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  • Google will no longer send SMSs with six digit codes for verification

    From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to All on Sun Mar 2 14:28:08 2025
    Hi,

    Just read yesterday that Google will no longer send SMSs with six digit
    codes for verification of gmail account, but instead will use QR codes.
    This is to avoid scams in which the victim is told to tell the fraudster
    the number he just received on the phone.

    I have a source but it is in Spanish:

    <https://www.20minutos.es/tecnologia/ciberseguridad/novedad-google-luchar-contra-estafas-adios-autenticacion-digitos-sms-5685840/>

    Oh, English here: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/02/26/google-confirms-gmail-to-ditch-sms-code-authentication/>

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Stefan Ram@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Fri Mar 7 10:18:55 2025
    "Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> wrote or quoted:
    Going against the times not wanting to use a mobile phone is not going
    to work for anybody.

    Well, I'm using a mobile phone. But my security concept involves
    not putting an SMS into it and not connecting it to the internet.
    Also, since my youth, I'm used to the idea that it's my computer,
    so I decide which software to run on it.

    (I'm using the phone to make photos, read PDFs, and semi-manually
    track my sleep, calculate the recommendation for next sleep, etc.)

    Now, a bank told me I need a photo TAN. Do you know what I thought?
    I thought that they were asking me to make a photo of my face right
    before each transaction maybe with a newspaper of the day or in a
    position only given right before the transaction.

    But no, the "photo TAN" does not involve sending a portrait photo of
    yourself to your bank!

    I think I'm going to buy an extra phone, I might call the "dirty phone".
    This will be used for all third party apps I am being forced to use
    and get an SMS card when needed.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Marion@21:1/5 to Stefan Ram on Sat Mar 8 18:18:49 2025
    XPost: alt.privacy

    On 7 Mar 2025 10:18:55 GMT, Stefan Ram wrote :


    Well, I'm using a mobile phone. But my security concept involves
    not putting an SMS into it and not connecting it to the internet.

    Assuming the phone is not rooted, you can still delete from the user
    partition almost every app (even Google apps!) that you don't want.
    <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=samsung+galaxy+adb+delete+bloatware>

    Also, since my youth, I'm used to the idea that it's my computer,
    so I decide which software to run on it.\

    Once you remove all the bloatware, you replace them with non-GSF apps.
    NewPipe replaces the Google YouTube app
    Aurora replaces the Google Play Store app
    Bromite replaces the Chrome web browser app
    FairEmail replaces the Google GMail app
    etc.

    (I'm using the phone to make photos, read PDFs, and semi-manually
    track my sleep, calculate the recommendation for next sleep, etc.)

    What do you think of this free sleep app that doesn't have advertisements?
    <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=health.sleep.sounds.tracker.alarm.calm>

    Now, a bank told me I need a photo TAN.

    A photo TAN is a security measure where a visual code is scanned by a
    device or app to generate a one-time transaction authorization number.

    Do you know what I thought?
    I thought that they were asking me to make a photo of my face right
    before each transaction maybe with a newspaper of the day or in a
    position only given right before the transaction.

    But no, the "photo TAN" does not involve sending a portrait photo of
    yourself to your bank!

    I think I'm going to buy an extra phone, I might call the "dirty phone".
    This will be used for all third party apps I am being forced to use
    and get an SMS card when needed.

    *How to Buy a Burner Phone*
    <https://lifehacker.com/how-to-buy-a-burner-phone-1843905326>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Stefan Ram@21:1/5 to Marion on Sun Mar 9 12:12:26 2025
    Marion <[email protected]> wrote or quoted:
    What do you think of this free sleep app that doesn't have advertisements?

    While I'm currently not able to look at this app, I can say that
    I often lie without motion while still being awake at night,
    so I doubt such a device would be able to detect I'm awake.

    Instead I'm just pressing the power button of my mobile device
    sometimes while I'm awake. Then, in the next morning, I can
    read the times of these events from a log and transfer my sleep
    times to a spreadsheet (still on the mobile device) where
    I then analyze them using my custom formulas.

    One can also buy sleep trackers that track the sleep using
    electrodes at the head with prices starting below $1000 and
    exceeding $25000 depending on the quality. But the handling
    and maintenance would probably be too time-consuming for me.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to Stefan Ram on Sun Mar 9 14:52:38 2025
    On 2025-03-09 13:12, Stefan Ram wrote:
    Marion <[email protected]> wrote or quoted:
    What do you think of this free sleep app that doesn't have advertisements?

    While I'm currently not able to look at this app, I can say that
    I often lie without motion while still being awake at night,
    so I doubt such a device would be able to detect I'm awake.

    I use one such app that tracks my sleep. One feature it has is the alarm
    clock. Instead of a fixed time to wake me up, it checks during half an
    hour if it is the correct phase of my sleep to wake me up.

    Well, sometimes I wake up on my own near that time. I lie down not
    moving at all, hoping to fall sleep again, and that the alarm doesn't
    sound. But it does. The thing finds out that I am awake feigning being
    sleep and it "rings", early in the half an hour interval instead of late.

    (I use Sleep as an Android, paid version)

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Stefan Ram@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Sun Mar 9 14:41:51 2025
    "Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> wrote or quoted:
    I use one such app that tracks my sleep. One feature it has is the alarm >clock. Instead of a fixed time to wake me up, it checks during half an
    hour if it is the correct phase of my sleep to wake me up.

    If I don't have any appointments on a given day, I pin down
    a time to wrap up my sleep based on how long I want to sleep.
    Then, when I come to, I check if it's past that cutoff time
    for sleeping and get up if that's the case. If I've got stuff
    on my plate, I set an alarm, but I often find myself stirring
    just before it's set to go off.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)