Why you may want to dump Verizon Wireless

[stomachmonkey]

Some people accept this stuff as part of life in the digital age.

Some people get really pissed off by it.

Verizon's 'Perma-Cookie' Is a Privacy-Killing Machine | WIRED

The company—one the country’s largest wireless carriers, providing cell phone service for about 123 million subscribers—calls this a Unique Identifier Header, or UIDH. It’s a kind of short-term serial number that advertisers can use to identify you on the web, and it’s the lynchpin of the company’s internet advertising program. But critics say that it’s also a reckless misuse of Verizon’s power as an internet service provider—something that could be used as a trump card to obviate established privacy tools such as private browsing sessions or “do not track” features.

[Chocaholic]

Don't worry. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

[Gogar]

If you created this thread with anything other than carrier pigeon you're pretty much in the same boat.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I just want to stop paying $115/month.

[tirwin]

I've got news for you... VZ isn't alone. Read the fine print on your bill.

And don't use any Google product.

If the service is "free", that means YOU are the product being sold.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

I just want to stop paying $115/month.

Cricket - $45/mo. with auto pay.
You're welcome.
.
BTW, thanks Richard (motion)

[stomachmonkey]

The difference here is traditionally you visit a site and a cookie is set. You can prevent that from happening.

With this the cookie (in the traditional sense) is not needed because the identifier is not set locally but is passed in your data stream.

When you hit a site it recognizes and reads the code, passes it off to the ad network who then pays Verizon for the info it needs to serve you an ad.

Verizon are actively injecting an identifier into your data request for the express purpose of selling you to the ad network.

It's not remotely the same as google since you pay Verizon to provide you access, your cell service is not free.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

Cricket - $45/mo. with auto pay.
You're welcome.
.
BTW, thanks Richard (motion)

Thanks Don. I think Cricket is only AT&T though, which sucks for me. I left AT&T for Verizon only because the service was so bad. I was at $85/month for the same service, but there was no service.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by tirwin

I've got news for you... VZ isn't alone. Read the fine print on your bill.



And don't use any Google product.



If the service is "free", that means YOU are the product being sold.

Yep. Install a packet sniffer and some monitoring software like Little Snitch and watch where "your" web browsing actually goes. Google is the epitome of "big data". I quite deliberately block any and all traffic to their sites (although I do use Google Earth on occasion I have to admit).



Google, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Microsoft (and Apple) and Facebook are bigger threats to personal privacy / Internet anonymity than the NSA is.

[widebody911]

The problem with this abusive data harvesting is that 99.9% of the people don't give a rat's ass, as long as they can play Candy Crush and look at cat pictures. Until that changes, these companies will get away with it.

I'm using AdBlock plus on my Android phone, and it is blocking the Broadcast UID

[wdfifteen]

Thank you for the heads up monkeyman. I would check to see if I was being tracked, but I would have to get up and take my phone outside, as Verison's signal isn't strong enough to make it through my window. From the link you posted:

You can test to see if your mobile device is broadcasting a UIDH on this website ( Simple test page for Cellular ISP tracking beacons - by Kenn White ), run by Kenneth White, a security researcher. (Go to the site, and if there is nothing displayed after the line “your UID is reporting,” then you are not displaying a

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

Cricket - $45/mo. with auto pay.
You're welcome.

BTW, thanks Richard (motion)

As long as you only need 3 gigs of data... I don't, I barely use 2 gig... however my wife who watches a lot of videos on her phone easily maxes out her 6 gig allotment.

[Neilk]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Thank you for the heads up monkeyman. I would check to see if I was being tracked, but I would have to get up and take my phone outside, as Verison's signal isn't strong enough to make it through my window. From the link you posted:

You can test to see if your mobile device is broadcasting a UIDH on this website ( Simple test page for Cellular ISP tracking beacons - by Kenn White ), run by Kenneth White, a security researcher. (Go to the site, and if there is nothing displayed after the line “your UID is reporting,” then you are not displaying a

Just checked, looks like AT&T is at it too...

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Neilk

Just checked, looks like AT&T is at it too...

Greeeaaaatttt!!!!

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Thanks Don. I think Cricket is only AT&T though, which sucks for me. I left AT&T for Verizon only because the service was so bad. I was at $85/month for the same service, but there was no service.

I've been using Consumer Cellular for years. Yea, it's marketed toward geriatrics, but I'm not a power user, just a few phone calls, some text's and maybe directions once in a while.

They're connected to Cingular.

No contract, month by month,
and you can monitor usage and make changes in the middle of the month if you're in danger of going over your limits, to avoid unnecessary charges....

Here's my plan cost:



Choose your voice plan:



Then your data plan:

[sammyg2]

My sprint phone was clean according to that test.

[Vipergrün]

Make sure you turn off WiFi before doing the test.....

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Looks like I'm good on T-Mobile. At least they're good for something!

[john70t]

Dumb phone with GreatCall/Jitterbug.
$38 total/600 minutes.
Their Samsung flip phone is a worthless confusing piece of junk.
I'm not sure how seniors could use it.

For internet, I'm using a VerWire aircard on a 8GB plan.

Somehow we've been able to exceed that usage even without watching full-length movies.
Friends who Netflix and Youtube all day long don't even get close to that.
When checking usage, Verizon only provides whole numbers such as "You've used 7 GB", not "You've used 7.953 GB".

Verizon's data usage billing seems...um...suspicious.