How Is the Stingray Cell Tower Device Being Used for Public Safety?

IMSI Catching & the “Non-Intercepting, Full-Spectrum” Stingray Explained

Stingray devices—technically known as cell-site simulators or IMSI catchers—are powerful tools that law enforcement agencies use to locate specific mobile devices. By mimicking a legitimate cell tower, they prompt nearby phones to connect briefly, revealing key identifiers and enabling officers to narrow down a target’s location. This article explores how Stingrays are deployed for public safety, what “IMSI catching” and “non-intercepting full-spectrum” mean, and how oversight frameworks attempt to balance benefits with privacy.

What a Stingray Actually Does

10 Reasons Why I Am Sick and Tired of the Apple iOS iPhone Updates

Apple’s iOS updates used to be exciting, bringing new features and enhancements. But lately, they’ve become more of a headache than a help. If you’ve ever found yourself dreading the next iOS update, you’re not alone. Here’s why I’m completely over them.

1. Never-Ending Updates

Where Did Hurricane Helene Wipe Out Cell Phone Coverage?

Hurricane Helene, a major storm in the Atlantic, left significant disruptions in its wake, particularly affecting cell phone coverage in various regions. The powerful storm caused massive damage to infrastructure, making communication difficult for residents and emergency services. In this article, we will explore the areas most affected by Hurricane Helene and its impact on cell phone coverage, as well as the federal response efforts to restore communication.

Regions Most Affected by Hurricane Helene 

Understanding GPS Jamming: Purpose and Implications

In today's technology-driven world, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has become integral for navigation, tracking, and timing applications across various industries. However, alongside its widespread use, there exists a lesser-known phenomenon called GPS jamming, which can disrupt or block GPS signals. Let's delve into what GPS jamming is, why it's used, and its implications.

What is GPS Jamming?

How AirTags Enhance Vehicle Recovery: Innovative Tracking for Stolen Vehicles

Toronto man uses AirTags to track stolen SUV to Dubai

In the realm of vehicle security, Apple's AirTags have emerged as a game-changing technology for tracking and recovering stolen vehicles. This article explores the unique capabilities of AirTags in combating vehicle theft, providing valuable insights into how this innovative tracking device is revolutionizing vehicle security.

Understanding AirTags and Vehicle Tracking 

Exploring Potential Anti-Trust Issues Facing Apple iMessage

Tim Cook's Blunt Response To Green Bubbles Show Something Else About Him

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and digital communication, Apple's iMessage has emerged as a dominant player in the messaging app market. However, this popularity and Apple's tight control over iMessage's functionalities have raised concerns about potential anti-trust issues. Let's delve into why iMessage might be under scrutiny from a legal and regulatory standpoint.

The Dominance of iMessage

Why an Apple Smartwatch that Only Works with iPhone Might Face Legal Scrutiny

In the competitive world of technology and consumer electronics, product exclusivity and compatibility have become hot topics, often leading to debates around consumer rights and fair competition. Apple's ecosystem is known for its seamless integration and interoperability, but the exclusivity of certain products like the Apple Watch, which only works with iPhones, has raised eyebrows and potentially legal concerns. Let's delve into why this exclusivity might be seen as problematic from a legal standpoint.

The Issue of Anti-Competitive Practices

Prior Notification by 5G Cell Tower Companies and Cities

In our fast-paced digital age, the demand for seamless connectivity is greater than ever before. To meet this demand, cell tower companies and cities are constantly expanding and upgrading their 5G cellular infrastructure. While the growth of cell towers and antennas is essential for improved connectivity, it's equally important that residents are informed and engaged in the process. In this article, we will explore the significance of notifying residents before adding a cell tower or a DAS antenna and how it contributes to a harmonious coexistence between technology and community.

What Are Fake Cell Towers & How Are They Used?

Fake cell towers, also known as IMSI catchers or Stingrays, are surveillance devices that mimic legitimate cell towers to intercept and monitor mobile communications. Here's how they work:

How Elon Musk is Fighting Social Media Censorship by Fact Checking

Elon Musk, a renowned entrepreneur and technology visionary, has taken a stand against social media censorship by championing the practice of fact-checking. 

Are there any regulatory policies governing the installation of 5g cell phone towers?

Here is an example of a community action on cell towers

Regulatory policies governing the installation of 5G-capable cell phone towers. 

Apple Might be Building a Google Search Competitor

The most noticeable improvement is the fact that when you type queries on the home screen, Apple is now displaying its own results in iOS 14. Furthermore, there seems to be a rise in Apple 's web crawler behavior. 

In iOS 14, Apple shows its own web search results and links directly to websites when users type queries from the home screen. The changes were noticed back in August, but the report claims they add to "growing evidence" that Apple is working to build a rival to Google search.

Here could be more of a chance as the U.S. The Department of Justice has sued Google for what it says is anticompetitive search conduct. This doesn't actually mean, however, that Apple and Google will soon be head-to-head in search, it may just be an indication that more search requests are received by Apple's Siri voice assistant. 

The operation of the Apple search crawler might signal a Google rival, or a bid to make Siri a one-stop shop. Apple is now displaying its own search results and connecting directly to websites as users type queries from its home screen in iOS 14.

By "search engine" we mean "a website that people type queries into" or we mean a voice assistant that, with its own sourcing, steps in to white-label web results. A powerful motivator for any competitor, no matter the space, is to cut down on the brand presence of a monster like Google on your own site. 

In the scenario where they are compelled to make a search provider option in the iOS onboarding flow by regulation, making Siri a one-stop shop could inoculate Apple. However, it won't do much to support Google, which pays billions to Apple because iOS users are worth much more to its company than any other mobile web users. For its part, Google notes that when people have a preference, they still want Google anyway. Perhaps another explanation why making Siri an overtalker's quest equivalent is the strong play for Apple.

In exchange for making Google the default search engine on its devices and services, Apple gets an estimated eight to 12 billion dollars every year. Prosecutors argue that the agreement is indicative of unlawful strategies used to safeguard the hegemony of Google and limit competition. Meanwhile, by acquiescing to the contract and obtaining more money through daily renegotiations, Apple is under fire for promoting anticompetitive conduct.

A big chunk of Apple 's revenue is threatened by legal action, but it is a greater danger for Google, which would appear to have no means of replacing the traffic it would lose. The New York Times has previously suggested that Apple may be forced by a split to acquire or develop its own competing search engine, but no hard evidence of such a move has yet been given.

Worldwide Search Engine Market Share

Laws Restricting Cell Phone Usage While Driving May Change

The new UK legislation makes it an offense when driving to use a hand-held cell phone. This ensures that a cell phone should not be picked up by drivers in their hands and used when driving. (The offense also refers to motorcycle riders who pick up and use a cell phone; this consultation would use the term "drivers" to include both drivers and motorcycle riders.) When supervising a learner driver, it is also an offense to use a hand-held mobile phone. The legislation also involves "other hand-held digital communication devices" such as tablets, although this document uses the word "cell phone" to include certain related devices before it becomes necessary to address specific types of devices in some detail.

To prosecute the mobile phone violation, the police depend heavily on a roadside presence. In certain situations, it is an infringement that is easy to spot; in a line of slow-moving traffic, for example, the head of the driver is down and the car is slow to move along with the flow of traffic. The role of the police, however, is even more complicated than merely seeing a driver holding and clicking away at a phone; the police officer must decide that the driver was conducting an interactive communication feature to enforce against the cell phone violation. The police would not be able to execute the cell phone violation if they do not and the driver was using a standalone feature only.

To enforce a variety of road traffic offenses, the police rely on photographic evidence from members of the public. It is becoming increasingly common for drivers to have dashcams in their vehicles and for cyclists to have headcams on their helmets. Drivers and cyclists are encouraged under Operation Snap to make use of their videos of fellow road users who violate the law by sending it to the police. The videos the show very clearly a driver clicking or scrolling at the wheel in the case of using a handheld mobile phone, but the police will then face the problem of trying to decide, from the driver, what kind of use they were using the phone as well. The police would not be able to obtain a conviction using the cell phone offense unless the use contained an interactive communication feature. The disparity between interactive communication functions and standalone functions creates an immense dilemma for the police and undermines the mission of improving road safety.

The idea of the Government to address the problem mentioned above is to extend the current crime of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving to include drivers who perform standalone functions as well as drivers who perform interactive communication functions.

This means that all use of a hand-held mobile phone will be treated in the same way. If a driver is using a hand-held mobile phone to search for music already downloaded onto the phone, the physical manipulation, the cognitive demands, and the averted eyes are no different, in terms of risk, from a driver who is typing out and sending a text message. They both constitute an enormous risk and they should both be penalized in the same way. The proposal will still apply only in circumstances where a driver picks up the phone to use it while driving; any change we make to the law on the use of hand-held mobile phones arising from this consultation will not affect the use of mobile phones which are positioned in a cradle and used while remaining in the cradle (for example as a satnav).

This will make enforcement much easier. A police officer will be able to see a driver holding and tapping and scrolling a phone, and, based on that evidence, will be able to take enforcement action under the new proposed mobile phone offense rather than having to question the driver about whether the use involved interactive communication.

Activities falling within the offense now - "interactive communication" functions The driver holds the mobile phone or similar device in the hand to:

• Make a phone call

• Receive a phone call

• Send a text message

• Send an e-mail

• Access social media sites

• Access streaming services

Activities that will be captured under the revised offense. The driver holds the mobile phone or similar device in the hand to:

• Illuminate the screen

• Unlock the device

• Check the time

• Check notifications

• Reject a call

• Compose text messages or e-mails to save in drafts

• Take photos or videos

• Use the phone's camera as a mirror

• Search for music stored on the phone

• Search for photos or other images stored in the phone

• Dictate voice messages into the phone

• Read a book downloaded on the phone

• Play a game downloaded on the phone

Trump's FCC Nominee Wants to Fight Social Media Censorship

In June, Trump issued an executive order designed to prevent online censorship. The order "requests that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarify that Section 230 does not permit social media companies that alter or editorialize users' speech to escape civil liability."

Trump nominates Nathan Simington to Federal CommunThe petition also requests the FCC to clarify when an online platform curates content in "good faith," and requests transparency requirements on their moderation practices.

Simington would take the place of FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who describes himself as "extremely dedicated to First Amendment" and—unlike some of his colleagues—has declined to be a total Trump bootlicker. Trump had nominated O'Rielly for a third term as an FCC commissioner until O'Rielly gave a speech critical of Trump administration tech and speech policy in July. The White House promptly announced that it was pulling O'Rielly's nomination.

But Thune wants Trump to renominate commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who has hinted he would go against the president's executive order. A bill currently before the FCC would give tech companies the right to censor its users with a small risk of facing legal consequences.

TikTok Uses Data on US Citizens to Censor Speech Deemed Sensitive by the Chinese government

The Trump administration expressed concerns that the hugely popular app could be used as a spying tool by Beijing. Authorities also fear that it could be leveraged to collect personal data on US citizens or to censor speech deemed sensitive by the Chinese government.

TikTok, the short-form video app that’s been downloaded 1.5 billion times, is one of the most exciting and goofiest places on the internet, and possibly the only truly fun social media network in 2019. It is also based in China — and that’s the part that has some users, and now, politicians, concerned.

The concern of US politicians about TikTok started with a Guardian investigation published on September 25, which revealed leaked documents that showed TikTok instructing its moderators to censor videos that listed subjects that were sensitive to the Communist Party of China: for example, Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, and the Falun Gong religious community. The Guardian's investigation came after the Washington Post reported that a search on TikTok for Hong Kong-related topics revealed virtually zero material about the ongoing and widely publicized pro-democracy demonstrations, which at the time had been a major subject on other social media sites.

“Security experts have voiced concerns that China’s vague patchwork of intelligence, national security, and cybersecurity laws compel Chinese companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” read the letter, addressed to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. “Without an independent judiciary to review requests made by the Chinese government for data or other actions, there is no legal mechanism for Chinese companies to appeal if they disagree with a request.”

Net Neutrality was a long-debated topic before the Coronavirus hit.   

Read more examples of how the Government and Big Tech are censoring free speech. 

How Does Cell Phone Contact Tracing Work?

Contact tracing is part of the process of supporting patients and warning contacts of exposure in order to stop chains of transmission. It works by logging when two people have been in close proximity to each other for a substantial period of time. If one of the users is later diagnosed as having the disease, an alert can be sent to others they have recently been close to, telling them that they should also get tested and/or self-isolate.

The Apple-Google model carries the process out on the handsets themselves, making it more difficult for the authorities or potential hackers to de-anonymize the records and use them for other means.

Digital contact tracing replaces at least some of those interviews with technology. Especially in South Korea and China, it's been an effective way to keep infections down. (South Korea is finally down to zero local infections.) But the successful approaches used elsewhere rely on a level of trust in authority and giving up privacy, which may not be acceptable in the individualistic United States.

Your mobile phone carrier can track your location at all times, by analyzing cell tower connections. This depends on the cell signal strength.  In South Korea, when someone is diagnosed with COVID-19, those tower hits are being shared with local governments, which combine them with CCTV footage, credit card receipts, and interviews, and broadcast the results on the web and through text messaging.

Bluetooth-based contact-tracing apps such as Singapore's TraceTogether rely on phones running the app in the background, searching for nearby Bluetooth devices also running the app—that's how Apple's AirDrop works. Phones can roughly determine the distance between each other based on Bluetooth signal strength; recent iPhones can also use their U1 ultra-wideband chips to figure out their proximity to each other. Unlike the network and QR-code-based solutions, Bluetooth-based apps drain your phone's battery.

Is Apple Creating Bugs To Trick People Into Buying New Phones?

When Will Congress & EU Investigate Apple for Antitrust Issues About Purposely Creating Bugs to Trick People Into Buying New iPhones?

Have you ever asked yourself why your iphone keeps crashing every October or November before the Christmas shopping season?   I think this coincidence of this annual phenomenon is actually done on purpose by Apple secretly to trick people into thinking that they need to buy new phones.  

Apple has created an amazing business through planned obsolescence but ever since Steve Jobs passed away they have not innovated enough that would entice most frugal people enough into buying the latest new iphones.   I think Apple knows this and is not purposely creating bugs in the iOS operating system to make people think their phone is defective.   If the truth was ever was to be investigated and discovered I think this could destroy about half of the companies market capitalization.  Watch Apple's stock if you ever start to hear about an investigation like this.  

If you understand the software business it is not hard to imagine why Apple wouldn't purposely create bugs in their operating system to trick people into thinking their phone is now defective.  Everyone I talk with who owns an iPhone thinks they need to buy the latest iPhone hardware in order for their phones to continue working.  

The Android World is much difference and Google does a much better job of releasing updates and that are consistent with the phone hardware.  You can use an Android phone for many years after a phone is released.  However, older iPhones seem to get bloated with worthless software and bugs that seem to crash and clutter phones with things you really don't need.  

Another thing that Android does is allow you to offload photos to Google Photos easily for minimal costs and doesn't scam you into thinking you need to buy iCloud storage to backup.  This is such a scam by Apple.  If you are a sophisticated iPhone user having Google Photos backup and remove all of your photos is essential so you don't have to use Apple's worthless iCloud storage.  

Would love some Apple supporters to comment on this below.  

Could 5G Small Cells Cause Cancer?

Restrictions on 5G small cell site deployments could complicate 5G’s upcoming nationwide rollout.

Trump: Do We Need 1,700 FCC Employees?

Agency overview
Employees	1,720
Annual budget	US $388 million (FY 2016, requested)
Agency executive	Thomas Wheeler, Chairman
Website	www.fcc.gov

In staffing his FCC transition team, President-elect Donald Trump has tapped a pair of American Enterprise Institute (AEI) vets and free market de-regulators in Jeffrey Eisenach and Mark Jamison.  Do these guys actually understand what is going on with spectrum hoarding?

It is very important to keep radio spectrum allocation independent of day-to-day political pressures.  Traditionally even deregulatory Republicans conceded there needs to be some spectrum cop on the beat.  But who is actually doing the policing?   Shouldn't we have a free market for spectrum licensing in smaller markets where customers are getting screwed with no coverage?

FCC regulation is about disappointing people at a rate that they can endure. 

Cell Phone Consumers Pay Over $17 Billion in Taxes & Fees Each Year

Cell Phone Taxes By State

18.6% of the average wireless customer’s bill goes to federal and state taxes and fees. Put another way, a family of four that pays $100 a month for their cell phone plan will pay about $225 a year in taxes, fees, and government surcharges. Most customers pay a variety of fees on their wireless bills, including federally mandated charges, plus state and local taxes — as well as surcharges imposed by the carriers as a way to recover the costs of divvying up the money to the required agencies.

Tax Foundation found that American wireless customers annually pay approximately $17.2 billion in taxes, fees, and government surcharges. The biggest chunk of that, about $7 billion, goes to sales taxes, while over $5 billion is paid as part of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) surcharges.  Read More