joelamosobadiah wrote:I have a lot more important things I wouldn't want the wrong people to have than a history of places I've been before. If they really want to find out when I'm at home an when I'm not, there's much easier ways than stealing my computer/phone.
Its only a history of where your PHONE has been.
Yeah, my phone goes lots of places I'd never frequent. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Range Rule: "The front gate lock is not an acceptable target." Never Forget.
I'd worry some stalker dude gets ahold or builds that device the police use, or something similar, like if a girl is at a club, gives Mr. annoying a fake number and he turns the device in his pocket on and gets all your info and runs to your house so when you get home he greets you.
I'd be demanding answers and better security from phone makers..and I'd put some "shielding" inside and outside my phone's case and devise a shielded antenna case to stop any RF............except then ........ it would never ring ... but, that might be a good thing ...
I'm no lawyer
"Never show your hole card" "Always have something in reserve"
It's interesting seeing all the half-baked (and some down right untrue) stories being published out there. Just to set the record straight...
1) The data is NOT uploaded to Apple. The file resides on the phone and is transferred to the computer when iTunes takes a backup. Network traffic analysis has proven that at no point is the data ever uploaded to Apple. The only reason it's placed on the computer during a backup is because, well, it's a backup! All iPhone settings are placed copied to the computer when a backup is performed.
2) This file is nothing new or secret. The file has existed prior to iOS 4 under a different name (h-cells.plist) and in a different location on the phone. Some "discovery", huh.
3) This "discovery" (regarding the consolidated.db file, not the pre-iOS 4.x h-cells.plist) was actually documented in a book called 'iOS Forensic Analysis for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch' which was published in December, 2010.
4) If you use the utility created by Mr. Warden (one of the researchers who "recently discovered" this), you'll find that the file does not actually store your location data at all. Instead, it records a list of WiFi Hot Spots and Access Points, as well as a list of cell towers, in the area around the device. The iPhone has, and has had since the iPhone 3G, a GPS receiver chip in it. With that chip the iPhone could be recording it's GPS location. Yet it doesn't. For one thing, it's illegal under California law and Apple is based in California.
And before anyone thinks to remind me that the iPhone requires a data connection in order to use GPS, I'd like to point out that it is actually the MAPS that is using the data services, not the GPS itself. If you have a maps app that stores it's maps locally (a terrible waste of space on a mobile device though), then the GPS can and will pull up your accurate location.
By the way, for those iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users who are concerned about this, I suggest you take the following steps to encrypt your device and your backups:
On the iOS Device
1) Tap Settings
2) Tap General
3) Tap Passcode Lock
4) Tap 'Turn Passcode On'
5) You will be prompted to create a passcode
6) Check the small gray text under the 'Erase Data' setting. It should say "Data protection is enabled"
In iTunes (MAc or PC)
1) Open iTunes
2) Connect your device to the computer
3) On the left sidebar of iTunes you will see your device appear under 'Devices'. Click on the name of the device (i.e. - RottenApple's iPhone)
4) On the right (main window) place a checkmark in the box "Encrypt iPhone Backup".
5) When prompted, enter in a password
You might also want to delete old, unencrypted backups as well by going to Edit > Preferences > Devices (on PC) or iTunes > Preferences > Devices (on Mac).
RPB wrote:I'd worry some stalker dude gets ahold or builds that device the police use, or something similar, like if a girl is at a club, gives Mr. annoying a fake number and he turns the device in his pocket on and gets all your info and runs to your house so when you get home he greets you.
I'd be demanding answers and better security from phone makers..and I'd put some "shielding" inside and outside my phone's case and devise a shielded antenna case to stop any RF............except then ........ it would never ring ... but, that might be a good thing ...
This might be cheaper:
Oh and good accurate information and steps to encrypt RottenApple
