Spying phone remote control via TV Ad - What do you folks make of this?

[Rick Law]

What do you folks think?  For real or exaggeration?

Quote from article published May 8, 2017 in The Sun, UK

Secret messages hidden in TV adverts can order smartphones to spy on people, researchers warn

Popular apps downloaded by millions of people are always on the look out for clandestine broadcasts which order them to begin snooping on citizens
...
The spy apps use software called Silverpush which is designed to listen for “audio beacons” which humans cannot hear.
...
Researchers from the Braunschweig University of Technology visited 35 high street stores ... four were secretly broadcasting these signals.
...
They did not manage to find television advertisements which used the “beacons”, but said Silverpush has patented software designed to listen out for messages broadcast through the telly.

This means the technology could be used in the coming years.

^{Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/3507251/secret-messages-hidden-in-television-adverts-can-order-smartphones-to-spy-on-people-researchers-warn/}

[rdl]

Seems pretty real. Luckily, I have no need for a "smartphone".

https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/05/theres-a-spike-in-android-apps-that-covertly-listen-for-inaudible-sounds-in-ads/

I wonder how difficult it is to block the ultrasonics from getting through the microphone.

[Bud]

I have no need for a TV.

[P90]

no one really does...

[AndyC_772]

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/20/silverpush_soundwave_ad_tracker/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2016/03/21/silverpush-tv-mobile-ad-tracking-killed/#64f2217c51ab

[rdl]

Wow, do people actually read what some of these "apps" are permitted to do with their phones?

[rdl]

If?
Untrusted?

Almost a year after app developer SilverPush vowed to kill its privacy-threatening software that used inaudible sound embedded into TV commercials to covertly track phone users, the technology is more popular than ever, with more than 200 Android apps that have been downloaded millions of times from the official Google Play market, according to a recently published research paper.

Okay, maybe those researchers are wrong.

[madires]

Nothing new, see http://ubeacsec.org/ for more details.

[CJay]

'OK Google'

'nuff said.

[tszaboo]

Thats OK. I dont have an android phone and I dont watch ads on TV. In fact my TV is just a big VOD screen.

[Jeroen3]

They tried tracking using the MAC address, but phones started randomizing them when not connected. So they move on, who didn't expect it?

[stj]

the best way to stop people tracking you is to use a steel pipe.
 

[Red Squirrel]

This spying stuff is getting so ridiculous.   Seems a lot of it depends on having a smart phone, such as this case.

I text a lot to communicate with my family, if it was not for that I'd consider getting rid of my smart phone.   

Wish there was an open source smart phone that gives you better control.  Such as turning off the mic physically when not in use, and not having all the google crap or other spying stuff running in the background all the time.

[Deridex]

For me it seems like they try everything to track a user. for me it looks like they did not learn from the past years of increasing adblocker usage.

At least my smartphone allows me to deny the permission to use the microphone for apps ... and i use this feature.

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

better control.  Such as turning off the mic physically when not in use

To be safe you'd have to physically disconnect the speaker as well.

[rdl]

You don't really need a "smartphone" to use text messaging.

It's also worth noting that this technology may not necessarily be limited to television. If all it requires (other than the phone and app) is that the advertising have an audible component, then there are lots of other possible uses.

[CJay]

I'd also add that those tones could easily be used by YouTube, Netflix, Amazon etc. etc. etc.

They could, I suppose, also be used to track pirate copies of films, seed the torrent sites (are torrents still used?) with copies of media that's been 'stamped' with those tones and have the phone report back owner details (and yes, it's got potential flaws, my phone could 'hear' a dodgy copy of a film by accident etc. etc.)

[free_electron]

That is an old technique. That is how Arbitron works. Every radio / tv program sends out a signature tone. A listening devices picks up what you are listening to and watching. This is reported back to compile the tv and radio ratings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_People_Meter

[CJay]

Interesting, I had never heard of Arbitron.

I suppose it's an evolution then if it can snag the GPS/Cell coordinates of the viewer/listener

[Cyberdragon]

Ultrasonics? O Really?

1) mute button

2) dog whistle, system jammed

3) power off the phone

4) Scope it, replicate it, pocket it, now you have a fake-data bomb/jammer

EDIT: Oh, and you can get an easy ultrasound signal from the 19KHz stereo carrier in FM radio, just modify a stereo to emit this signal and you have a jammer.

[james_s]

Smart phones are fine, I love mine. The thing is, they're a computer and like any computer you have to be sensible about what you install on it. When it comes to apps, if you're not paying for it then you're not the customer, you're the product. Either it will serve you ads or it will harvest your data. Armed with a little knowledge and some common sense your phone is not going to spy on you.

[rdl]

From the article on Ars, I saw a post with the permissions that are set for the McDonalds app on Google Play. They seemed a bit ridiculous to me, but when I checked for myself it appears correct. Whether the app actually does any of what it has permission to do is not stated. I find it hard to believe people actually use this kind of garbage, but apparently millions do.

Version 5.4.0 can:

    find accounts on the device
    add or remove accounts
    find accounts on the device
    approximate location (network-based)
    precise location (GPS and network-based)
    access extra location provider commands
    read phone status and identity
    read the contents of your USB storage
    modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
    take pictures and video
    view Wi-Fi connections
    read phone status and identity
    read sync statistics
    receive data from Internet
    view network connections
    create accounts and set passwords
    connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi
    full network access
    use accounts on the device
    prevent device from sleeping
    toggle sync on and off
    set an alarm
    read Google service configuration

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mcdonalds.app&hl=en

[Gyro]

I use a basic Nokia phone for voice and text and an old Palm TX for my offline pocketable computing needs (plus a bluetooth GPS module). They can go **** 

[free_electron]

it's not ultrasound or other magic kerjiggery. they simply embed a tone sequence in the audiostream. we silly humans don't even notice it. a simple dsp algorithm can listen for it. so if one were to make an app that runs on a smartphone and has access to the microphone array it could detect this easily. the arbitron ( now owned by nielsen) uses a simple dspic to do the work.

[Seekonk]

A Canadian company was using smart phones to collect data on vibrator use.  And Canadians seem so nice!

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/are-we-getting-a-little-too-'connected'/msg1164601/#msg1164601