ON Star monitoring data, even after you cancel the subscription.

[GostHacked]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/onstar-gm-privacy-terms-company-record-car-information/story?id=14581571

OnStar, the service started by General Motors to support drivers through a cell phone system in their cars, has now told customers it may collect information on their movements and driving habits -- even if they no longer subscribe to the service. The notice went out quietly; the response has been anything but.

Now that the dust has settled (a little), it's worth taking a look at this case, because observers say it illustrates the conflict over privacy, technology and what companies want you, their customers, to think of them.

I really love technology, however, the amount and types of technology used to keep us safe or protect us, is also the same technology that the government will use to snoop on you.

You are tracked by GPS on your smartphone. There have been incidents in the USA and Canada where teachers are spying on kids using school issued laptops that are taken home, on and on and on.

So how does one make sure their privacy is secure in this digital world? One answer is to not have ever used facebook!

[The_Squid]

I saw this about a week ago regarding Onstar.... I was never a subscriber. Seems a waste of money to me...

I have disconnected the power from the unit. They can no longer capture any data from my car.

Also, I wrapped the car in tinfoil in case they're watching me....

Edited September 29, 2011 by The_Squid

[GostHacked]

I saw this about a week ago regarding Onstar.... I was never a subscriber. Seems a waste of money to me...

I have disconnected the power from the unit. They can no longer capture any data from my car.

Even if you were not a subscriber, that data was collected prior to you disconnecting the device. If they collected it after someone cancels the subscription, I would easily say they collected it even if you had decided to opt out of the service.

[Bonam]

So how does one make sure their privacy is secure in this digital world? One answer is to not have ever used facebook!

By learning a bit about how things work and acting to keep the information that you want secure, secure.

[GostHacked]

By learning a bit about how things work and acting to keep the information that you want secure, secure.

That is becoming less and less secure in this digital world. The more things become connected the more issues you are going to see. I've been saying this for about 10 years now. And there is evidence more and more of it.

Unless you really understand the technology and how to secure your digital information, you are not secure. I am in IT and have been for about 10 years now, and I understand the technology, and there is no 100% safe way to secure data, even if it is an isolated system where your info is stored.

Some of you are aware of the security risk with cell phones??

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029-6140191.html

The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone's microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

The technique is called a "roving bug," and was approved by top U.S. Department of Justice officials for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques such as tailing a suspect or wiretapping him.

Now mind you this was against a mob boss, and, what is this!?? No warrant needed.

The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. He ruled that the "roving bug" was legal because federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect's cell phone.

Not just that, online social media is under the watchful eye of the FBI.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/191854/is_the_fbi_watching_your_every_move_on_facebook.html

It seems 2010 may be the year personal privacy makes a comeback -- that, or it's taking its final breath before it sinks into the tarpits. Every week brings news of some new affront to our personal data, accompanied by a backlash. Lately these stories have been bubbling up on an almost daily basis.

It started late last year, when Facebook arbitrarily changed its default privacy settings to make more of your profile information accessible to Google and other Facebook users. You could of course change those settings, but most people didn't. That earned Facebook a class-action suit and ongoing scrutiny by the FTC.

I am sure it was just a simple oversight by Facebook. /sarcasm.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/16/fbi-uses-fake-facebook-pr_n_500776.html

WASHINGTON — Maxi Sopo was having so much fun "living in paradise" in Mexico that he posted about it on Facebook so all his friends could follow his adventures. Others were watching, too: A federal prosecutor in Seattle, where Sopo was wanted on bank fraud charges.

I've heard about this a few times, where the FBI and even the military is making fake Facebook profiles to nab people. Be careful of who your 'friends' are. I will admit that many are quite ignorant to the technology and how it affects their privacy. This is part of the reason, many put so much useless garbage online in their profiles, and available for all to see. The more people put stuff up online about themselves, the less privacy they have, and the less secure their information is.

Any tech worth their weight, will not use facebook, and similar social media sites.

So, back to the ONstar bit. Unless you remove the box completely, they can, and will, and do listen in.