Interesting video EPA going after companies for non complient parts and upgrades..

[Cadillac Fan]

1 hour ago, JACK M said:

 

Some wise guy once told me that for dependability "Stock works best". I am good with that.

That is no longer the case with new diesel trucks.  The DPF and EGR re-introduce the particulates  back into the engine and really gunk up the engine .  And it is major money to fix.  Most people delete not for power gains but to prevent replacement of these and other parts caused from the reintroduction of these particulates into the engine. 

 

 

 

This is an informative podcast on where we are an when this started. 

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by Cadillac Fan (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

32 minutes ago, JACK M said:

Some wise guy once told me that for dependability "Stock works best". I am good with that.

Applies in most applications I think except a few.  The 6.0 Liter Ford is one of those.  So much that Ford and Navistar had quite a spat over it.  My diesel Friend has done a couple hundred 6.0 litres and only one came back.  With a 6.0 it's not if , but when you will have to do the heads. 

[padgett]

Had a diesel RV (Vixen). Now glad I sold it.

[John348]

2 hours ago, auburnseeker said:

As far as I know it's still down state but if you revert to the other posts,  once they get an inch they will take a mile,  so expect at some point it will spread.  That's why I speak up when I hear something in CA that I wouldn't want to see happen here,  because it's often too late to do anything once it has taken hold elsewhere. 

I would suspect you would know if your vehicle is subject to that type of emission inspection. I do appreciate your being an advocate for myself and others subjected to the downstate DEMA inspection,(and for that matter even those people in California, you are fighting for}, but it really is not a big deal here. Vehicles have been much more efficient, safer, and produced lower emissions progressively over the past 40 years, so why the sudden surprise? I remember buying a Chevrolet camshaft in the early 80's and it was marked all over the box "off road use only" and yes, It was problem then to figure out how to get it through downstate emission's in NYS, is it any different then a tuning box today? 

 

I am not too worried about "they" because I put aluminum foil over my XM radio antenna, and "they" will never know where I am, I read it on a bathroom wall, or was that the internet? Either way same thing

 

Randy, ya gotta lighten up man,  

[auburnseeker]

2 hours ago, John348 said:

Randy, ya gotta lighten up man,  

From what I have seen in the last year it's hard to lighten up.  I just trudge on. 

They took my car shows away and lots of other personal freedoms.  Every day I turn on the news to see what new right someone is trying to strip away.  Then, I watch what seem like issues with simple solutions get mishandled and so distorted that you need some good Acid from woodstock to make sense of what's going on.

I try to buy land advertised for sale with signs all over from my neighbor and he plays crazy games about pricing.  Had to have 3 meetings and make a couple of offers before he finally gave me his price. (that wasn't even the asking price, we never did get that out of him)   Now that's for only half the land and leaves out the other half that borders us also listed for sale according to the signs, all while  saying well he's got a down state developer who is interested. 

Seeing the way stuff is selling around here,  yup that can get me uneasy.  Last thing I want is a house in my back yard that someone with a chip on their shoulder owns. 

We won't get into the 2 adopted kids from hell.   There is a Mental issue called R.A.D.  Look it up,  you will understand things a whole lot more.  Yup the stories you read parents of rad kids post are real.  Hard to believe if you dom't experience it yourself and I wish that on no one.  Especially someone who was just trying to give to needy kids a good home. 

 

Yup got a few things to keep me on edge. 

 

[Larry Schramm]

8 hours ago, auburnseeker said:

Once you give them an inch they take a mile.  Don't be surprised the day when they can remotely access the data and send you a ticket for the stretch your car recorded you speeding in.   

After last year I will never say there are things they won't do.  

 

"They" can download the data right now without you knowing.  Even while you are driving down the road.  The only time that I think data can not be downloaded is if the vehicle is in a garage.  

 

"They" are just not pulling that data now to write tickets.........yet.

[padgett]

Back in the day it was common to replace the 27C256 in a GM computer with a 27C512 and connect a switch to the excess address line. ON it had the fun tune, OFF it was stock.

 

Thought: unlawful search and seizure.

[edinmass]

FYI - on accessing the information on a cars computer memory, including the cameras that are on cars like Tesla, and the interactive driving cameras on most BMW’s and the such. One of the leading top authorities on electronic information and its use in the courts happens to be active here. I called and asked him specific questions about who and how the information could be accessed. Rest assured, it can be gotten to using the usual legal procedures. Thus, driving a modern car with all its processors and memory from vehicle information, you may actually expose yourself to prosecution and civil liability due to the fact the information will be available in the event of some unforeseen accident or intentional event. Who would have thought driving old cars may be better to protect yourself from the government and lawsuits than a modern car with all its ‘safety features’.

1 hour ago, padgett said:

 

Thought: unlawful search and seizure.

Nope......easily accessible. Ask Tiger Woods. Soon the info will be sent by telemetry.........to assist with traffic control and other such rubbish. Access to the information has long ago been litigated and established.

 

 

[AL1630]

2 hours ago, edinmass said:

FYI - on accessing the information on a cars computer memory, including the cameras that are on cars like Tesla, and the interactive driving cameras on most BMW’s and the such. One of the leading top authorities on electronic information and its use in the courts happens to be active here. I called and asked him specific questions about who and how the information could be accessed. Rest assured, it can be gotten to using the usual legal procedures. Thus, driving a modern car with all its processors and memory from vehicle information, you may actually expose yourself to prosecution and civil liability due to the fact the information will be available in the event of some unforeseen accident or intentional event. Who would have thought driving old cars may be better to protect yourself from the government and lawsuits than a modern car with all its ‘safety features’.

Nope......easily accessible. Ask Tiger Woods. Soon the info will be sent by telemetry.........to assist with traffic control and other such rubbish. Access to the information has long ago been litigated and established.

 

 

Now I'm thinking I'm ok with driving a car with an AM radio as the most sophisticated communications tech in it.

Never understood the appeal of having all kinds of connectivity in your car, my cell phone can do most of it anyway. Except tell on me when I hit 36 in a 35 zone... so far.

[padgett]

OK so only alternative is to disconnect the telemetry (antennas). AFAIK analog phones no longer work.

[ply33]

1 hour ago, AL1630 said:

Now I'm thinking I'm ok with driving a car with an AM radio as the most sophisticated communications tech in it.

Never understood the appeal of having all kinds of connectivity in your car, my cell phone can do most of it anyway. Except tell on me when I hit 36 in a 35 zone... so far.

Actually, with the appropriate app your smart phone can tell you when you hit 36 in a 35 zone so you are not missing out on that either.

[zepher]

5 minutes ago, ply33 said:

Actually, with the appropriate app your smart phone can tell you when you hit 36 in a 35 zone so you are not missing out on that either.

 

You don't even need an app on your phone to have this information.

Hint: your phone is actively listening and reporting ALL data back to various servers whether you know it or not.

[padgett]

Unless you have a phone that does not have a GPS. Wrapping with a wet towel won't work but wrapping with tinfoil may.

[ply33]

12 hours ago, zepher said:

You don't even need an app on your phone to have this information.

Hint: your phone is actively listening and reporting ALL data back to various servers whether you know it or not.

My previous comment was to the effect that could get alerts for going 36 MPH in a 35 MPH zone in an older car by using your phone. There are a number of "off line" navigation apps I know of that provide this feature.

 

But as long as you bring it up. . . Yes, smartphones are basically tracking devices reporting back to the manufacturers and many/most of the app developers.

 

I am amused by the fear that some have that a vaccine could have micro chips for tracking in it. First that would add to the cost (and there is a shortage of chip manufacturing at the moment). Second, the microscopic size of such a device would severely limit its power and RF capabilities, so they'd have to be tracking you from inches to maybe a few feet away which seems pointless. Third, why would "they" bother with the effort and expense when nearly every one is spending their own money to buy and carry around a tracking device (cellphone) anyway.

 

1 hour ago, padgett said:

Unless you have a phone that does not have a GPS. Wrapping with a wet towel won't work but wrapping with tinfoil may.

GPS is a receive only technology. Having GPS in a phone doesn't directly make the phone a good tracker. What makes GPS a good tracker is that the location data it provides can be sent back to the app developers (or more likely the developers of the libraries the app developers use) via the data or WiFi connection.

 

Even without a GPS, a phone is a pretty good tracker: If a phone is powered up and not in "airplane mode" then it is either connected to a cell site or trying to connect to a cell site. Your mobile phone carrier can see that at their end and they know a number of things: Which antennas of which cell sites can see your phone and a pretty good distance measure (based on timing) from the tower(s) to your phone. With that they can trilaterate (like triangulation but with distances rather than angles) your location. In a suburban/urban environment with lots of cell towers that can be very accurate. In fact, it is supposed to be accurate so if you dial 911 they can give a good location to the police/fire/ambulance people. In rural areas, especially mountainous areas, the position can be way off which is a problem search and rescue people run into a lot.

 

On a smaller geographical scale, it you have Bluetooth turned on then there are trackers that retailers are putting into stores that can detect that and track you around the store (sharing the data with data brokers of course). So they know you slow down and spend more time in the tool section of the store and even stop by the air compressors but walk right past the children's clothing area.

 

And if you have WiFi enabled, your phone may be broadcasting information about networks it knows about. So a piece of sniffing software on an appropriate device can know that you have connected to the WiFi at MacDonalds or StarBucks and what your home WiFi network name is (tying your phone back to a small set of real people to correlate with). On the other end, apps on your phone can learn about the WiFi networks your phone sees and from that determine where your are located even without GPS. Newer phones have some protections against some of this but I wouldn't bet that all phones are secure from these attacks yet.

 

Wrapping the phone in tinfoil could help to the extent that it interferes with your phone connecting to cell towers and/or other RF devices. But it would be easier to simply turn the phone off. And if you are really paranoid and the phone design supports it, remove the battery. Or better yet, simply don't own a cellphone.

 

Re-reading the above, I guess I am sounding a bit like a tin foil hat person. I do have a smart phone. I do leave it on with WiFi and Bluetooth enabled. But I also have it set so that all data to and from it goes through a VPN I control that does ad and tracker blocking so any information gathered about me can't be easily monetized. And monetization is what it is all about.
 

[zepher]

AP Exclusive: Google tracks your movements, like it or not

https://apnews.com/article/828aefab64d4411bac257a07c1af0ecb

 

Google Data Collection

https://digitalcontentnext.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DCN-Google-Data-Collection-Paper.pdf

 

Quote

At the same time that Apple was fighting with the FBI over the lack of a backdoor into the iPhone, Google dropped one of the last privacy protections, officially removing a policy that kept personally identifiable web history separate from other data. A year later, it was discovered that Google could track cell phones even when location services are turned off. A study by a professor at Vanderbilt found Google’s phones transmit significantly more data back to Google servers, and much more frequently, when compared to Apple's iPhone. Google's Android phone made a request to communicate with Google servers every 1.5 minutes.

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by zepher (see edit history)

[padgett]

Exactly. And many Samsung phones do not have a removable battery. Suppose you could carry several SIMs, can it communicate anything useful without a SIM ? Is the IP MAC address held elsewhere ?

 

Amazon has a wide choice of faraday bags.

[zepher]

The MAC address is tied to the hardware not the sim card.

A faraday bag would be your best bet to prevent transmissions.

 

As a side note: if your modern car has a push button start it would behoove you to put your remotes in a faraday bag when you're at home.

This will prevent someone from scanning for signals and grabbing the signal your fobs are putting out.

A thief may not be able to start your car with the signals they grab but they can open the car without setting off the alarm.

[ply33]

2 hours ago, zepher said:

The MAC address is tied to the hardware not the sim card.

A faraday bag would be your best bet to prevent transmissions.

 

As a side note: if your modern car has a push button start it would behoove you to put your remotes in a faraday bag when you're at home.

This will prevent someone from scanning for signals and grabbing the signal your fobs are putting out.

A thief may not be able to start your car with the signals they grab but they can open the car without setting off the alarm.

Yeah. I've read there are wireless repeaters specifically designed to extend the range of the RF on the "keyless ignition" FOBs. The idea being that if you've left the FOB reasonably close to the garage it can make the car think your are next to the car so the thief can open it and maybe even start it.

 

I keep my spare "keyless entry" fob in a small tin can, like that which some candies come in. I haven't tested it to see how good a Faraday cage it makes but I believe it should greatly attenuate any RF signals. I never bothered at the old house as the master bedroom was quite a distance from the garage but my current house has the master bedroom closet with the drawer I keep the spare keys in against the garage wall so it seemed like a good idea.

[padgett]

Been a concern for a very long time and a lot of knowledge developed. See TEMPEST. Once had trouble entering a SCIF when RF was traced to my hearing aids (VA issue).