf.

We keep getting told that all this information is being harvested about us. Our ‘digital fingerprint’ is being constantly monitored. But seriously, what the hell do they plan to do with it all? What on earth do they think they’re going to find, other than a world disappearing under a mountain of pointless drivel and lolcats.

Apart from being able to tell what type of pron we all individually favour, obviously

Apart from being able to tell what type of pron we all individually favour, obviously

http://www.binnersgonewild.com

Who keeps pron on their phone tho’ ?? 😉

The only data being harvested is farcebook and twatter posts, oh and STW posts, clearly 😆

The only data being harvested is farcebook and twatter posts

If you are sensible then you use the https version of facebook – that way your posts won’t get harvested when you use public wifi.

But these bins aren’t harvesting anything like that – they are just grabbing the MAC ID of your phone (if you walk past, with wifi on, and your phone for some reason tries to connect to the wifi spot the bin pretends to be)

Yet these devices simply appeared; without consultation, planning permission, or even the common courtesy of informing passers-by that they existed, or inviting them to opt-in (I note there was no way of opting out).

Something truly is rotten in our land when this can happen…

But these bins aren’t harvesting anything like that – they are just grabbing the MAC ID of your phone (if you walk past, with wifi on, and your phone for some reason tries to connect to the wifi spot the bin pretends to be)

No, that won’t be what they’re doing. It’ll grab the MAC address of your phone if you walk past with WIFI on, and your phone has connection settings for any wifi network (or is set to notify when it detects an open WIFI network). It isn’t pretending to be a hot spot or anything, just a passive radio receiver.

It is only luck whether the phone sends a probe request in the time when you’re near the bin, but for the speed people walk at, and the fact that people like their phones to connect to the wifi pretty nice and quickly when they get home, it is probably quite likely. Details here:
http://www.engr.uic.edu/pub/Bits/Musa/musa-eriksson-sensys12.pdf

Don’t see how it can be considered “personal data”.

If you walk down the street shouting out information then you can’t really complain if people hear it.

That’s all that is happening here. Your phone is shouting “HI, I’M 00:12:F0:63:A0:21, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MY FRIEND?” and someone is making a note of that.

If you don’t like that then tell your phone to stop shouting!

or hack your firmware to clone someone else’s MAC address and keep changing it….