Senators Propose Federal 'Kill Switch' Bill
Hmmm
these free apps able to wipe your phone if you lost the phone. but if the theif just reset your phone or flash a new OS/firmware, they able to use it.
the Kill Switch is like your car key, if the thief stole your car, they wont able to start the engine without the owner key. yeah, you can hot-wire the older cars, but it wont work on the newer cars.
And here's a few more wrinkles I bet they've never considered. Suppose I buy, say, a GS4 from AT&T. So that means that AT&T has the power to deactivate it, right? Now, suppose someone steals it and pops in a T-Mobile SIM before I can call AT&T and report it stolen. Now what? The easy answer here is that it doesn't matter which network it's on; AT&T can still deactivate it. OK then, what if I, the owner, decide to switch from AT&T to T-Mobile? Now, who has the kill switch? Do I then need to have AT&T somehow transfer this to T-Mobile? But w...
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go to settings -> About device -> Status, write down the phone IMEI number. It doesnt matter how many times you reset your phone, or how many times you re-flash the phone with new rom, this IMEI is unchangeable, it stays the same.
This Kill Switch is the same, maybe it' a 10 digits, or 16 digits unique numbers. You cant change this numbers by reset phone, or flash new rom, this numbers stay the same just like your IMEI numbers, it never change. Only the wireless carrier know this number and you (provided to you inside the phone box). When you reset your phone, flash new rom, insert different sim card, it will STUCK at "Enter Kill Switch" code until you en...
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Also, it doesn't matter if this number can't be changed. There has still got to be some software in the device that will enable the kill switch to work, and software can be changed. It'll either be erased, or, if it's hard-coded in so it can't be erased, then software will be added to keep it from operating properly, which will accomplish the same thing. However, I would doubt that any manufacturer is going to hard-code this software in, simply because, if they did, there would be no way to fix bugs, which always appear. There is absolutely no way that a company like Samsung...
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if samsung able to hard code IMIE numbers on each phone, what so difficult to hard code another Kill Switch numbers on each phone? When you sell your phone to someone, you dont need to keep the original box, just give them the Kill Switch numbers. if you forgotten this Kill Switch numbers, just call your wireless carriers cus they have this numbers on their data base.
just like you upgrade from android 4.2 to 4.3 or 4.4, your phone IMIE numbers stay the same. Kill Switch number will stay the same, cant change this number.
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talking about bugs, they just going to release "updates", like updates on your windows desktop, this doesnt effect the Kill switch numbers, it stays the same.
Just about every security measure on an electronic device out there has been cracked, and, once that exploit is found, it's posted everywhere. If something like this is deployed, I can guarantee you that someone will immediately go to work on cracking it, and I can also guarantee that they'll succeed.
Colombianmax said:
I could have used this law last year lol. I did not read the entire article but I wonder how this would work out for those who purchase their phones used, would they need a bill of sale to show their service provider?
Next thing you know, smartphones will have a title and you'll have register them like a dang car.
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