ve3... wrote:
I have heard from a usually reliable source ( he usually pays for my
coffee) that new computers, television sets, cellphones and cable
boxes are fitted with audio devices that can listen to what is said in
the area and transmit the audio to a monitoring center. Certainly the
Onstar has this potential and so do cellphones. The source says that
there is a little subassembly on the mainboard as they have not yet
integrated the listening device in the mainboard of a computer.
Supposedly you can disconnect this device to ensure privacy. It is
supposedly required by Homeland security so they can listen in to
terrorists etc, but it responds to key words a la Eschalon to determine
public trends. All my equipment is too old to have such a thing and I
wonder if anyone has heard of this or is it just an urban myth. I think
my 8-track is safe. My first reaction is to think that the audio would
be too muffled and echoed to be of much use. I know that someone ( I
think Sony) has developed a picture tube that will produce a picture
and transmit the room image at the same time. There can only be one
purpose for this device.



First, it's ECHELON.

BTW, if you look up both ECHELON and CARNIVORE, there's some great
information there.

Second, the On-Star device may, indeed listen in to the interior of
the vehicle. It's not something that's left to the discretion of the
On-Star operator, and requires an instrument of authority to activate,
although, like nearly everything abuses are possible. Activating the
On-Star system, though, does alert the driver that the system is listening.


Third, authority can, indeed listen to cellphones, intercept e-mail,
VoIP conversations, and audio/video chats. That's just the way it is,
today. And there are some trojans that have been released into the wild
that activate webcams and microphones without the users's knowledge or
consent.

That said, there are no daughterboards being installed in CPU's,
television sets, radio that listen to, monitor and rebroadcast your
activities.

Cable boxes, are something different. Cable boxes have, for a very
long time, reported back to the cable company what you watch, when you
watch it, and with the new generation of cable boxes containing DVRs,
they now report what you record, when you play it back; when, if, and
how often you pause and replay live TV, and the content you replay. And
with ratings services now using the so called people meters to ehance
accuracy of the surveys, they also can keep track of the number of
people in the room during any activity.

But to date, there is no listening device in the cable box.

Though, given the cable company's broad discretion to gather, use and
abuse personal information, I'm not going to say that this is to be
ruled out entirely.

So, you may upgrade your audio gear, your TV and your entertainment
electronics in comfort--step into the 90's, as you will--secure in the
knowledge, that, at least for now, you may speak your mind in your own
home without fear of repercussion.

But I would be very careful about doing so with someone else in the
room. The times, they are a-changing.