Ironically, you cannot find out if your car is affected unless you’re willing to share your VIN with the helpful folks at privacy4cars.com
So, since I don’t own a model specifically listed in the story and I value my privacy …
Edit: I was wrong, they would much rather I download their helpful app and use that software they’re implanting on my PHONE to help me re-assert my right to privacy 🤡
I just gave it a test run with a nonsense vin, to see if they wanted more info. they don’t. Your vin is not private information - its connection to you is (sort of, the dmv’s records are actually public). So if you cared to use this tool, just use a vpn and you’re all set.
It’s probably wise to assume everyone on the internet is out to get you. But to provide some kinds of tools online, you have to ask for information.
That’s why I’ll probably drive older cars the rest of my life.
👏 Do 👏 not 👏 buy 👏 smart 👏 stuff 👏
FTFY: 👏 Do 👏 not 👏 buy 👏 smart 👏 stuff 👏connected 👏to 👏the 👏 internet 👏
Nothing wrong with wanting smart stuff, as long as it doesn’t send your data. For example, I run all my home automation hardware on a local network that cannot speak to the web, yet I can control everything I want just as the next guy with his fancy Alexa, Google or whatever, but my house doesn’t leak as much data.
For cars this is still very difficult to do. The only way we can stop sharing as much data would be if we had legislation that would ban this type of information sharing/data mining. In Europe we tried barking, but we didn’t bite. The GDPR is a joke, forcing people to consent to cookies, net result is nothing. They should have banned data mining, fingerprinting and tracking al together, but the tech lobby is way too powerful for that.
It really depends, I would say do not buy InternetOfThings stuff. As long as it’s only accessible locally you should be good. And then you can expose to yourself on the Internet via VPN or something with https://www.home-assistant.io/
Voting with your wallet doesn’t work here. People will choose the most convenient option and the other options will eventually start to disappear. Like safety, this needs to be regulated because security and privacy is by definition inconvenient.
Rule number one of buying a new car: get the dealer to disconnect the modem.
Cars should be entirely open source by government regulation. All software should be public and the manufacturer should be required to host and maintain a public toolchain that can reproduce the software and any revisions made. All of this should also get mirrored by the library of Congress and made publicly available as a second source indefinitely. This is about ownership. Digital rights are never okay to reserve. If I do not own everything I am only renting from the real owner. Proprietary goods are theft of ownership. It really is that simple.
