Not sure why it's a surprise; you're throwing the information out there. If you use public wifi just think how much more about you they can/will/do find out.
I know one company (not mine and not local) who the tracking came as a side effect of how they implemented PCI-DSS #10; they use heavily secured wireless pos equipment, their A/P's logged anybody walking in and picking up their broadcast....so they started analyzing the logs and found some trends across locations. They were able to thwart a robbery with the technology though. > On Dec 24, 2013, at 0:26, "Joey Kelly" <j...@joeykelly.net> wrote: > > On 12/24/2013 12:21 AM, Joey Kelly wrote: >>> From William B. Davis (on facebook): > > > Original story: > http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/holiday-shopping-privacy-technology-101395.html > >> >> "Retailers track your smartphone when you enter their store. They track >> your movements through the store and keep a database with your unique id >> called a MAC address. Every computer has one including smartphones >> because they are networkable just like your home computer Then they can >> monitor your return trips as well. To prevent this turn off your >> Bluetooth and wifi." >> >> Scary indeed. I wonder how legal it is. >> >> My analysis: >> >> I hadn't considered big-box stores sniffing for bluetooth and/or wifi. >> Makes perfect sense, I guess. They might even be able to map your MAC >> address to your purchase details and thus your identity, if they're >> clever, by timing your stay at the cash register. I wonder what >> percentage of users keep those two interfaces turned on, and what kind >> of ROI the stores enjoy. >> >> It's also possible to track cell devices directly via their GSM or CDMA >> interface, regardless of whether bluetooth or wifi is turned on. >> Equipment to receive cell signals isn't COTS by any means, and the risk >> of getting sued by providers or fined by the FCC is much greater than >> just recording wifi MAC addresses, since cell transmissions are licensed >> and highly regulated, whereas bluetooth and wifi live in unlicensed >> spectrum. > > > -- > Joey Kelly > Minister of the Gospel and Linux Consultant > http://joeykelly.net > 504-239-6550 > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > General@brlug.net > http://brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net _______________________________________________ General mailing list General@brlug.net http://brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net
